From the Principal's Desk - Hall County Schools

CHESTATEE HIGH SCHOOLChestatee HighSchoolC HESTATEE HIGH SCHO OLM ARCH 2, 2011From the Principal’sDeskDear CHS Family,I hope this message finds you and your family in a happy and healthy state. Aswe see the season change and the weather warm, we also see new opportunitiesfor our students. Many of our seniors are breathing a sigh of relief as they arefinishing the college application process and are now playing the waitinggame. Our underclassmen are making plans for how to complete this year andmake next year even better! The Chestatee faculty and staff are also in thatsame process of trying to put together a strong finish to the school year and preparingto make next year even more exciting. Please monitor our website dailyfor school updates and the calendar of upcoming events.Chestatee High School3005 Sardis RoadGainesville, GA 30506770-532-1162Chip Underwood, Interim PrincipalAssistant PrincipalsGary BrownChristy CantrellLorraine CronicChestatee...theplace to be!Chip UnderwoodInterim Principal/Athletic DirectorChestatee High Schoolwww.hallco.org/chsPre-Registration 2011Pre-Registration begins February 28 th . Each student will be getting aHigh School Planning Guide and their transcript during an extended advisementperiod. These documents are vitally important in the registrationprocess. Please talk with your students about their classes for nextyear and be looking for their course request sheet on Friday, March 4 th .These sheets must be signed by a parent and returned the following weekto homeroom advisors.We invite you to join theHall County Parent Portal.With this connection youwill be able to monitor yourstudent's current informationon attendance, grades,schedule, and upcomingassignments. Visit us athttp://www.hallco.org/chs/site/index.php and followthe quick link for parentstitled, ―Infinite Campus LogIn.‖ Contact your school’soffice for instructions onhow to obtain an ActivationKey.

P AGE 2From the Counselors’ OfficeC HESTATEE HIGH SCHOO LNEW! Student Laptop PolicyStudents and Parents – with possible changes to the HOPE scholarshipprogram, it is very important for students to keep track of theirHOPE grade point average. Please follow the directions below to seea student’s HOPE progress report. Progress reports will be updatedagain this summer.HOPE ScholarshipStudents can access their HOPE Scholarship preliminary grade pointaverage (GPA) on GA College 411. Please follow these instructions.The website is www.GAcollege411.org.1. Click on ―Your HOPE GPA‖ on the right side of page.2. Sign in or if you are new to GA 411, create an account.3. Follow directions for viewing your HOPE GPA.You will be able to view any information available on your highschool HOPE GPA. This information is preliminary. The finalHOPE eligibility will be determined after a student graduates.Chestatee High School appreciates the fact that students are willingto bring in personally owned computer equipment to be used forschoolwork. Procedure for student laptops: Students must have a signed laptop form before bringing alaptop to school, as the school WILL NOT be responsible forany damage/theft. A parent signature is required. The form is available on the CHS website under theDownloads section in the General folder. All forms must be turned into the CHS Media Specialist to bekept on file. When the student turns in the completed form, the CHS MediaSpecialist will give the student a ―CHS Laptop Consent‖sticker. This sticker must be visible on the laptop when thelaptop is in use at school.Remember, just because one teacher allows the laptop in his/herclass does not mean all teachers do. This is strictly the choice of theindividual teachers. Teachers allowing the student to use the laptopin their class will sign the permission form, also.CHS Media CenterNew! CHS Media Center BlogOur new media center blog is up and running. Visit itat http://finditatchs.blogspot.com . The blog featuresupcoming CHS media center events and book reviewsby students. Students may submit book reviews forposting by emailing CHS media specialist,jennifer.parker@hallco.org. Check it out.Media Center Overdue& Fine Notices will bedistributed to students,Thursday, March 3rd.Please ask your student if theyreceived an overdue noticeand help them return latemedia center items.Student Check-out for Media Center Audio BooksThere is a new resource in the CHS media center….DigitalAudio books! Students may check out aMP3 player pre-loaded with a complete unabridgedaudio book. Just plug your headphones in and enjoy!Students wishing to check out an audio book MP3player must have a signed parent permission form thatspecifies the student is responsible for the replacementcost if the player is lost, stolen, or damaged. Thisform is available on the CHS webpage under theDownloads section in the General folder.

