By Cynthia Chin
East High School
East High School (EHS) students and current eighth-graders are in the process of selecting courses for 2017-2018. Be sure to investigate all the options and think ahead about what can be done now to develop skills for a livelihood tomorrow.
In addition to core academic skills, there are many opportunities at EHS to develop cultural competence and artistic talent, investigate career fields and get a head start on earning technical certifications or Madison College and UW-Madison credits. Talk to counselors soon about dual credit options, Advanced Placement and the Youth Options program, all of which enable prepared and motivated students to begin their post-secondary studies early. For more about Youth Options, visit https://cte.madison.k12.wi.us/youth-options.
High school graduation requirements in the State of Wisconsin changed four years ago. Math and science requirements have increased. The new requirements are in effect and have been discussed with all grades, starting with the Class of 2017. Make sure you understand these guidelines as you and your student choose classes together.
Pi Mile, the Math Club’s annual 5K fundraiser for graphing calculators, is coming up soon. Start your engines. Students who can’t wait for the racecourse to thaw should see Mr. Jawitz-McClellan to sign up for the February and March math meets.
Online shopping, anyone? Five teams of EHS students participated in the November 2016 High School Mathematics Competition in Modeling this fall. Results were still pending as of press time, but were scheduled to be released in January. Three teams researched, problem-solved, and wrote on where to locate product distribution centers for an online retailer, accounting for shipping times and variances in state sales tax. Our other two teams chose to work on a paper describing algorithms for staggered starts in a municipal marathon, attempting to minimize participant congestion as well as road closures.
America Saves Week is Feb. 27‒March 4. EHS students can improve their financial know-how by taking specific math, social studies, business, and family and consumer science courses. Read that course catalog carefully. Learn more by asking a teacher, and visit americasavesweek.org.
In December EHS engineering students hosted 30 middle-school students from Sherman and O’Keeffe for “We, Robots,” a full-day session where they learned about computer-controlled metal and wood shop equipment, automation on assembly lines, and characteristics of real-life robots. We hope to continue with discussions of helper robots, sensor systems and driverless cars at upcoming afterschool sessions to which Sherman, O’Keeffe and Blackhawk students will be invited. Sponsors for the December activity included Dane County By Youth For Youth and our very own Engineering Club. Thank you for your support when these organizations engage in fundraising efforts.
For the FIRST Tech Challenge Competition, EHS’s robotics team started to build momentum, as well as constructing its competition test track. The first round (state level) competition should be completed by the end of January, and from there we’ll decide where to go next.