SCHOOL-WIDE CHESS COMPETITION RESULTS

Fulton Science Academy Private School held its 3rd Annual School-Wide Chess Tournament this past Friday, September 19th, 2014. We had over 30 participants from elementary and middle school level. It was the most competitive Chess Tournament that FSA ever had. Final four in each division took about two hours. Please see the results here:

MIDDLE SCHOOL WINNERS

1st Place - Charlie Furniss  

2nd Place - Vishaal Ram

3rd Place - Arul Selvakumar & Tyler Hecht

Fulton Science Academy

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WINNERS

1st Place -  Pranav Devalapalli 

2nd Place -  Niyomi Shah

3rd Place -  Bhavin Shah

Fulton Science Academy

The winners in elementary and middle grade levels were awarded with the following:

1st Place - $50 Barnes & Noble Gift Card

2nd Place - $40 Barnes & Noble Gift Card 

3rd Place - $30 Barnes $ Noble Gift Card

FUTURE SCIENTISTS AT FSAPS!

This week in Kindergarten, the students were able to create a plan, a design, and test their design during one of our Science activities. They have been learning about why scientists create plans in order to solve a problem that may arise. The students in Ms. P's class were so excited to become scientists for the afternoon in order to test their designs and determine if their ideas would work! All of our classmates worked very hard on creating something very interesting for their classmates to observe, and enjoyed having the opportunity to test their own ideas. Kindergarten at FSAPS loves Science Class!!

This week Mrs. Whitlock's first grade class is wrapping up studying the design process. We've been learning how inventors and engineers use the design process to solve problems through designing multiple prototypes until they find a solution. We have designed spinning tops and aluminum foil boats to practice designing and redesigning our prototypes. Our class has loved practicing strategies real scientists use!

Fulton Science Academy

Fulton Science Academy

Fulton Science Academy

Fulton Science Academy

FSAPS STUDENTS LEARN MATH BY SOLVING REAL LIFE PROBLEMS

This past week the students in Mr. Seker’s math class were asked to make a table of solutions for various linear equations, that correlate with different airlines and then graph each on a coordinate plane. Students then graphedseparate points and analyzed the results for which linear equation came the closest to the point. The students thensummarized their results and wrote a letter to a travel agent explaining the reasons they wish to choose one airline instead of another to get to their destination.

Students in Accelerated 8th grade math used mathematical equations to plan the most efficient way to travel tovisit a new amusement park in a different state.  There are many airlines which travel to the area; however, none of them goes directly to the town. Each airline uses a different algebraic equation to set up its flight plan. They need to choose two airlines and use the corresponding equation to determine which airline would come the closest to the amusement park. After they land, they will need to rent a car to drive the remainder of the distance. Since they do not want to drive too far, they needed to find which airline they should use.

FSAPS STUDENTS ENJOY RUNNING CLUB

Students begin to learn about the importance of endurance and how to pace themselves while they run.  Running club begins with a short interval run.  An example run would start off with a 2 minute jog, followed by a 1 minute walk, continuing with another 2 minute jog, finishing with a 1 minute walk.   After the run in completed students participate in fun running games.  This year we have played a number of exciting games such as sharks and minnows, freeze tag, soccer, and ultimate Frisbee. 

FSAPS ELEMENTARY SCIENCE OLYMPIAD NEED VOLUNTEER COACHES

Dear FSAPS Families, 

For those of you who may not know me, my name is Ms. Przedpelski. This year, Ms. Minor and I are working together as the head coaches for Elementary Science Olympiad. We are looking forward to a great year with the students who have been chosen to be a part of our Academic Team. However, we are still in need of coaches for some of our events this year. Please take a moment to read through the events that need a coach, and let us know if you would be interested in volunteering your time one afternoon a week to coach for Elementary Science Olympiad. 

Monday Afternoon Events still needing a coach:

Deep Blue Sea - This event tests students' knowledge about oceanography.

