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Principal’s Corner We are Kathleen proud and realize that knowledge plus hard work does equals success! I am once again amazed by the phenomenal improvements of our teach-ers, students and staff members. They have accomplished greatness by increas-ing our overall graduation rate by 2.4%. This calculates to a 9% increase during the past 4 years. However we can not rest until every student at Kathleen High School receives our best!

It is our desire that every student that enters our school as a ninth grader gradu-ates in four years. Listed below are a few suggestions that we can do as part of the KHS family to make this happen for our students. • Encourage and commit our students

to 100% attendance for the 180 days of school. If they are in attendance they will learn!

• Encourage our students to participate and be engaged in the learning proc-ess. They will grow where they are planted.

• Encourage our students to read and answer every question on all assess-ments.

• Encourage our students on all assess-ments to answer all short response questions with three to five complete sentences. All extended response questions should include five to eight complete sentences. Students should make sure they darken the beginning and the ending of each sentence on short and extended response questions.

• Speak with our students daily about what they are learning.

• Check our students’ grades weekly using the PIV or by calling their guidance counselor.

• Invest in cultivating your relation-ship with our students by eating dinner together at least three times per week.

Parents, there is no person in this world that can influence your child like you. You have an awesome responsibility to build them up and encourage them to do the right thing and to do great things.

Have a happy and safe holiday season!

It is a great day to be a “Red Devil!”

Cecil McClellan Jr, Principal

Cecil McClellan, Principal on the Roof at KHS Featured on CNN broadcast, local television stations and newspapers, Cecil McClellan

spent four chilly nights on the Kathleen High School roof at the end of October. He

camped out four days and nights in honor of KHS students who improved in four areas of the FCAT last year. In addition, the school grade increased from a D to a C. Mr. McClellan executed his duties as usual, with phone, text and computer at his disposal. He maintained exemplary administrative leadership. Out of sight but not out of mind, students, staff, parents and community members came by day and night to ensure his every need was met. From simple conversation, to coffee, hot chocolate, and food, Mr. McClellan found solace in the over-whelming support from the school and community. To ensure the health and well being of the stu-dents, the use of a bull horn came in handy for him as he spoke with students as they walked by on their way to class. When he made the commit-ment to spend the nights on the roof, he wasn’t counting on the temperature to drop to the 38 de-grees, but he said “…if you tell kids you're going

to do something you have to honor your word…." Although he didn’t get a lot of sleep over the course of the four nights, the tent, sleeping bag and reclining deck chairs provided some limited comfort. An unnamed donor provided a ceramic space heater for those chilly nights. Mr. McClellan and his administrators

have already made a commitment for 2009. They

will bike 100 miles for every subject area of the 2009 FCAT in which students improve by a target percentage. This means that they could be biking for more than 800 miles if there is substantial improvement. For the learning gains made in the 2007-2008 school year, Ms. Gillian Williams, Founder and Chief Academic Officer of School Turnaround in New York City presented Mr. McClellan a check to KHS for $5,000. Ms. Williams works with princi-pals and superintendents across the country to lead change by example using leadership charac-teristics and strategies that are proven effective in turning around low-performing schools. Last

June, Cecil McClellan, was chosen from over 100 principals as the National Turnaround Principal of the Year by the School Turnaround organization.

Issue 2 Volume 1 Publ ished Monthly by Kathleen High School

December, 2008

KHS

Kathleen High School 2600 Crutchfield Road

Lakeland, FL 33805 (863) 499-2756

Left to Right: Kay Fields, Dr. Gail McKinzie, David Lewis, Dr. Sherrie Nickell, Gillian Williams, Cecil McClellan

Gillian Williams presents check to Cecil McClellan, Principal

Kathleen orch

Principal, Cecil McClellan Assistant Principal of Curriculum, Ginger Rosenau Assistant Principal of Curriculum, Chad Smith Assistant Principal of Administration, Tony Williams Discipline Dean, Greg Wilson

9th Grade Administrator, Sam Scott Dean, Jim Boatenhammer Academic Dean, Tiffany Brown Athletic Director, Gary Lineberger Reading Coach, Mechelle Daughtery

