Broadcast/Journalism

Transcription

1 Broadcast/Journalism March Industrial Circle NW, Elk River, MN It is something that many are curious about but few ever get to see: the hustle and bustle of a radio or TV station. The broadcast journalism students (NOISE News Crew) visited WCCO-TV and WCCO- Radio on February 27th. Half of the students visited the radio station, and the other half visited the TV station prior to visiting The News Room Restaurant for lunch. The students who visited the radio station got to see an actual radio program live on air and asked many questions of the assistant program director. Mrs. Chrest said that she was incredibly impressed with her students as they truly seized the opportunity that was given to them by asking profound questions. They even met with morning show host Paul Koffy of Buz n who gave them the story behind his last name. The students who visited the TV station got to tour the station and asked many questions about the daily operations before heading to lunch. The News Room Restaurant was a perfect ending spot for the field trip as the decor was all old newspapers, and the crew had the opportunity to share their experiences. It is that time of the year once more when we are preparing for the Annual Meeting. This year's Annual Meeting will take place on Thursday, March 26, 2015 beginning at 6:30 p.m. Board and Administration will share information on the exciting opening of our new 6th Grade Building as well as information on the upcoming school year. In addition, come meet the candidates that will be running for election in the upcoming School Board election which takes place on April 9, Cake and coffee will be served at the end of the meeting, so come to hear about the exciting happenings at Spectrum, and enjoy a sweet treat while doing so. Click on the following link to make your reservations today! aff=affiliate1 This is a dessert-only event -- no dinner will be served. We look forward to seeing you there!

2 Painting Class Returning to Spectrum Our guidance and admission team are busy preparing for the school year. To aid in the scheduling and class sizing process, we ask that you let us know if your student will not be returning in the fall. If your student is not returning please: The photo above showcases the extraordinary paintings of the Spectrum High School Painting class that are displayed in the second floor across from the Art Room. The project is called Limited Palette. The goal of the painting was to take an image and to duplicate it four times within the same painting. Within these gridded out images the students were to choose specific color schemes to display the image. By doing this, the students learn to understand color, how it works together, and how to give value and depth to the images. We have very talented and creative students in our school; please congratulate the students on a great job! Ashley Splonskowski Fine Arts Teacher Photography Reply with your intention to our Admission Office at admissions@spectrumhighschool.org, and fill out a withdrawal form; return it to the Admission Office. If your student is returning: Do nothing! Your student will remain on the roster, and registration will proceed. If you decide anytime before school starts on August 24, 2015 that your student is not returning please contact the Admissions Office, and we will remove your student from the roster. You will need to complete a withdrawal form. Feel free to or to leave a message. Thank you for assisting with this process, Spectrum High School Guidance and Admission Team Photography Form Contest Congratulations to Kelly Mitchell and Nicole Larson on being Finalists in the Photographer's Forum High School and College Photography Contest. Kelly was a finalist last year and is one of 99 Honorable Mentions this year. Nicole entered for the first time this year, and was one of 711 Finalists. Over 17,000 students applied, so this is an amazing honor for both girls. Great job, ladies! Upcoming Events Save the date! School Board Election April 9, 2015 Parent/Teacher Conferences April 9, 2015 Graduation Day May 22, 2015 February Employee Recognition Jessica Kemnitz Team Player Always helping students Improving self Positive influence on students and staff