Rock Hound - Students will prepare charts, identify various rocks and minerals, and describe their characteristics. 

Straw Tower - This is a competition in which each team (2 people) is attempting to build the strongest straw tower. Each team will construct a tower using only 50 drinking straws and 20 straight pins. 

Thursday Afternoon Events still needing a coach: 

Save our Earth-  Students are to identify the major causes of harm to our earth and explain ways to prevent this. 

Don't Bug Me - The contestants are to distinguish insects from non-insects, identify various body parts, characteristics, habitats, ecological significance, life cycles, and major classes and orders of arthropods. 

Grasp A Graph - The objective is to develop the skills of collecting and organizing information using pictographs, bar, line, and pie graphs to solve problems. 

Which Way's North? - Teams of up to two students will attempt to navigate themselves around a state road map. 

If you have any questions, or if any of these events look like something you would be interested in coaching - please let me know atcprzedpelski@fultonscienceacademy.org.

ANIME WEEKEND ATLANTA FIELD TRIP

On Saturday, September 27th, the FSAPS Anime Club will traveling to Anime Weekend Atlanta.  AWA is a three-day Japanese Animation and comics convention held annually in Atlanta, Georgia.  While most of the Anime Club members plan to attend this full-day field trip, there may be other Middle School students who are interested in attending as well. All interested 6th - 8th grade students are welcome to accompany the Anime Club on this field trip.   Parent carpooling and chaperones will be coordinated by Ms. Ashley Fichter. We will meet at FSAPS at 8:30 and return by 10:00.   If you are interested in more information about this trip, please e-mail afichter@fultonscienceacademy.org.  Anime Club students can look forward to information and permission forms coming home in hard copy and through e-mail afichter@fultonscienceacademy.org.  Additional permission forms for this trip are available in the front office and are due NO LATER than Wednesday, September 24th at 5:00 pm.  Please go to www.awa-con.com to learn more about this convention.

FSAPS YEARBOOK

Everyone will be receiving an email from TreeRing.com today or tomorrow (please check your spam folders if you don't see an email from TreeRing!).  For those who are not familiar with it, this is the website we will be using to create and purchase our yearbooks.

Packets of information about TreeRing will be going home with students this week - please keep an eye out for these as they give information about deadlines as well as giving step-by-step instructions on signing in, etc.

Everyone may create 2 free *customized* yearbook pages - Upload your own pictures and create your own personalized pages of memories!

TreeRing.com also allows everyone to create an online school community.  Please feel free to upload any photos you take at school events to the public/shared folders.  Please make sure to *label* your pictures & please make sure they go into the right folder!  If it is a personal photo, please make sure to upload it into 'personal memories' not 'shared' folders!

Please do not hesitate to email Mrs. Millar (rmillar@fultonscienceacademy.org) if you have any questions, issues, and/or if you did not receive an email from TreeRing!

ADVENTURES IN READING CLUB WITH MRS. KANOV

To celebrate his upcoming birthday (September 25^th), we read A Giraffe and a Half by Shel Silverstein.  Shel was an amazing poet, author, song-writer and illustrator. In this story, a giraffe grows a half and experiences some funny mishaps along the way. The children learned about rhyming words. We played a fun matching memory game to combine rhyming pairs. We all enjoyed this story and hands-on extension activities. If you have any of Shel Silverstein’s books at home…this is the perfect time to read them! One of my favorites….The Giving Tree. ENJOY! 

FSAPS CHESS & MATH TEAM CABIN CAMPS

FSAPS Chess and Math Teams have organized a weekend cabin camp for FSA students.

We will be leaving at 6:00 PM on FRIDAY, October 10, 2014 and return back around 3:00 PM on Sunday, October 12, 2014. 

Students need to bring a sleeping bag, pillow, slippers, toothbrush/ toothpaste/hairbrush and SNACKS (no gum). 

