Sunday, December 11, 2011

NOTAM 121211

AVIATION HIGH SCHOOL
12 December 2011

What’s Happening this Week:

Monday: Another extraordinary day of learning!
Tuesday: PNBAA Meeting 3:00-5:00 PM—AHS ambassadors accept scholarship check!
Robotics Team Meeting 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Wednesday: Mentor/Mentee Breakfast in the gym 7:30 - 9:00 AM
Gingerbread House/Door Decorating Contest 11:00 – 11:30 AM
Film Club after school in Mr. Savishinsky’s Room
Youth Venture in Room Six 3:45 – 5:15 PM
Thursday: VIP Tour, 9:00-10:30 a.m.—Peter Anderson & Bob Ramsey
Air Force Academy Presentation 1:00 PM
Speech and Debate at Gig Harbor HS
Culture Club in Room 24 3:45 – 4:45
Robotics Team Meeting 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Friday: Last Day to Purchase Paper Links in Support of NHS!

Winter Break December 21 – January 3, 2012

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
If it seems like the name Jenny Gao is frequently mentioned in the NOTAM, that’s because it is! This week, I offer the heartiest of congratulations to Jenny on being selected as one of two Washington State delegates for the United States Senate Youth Program/William Randolph Hearst Scholarship. In addition to receiving a $5,000 college scholarship, Jenny will enjoy an all-expense paid trip to Washington D.C. March 3-10, 2012 to participate in the Senate program. Applicants for this youth program must have attended a youth leadership program that is sponsored by the Association of Washington School Principals. Jenny did so last summer. Yea, Jenny! Leadership matters!

Last week was one in which several staff members and students immersed themselves in science education by participating in the National Science Teachers Association Conference and NASA Future Forum. Accompanied by AHS sophomore Sasha Friedrich, I had the opportunity to attend the dedication of the new Space Gallery at the Museum of Flight on Thursday and see the unveiling of the “Charles Simonyi Space Gallery” sign that marks Mr. Simonyi’s $3million contribution to the gallery as well as a surprise donation/loan of the Soyuz re-entry capsule that safely carried him back from a 2009 joint Russian-American space mission. The space gallery will officially open to the public in June 2012, complete with its main attraction, a full flight NASA shuttle trainer that the Museum was awarded in lieu of a retired shuttle. As I attended the dedication and forum, my mind was fast forwarding to 2013 when the Charles Simonyi Space Gallery will be the southern “bookend” of the Air Transportation Gallery and Aviation High School, the northern bookend of the property. What a grand and historical occasion that will be and how very fortunate we are to be part of the excitement that, as Ms. Lori Garver, NASA Deputy Administrator, states, “marks the dawn of the commercial space revolution rather than the end of the space age.” Imagine the career opportunities in space-related fields that AHS grads may be part of and the technologies they may create and use to make human and robotic missions a reality! Students, I encourage you to do your research about the opportunities that could be yours…and here’s a bit of advice I heard from the hiring experts:

• Work on real projects while in school…and get a summer internship—in high school if you can; if not, definitely while in college! (Note: Sound familiar? We’re committed to helping you accomplish both at AHS!)
• Algebra is the gateway to careers in science! The ‘hard’ sciences are a must for a space-related career.
• Knowledge, ingenuity and preparation are the requirements for successful human space flight. (A good formula for life in general?)
• “Students must get ‘hooked’ on science by age 10 if we expect to see them pursuing a STEM career.” (Bill Nye, the Science Guy). (Note: We need to expand our outreach to elementary and middle schools to help this effort.)
• “Be passionate about work and continuous learning…we aren’t looking for clock-watchers…stay until you get the product out the door…your work ethic is noticed!” (representative from Blue Origin)
• Get involved in FIRST Robotics or similar activities that help you apply your learning and develop teamwork, interpersonal, and technical skills. Employers do take note when they see these on your resume!
• When you seek out a mentor, don’t underestimate what he/she will do for you…and don’t let him down! (This comment was made by a leader of a local space company who emphasized that who you know matters…and that, in fact, he was hired by a major space company as a result of his mentor/college professor recommending him, beating out the competition of more experienced applicants.)