3 Athletics 76 student-athletes at Spectrum have been recognized by the MSHSL for earning the Spotlight on Scholarship award for maintaining a B average while participating in winter athletics. The breakdown by sport is: February Students of the Month HS: Clay Jackson and Davey Jackson MS: Matt Behrens and Kenzie Alders Ceramics The new Spectrum Ceramics class needs your help! Did you know? Next year, Spectrum High School is offering a new Art class: Ceramics! While Ms. Splonskowski and Ms. Kemnitz are really excited to offer this class, they need your help getting it started. We have two opportunities for donations! At DonorsChoose.org, you can contribute toward purchasing a potter's wheel: Spectrum At Dick Blick, you can contribute to specific supply needs, such as tools, glazes and more. Check it out at Boys Swimming 8 Boys Hockey 3 Girls Basketball 17 Boys Basketball 28 Wrestling 16 Dance Team 4 Way to go, Spectrum student-athletes! Congratulations to Spectrum State Athletes Wrestling Shane Herrlin Swimming Nick Kopp Swimming Ben Kopp Swim Alternates: Zack Kopp, Preston Loewenstein, Christian Rieck, and Hunter Bechtel. Spectrum is proud of the accomplishments of all our athletes! Consider contributing to either project, OR pass it along! Individuals and businesses can contribute, and donations are tax-deductible. Theatre Cast list has been announced and rehearsals are in full feather for Spectrum Theatre s production of Honk! Jr. Mark your calendar for this heart-warming celebration of being different on April 17, 18 & 19!! Honk! Jr. is an adaptation of Honk! The Musical which was written by George Stiles, with book and lyrics by Anthony Drew. Inspiration for the story was taken from Hans Christian Andersen s tale of The Ugly Duckling. The cast is ably led by seniors Ted Cullen as The Cat, Megan Hassing as Maureen, and Dakota Woolhouse as Drake. Juniors Marie Miller as Grace and Nathan Roberts as The Bullfrog round out the upperclassmen. The lead roles of Ugly and Ida are played by eighth graders Alec Staricka and Solvej Lund, respectively. UGLY IDA DRAKE BEAKY BILLY FLUFF DOWNY MAUREEN THE CAT THE TURKEY HENRIETTA GREYLAG DOT Alec Staricka Solvej Lund Dakota Woolhouse Cassandra Duthler Jacob Aune Martha Bergley Ginger Downey Megan Hassing Ted Cullen Andrew Wilson D Lorah Roberts Carter Hansen Aly Kraus BARNACLES SNOWY PINKFOOT GRACE THE BULL- FROG PENNY FATHER SWAN MOTHER SWAN BEWICK JAY BIRD COMPANY Usa Stiller Megan Kjendle Rachel Johnson Marie Miller Nathan Roberts Emily Dopp Zach Hassing Thea Nyborg Ben Bergley Zachary Knapp Jaiden Preston Sanibel Randolph Judah Rogers

4 Counselor s Corner 2015/2016 Students who qualified for the opportunity to take CaSH classes: Every Friday, the Scrip Table is set up outside the office from 2:45 to 3:45. We sell 100s of cards from inventory for immediate pick-up. Fundraising can be fun!!! PIZZA FOR DINNER? Why not purchase Scrip cards for Pizza? They are all available at the Scrip Table AND offer an 8% total rebate! Papa Murphy s Pizza Hut Pizza Ranch Papa John s Domino s Little Caesar s Vision Statement The Vision of Spectrum High School is to foster academic and personal excellence through a program emphasizing high academic standards in a small school setting. Mission Statement The mission of Spectrum High School is to encourage students to attain their maximum potential through a 3-dimensional strategy emphasizing College preparatory curriculum A technology-rich environment Community-based outreach HAVE NO SPRING CLOTHES? Go shopping at the following retailers, and use your Scrip cards! Get them at the Scrip Table, and check out those rebate numbers!: American Eagle 10% Cabela s - 11% Gap/Old Navy 14% Maurice s 7% Payless Shoes 13% And, remember that you can PAY OFF your Kohl s bill with Scrip cards (4%). Just bring your Scrip Kohl s cards into Kohl s, and pay it off at the registers. How do I get started, you ask? Contact Tricia Downey at tdowney@spectrumhighschool.org. Check out the Scrip website at ShopWithScrip.com. World Lit: Monster Masks Who is that giant green Halloween guy with bolts in his neck? Frankenstein, right? WRONG! That green guy is actually Frankenstein's Monster, the beast created by mastermind scientist Victor Frankenstein. The Monster has no actual name. Did you know that the Monster is not really green? He's yellow! Furthermore, he has no bolts in his neck. This textual evidence was served up to 11th grade students via our reading of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein in 11th grade English / World Lit / Composition II with Miss Kinney. The Monster is someone who is sensitive, educated, loving, and resourceful ---but he is also a killer. The reading of Frankenstein has been extremely enlightening for the eleventh-grade classes as they learn to debunk the non-textual urban legends associated with this literary work. As a part of our delving into the world of the Monster, we made Monster Masks. Students colored the masks textually and snapped pictures of themselves in the masks as our way of connecting to the Monster's human side: he may be a bad Monster, but we are able to relate to his emotions because they are ones felt by common people everywhere. This mask project allowed the students to get close to Mary Shelley's character of the Monster in Frankenstein and to apply the literature to our own experiences. Beside that, we had fun! So, the next time you hear somebody calling that big green guy Frankenstein, ask your eleventh-grade student to set the record straight!