Delicious food will be prepared and served by teachers in accordance with students' dietary restrictions.

There will be 2-3 teacher chaperons during the camp depending on the student number. Parents are most welcome to attend as well. Cost per student is $75.00.

For more information, registration form and questions, please contact Mr. Seker at dseker@fultonscienceacademy.org.

First come first serve!  First 30 students will be accepted.

FSAPS COOKING CLUB WITH MRS. TEBER!

FSAPS students are having such fantastic experiences in cooking class. They try a different recipe every week. This past week, students cooked spaghetti with tomato sauce.  It was very delicious. Students take all the yummy leftovers to home as well :) Please see pictures from cooking club here:

FSAPS COLLEGE MENTORSHIP PROGRAM BEGINS ON SEPTEMBER 24

We are very excited about the start of our College Mentorship Program (CMP) this year, on  September,24 2014

Fourth through eighth grade students will be assigned a mentor. Every Wednesday from 2:55 to 3:30 students will participate in the CMP Program. They will be doing activities with their mentor, working toward their CMP goals and have bi-weekly speakers.

We are taking suggestions for speakers. If you know of someone in our community that you think our students could benefit from having as a guest speaker, please let us know.

Email Michelle Campbell at mcampbell@fultonscienceacademy.org

Click on the following links to see some examples of previous speakers

Leader Stacy Abrams

Craig Carter, Ameriprise Financial Advisor

Mike Sutton, President Pinnacle Performers

Kris Rinne, Senior Vice President AT&T Labs

As well, we appreciate any feedback or suggestions for improving the program.

Fulton Science Academy College Mentorship Program

We have three goals with CMP:

1- Academic Proficiency

2- Guidance & Counseling

3- College & Career Readiness

As part of CMP, we also will plan short seminars on important topics every other Wednesday.  Some of the topics we plan to cover are as follows:

• Understanding and Managing Conflict
• Personal Finance 
• Problem Solving and Decision Making
• Leadership
• Attention Improvement Techniques
• Stress Management
• Goal Setting
• Top Universities
• Public Speaking
• Critical Thinking Improvement
• Community Service
• Working Together Effectively
• Road to College

READING RIVER SEDIMENTS: A SIMULATED MINERAL EXPLORATION ACTIVITY

6th Grade Earth Science class conducted a mineral exploration activity which simulates real-life economic, societal and issue-oriented problems. The activities were designed to teach about how water works along the earth's surface and through the ground as it picks up small amounts of the minerals found in the rocks and sediments. Certain minerals ionize, then travel along in the moving water and later react chemically with the surface of river sediments.  Since it is impractical to take a class out to the field to obtain samples, working with simulated sample river sediments were a great way to learn about this topic!

STAINED GLASS WINDOW GRAPHING PROJECT

Stained Glass Window is a project that requires students to graph linear equations in order to create a colorful (yet mathematical) display window.  Each student selects and graphs at least twelve linear equations from the equation bank to create their own unique stained glass window.  This visual/kinesthetic project helped Mr. Seker’s math students to clearly identify the equations of horizontal and vertical lines and to easily distinguish between positive and negative slope. Please see a picture here:

6TH GRADE SOCIAL STUDIES GUEST SPEAKER

One of our wonderful parents, Mrs. Harkonen came in to share her knowledge of Nordic countries with the 6^th graders. The Harkonen family is from Finland and has been in the United States since 2003. We were happy to have her teach us about the culture and geography of that region of the world. The students really enjoyed her presentation and learned a lot. We all want to visit there now!

FSAPS HOME VISIT PROGRAM

We are pleased to inform you that we will start this year's home visit program during 2nd week of school near. Our goal is to finish home visits before the end of October this year.

