- South High School
- This Week at South
Volume 17
This Week at South Vol. 17
Good Morning South Students, Parents, Staff, and Community Members,
Please find the Weekly Bulletin for January 13th through 18th (Also Attached)
Part I: The News
2020 School Climate and Connectedness Survey Information:
In the coming weeks, South Anchorage High School and the Anchorage School District will administer the School Climate and Connectedness Survey. The purpose of this survey is to collect feedback on how well our school is serving students and families. Students will take the survey during the school day, and a link will be sent to families, and will also be available on the District’s website. More information is available in the following letter.
Mr. Overgaard and Students Collect Winter Items for Those in Need:
Near the end of first semester, one of Mr. Overgaard’s students brought in a tree to decorate his Biology classroom. Since there were no gifts underneath the tree, and students needed extra credit to help raise their averages, Mr. Overgaard offered points for clothing donations. In Mr. Overgaard’s own words, the overwhelming response from students and their families reminded him of the, “generous students who make up the majority of our hallways.” Here is a photo of the tree and the six totes holding the items students donated.
Tenth Grade Health Screening:
With the help of several wonderful volunteers, the nurse’s office will be conducting the annual 10th grade health screenings on 1/28 and 1/29/2020. The health screening consists of vision, hearing, height and weight. While the goal will be to screen all sophomores during this two day period, screening will continue until the end of the school year for those we miss. Our goal will be to provide a quality screening while minimizing class disruption and protecting students’ confidentiality. Please don’t hesitate to contact Nurse Whited if you have any questions via email at whited_susan@asdk12.org or by phone at (907)742-6289. Thanks!
Gifted Internships:
Attention Sophomores and Juniors:
Would you like to explore a career and earn credit? The Gifted Mentorship Program will begin accepting applications for the 2020-21 school year on February 1, 2020. You must meet GPA, coursework, and standardized test score requirements to qualify. Students spend 45-60 hours with a mentor in their field of interest and complete various assignments, including a final project. Mentorships are available in many fields including Engineering, Nursing, Economics, Architecture, Physics and more!
Visit the website for more information: https://www.asdk12.org/giftedmentorship
or contact the coordinator, Amber Jaasma, jaasma_amber@asdk12.org (907) 742-3841
AFJROTC Defeats 11 Teams Statewide to Win Riflery Championship:
The AFJROTC Rifle Team won their State Championship at East on Saturday.
In pursuit of the championship, they defeated 11 teams from across the state.
The team consisted of the following cadets: Trinity Heine (Captain), Jeffrey Wu, Alekzandr Wiley and Estelita Waters.
Wu took 3rd overall and Heine took 4th out of 60 athletes.
The team’s alternate, Izabel Phillips, took 10th place overall.
The team will travel to Phoenix in February for the JROTC Regional Championship.
Have a Sport/Activity Announcement?
We like to recognize our students’ accomplishments in both curricular and extracurricular activities. If you have results, announcements, or even just a stand out performance, please don’t hesitate to share it with me.
Part II: Big Ideas & Their Application:
This week’s big idea is about limiting our inputs so that we have the space to focus on what is most important. It is an idea Ryan Holiday develops in his book, Stillness is the Key, in which he re-conceptualizes ancient wisdom and suggests its application to our contemporary lives.
To begin his chapter on limiting the amount of information we choose to consume, Holiday cites the social scientist Herbert Simon, who claimed,
“A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention” (p. 30). The author expands on Simon’s idea by suggesting that we need to “filter out the inconsequential from the essential” and “if you want good output, you have to watch over the inputs.” (p.34).
In an environment permeated by ringing phones, alarms, music, and social media notifications, it is often difficult to find quiet and stillness. Yet, it is necessary for all of us if we intend to achieve our goals and continue improving.
Since learning is always our goal at South High School, and deep practice and learning require concentration and intent focus, I hope we can all reflect on what distracts us, and then say no to the inconsequential information bombarding us. Our most urgent interactions are those which occur in-person in our classrooms between students, and between students and teachers as they are engaging in the learning process.
Making sure our learning spaces are focused, efficient, and as free of inconsequential distraction as possible is a task that will require all of us to reflect on what distracts us, and to attempt to minimize its impact on our work.
Have a Great Week South!