And…I would be remiss if I did not mention that Jonathan Adams was the only high school student who participated in the engineering poster exhibits at the Space Forum! Jonathan stood tall by his Flight by Design poster, surrounded by ~25 college students who were presenting a variety of sophisticated research projects. Great job, Jonathan!

Of course, there’s always more to say, but that’s it for this week! Here’s to science and space exploration…and ultimately, traveling to Mars! My best for an inspiring week of learning. I’m honored to be your principal. ~Reba


NOTES & ANNOUNCEMENTS:

• Congratulations DeAundre Cola! DeAundre played and lettered in varsity football for Lindbergh High School in Renton. His positions were Wide Receiver and Defensive Back.

This weekend, almost three thousand science teachers from around the country came together in Seattle for three days of sharing, learning, and networking at the National Science Teachers Association conference. Aviation High School students were there serving as ambassadors, guides, and friendly faces for visitors to the Emerald City. Our students representing AHS brilliantly and garnering only compliments from presenters, organizers, and NSTA officials. In their spare time, our ambassadors attended classes alongside teachers and talked with exhibitors; two exhibitors were so impressed, they wanted to hire our students as interns! We were only able to participate with the help of many parent and staff volunteers. We extend a special thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Buty, Mrs. Wooley, Mrs. Schumann, Mrs. Graves, Mr. Lemley, Mrs. Wagner, Ms. Pappas, Mr. Steele, Ms. Burr, and Mr. McComb for providing our students with this opportunity.


• Staff Appreciation Marathon starts this week, so be ready to write comments for your favorite teachers and staff members here at AHS. The idea is to thank our adults in the building for their hard work before the quarter ends. We will fill up 1-2 cards of appreciation each day of this week and will resume after Winter Break. This week’s theme is to thank our teachers in the Math and Science classes.

Monday: Edgerton & Dyer
Tuesday: Gudor & Joshi
Wednesday: Jones-Gunn & McComb,
Thursday: Shiroma & Steele
Friday: Wilson

Card signing will be available during lunch in the lunchroom.

• Class of 2012! ASB is currently designing senior class t-shirts but we need your help and would love to see your contributions. We will be accepting student’s designs, ideas, and suggestions. There are many good websites to assist you in your designs such as customink.com. We will be accepting your designs until the end of winter break. The first advisory after break, we will have a class vote to decide the class of 2012 apparel. Please send you designs and ideas to dabrahamson@yahoo.com.


• Junior Skating Party, Friday, Dec 23: The skating party will be at Southgate Roller Rink. Tickets are $10 and will be sold during lunch in the lunchroom this week. Contact Gary Trujillo for more information at 206.902.0817 or garyhansela@gmail.com.

• Attention 9th grade students: If you are interested in hosting an 8th grade “shadow,” you must sign up, be endorsed by your teachers, and attend mandatory training. To start the process, sign up in Ms. Carper’s office this week!


• PARENTS: Attendance notes are required by state law before any absence can be excused. Please send students through the office with their absence note UPON RETURN to school.


• Microsoft Internship: Microsoft has now updated their website announcing summer 2012 internships for juniors and seniors at the time of application, due date March 11, 2012. This very competitive, paid internship is offered to only 20 students from the entire region, and Microsoft is targeting minority and female students who have demonstrated an interest in technology, can use email and word, have a basic grasp of HTML, Visual Basic or another programming language. This is a full time, 8-10 week experience. Insider tip- to stand out, enter a programming competition, www.dreamspark.com or build a WINDOWS application. Application information is at http://careers.microsoft.com/careers/en/us/highschoolintern.aspx Please let Ms. Burr know if you’re applying.


• Community Service Project Management Internship Opportunity
Career Readiness Department/Aviation High School - January 9 through May 4
o This unpaid experience will provide a student(s) with valuable lessons in organization, project management, data input, data management, and reporting. Flexible, on-site schedule, approximately 3 hours per week. More detailed information posted on the Career Board outside Room 11. If interested, contact Ms. Pappas.

• Air Force Academy Presentation by Molly Heath on Thursday, December 15 at 1 PM. Sign up in room 11 if you would like to attend!