The overall goal of the home visit program is to help strengthen relationships between parents and teachers. To be able to guide each student in the right direction, it is important to know as much as possible about our students. There are limits to what teachers can perceive about each student in the classroom and home visits have been shown to be an effective way to let children know how much teachers and parents care about our students. Through home visits, closer cooperation between home and school can be achieved. However, home visits are only the beginning. Fulton Science Academy embraces the idea of parents as partners and actively involves parents into education.

Experience and research from all over the United States shows that the interaction with the student’s family at their home is a very effective way to help student’s academic and behavioral progress.

Here are some benefits of home visits:

·          Strengthened parent/teacher relationships

·          Increase in overall student achievement 

·          Increase in student attendance

·          Deeper development in feelings of trust, mutual respect, empowerment, and accountability by parents, students, and staff

Here are some feedbacks from our parents:

“Early in the school year, a group of teachers took the time to come to our home to meet us and discuss the school program with us. That event brought us back to the time in which schooling was a true partnership between parent and teacher and reaffirmed in our minds that FSA truly cares about the development of our children”

“We even had two teachers visit us at our home.  They were a pleasure to meet and we could clearly see how much they enjoy teaching students.”

“Thank you very much for your visit and the chocolates yesterday. We enjoyed having you over very much.  I also want to thank you for turning math from the most complicated and somewhat scary subject into one of our most favorites.”

“We all enjoyed your visit last night to our home.  It was such a pleasure to informally get to know both of you.  My son thought it was really cool that two teachers came to his house.  He talked about it the whole way to school this morning in carpool. Personally, I admire the dedication you both have for your jobs.  It makes a big difference in a student's attitude toward school. Your visit left no doubt in my mind that FSA was the right decision for my son.”

“I just wanted to write on behalf of my husband and I and thank you for visiting our child. He loved having you both come and visit. We appreciate the level of caring and attention that you have consistently shown our family. It is rare to see such a dedication from teachers for their jobs. We can tell that you love teaching and you care for our children. Thank you for visiting our child when he was not feeling well.”

How can you schedule a home visit?

Very simple. Please send an e-mail to our home visit coordinator, Mrs. Unal at junal@fultonscienceacademy.org and give us three available dates for your child's home visit program. We will get back to you and confirm a date. Depending on our teacher’s availability, at least two teachers will be together to visit our students and parents at their homes. For any questions you have about this program, send an e-mail tojunal@fultonscienceacademy.org. 

The best times to schedule a home visit are weekdays after 5:00 pm, and anytime during the weekends except Sunday mornings. 

SOLAR VIEWING EVENT – NOVEMBER 20, 2014

(Weather permitting)

Stephen W. Ramsden, Director of the nonprofit The Charlie Bates Solar Astronomy Project will be bringing his nationally renowned solar astronomy outreach program to our campus on November 20th (weather permitting) for viewing and imaging of the Sun in all its life giving ferocity.

Students will be able to use his collection of the finest, observatory quality solar telescopes on Earth to witness firsthand many solar features including solar flares, sunspots, prominences, filaments and magnetically active regions.

FSAPS SOCIAL STUDIES FAIR BEGINS!

Fulton Science Academy has been very successful at all levels of the Social Studies Fair, with students taking first place in the state competition three times.  Our goal is to once again send students with the best projects to compete at the local, regional, and, with hard work, state level.  We hope to continue our run of success as we embark on a new year and explore new topics.

All middle school students are required to participate and will receive information from their social studies teachers about the fair this week. Students should begin thinking about their topics in order to receive approval and having the contract signed.

This year we are excited to be able to extend the project due date a bit so that it does not coincide quite as much as the Science Far.  There will be checkpoints this semester, but the final paper and visuals will be due at the beginning of next semester rather than before the holiday break.  It is our hope that this removes some of the burden and allows students to achieve their full potential on both projects.

A complete social studies fair packet can be found under your child’s social studies class section on FSA Connect.

Please email your child’s social studies teacher for more information about this or any other questions.

