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Show Thursday, May 15, 2008 Pag 4 AMERICAN FORK CITIZEN NEWS AND IDEAS FROM CLASSROOMS AND EDUCATORS f 1 Walter Passi, Brent Anderson and Dallin Osmun, recipients of scholarships from Novell and the State Office of Education. Cavemen awarded scholarships from Novell Sherilyn Frost NORTH COUNTY STAFF Three students from American Ameri-can Fork High School were recently awarded three scholarships schol-arships from Novell and the State Office of Education. This state-wide scholarship competition competi-tion only awards five scholarships scholar-ships annually. Walter Passi was the highest scholarship recipient at $4,000 with Brent Anderson and Dal Teacher awarded highest recognition in math and science Barbara Christiansen NORTH COUNTY STAFF American Fork Junior High School math teacher Travis Lemon has received a Presidential Presi-dential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. He is one of 50 in the nation to earn the award. "There is one math and one science teacher from each state and U.S. territory," Lemon said. "They can give out as many as 108 awards. This year they gave 99." The Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) is the highest recognition that a kindergarten through 12th-grade mathematics or science teacher may receive for outstanding teaching in the United States, according to the group's West site. Enacted by Congress in 1983. this program pro-gram authorizes the President to bestow up to 108 awards each year. The National Science Sci-ence Foundation administers PAEMST on behalf of The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Teachers are nominated for the honor and have to submit applications, including a video tape of one of their lessons and an analysis of it. "It takes about 20-30 pages of writing," Lemon said. "It goes to the state level and they select three math and three science sci-ence teachers. Then the National Nation-al Science Foundation picks one for each state and area." Along with the honor, Lemon Lem-on got a trip to Washington, D.C. for a week with his wife Marnee. "One of the biggest highlights high-lights was a dinner at the State Department," he said. "It was amazing. The dining hall was very ornate and was done up in the Colonial time period." He said one of the speakers was a teacher who had become an astronaut. "She came and spoke that evening," he said. "She did an excellent job, talking about teachers who had inspired her and how she became interested in being an astronaut. She told about things that she thinks we should keep doing." Lemon learned of his honor Show Your True Colors free sports news, chat, forums, photos www.heraldcxtru.com X , ' ' ; J 1 . Li- h 1 1 i I I Wl I ; ; lin Osmun at $2,000 each. According to advisor Lynne Yocom, these students excel technically in the areas of servers serv-ers and networks. "Along with their scholarships scholar-ships these students were VIP guests along with their parents to BrainShare 2008 held March 16th-20th in Salt Lake at the Salt Palace," said Yocom. John Dragoon, Novell's senior se-nior vice president and chief marketing officer, presented Travis Lemon in his classroom at in an unusual way. "I was working with the local arrangement committee for a national conference of teachers of math, held in Salt Lake," he said. "My wife was checking e-mails and found out (about the award. She called me." Despite the lack of initial fanfare, fan-fare, he said he was pleased. "It is exciting and thrilling," he said. "You do have some questionable thoughts, though. Of all the amazing teachers out there, they picked me. There are so many great and excellent excel-lent teachers." In addition to the all-expense paid trip, Lemon received a $10,000 cash award. "I probably will do some project around my house," he said. "On a lighter note, I will be using it to buy gasoline." He will also use some to improve im-prove his school surroundings. "I am always looking to im JI)1 " the winners during Brainshare. At a private ceremony, Mary Jo Swenson, Vice President of Novell Training Services, presented the winners with additional gifts totaling more than $1,000 in value. Yocom added. "The students and their parents were overwhelmed over-whelmed with the generosity and encouragement that Novell showed to these scholarship recipients. Novell recognizes that these students are the : Jr . '. . v..