M ARYVILLE H IGH S CHOOL
P ARENT N EWSLETTER
[email protected]
Upcoming Events
Maryville High School
825 Lawrence Avenue
Maryville•TN•37803
P: 865-982-1132
www.maryvilleschools.org/mhs
Intervention/Enrichment or Snow Make-up
March 15-17, 2017
Spring Break
No Classes
March 20-March 24, 2017
Orchestra Side by Side Concert with the
Knoxville Symphony
March 30, 2017
7:00-9:00 PM
MHS Orchestra Valentine’s Day Concert
(Adults $10.00 Students $5.00)
February 9, 2017
MHS Fine Arts Night
Clayton Center
April 4, 2017
6:00-9:00 PM
MHS Visual Arts Exhibit
MHS Library
April 5-April 13, 2017
Romeo, You Idiot
MHS Auditorium
April 7-8, 2017
7:00-9:00 PM
TN Promise Meeting
MHS Cafeteria
April 13, 2017
4:00-7:00 PM
College and Career Readiness
Maryville High School is excited to offer
an updated program of college and career
readiness opportunities in the 2017-18 school
year. As the state has developed its new
expectations and accountability measures to
focus on post-secondary readiness, MHS has been
planning new opportunities for our students.
A new readiness program has been
created by adjusting and expanding the current
literacy program to meet the needs of all
students. There are courses for students at all
ability levels in all grades now. 10th graders will
have the opportunity to take strategic reading or
analytical development & strategic reading
(ADSR). Both courses are an excellent way to
practice critical thinking and questioning while
improving reading and writing skills.
A brand new course, Socratic inquiry
(honors), will be offered to students in the 10th12th grade. This course will refine students’
research and collaboration skills to support AP
course work. It is intended to be an introduction
to the AP capstone courses and/or college level
inquiry and research.
Another course that will be offered for
the first time at MHS is ACT readiness
preparation. This course will be ACT preparation
aimed at juniors, but a few sophomores or
seniors may be taking the course as well. As
students enter their senior year, they will
continue to be offered assistance with the college
admissions process through senior transition and
college success. Each course is designed to
develop the skills and provide the knowledge
students need to take the next step toward postsecondary independence and success.
Page 2
MHS MARKETING STUDENTS QUALIFY TO ATTEND
STATE DECA COMPETITION
Brooke Parker prepares to compete
On Friday, February 3, 2017, twentytwo Maryville High School marketing
students spent the day competing in a
variety of marketing and business
situations at the DECA District Career
Development Conference in Knoxville,
TN. Event competitions are comprised
of a 100-question test and one to two
impromptu role-plays performed in
front of industry professionals who
volunteered as judges.
Courtney Richardson, a first year DECA member,
participated in the Principles of Finance event and placed
2nd in the district and qualified to advance to State DECA
competition. When asked about her experience she
stated, “DECA is a great experience, and it has exposed me
to real life business situations.”
“I am proud of every student who competes at the district
level! The experience solidifies their understanding of
classroom material and gives them an opportunity to
interact with industry professionals,” says Rosanna Giles,
Maryville High DECA advisor and marketing teacher.
Continued on next page
Page 3
The following students from MHS qualified to advance to the State
Career Development Conference in Chattanooga, TN, March 16-18,
2017:
 Amanda Glover, 1st place-Apparel &
Accessories Marketing
 Raymond Senu, 1st place-Restaurant & Food
Service Mgt
 Amber Ebel, 2nd place-Financial Consulting
Event
 Courtney Richardson, 2nd place-Principles
of Finance
 Melchor Lopez, 2nd place-Hospitality &
Tourism Professional Selling
 Eden Cate, 2nd place-Personal Financial
Literacy
 D’Artangnan Rullan, 3rd place-Food
Raymond Senu shows off his awards
Marketing
 Cadie Davenport & Natalie Meade, 3rd
place-Travel & Tourism Team Decision
 Bailey Barham & Alexis Geiger, 3rd place-Financial Services
Team Decision
 Hunter Bumgarner, 4th place-Principles of Business
Management & Administration
 Kayla Allison and Taylor Jackson, 5th place-Marketing
Management Team Decision Making
 Mason Dean, 5th place-Sports & Entertainment Marketing
 Brooke Parker, 6th place-Retail Merchandising
 Vishwa Patel, 7th place-Marketing Communications
 Shane Michaud, 9th place-Human Resources Management
The goal at the state conference is to earn the honor of competing
at the International Career Development Conference to be held
April 26-30 in Anaheim, California.
Page 4
Page 5
The Koontz ACT Cram Course
The Koontz ACT Cram Course will offer an April session starting
on Saturday, April 1st. The course is designed to prepare ALL students for
the April 8th national test date and it will prepare juniors for the April 19th in
school ACT test. Registration forms can be found at cramcourse.org.