Important due dates to note:
9/16/14 - topics due

9/23/14 - contract due
10/14/14 - sources found
12/09/14 - research evidence
1/06/15  - paper due
1/09/15  - visual design
1/13/15  - visual due

1/20/15 - school fair

IT"S TIME FOR SCIENCE FAIR!

This year your child will be required to complete a major, independent science research project.  The project will be completed at home for middle school students with specific criteria and deadlines provided by the science teacher.  It is critical that your child receives help and guidance from you.  The research paper, display and log book for the project are due on December 1st, 2013.  Students will present their projects in their classrooms the week of December 1-5. 

The project will then be evaluated by the science teacher and the top projects from each science class will enter the Fulton Science Academy Science Fair held on December 9.

Students received a Science Fair Packet including rubrics, checklists, expectations, and deadlines to assist with project completion.  This packet is also on FSA Connect.  The first step in the process, which many find difficult, is choosing a topic.  Please help your child with this first requirement by directing them to think about what interests them. 

PreK -K:  Students will just complete a poster board in school with the help of their teachers.

1st-5th grade:  Students will complete  a display display board/poster partially at home and partially in school. Your teacher will give you more details about the Science fair. 

STUDENT INNOVATION AWARD

Presented by the Health IT Leadership Summit in Conjunction with: TAG Education Collaborative,

Georgia Department of Public Health, and Georgia Department of Education

  

TAG Education Collaborative is excited to announce the 2014 Health IT Student Innovation Award Competition is open to all Georgia Middle School Students!

 Mobile app technology is increasingly influencing our lives to connect us with more real-time, relevant information than ever before. Through a special partnership between the Technology Association of Georgia Education Collaborative Inc. (TAG-Ed), the Georgia Department of Education, Verizon Wireless, and the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH), we offer a contest that strategically utilizes technology to combat a major health issue in Georgia.  

For the first time this innovative technology design competition is open to all Georgia students! 

Eligibility: This is a team event for middle and high school students. Teams must consist of 2-4 students. Students must have a school or program approved adult advisor to enter the competition.

Purpose: To encourage Georgia high school and middle school students to work asa team to design an innovative mobile application or mobile optimized website thatpromotes a specific theme related to encourage lifelong wellness. The 2014 theme for the Health IT Student Innovation Award is Youth Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation.

Project description: Students should evaluate the current trends in the use of mobileapplications and study how these trends will impact our healthcare delivery system. Healthrelated areas to be addressed in the application may include tobacco usage trends, risks, prevention, and cessation programs.

High School Requirements:

·         A working mobile application

·         Instructional materials for users

·         A detailed description of your development process

·         Research bibliography

Middle School Requirements:

• A working mobile optimized website

•  Research bibliography

•  Promotional flyer and written component

Entries are due by 12 p.m. on October 3, 2014. Please submit projects to:

Middle school entries: kdion@tagonline.org

·         Finalist teams will present their application at the Health IT Leadership Summit onNovember 20, 2014 at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel.

·         Cash prizes will be awarded to the schools of the finalist teams.

·         A grand prize winner will receive an additional cash award for their school.

For full rules and procedures, please visit

To register a team, visit http://healthitchallenge2014.eventbrite.com/

For more information, please contact Mr. Sanal at isanal@fultonscienceacademy.org

PRIVATE MUSIC CLASSES AT FSAPS

SCIENCE OLYMPIAD ROCKET BOTTLE EVENT

Students in Science Olympiad Building Events built their first bottle rocket and launched it. In bottle rocket category ,  participants design, construct and launch up to two rockets made from two empty plastic carbonated drink bottles, which hold 2 liter or less, to remain aloft for the maximum period of time possible. In the competition, the team may shoot two rockets off, each one only once. If a team only has one rocket, it must still only be shot off only once. The team may add any amount of water to the bottle. It is then set on the launcher and shot off at 60 psi. The time is recorded for each rocket to the nearest hundredth, and the two times are added up to create the team's final score.