- ; t 0 1 BARBARA CHRISTIANSENNorth County American Fork Junior High School. prove my classroom," he said. Whether or not he earns awards, he said the job is fulfilling. ful-filling. "I love teaching," he said. "It is so fun to see the students grow and learn and develop the ability to reason and problem prob-lem solve. Teaching math is perfect for that to watch them make sense, help each other figure out solutions. I love it not only when they have answers but understand why things are working and how they connect to each other." Lemon also said that he likes the grade levels he teaches. "I really enjoy the junior high school age," he said. "I think they are full of energy. They are full of excitement, wanting to participate and learn. They also present a challenge chal-lenge because of an overabundance overabun-dance of noise, especially this time of the school year." "They still are very impres Lynne Yocom future and this type of encouragement encour-agement is needed to promote technology education." "American Fork High School has benefitted from this academic partnering and looks forward in continuing to work with Novell," said Yocom. She and the school offer a special thanks to Ray Noorda (1924-2006) (1924-2006) for his foresight in partnering part-nering Novell with the State. Office of Education to fund this scholarship. 0 sionable and eager to learn," he said. "You can help them and persuade them they really can do it." He wants the students to understand why they do something some-thing instead of just doing it. "I try to give students opportunities op-portunities to look at multiple representations of things," he said. "I try to encourage them to come up with solutions in many different ways and connect con-nect those so they can gain insight, knowledge and their own understanding. They can see the bigger picture and understand how things all fit together." Despite the variety of ways the students can come up with an answer, that answer still have to be correct. "I still require that things are accurate, correct and valid," he said. "There is more than one way to do some things. I help them understand that." ALL HIGH SCHOOLS Summer school Summer school will held at Lehi High and Mountain View High for any high school student who needs to attend. Two blocks will be held: June 2-20 and June 25 thru July 18. The cost is $25 which is reimbursable when the class is passed. Attendance At-tendance is mandatory; students stu-dents can not miss any more than 2 days or they will not get credit. Class sizes are limited lim-ited and are on a first come, first serve basis. Ampriran Fnrk Hidh HllltJMUdll lUllvniyil School Spring concert The spring orchestra concert will be tonight at 6 and 7 p.m. in the school's auditorium. Community Commu-nity members are invited and encouraged to attend. Admission Admis-sion is free. Registration Incoming sophomores for next year will be able to register for classes online through the end of today. to-day. Information was given to students at ninth-grade orientation. orien-tation. For more information, contact the Counseling Center at either AFHS or AF Junior High. Retirement A retirement open house for head custodian Gary Rackman, guidance counselor Bruce Hoggard and finance secretary Kathy Evans Ev-ans will be Monday from 2:15 to 4 p.m. in the school's Media Center. All are invited to attend at-tend and wish these retirees well in their new adventure. Yearbooks Yearbook wristbands will be distributed Tuesday. Anyone who has purchased a yearbook but owes more than $15 in fines or fees will not receive their wristband until the fines are cleared. The finance will be closed tomorrow and will not re-open until after yearbook wristbands are distributed on Tuesday. Students that fines or fee $15 or under will have that finefee applied to their $15 book deposit refund. Scholarship and awards night The annual scholarship scholar-ship and awards night will be Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. audi-torium. This is an opportunity to congratulate and celebrate the many awards and accomplishments accom-plishments that the students of American Fork High earn and receive. Senior Sluff Day The Senior Se-nior Sluff Day at Aspen Grove will be Wednesday. All participating partic-ipating students must ride the bus to and from Aspen Grove. Soccer tryouts The high school boys soccer coaches will be holding tryouts for a U15 AAA team (Xtreme Soccer Soc-cer Club) on Saturday, May 24 at 9 a.m. at the high school soccer field. Any interested boy 15 or younger is invited to attend. For more information, contact Wayne Prestgard, 472-7686. Fines and fees Statements were recently sent out to anyone owing more than $15 in fines or fees. Parents and students are reminded that all fines and fees must be paid before a purchased yearbook can be obtained. Flower Patch donations The Flower Patch will donate $ 1 to AFHS for any order that the faculty, staff, students or patrons make. To participate, simply indicate AFHS when placing an order. Senior party tickets Senior Se-nior party tickets to Boondocks Boon-docks are on