Changes to the 9th Grade Research Project
Dear Albany High School Community:
The 9th Grade Humanities team is excited to announce changes to the annual 9th grade research project.
For more than ten years, the third-quarter 9th grade research project has been a debate project, designed to showcase students’ abilities to ethically conduct research, write persuasively, speak and present effectively to a public audience, and work cooperatively as a team.
The 9th Grade Humanities team has retained all of these learning goals, but revised the project in order to better reinforce values of consensus-building and civic engagement.
Our new third-quarter 9th grade research project is now called the Forum Project. Instead of two teams debating opposite sides of a topic, the teams will now engage in a public consensus-building process around a social problem.
The Forum Project will still require students to ethically conduct research, write persuasively, speak and present effectively to a public audience, and work cooperatively as a team. Teams will still deliver both planned and extemporized statements to an audience and a panel of judges. Teams will also continue to probe assumptions and question each other.
We are already very impressed with the abilities of this year’s 9th grade class, and we look forward to working with the students on this exciting project!
The 9th Grade Humanities Team
David Blinn, English
Diane Francis, IHS and English
Sean Krazit, English
Sara Oremland, Teacher-Librarian
Jessica Park, English
Juliet Radford, IHS
Emily Surowitz, IHS
Alexia Ritchie, Principal
Amazon Smile for Albany High School PTSA
Do you shop on Amazon? If so please use smile.amazon.com and select Albany High School PTSA as your charity.
To select Albany High School PTSA as your charity. Select your username in Amazon and find "Your AmazonSmile".
Thank you for helping the Albany High School PTSA
Last Chance for Senior Portrait Retakes
Senior portrait retakes will occur on Mon 10/16 - Wed 10/18 in the Library. This is the LAST CHANCE for portraits to be taken on campus. Please see the attendance office or Ms. Radford in 206 if you are uncertain of your scheduled appointment time. If you need to change your appointment or schedule a retake, please contact Prestige by going to www.prestigeportraits.com; on the main screen you can "confirm or reschedule your appointment." If you do not have an access code, you can enter 1234-5678.
We Need Your Input to Help Shape AUSD Schools!
AUSD Parents, Staff, Students & Community Members,
What?
We need your input to help shape AUSD schools by assisting us in prioritizing programs, positions, and policies while we balance the AUSD budget. Your input is needed in two specific areas: 1) Helping us determine what the AUSD community considers a priority, what we need to improve upon, what areas could be reduced and how; and 2) Helping us develop a timeline to make these permanent and ongoing reductions.
Why?
The need to make these reductions came about from the State changing the way it funds schools and transferring escalating State retirement costs to districts. Over the next few years, we need to reduce ongoing expenditures by $3 million dollars or increase our revenues. The reductions must be made to align expenditures with the flattening of State revenues.
How?
We are asking AUSD community members to provide your needed and valued input by filling out the Budget Priorities Survey and answering the following questions:
In order to balance the budget, we need to make permanent and overall reductions of $3 million. How do you want to implement these reductions?
- What should we reduce?
- Why should we reduce it?
- What should we maintain?
- What should we improve on?
When?
We are collecting stakeholder input between September & October.
Where?
Several Budget Priorities presentations are planned throughout the community throughout September - November.
AUSD community members are invited to attend a Town Hall meeting on Saturday, October 21st in the Albany Middle School gymnasium (time TBD).
Board of Education Meetings on December 5th & 12th and January 9th & 16th will continue the budget priorities process.
For more information click here to access the Budget Watch section of the website.
Thank you,
Valerie Williams, Superintendent
Help The Library Reach Its Fundraising Goal
With two weeks to go, the Library is just under 70% of its fundraising goal! One last push and they'll be there!
Order A Yearbook Before Prices Go Up
Purchase before the end of October to get the opening day price of $85. Call or click the image and enter AHS Job # 12564
Parent Volunteers Needed to Adimister PSAT
Parent volunteers are needed to help with the PSAT administration on Saturday, October 14. Volunteers distribute materials and assist teachers with monitoring students during testing. Please contact Ms. Reimuller, Assistant Principal, if you are available from either 7:45-10:00a or 10:00a-12:45p. Thank you! ereimuller@ausdk12.org | 510-558-2503
Cash For College: 10/4 @ 6:30p in the Library
What: Cash For College
When: Wednesday, October 4th at 6:30p
Where: AHS Library
AHS Seniors and their parents are invited to attend this workshop to receive help completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or California Dream Act (CADAA) and Chafee Grant for Foster Youth applications.
To attend students must register for the workshop online at bit.ly/C4CatAHS17. Then each student and parent must create a separate Federal Student Aid ID before arriving at the workshop.
*See this list of THINGS TO BRING with you in order to complete the application successfully.
Help Support The PTSA
Dear AHS families,
Good to see you all earlier this month at the AHS Back to School Night! Do you know what funding the PTSA (Parent Teacher Student Association) makes possible? More than I ever realized and possibly you too (I will share the big list with you next week)! If you need no convincing, we look forward to your contribution to PTSA today! We hope to reach the goal of 10% family contributors to 100% and will share the progress as we go. Everything counts! Thanks to the families that have already contributed our amazing high school!
Here's the link to make it easy for the rest of us: http://AHS.ausdk12.org/ptsa/
Cheers,
Tracey
PTSA Vice President
Winter Sports Tryouts Are Just Around The Corner
Below is some important information that will help you prepare for the upcoming winter sports season.
Online Registration Window (Oct. 1st-Nov. 2nd)
Registration for Winter sports will be accepted from Sunday, Oct. 1st @ 8:00am-Thursday, Nov. 2nd @ 3:00pm. Late registration will take place between Nov. 6th - Nov. 9th ONLY. Late registrants will not be cleared to tryout/practice until Monday, Nov. 13th. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Please be sure to follow all instructions on the athletic registration webpage. Register online.
Medical Clearance Forms
Students are required to have a physical examination certifying that the student is fit to participate in extracurricular athletics. The Medical Clearance Form must be completed and signed by a physician each school year on or after July 1st. Any Medical Clearance form signed by the doctor before July 1st (June 1st-Football only) cannot be accepted. Medical Clearance Forms must be uploaded to your online athletic registration account in order to be cleared. No hard or email copies will be accepted.
Medical Clearance Forms can be downloaded here.
Tryout Information
Winter Sports tryouts are scheduled to begin on Monday, Nov. 6th after school. For exact tryout/practice locations and times, you should contact your respective coach directly. Coach contact information can be found here.
Winter Sports Parent Meeting
Our Winter Sports Parent Meeting will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 14th at 7:00pm in the AHS gym. All parents of students participating on a winter sports team are expected to attend this informative meeting. Please make it a priority to attend!
Albany Athletics Website
Be sure to visit the Albany Athletics website @ GoAlbanyAthletics.org. Please be sure to use this new site to find all Albany Athletics related information. Most information will no longer be available on the AHS website.
GO ALBANY!