KINDERGARTEN FRIENDSHIP FRUIT SALAD

We heard a very special story about friendship and how each of your friends in your class are like the different fruits in a fruit salad- each bring something sweet  and important, and together they make something wonderful.  Enjoy some of the photos from this feel-good collaborative “cooking” project!

6TH GRADE EARTH SCIENCE CLASS HOSTED PRESIDENT OF GEORGIA MINERAL SOCIETY

6th grade Earth Science class hosted President of Georgia Mineral Society, Mr. William (Bill) Waggener on September 3rd, 2014. Mr. Waggener talked about rocks and minerals and many other concepts in relation to earth science. 

Mr. Waggener has a big collection of materials that he shared with our students. It was a very informative and interactive talk.  Students had a great time. Please see some pictures here:

TURKISH CLASS MOTHER’S NIGHT EVENT!

On September 5^th, Friday we held our first Turkish Class Mothers’ Coffee Night.  The mothers of middle grades students who take Turkish language classes at FSAPS were invited to this lovely program. Mothers enjoyed a great time with each other playing games, joining competitions, dancing, and tasting food. The next Mother’s Night is scheduled on October 19. 

Principal Sener's note: I cannot believe mothers even played musical chairs during this event :) My feelings are very similar to the face of Kemal in this below picture. Just kidding :) We need an activity for fathers as well. Maybe a sport tournament. We will find out!

BASKETBALL CLUB WITH MR. KURT AND MR. WADE

When Dr. James Naismith first hung peach baskets in his Springfield, Massachusetts gym on a cold and rainy New England day, he wouldn't imagine the worldwide acclaim and impact his game -- now a billion dollar international sport -- would achieve.  Novel ideas such as Naismith's may someday be born from the fertile imaginations of the FSAPS students that continue to pursue the sport in the Basketball Club.

Students in this club will practice their basketball skills by playing organized games against fellow students while also honing their physical fitness, teamwork, and sportsmanship while building camaraderie among their peers.  The club is open to all students looking for a fun, invigorating way to workout their body after a long day of expanding their minds.

Meeting each Wednesday afternoon in the gym, middle school students are invited to join Mr. Kurt and the other middle school players to participate in the fun, fast-paced game of basketball!

ADVENTURES IN READING CLUB WITH MRS. HOUSTON

Did you know fish can have feelings? Fish can be happy, sad, or afraid of the dark, just like you and me. The fish I speak of are fictional, of course. It’s funny because only in the literary world could a child and a fish possibly have something in common. Last week during Adventures in Reading with Mrs. Houston, first and second grade students listened to the story, “The Pout – Pout Fish in the Big- Big Dark” written by Deborah Diesen and illustrated by Dan Hanna. Students discussed how they could relate to Mr. Fish with one another and then created their own Pout-Pout fish. They wrote about times when they pout, but also times that they smile. The students’ most favorite reason to pout: not getting to do something at home! We had such a great adventure in reading!

ELEMENTARY STUDENTS LOVE NEW READING ROOM!

A giant thank you to all of those who have been volunteering their time to put together the new Elementary Reading Room for our students. Elementary students are having the best time visiting the Reading Room every week as a class, browsing through the different shelves full of books, and choosing a book to read or take home with them. The Elementary teachers and students want you to know that they LOVE their new Reading Room and they appreciate your hard work! 

GRANDPARENTS DAY WAS WONDERFUL

We enjoyed hosting grandparents of our students at our school this past Sunday. The program started with a brief school tour given by Principal Sener and followed by a delicious lunch. After the lunch, students gave beautiful roses to their parents and grandparents. Program ended with some wonderful stories from grandparents about schools and education during the years they went to school. We thank all grandparents for the important role they play in our students'  education life. We are a team altogether. Please see some pictures here:

To see more pictures from FSAPS Grandparents Day, please visit: http://fultonscienceacademy.com/2014/09/09/grandparents-day-was-wonderful/