sale at the student finance office for $35. The party will be May 29 from 9:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. All students that plan to attend must ride the bus. Gold and silver cords Gold and silver cords are now available to purchase at the student finance office for $5. Gold cord eligibility requires a 3.8 to 4.0 cumulative GPA and silver cord eligibility requires a 3.6 to 3.79 cumulative GPA. Makeup days There are only three more days for attendance at-tendance makeup or tardy makeup. They are next Tuesday, Tues-day, Wednesday and Thursday Thurs-day morning. Tardy school is held in the cafeteria at 6:45 a.m. and attendance school is held in room 101 at 6:15 a.m. The last day to make up any tardy or absence is Thursday. May 22. American Fork Junior High Yearbooks There are less than 100 yearbooks left. Yearbooks can be purchased at the finance office for $40. Yearbook distribution will be May 29. All fines must be paid "-JS-'fflSg1 school boys soccer coaches will be holding tryouts for a U15 AAA team (Xtreme Soccer Soc-cer Club) on Saturday, May 24 at 9 a.m. at the high school soccer field. Any interested boy 15 or younger is invited to attend. For more information, contact Wayne Prestgard, 472-7686. Lagoon Day All qualifying qualify-ing freshmen are invited to go to Lagoon on Wednesday, May 28. The cost is $24 paid to Lagoon and $6 paid to AFJH for transportation. The transportation fee and the s00" ticket fee must not combined in the same check. Students should also provide their own lunch. Summer school Summer school will be available for any student needing to make up credit. As a reminder, students may make up a maximum of 2 quarter credits in math, English or science. Summer school will run from June 9-20 with the first session ses-sion from 8 to 9:55 a.m. and the second session from 10 to 11:55 a.m. The cost is $40 for one session ses-sion or $75 for two sessions. The classes fill on a first come, first serve basis. Applications Ap-plications are available in the counseling office. Locker checks Lockers will be checked and fines assessed on May 21 after 3 p.m. Students will need to have everything out of their locker, the locker cleaned and all books turned in to avoid a fine. Refunds Refunds will be given to students the last day of school. Students who are not at school may pick up their refund through June 13 at the front office. Any refund not picked up by June 13 will be considered a donation to the school for textbooks and supplies. School Web site The school Web site, afjh.alpine. kl2.ut.us, is a great resource for students as well as parents. par-ents. Parents and students are encouraged to browse the school's Web site to get answers to questions or to get information about upcoming activities. Late bus The late bus is continuing to run every Tuesday and Wednesday at 4 p.m. through the end of the year. It stops at the elementary elemen-tary schools and American Fork High School. The bus is for students who have stayed after school for tutoring by teachers. Students must get a ticket from the teacher they work with. Forbes Elementary Fifth-grade field trip The fifth-grade classes will have the opportunity to attend the Space Center either May 16 or May 20. The sixth-grade classes class-es will have the opportunity to attend the Space Center May 20-21. Dean open house An open house for retiring Forbes principal, Dr. Larry Dean, will be Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m. All former students as well as patrons, friends and faculty are invited to attend and participate in wishing Dr. Dean well in his new adventure. adven-ture. Talent show The school talent show will be next Thursday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Parents are invited to attend. Dance festival The dance festival and field day will be Friday, May 23. Parents are invited to attend. Shelley Elementary Library books All library books are due this week. Students Stu-dents should turn in all library books by the end of school tomorrow. Core testing The state core testing window will run tomorrow. Parents are asked to help their students to avoid absences. Science testing On-line science testing for fourth grade students will be Monday Mon-day and Tuesday. Parents are asked to help their students avoid absences. Swim lessons The fifth grade students will have the opportunity to participate in . swim lessons at the Fitness Center May 19-21 and May 27-28 27-28 during school hours. Danct festival dress rehears al The dance festival dress rehearsal will be next Thursday. Thurs-day. The dance festival and field day will be Friday, May 23. All students in grades 1-6 will attend school on this day from 9: 15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. III M h |