C HESTATEE HIGH SCHOO L P AGE 3Congratulations to CHS Reading Bowl TeamHall County Champions and North Region 3 rd Place WinnersFront Row from Left: Kenny Nguyen, CourtneyHall, Kerstin Smith; Back Row from Left:Sandra Cardoso, Sonia Alcantar, RebeccaDefoe, Erika Alcantar; (not pictured: MerleManuel)The Chestatee High Reading Bowl team placed 3 rdin this year’s high school division Helen RuffinReading Bowl North Region competition on Saturday,February 5 th at Pickens County Middle School.The team included eight students: Erika Alcantar,Sonia Alcantar, Sandra Cardoso, Rebecca Defoe,Courtney Hall, Merle Manuel, Kenny Nguyen, andKerstin Smith. The CHS Reading Bowl team placedfirst place in the Hall County High School LocalHelen Ruffin Reading Bowl Competition onWednesday, January 26 th to secure a spot representingHall County in the region competition. The teamis advised by CHS teachers Mrs. Jennifer Parker andMrs. Rebecca Hamby17 Competing at the Georgia HOSA Leadership and Skills ConferenceWe all know that healthcare continues to be a rapidly growing profession, and here at Chestatee H.S., interest in this field is growingas well. The healthcare science club (HOSA) is busting at the seams! Membership has reached the highest number ever at 112.Seventeen of those members have qualified through winning region competitions and are currently working hard to prepare to competeat the state level on March 3-5 th in Athens.Our students are competing in areas that range from clinical skills such as Home Health Aide, CPR & First Aid, Veterinary Assistingand Sports Medicine to knowledge based events such as Dental Terminology/Dental Spelling, Pathophysiology and HumanGrowth & Development. This year we also have students competing in the Juvenile Diabetes National Service Project and MedicalPhotography as well as a Medical Reading Team event.As if that wasn’t enough, two of our students—Hali Atkinson and Morgan Waters—are not only competing in the clinical skillsareas but they also have submitted entries into the HOSA State Pin design and State theme contests.It’s been a hectic but great year so far and we have high expectations that we will have students that go on to compete at the NationalHOSA Conference this June in Anaheim, CA. We’ll keep you posted!Upcoming FIRST Robotics Competition Field Trip for Physical Science classesOn March 18 th , the 9 th grade Physical Science Classes will be travelingto the Gwinnett Center on a field trip to visit the FIRST Robotics Competition.The FIRST Robotics Competition challenges teams of young people andtheir mentors to solve a common problem in a six-week timeframe usinga standard "kit of parts" and a common set of rules. Teams build robotsfrom the parts and enter them in competitions.

C HESTATEE HIGH SCHOO L P AGE 5DECA NewsCHS DECA competed against over2,000 high school students from acrossGeorgia at DECA state competition!The winners will be advancing to Nationalsin Orlando at the end of April. CHS DECA: Outstanding DECAChapter KayLynn Samples: 1 st Place PublicRelations Campaign, 2 nd PlaceEntrepreneurship Franchise, VicePresident Georgia DECA 2011-2012, outstanding DECA Member Lance Pulliam & Hailey Smith,Hospitality Business OperationsResearch Whitney Brechter: GeorgiaDECA Memorial ScholarshipWinner, Outstanding DECAMember, 5 th place General MarketingKatelyn White: 3 rd Place CivicConsciousnessSamantha Robbins: 3 rd PlaceBusiness SpeechTop 6 Advertising Campaign: BlakelyHaff, Kaylan Senter, and PeytonChambliss Learn and Earn: Kelsey Neukumand Taylor Wilson Community Service: Ariela Centenoand Krishi Patel Creative Marketing Plan: BrookeOdom 7 th place: Fashion PromotionPlan: Gracie Peck, Christen Watkins,Taylor Jarrard.CHS Star StudentMichael Reynolds earns CHS StarStudent distinction.College: Likely Yale UniversityIntended major: Undecided, possiblysomething in pursuit of lawschoolOutlook: "College is one of thefew opportunities in life for one totruly start over and reinvent oneself."STAR Teacher: Ernest Davis,governmentReynolds on Davis: "Through hisunconventional opinions on historicalissues, he has shown me thatthere are two sides to every argumentor event. He has also taughtme to think critically."Excerpt from The Gainesville Times, Feb. 22, 2011