Microsoft Office Specialist Certifications
Students in Advanced Computer Applications are taking advantage of the
opportunity to earn industry certifications as Microsoft Office Specialists. Since
January, over half of the students have earned their MOS certification in
Access. It is our goal to complete the preparation for the Excel certification
test before we leave for Spring Break.
By passing the certification exams for Access, Excel, and Word, students
are eligible to earn a credit toward graduation as well as credit for INFS 1010
at Pellissippi State. INFS 1010 is a requirement in many college majors, including
business and some nursing/social science programs. The course is included in the
Tennessee Transfer Pathway and articulates to several other colleges, such as
School
University of Tennessee,
Chattanooga
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
East Tennessee State University
Middle Tennessee State University
Tennessee Tech
Lincoln Memorial University
PSTCC INFS 1010 articulates to
MGT 1000
BUAD 242
CSCI 1100
INFS 2200
CSC 1100
CIS 100
Congratulations to these students for their hard work and success in Advanced
Computer Applications!
Page 6
Special Education Department
Through a recent grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of
Postsecondary Education (Transition and Postsecondary Programs for Students
with Intellectual Disabilities), we received funding to explore launching a
higher education program for students with Intellectual Disabilities. As a
recipients of a community conversation mini-grant, we have committed to
holding one event analyzing the ideas generated by attendees and forming a
team committed to moving forward on the best ideas. The Vanderbilt team
that has started “Next Steps” will support mini-grant recipients in planning and
carrying out their community conversation event, as well as make technical
assistance available as campuses move forward in exploring this possibility.
A community conversation is a unique one-time, two-hour event aimed at
bringing together a cross-section of critical stakeholders to generate possible
responses to a pressing need in a community. In addition to identifying
promising ideas, events can help identify key allies and partners needed to
move forward.
If you are interested in being a part of this community conversation, please
check out our website https://inclusivemaryville.splashthat.com/# and don’t
forget to RSVP!
If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to contact Catherine
Bledsoe at 865.382.8696.
Page 7
MHS Languages Department
Language learning requires constant practice and reinforcement. Here are
some resources that can be used by MHS language students as well as the entire
family!
www.duolingo.com
www.quizlet.com
www.fluentu.com
http://apprendre.tv5monde.c
om/
Available through the
Tennessee Electronic Library
http://tntel.tnsos.org/
Learning with
Duolingo is fun and
addictive. Earn points
for correct answers,
race against the clock,
and level up.
Search millions of
study sets or create
your own. Improve
your grades by
studying with
flashcards, games and
more.
Language immersion is
the key to learning a
foreign
language. FluentU bri
ngs language learning
to life through
language immersion
with real-world
videos.
French video lessons
for beginners.
With Powerspeak
Languages, language
learners get more out
of the language they
study: fluency through
immersion, more
appreciation of a
people and their
culture, and more
ways to engage with
the language.
Page 8
English Department News
AP CAPSTONE SEMINAR
New for 11th grade students next year--AP Capstone Seminar, “a foundational
course that engages students in cross-curricular conversations that explore the
complexities of academic and real-world topics and issues by analyzing
divergent perspectives.” (College Board) What does this mean for a student?
How is this different than other AP courses? The answer: it will be a
challenging, yet gratifying, year of critical thinking, analysis, research, and
collaboration that will help the student gain confidence in his/her own voice.
Students will look at other authors’ arguments through a variety of
perspectives, examine real-world issues, and develop and defend their own
credible arguments, both individually and collaboratively. This class will be
taught Zero Hour (7 a.m.) with the option of a free swap-out block off-campus.
THE AMAZING MARYVILLE HIGH SCHOOL “SHAKE”
Getting high school students college and career ready! Dr. Penny Ferguson and
Mark White created a competition for their AP English 3 and AP U.S. History
students entitled “The Amazing MHS Shake.” This competition is designed to
test students' "soft" professional skills: speaking, thinking, presenting, and
communicating with poise and passion in order to assist them with college
interviews and the scholarship application process.
Judges from all sectors of the community were on-hand February 2 to judge 25
students in three rounds of competition: Networking, Extemporaneous Speech,
and Shark Tank Marketing Pitch. Advancing to rounds 4 and 5 at the Tennessee
State Capitol in Nashville on February 6 were Marissa Hastings, Madison Moore,
Krista Nolan, and Jacob Wall, who were judged by Senator Doug Overbey and
Secretary of State Tre Hargett. Congratulations to all of these impressive
competitors. The winners of the “Shake” were Jacob Wall, first place, and
Krista Nolan, second place. Their future is indeed bright!