• FIRST Robotics Kickoff will be January 7, 2012 at Auburn High School. This past weekend, Skunkworks Robotics finished competing in the First Washington Engineering Challenge (FEC) in Ravensdale, Wa and came away with the championship. Members of the team gave a final presentation at the event and had previously sent in a detailed 50 page response to the challenge. Mentor Ken Zaballos from Boeing coached the group of robotics students through a design, analysis and evaluation challenge that took over two months. The challenge required the team to evaluate an engineering problem, choose the mechanical system and then analyze the results in the same way any professional engineer would do this type of work. The judges were very pleased in the way the team had approached and solved the problem. The FRC competition begins in less than a month and this is a great start to the season!! GO SKUNKS!!


• National Honor Society's Sister Schools fundraiser began Monday November 28th. Come buy paper links during lunch in the cafeteria to help raise money to build the wall around the Mukono boarding school in Uganda to protect the children from being kidnapped and killed. Witch doctors believe children's body parts have special spiritual healing and so more and more children are being kidnapped and killed, and people are afraid the schools will be targeted next. That's why we want to help the Sister Schools foundation raise money to build a security wall around the school, while we build our own "security wall" around our school out of paper links. The links will be sold one link for $.50, three links for $1.00. They will be class colors, so the winning class earns spirit points! We will also be keeping track of which advisory you're from when you buy links, so the winning advisory will get a prize as well. Help us raise money for this great cause by buying your links today! We will be selling links November 28th through December 16th.

• Snow. Skis. Snowboards. Winter. Do you find yourself bored on Friday nights in the winter? Looking for a ski/snowboard club? If you are, then you've come to the right place. Snowbound is a ski and snowboard club open to middle and high school students. You won't even miss school! After school on Friday afternoons, you and a bunch of your friends can take a charter bus that comes to Aviation up to Snoqualmie and hit the slopes for almost 6 hours! The best part about it? You don't have to worry about the details. All you have to be concerned with is remembering your season pass, your gear, and some warm clothes. Snowbound starts January 6, 2012 and ends February 10, 2012. The bus will come to Aviation right after school on Fridays and will return to the school about 11PM. Sign up at http://www.skimohan.com/?page=428&category=des-moines. Questions please contact Rebecca Hall at rhall@desmoines.gov or at (206) 870-6582. Come play in the snow!
• From Your ASB:
Tolo has been rescheduled to January 28, 2012.




SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION FOR AHS SENIORS:
For UW bound Seniors! The Washington NASA Space Grant Consortium annually offers scholarships for incoming UW freshmen. Each year some of Washington State's best high school seniors, Running Start, and Early Entrance students vie for a chance to study science, technology, engineering or mathematics at the University of Washington on a Space Grant Scholarship. The deadline is the postmark date of January 9, 2012. http://www.waspacegrant.org/for_students/undergraduate_programs/scholarships/uw/incoming_freshman/uw_scholars_freshman.html



United States JCI Senate Foundation (“the foundation”) awards a $1,000.00 scholarship to graduating high school seniors who plan to continue their education at accredited post-secondary colleges, universities, or vocational school. Applications are available in Ms. Carper’s office. Deadline: January 11, 2012.

Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation supports many students all over the world with various scholarship opportunities. For more information about the different scholarships available, visit https://www.coca-colascholars.org/cokeWeb/index.jsp

AXA Achievement Scholarship- The AXA Achievement Scholarship is directed by AXA Equitable and offers more than $1.3 million a year in scholarships. If you are ethnically and economically diverse, have drive and determination, and feel you are able to succeed in college; this is the right scholarship for you! Visit http://www.axa-equitable.com/axa-foundation/about.html for more information.

Abbot and Fenner Business Consultants are offering $1,000 scholarships. Applications are available at www.abbottandfenner.com/scholarships.htm. Deadline: June 15, 2012.
Big Sun is offering an annual scholarship to any young athlete. All students are eligible for this award, it does not matter what sport you are participating in. To learn more visit http://www.bigsunathletics.com. Deadline: June 22, 2012


Continue checking the AHS website or logging on to school computers to get updated information on events and meetings.

Quote of the Week:
“The definition of innovation is the constructive rejection of the status quo.”
~Mr. Joseph Parrish, NASA Deputy Chief Technologist
NASA Future Forum, December 9, 2011 at The Museum of Flight