Central Publications won BIG again in 2012 at the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association Annual Spring Conference. The Black & Gold Newspaper won a Spartan Award, the highest award given in the state, at the April 17 conference in Lansing. The Pines Yearbook won a Gold Award, missing the Spartan on a 900-point scale by 90 points. From Central’s Black & Gold staff, 22 students won 27 different individual awards in 1st-2nd place, to honorable mention. From the Pines staff, 18 students won 26 different individual awards in 1st-3rd place to honorable mention.

We are proud of all of our students on staff at the CHS Black & Gold and Pines Yearbook. Many thanks also to our staff advisor, Missi Yeomans, for her leadership and support for these outstanding programs.

 

On Friday, March 9th, and Saturday, March 10th, students from TC Central High School Raptors competed in the Traverse City FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics District Competition hosted by TC Central High School.

The FIRST Robotics Competition challenges high school students (working with professional mentors) to design and build a robot to contend in the competitions that measure the effectiveness of each robot, the power of collaboration, and the determination of students.

Forty Michigan high schools brought hundreds of students, teachers, mentors, sponsors, and family members to participate in the event. This exciting, high-tech sporting event was exciting for spectators and participants alike, as teams competed for honors and recognition that rewarded design excellence, sportsmanship, and teamwork. The team achieved outstanding results by making it to the finals of the competition.

In addition to being honored as the district finalists, the Raptors received the Entrepreneurship Award. This award is given to a team that has developed a comprehensive business plan in order to define, manage, and achieve team objectives. The team that is given the Entrepreneurship Award displays entrepreneurial enthusiasm and the vital business skills to ensure a self-sustaining program.

The Raptors also won the Chairman’s Award at the Kettering University FIRST Robotics District Competition and have automatically qualified for the Michigan FIRST Robotics Competition State Championship, which will be held April 12-14 at Eastern Michigan University. The Raptors hope to qualify for the FIRST Championship held April 25-28 in St. Louis, Missouri.

At CHS, we are extremely proud of the Raptors. They have competed at high levels and have represented CHS well. Please join me in congratulating them on their performance. They are a great example of academic excellence in a “real world setting.” Thanks go out to teachers and parent mentors for their time and contribution to this incredibly important team. To the members of the Raptors team go our thanks for seizing an amazing opportunity and representing our school so well in this area of academic pursuit.

Rick Vandermolen

 

On March 6, 7, and 8, Central High School will be conducting the ACT/MME testing for all Juniors, PLAN testing for all Sophomores, EXPLORE testing for all Freshmen, and the Senior Career Focus for all Seniors.

The ACT/MME is required for all Juniors in the State of Michigan. On March 6, all Juniors will be taking the ACT Plus Writing test from 8:00 a.m. to approximately 1:00 p.m. The ACT Plus Writing is designed to assess a student's college-readiness. On March 7, the second component of testing for all Juniors is the WorkKeys test, which is from 8:00 a.m. to approximately 11:15 a.m. The WorkKeys is designed to measure a student's preparedness for workplace-Math, -Writing, and -Reading. On March 8, all Juniors will be taking the Michigan Merit Exam (MME) from 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The MME is designed to measure students' learning regarding the Content Expectations of the State Curriculum for Math, English, Science, and Social Studies.

The PLAN and EXPLORE tests are required for all Sophomores and Freshmen and will take place on March 8 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. These assessments are designed to measure a student's progress towards college readiness and readiness for the ACT test.

The Senior Career Focus is a two-part experience required for all Seniors prior to graduation. Seniors are to arrange for a Job Shadow experience or a Community Service experience to be conducted outside of school on March 6, 7, and 8. Seniors are responsible for arranging one of those two types of experiences and will need to account for their having completed one of those types of experiences. In addition, each senior is expected to have fully completed his or her Educational Development Plan (EDP) by the morning of March 8. If not, they are required to report to the school cafeteria at 8:00 a.m. on March 8 in order to complete the EDP in a supervised setting. Students who do not have their EDP completed by March 8 and who do not report for the 8:00 a.m. supervised session will then meet with their building principal to arrange a make-up session after the Seniors’ traditional last day of school.

Please take time to discuss these important items with your son or daughter. It is very important all students are in attendance and demonstrate their understanding and knowledge by participating in the State testing-window. Your cooperation and support with this is greatly appreciated.

Rick Vandermolen

 

The Noon Activity Program (NAP) offers students a fun environment to enjoy a variety of activities with their friends. Students are given permission to participate in this program once they have finished eating in the cafeteria. To create this program and allow it to expand to meet students’ needs and hopes for noon activity we need positive adult role models for high school students at Traverse City Central High School during the lunch hours. Volunteers are welcome on the day(s) of their choice for all lunch periods or a timeframe of their choice on Monday and Friday 10:30 a.m. to 12:35 p.m. and Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday 10:50 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. Volunteers are encouraged to interact with students while helping supervise. Teens play basketball, Wii, cards, ping-pong, board games and more! All TCAPS volunteers must complete a volunteer application with a background check (free of charge). You will be contacted prior to volunteering to complete this requirement.

If you are interested in speaking about this opportunity, please contact me at 933-3501 or Administrative Assistant Julie Waligorski at 933-3501.

Thank you,

Rick Vandermolen

 

Dear Parent/Guardian:

With the winter season upon us, the atmosphere at school has changed significantly. It feels like the students are ready and prepared for the big snows that grace Traverse City. (I think they are just thinking forward to snow days!) In any matter, the energy in the school is electric and students are ready to move forward in their educational adventure.