Continued on next page
Page 9
NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY INDUCTION ON FEBRUARY 22
Seventy juniors will be inducted into the C.D. Curtis Chapter of The National
Honor Society on February 22 in the school theatre. Keynote speaker will be
Larry Headrick, the new Athletic Director at Maryville High School. The
induction ceremony will be followed by a dessert reception in the school
library.
To qualify for membership, students must take a minimum of 3 bonus point
courses in grade 10 and 4 bonus point courses in grades 11 and 12, take
Honors, AP, or Dual Enrollment English, maintain a weighted GPA of 4.0, have
no grade below C, and have no out-of-school suspensions.
The following students will be inducted:
Elizabeth Anderson, Rebecca Birdwell, Seth Bowden, Rebecca Branton, Payton
Brown, Bailey Carnes, Cameron Cohen, Lauren Cole, Matthew Copeland, Ashlyn
Crain, Graham Crain, Amber Curtis, Cadie Davenport, George Dedes, Amy
Dickey, Sophia DiOrio, MaryFrances Gallegos, Kiera Giacomini, Jessica Greer,
Stella Hackler, Taylor Haire, Brennan Haralson, Marissa Hastings, Caroline
Heppner, Aleah Hopkins, Maria Hough,Victoria Inman, Kaitlyn Isham, Kathryn
Jackson, Grace James, Katie Kite, Aaron Klingensmith, Jenna Laughlin, Olivia
Lazar, Nicholas Legaux, Christian Markham, Natalie Meade,Madison E Moore,
Emily Newman, Krista Nolan, Ramsey Owens, Samuel Pankratz, Shivani Patel,
Vishwa Patel, Andrew Pugh, J.P. Robinette, Nicholas Rogers, Henley Sartin,
Caroline Sims, Toly Siopsis, Philip Smith, Sean Snelgrove, Erica Snell, Carmen
Solt, Angelina Sorensen, Catherine Spurlock, Jordan Tucker, Logan Tucker,
Jacob Wall, Maria Wentley, Charles Wheeler, Tommy Wheeler, Mei Lea White,
Alice Whitmire, Morgan Wilson, Leah Wolfe, Sammi Woodfin
Page 10
PE Department News
The PE Department has a "MHS Fitness Reward Card". The cards have 10
potential punches on them. Punches are earned by effort (above and beyond),
leadership, helping others, and helping to set-up or take down
equipment. When the card has been completed, students can either earn extra
credit on their grade or receive a food coupon card, thanks to Frankie Turner
at Chick-fil-a at Hunter's Crossing. There have been 5 students to earn a reward
this quarter. It has been positive and well-received by our students.
Drama Department News
The Drama Department will present Romeo, You Idiot on April 7th & 8th in the MHS
Auditorium. The show is a comedic, modern day spoof on Romeo and Juliet with a
surprise ending! Performances begin at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5
for students. Please come out and support your favorite thespian!
Contact Ms. Capozzoli for more information.
Page 11
Math Department News
Did you know the MHS Math Department helps students get ready for the
AP Calculus and AP Statistics exams? If your teenager is planning to take either
exam in May, encourage him or her to take advantage of the prep sessions.
Mrs. Porter in Room 366 offers 2-hour prep sessions in her classroom on
Saturdays and/or Sundays throughout the spring term. She holds one session
each in January and February, two sessions in March, and four to five sessions
in April and May together. Students get together and practice problems from
previously released exams, learning tips for reading the problems thoroughly,
responding with precise calculus language, and selecting time-saving strategies
in problem-solving. Dates and times are sent to students via Remind.com. If
you are interested in having your son or daughter participate, simply send the
text message @4gda44 to the number 81010. The next session will be held
Sunday, February 19, 2:00-4:00.
Mr. Kessler and Mr. Koontz hold prep sessions in May the two weeks
before the AP exam. There are four 1.5 hour sessions, with two being held
before school from 6:45 – 7:15 and two after school from 3:30 – 5:00. These
sessions provide practice problems from previously released exams, learning
tips for reading the problems thoroughly, practice responding with precise
statistics language, and a more in depth look at the final two chapters of AP
Statistics that because of time restraints in the course are covered only
topically during class time. Dates and times will be posted in Mr. Kessler and
Mr. Koontz’s rooms and on Blackboard.
Whether your teenager participates in the prep sessions or not, it is wise
to purchase an exam prep booklet. Used booklets are fine and can be
purchased at McKay’s bookstore in Knoxville or on Amazon.com. A wise idea is
to set aside at least 15 minutes per day to either try 5-10 multiple choice
practice problems or one free response question. This repetitive exposure
keeps the student’s mind sharp throughout the spring term. Longer, more
focused study times should also be set aside. The prep sessions make for great
extended practice times.