5 Why Standardized Tests? As educators, we are asked this question all the time, and the answer, which is multi-faceted, is worthy of exploration. Standardized testing is critical to the future of both your student and Spectrum High School. Let s find out why... Student Benefits Standardized tests can help determine whether a student has mastered key content knowledge or language proficiency as well as whether or not they have attained the necessary skills for future education and/or the workforce. Administrators and teachers can use the results to pinpoint possible gaps in instruction and to redirect instruction or curriculum accordingly. Performance on standardized tests is a strong predictor of future ACT performance, which is the college entrance exam criteria that most colleges and universities in the Midwest use to determine entrance eligibility. Students will be required to be in many testing situations throughout their educational careers and also as part of the workforce. Standardized tests are good practice for students and provide educators with invaluable information on how well students are comprehending and mastering content. Charter School Law All Charter Schools in the State of Minnesota must have a Authorizer. The Authorizer is responsible to the Minnesota Department of Education [MDE] for the Charter School s educational outcomes [test scores]. Volunteers of America [VOA] is Spectrum s Authorizer. VOA has very specific and detailed testing outcome expectations. Spectrum must meet these expectations in order to stay in contract compliance with VOA. If Spectrum does not stay in contract compliance, VOA can terminate the contract. Spectrum students must take standardized tests and must perform at a satisfactory level in order for Spectrum to remain in contract compliance with VOA. Additional Funding Needs Charter schools cannot raise revenue through tax levies (as can traditional public schools). Investors use standardized test scores to determine if a school like Spectrum is a worthy investment. Being a School of Excellence makes Spectrum more attractive to parents of prospective students and therefore more attractive to investors. If testing outcomes consistently fail to meet the required standards, it is possible for investors to decide to cease to invest in Spectrum. Spectrum students must consistently score well on standardized tests in order to attract future investors and to remain in good standing with current investors. Why has my child been assigned to MCA Prep Class? Spectrum assigns students to certain prep classes based on how the student scores on preliminary testing. This is not a punishment! Rather, it is a tool to help your child improve his/her skills in a certain subject. It is possible that your child is currently scoring well in the subject that he/she has been assigned a prep class. This may mean your child has not yet mastered the concept but has a grasp of current material. Students are able to test out of the prep class once mastery has been achieved, which is determined by their scoring on follow-up testing. Prep classes are one of the many ways Spectrum High School ensures that no child s needs are overlooked academically. We are very proud of each student s accomplishments in and out of the classroom and understand that students are much more than just test grades. We thank you in advanced for taking time to read this very important information on standardized testing and ask that you, please, spend a few minutes with your student discussing the importance of scoring their best on the upcoming standardized tests. Together, we can help to create a great future for Spectrum High School and for our students. Sincerely, Spectrum High School Board of Directors