Ninth grade is a year of “exploration” for most students. It is important for students to engage in thoughtful conversation about their first year in high school as they move into the next. This conversation takes place between the student and parents/guardians. This student-led conference conversation is called the Freshmen Roundtable.

The Freshman Roundtable is a student-led conference where students have the opportunity to lead a discussion about their progress over the year, and goals for the coming year. In order to lead this discussion, students will be expected to give an 8-10 minute thoughtful presentation about their year while referencing their e-portfolio. Students will be preparing their e-portfolio and practicing their student-led conference during advisory in the 2nd trimester. Clear guidelines describing what they should talk about are provided to students. The entire Roundtable conference will last 15-20 minutes.

Freshman Roundtable
Who: Student and Parent/Guardian/Representative
Location: Traverse City Central High School
Date: February 2, 2012
Time: 4:30 PM - 7:30 PM

I hope everyone had a wonderful winter break and looks forward to continuing this wonderful school year in 2012!

Submitted by - Jay Larner,
9th Grade Assistant Principal

 

In an important article (“Rigor Redefined”) by author Tony Wagner, he writes about what it will take for students to build successful careers and be good citizens!

He speaks of one conversation with Clay Parker, president of the Chemical Management Division of BOD Edwards—a company that makes machines and supplies chemicals for the manufacture of microelectronics devices. Wagner asked Parker about the skills he looks for when he hires young people. “First and foremost, I look for someone who asks good questions,” Parker responded. “I want people who can engage in good discussion—who can look me in the eye and have a give and take. All of our work is done in teams. You have to know how to work well with others. But you also have to know how to engage customers. If you can’t engage others, then you won’t learn what you need to know.”

Mr. Wagner writes that today’s students need to master seven survival skills to thrive in the new world of work. And these skills are the same ones that will enable students to become productive citizens who contribute to solving some of the most pressing issues we face in the 21st Century.

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
The heart of critical thinking and problem solving is the ability to ask the right questions. A senior executive from Dell said, “Yesterday’s answers won’t solve today’s problems.”

Collaboration and Leadership
Teamwork is no longer just about working with others in your building. Christie Pedra, CEP of Siemens, explained, “Technology has allowed for virtual teams.”

Agility and Adaptability
Students need to think, be flexible, change, and use a variety of tools to solve new problems.

Initiative and Entrepreneurialism
Mark Chandler, senior vice president at Cisco Systems, spoke regarding initiative, “You’ll never be blamed for failing to reach a stretch goal, but you will be blamed for not trying. One of the problems of a large company is risk aversion.”

Effective Oral and Written Communication
Mike Summers of Dell said, “We are routinely surprised at the difficulty some young people have in communicating: verbal skills, written skills, presentation skills.” The complaints heard most frequently from various companies were about fuzzy thinking and young people not knowing how to write with a real voice.

Accessing and Analyzing Information
Employees in the 21st Century have to manage an astronomical amount of information daily. Not only is quantity of knowledge a challenge but how rapidly information is changing. Neil Rudenstine, Harvard University president in the 1990’s, was heard in a speech saying the half-life of knowledge in the humanities is 10 years, and in math and science, it’s only two or three years.

Curiosity and Imagination
“People who’ve learned to ask great questions and have learned to be inquisitive are the ones who move the fastest in our environment because they solve the biggest problems in ways that have the most impact on innovation,” said Mike Summers.

Daniel Pink, the author of A Whole New Mind, notes that developing young people’s capacities for imagination, creativity, and empathy will be increasingly important for maintaining the United States’ competitive advantage in the future.

As a result of this article and others, CHS continues to strive to create an environment of greater academic achievement and post-secondary readiness for every student in the 21st Century.

 

The following information comes to you from our Academies Director, Sean Jones:

The 2011-12 school year has ushered in the Academies era at Central. Though at first glance the new approach may not seem obvious, a closer look reveals a structure carefully designed to meet the needs of all our students.

One way this occurs is by increasing the relevancy of our diverse curriculums. Beginning this year, freshmen students are housed in our Freshmen Academy where students work closely with their teachers and their peers as they explore their own academic interests, goals, and strengths in preparation for our thematic Academies at the 10th – 12th grades. Many of the students now enrolled in those Academies are now encountering curriculums and material that are more closely aligned with the interests of our student population.

As a way of kicking off our inaugural year, our four Strands, which are housed within our two thematic Academies, have earlier this year hosted a “meet and greet” for students where staff and students got together to celebrate our newly founded academies and to share plans for the rest of the year.

Additionally, all four Strands are currently planning three, two-hour events geared toward each Strand’s specific theme and will involve bringing in members of our community from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines and will provide a tremendous opportunity for our students to have a real-world, hands-on experience in an academic area that is of interest to them.

Lastly, our new Academies have caught the attention of at least one major university and many prominent community resources. We, at Central, are pleased to announce that Michigan State University has expressed an interest in forming a partnership with our Humanities and Social Thought Academy and MSU’s Residential College of Art and Humanities. Through our collaboration with the City Opera House and MSU’s Wharton Center, all Strands are excited to welcome professional Shakespearian actors from Stratford, Ontario into our classrooms the week of October 31st in an attempt to provide further authentic educational experiences for our students.

Sean Jones
Academies Director

 

Recently, one of the students who graduated from the Class of 2011 came back to CHS to “give back.” Mr. Jake Ansorge graduated in June 2011 but his journey to get his diploma was difficult. Jake arrived at CHS in the fall of 2009 from the TCAPS expulsion school. During his junior and senior year Jake joined the wrestling team and attended the Traverse Bay Area Career Tech Center for precision machining.