Hello AP/IB Boosters!

Contents

• AP International Institutes for Teachers
• Pacific Northwest Advanced Placement Institute
• US Dept of Education Web Cast for June 2006
• Henry M. Jackson HS 2006/7 Pre-registration Numbers for AP Courses
• Washington State Certificate of Recognition for Summer Reading
• The Bellevue School District’s Required Summer Reading Program
• The University of Washington’s Common Book and Teaching Resources
• Stanford to offer first online high school for gifted students
• Colleges that Change Lives
• They call him 'genius'. 13-year-old making his mark at Jackson
• Feds describe programs eligible for getting college aid
• Parent drive seeks more foreign language classes
• Origins of Memorial Day

 

AP International Summer Institutes

From the recent College Board newsletter:

There are over 110,000 AP teachers in 100 countries. The following institutes are intended to help AP and Pre-AP teachers stay up to date.

AP Summer Institute in Toronto, July 3-7, 2006

AP Summer Institute in Sevilla, Spain, July 3-13, 2006

AP Summer Institute in Victoria, British Columbia, July 10-14, 2006

AP Summer Institute in Tokyo, July 24-28, 2006

AP Summer Institute in Oxford, England, July 23-28 and July 30-August 4, 2006

AP Summer Institute in Hawaii (a central and desirable location), July 31-August 4, 2006

AP Summer Institute in Heidelberg, August 7-11, 2006

For details: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com

 

Pacific Northwest Advanced Placement Institute

http://www.bsd405.org/default.aspx?tabID=357

Advanced Placement Institute at Interlake High School in Bellevue, Washington

(For directions, see www.bsd405.org/api)

Tuesday, June 27 through Friday, June 30, 2006 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The Pacific Northwest AP® Institute offers instruction for all:

High school teachers currently teaching AP® classes (exp) and those new to the AP® classroom (new).

High school teachers not currently teaching AP® classes who want to study a curricular area.

Middle school through high school teachers developing a continuum of skills for success in AP® Vertical Teams sessions.

 

US Dept of Education Web Cast for June 2006

Child Health and Nutrition - Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Time: 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM ET

"Making sure children understand the importance of eating right and being active is critical to helping them lead healthy lives…we must continue to provide students with the information they need to make good choices when it comes to food and exercise."

-Margaret Spellings, U.S. Secretary of Education

Research confirms what parents and teachers have long known: students who are well nourished and physically fit are more productive in the classroom and happier at home. Healthful eating and exercise habits promote cognitive development and academic achievement in children, in addition to enabling a wide range of health benefits—like lowering the risk of disease and obesity—that can enhance students’ lives now and in the future. Conversely, unhealthy choices can burden children with short- and long-term health problems and make it difficult for them to succeed in school. Today, bad health habits plague our children like never before. According to recent reports:

The percentage of young children who are overweight has more than doubled since 1980;

Obese children have shown an alarming increase in the incidence of Type 2 diabetes;

Overweight adolescents have a 70 percent chance of having weight problems as adults; and

Unhealthy eating and inactivity are linked to chronic disease and obesity, resulting in 300,000 deaths per year.

http://registerevent.ed.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewer.description&intEventID=197

 

Henry M. Jackson HS 2006/7 Pre-registration Numbers for AP Courses

The table below is a good indication of the student interest level in AP courses at Jackson HS. For example, 36 students requested AP Psychology (a new course for JHS) while 37 students selected it as an alternate course. UW English is also shown since it is also highly regarded.

Course	Grade Levels	Requests	Alternates
AP ART HISTORY	10,11,12	11	13
AP BIOLOGY	10,11,12	28	21
AP CALCULUS	10,11,12	39	3
AP CHEMISTRY	11,12	16	12
AP COMPUTER SCI	10,11,12	2	1
AP ENG 3 LIT	11	81	2
AP ENG 4 L&C	12	10	4
AP GOVERNMENT	12	60	2
AP PHYSICS	11,12	14	7
AP PSYCHOLOGY	11,12	36	37
AP SPANISH 4	12	23	5
AP STATISTICS	10,11,12	36	21
AP STUDIO 2-D	10,11,12	3	1
AP STUDIO ART	10,11,12	9	3
AP US HISTORY	11,12	73	0
AP WORLD HISTOR	10,11,12	121	2
UW English	12	150	8

We would like to thank the Everett School District’s staff for providing this information. It helps us gauge the quality of the academics at the school. We have also made a request for this same data for Cascade HS and Everett HS. The district now has the difficult task of trying to balance teacher resources with students’ requests.

 

 

Washington State Certificate of Recognition for Summer Reading

Young People can receive a Certificate of Recognition from Governor Gregoire, State Librarian Jan Walsh, and Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson for their summer reading (20 minutes every day).

http://www.governor.wa.gov/summerreading/default.htm

 

The Bellevue School District’s Required Summer Reading Program

The Bellevue School District again sets the example for academics.

http://curriculum.bsd405.org/C12/Summer%20Reading/default.aspx

In Bellevue, all 6^th – 12^th graders have required summer reading.

BELLEVUE SCHOOL DISTRICT SUMMER READING 2006 GOALS:

• Establish academic rigor and high expectations for all students
• Provide a bridge from one grade to another
• Form a common reference point and shared experience to build a sense of community in the classroom
• Expand literary experiences for students

 

The University of Washington’s Common Book and Teaching Resources

This year, all UW Freshmen will receive a book to read over the summer.

http://www.washington.edu/oue/commonbook/

Mountains Beyond Mountains

by Tracy Kidder

"I have seen this book change careers and change lives."

--Jonathan Mayer, Professor of Epidemology

 

Stanford to offer first online high school for gifted students

"A $3.3 million gift from the Malone Family Foundation of Englewood, Colo., will fund the first online high school for gifted students.

Developed by Stanford University's Education Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY), the Online High School will be a three-year, fully accredited, diploma-granting high school. The program will begin accepting student applications this spring and is scheduled to begin classes in the fall. Information about the application process and the courses will be available online beginning April 25 at http://epgy.stanford.edu/ohs/"

 

Colleges that Change Lives

Information Session & College Fair

Saturday, August 5, 2006

10:00 a.m. - Noon

Meydenbauer Center

11100 NE 6th Street

Bellevue, WA 98004

http://www.ctcl.com/events/seattle.htm

"When acclaimed education writer Loren Pope first set out to share with students, families, and counselors his thoughts about colleges, his goal was to provide insights that would allow people to make more informed choices. He felt strongly that uninformed choices could account for heavy dropout, transfer, and failure rates. Too often college choices are made based on false perceptions, misinformation, or a lack of information. Those insights led to the publication of Colleges That Change Lives and the recognition of 40 very special colleges and universities—one public and 39 private from 24 states and with enrollments ranging from 300 to 3,000."

 

They call him 'genius'. 13-year-old making his mark at Jackson

"James Song may stand in the shadows of most of his older classmates at Jackson High School. But the 13-year-old is head and shoulders above most of them academically."

http://www.enterprisenewspapers.com/index.cfm?action=story&storyid=200651111314632&id=3

 

 

Feds describe programs eligible for getting college aid

"The Bush administration on Tuesday declared which high school programs are "rigorous" enough to qualify students for college aid.

The designation is important because only college freshmen and sophomores who complete a rigorous high school course of study can receive certain new grants approved by Congress."

"Students will qualify if they:

• Have an advanced or honors high school diploma, which is offered in at least 19 states.
• Have completed the courses of the State Scholars Initiative, a congressionally backed program. It requires students to take four years of English, three years of math, three years of lab science, 3 1/2 years of social studies and two years of a language other than English. Fourteen states have the program now, and eight more are starting soon.
• Have finished a set of courses similar to the State Scholars curriculum.
• Have taken at least two Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses and passed the tests in both subjects."

http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/06/05/03/100wir_a8aid001.cfm

This federal college aid program is just one reason why the AP/IB Boosters’ Board Members, the Gateway PTSA Board Members, and the Heatherwood PTA Board Members voted to support an Advanced Academic Endorsement (AAE).

http://www.apibboosters.org/AdvancedAcademicEndorsement.html

The AP/IB Boosters Board Members welcome your thoughts on this program.

 

 

Parent drive seeks more foreign language classes

This fall, there will be an opportunity for Gateway and Heatherwood Middle School students to start learning Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish.

"PTA members at Gateway and Heatherwood Middle Schools are offering an online survey to gauge what interest there is in bringing world language courses -- taught by a private company -- to schools this fall. The classes could be offered on campus before or after school by the company Foreign Languages for Youth. The cost is $239 per student. Registration is in August and classes start in October."

http://www.enterprisenewspapers.com/index.cfm?action=story&storyid=200652612162836&id=3

 

 

Origins of Memorial Day

http://www1.va.gov/opa/speceven/memday/index.asp

http://www.firstgov.gov/Topics/Memorial_Day.shtml