Principal on the Roof ................................ 1 FFA .......................................................... 2 FBLA........................................................ 2 AP Psychology ......................................... 3 Greatest Gains in Reading and Math ....... 3 KHS Band ................................................ 3 Student Council ....................................... 4 FCCLA ..................................................... 4 ACT/SAT Dates ....................................... 4 Foreign Exchange Students ..................... 4 National Honor Society News .................. 4 FCA at CFAA ........................................... 4 Guidance Department .............................. 5 Fire Academy ........................................... 5 Soccer Schedule ...................................... 6 Girl’s Volleyball Team, Greg Wilson ......... 6 Donna Cross-Mentor of the Year ............. 7 No Tolerance Policy for Bullying at KHS .. 7 KHS ESE Staff ......................................... 7 Semester Exam Schedule........................ 8 12 Powerful Words Contest ..................... 8

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Melissa Bobbitt

Amanda Anderegg, Shanequa Campbell, Carissa Corpus, Megan Devino, Justin Gentry, Sheela Guion, Gracia Hilliard, Jameela Hosein, Erica Lewis, Eric Lucas, Jesse McCauley, Hannah McClellan, Carley McDowell, David Morrison, Antony Nunez, Sarah Peterson, Phillip Revolinski, Camille Rhodes, Amanda Roberts, Shiloh Sanford, Haleigh Scruggs, Brittany Smalls, Jacob Smith, Alexandria Thomas, Dianabel Trujillo, Erica Vasquez, Chelsea Wilson, Jasmine Wilson and Mrs. Bolton (Zachary Cain not pictured).

FBLA sponsored a canned food drive from October 10, 2008—November 10, 2008. This com-munity project was a huge suc-cess with 532 items donated by our KHS students. Mrs. Bolton’s 6th Period AP class turned in the most canned goods and was given a pizza party on Friday,

November 21, 2008 for their efforts. Mrs. Bolton’s class is currently study-ing Hamlet. All items collected were donated to Light-house Ministries; they provide hot meals to all families in need.

FBLA Sponsors Canned Food Drive Contest

Congratula-tions to 10th grade student, Melissa Bob-bitt. She was selected as the Lakeland Opti-

mist Club Most Outstanding Youth. She was recognized at a dinner on November 10, 2008, for her leadership, community service and excellence in aca-demics. Major high fives as we start this year with awards for our great kids. Way to go Melissa.

Pictured: Front Row: Sarah McCain, Tina Yale and Joseph Heath. Back Row: Victor Rocha, Roland Cald-well, Zach Lee, Jacob Lee, and Mr. Kyle Carlton

Kathleen FFA Forestry team competed and placed 4th overall in Indianapolis against all of the other state winning teams from across the United

States. Two KHS students were awarded scholarships. The team members were Chelsea Myers (third highest individual in the nation), Michael Stokes (9th highest individual in the nation), Katlyn Walker, and Brandi Lewis. These students worked diligently to prepare

for this event and were very proud to receive a gold award at the National FFA forestry banquet. They were able to meet some of the 54,000+ FFA members from around our nation. Enroute to Ft. Harrison State Park, the students practiced com-pass and pacing, timber cruising, and timber stand

In last month’s state competition, KHS Citrus Team placed third. The team was coached by Zack Lee and Kyle Carlton. The winning team is pictured below. Chelsea Myers, president of

the FFA chapter at KHS placed third in the nation at a recent FFA Forestry competi-tion in Indianapolis. Way to go Chelsea.—we are proud of you!

Chelsea Myers

improvement exercises on steep slopes with hard-woods in the mountains of north Georgia. They also spent some time with two forestry biologists who were able to show the students some of the tree species that are indigenous to that area. Some saw the Smokey Mountains for the first time. It was a trip filled with excitement, challenges, new educational opportunities and fellowship. The experi-ence should remain with them for a lifetime.

K H S

F F AF F A

Forestry Team

Brandi Lewis Katlyn Walker

Chelsea Myers not pictured

Michael Stokes

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AP Psychology Classes—Find Out How Many Chips In a

Cookie and Pract ice the Neuron Dance!

tion did this provide students?", asks teacher, Joyce Viscusi. It gave them experience in conducting sta-tistical analyses in a fun way that

allows them to better interpret test-ing data such as SAT, ACT and IQ scores, which are relevant to high school students. By the way, yes, students did have to eat a few of the “cookie subjects" to make sure their analyses were correct! As a memory aide to recall the 4

KHS Marching Band

Kaylea Bowden

All in the pursuit of high aca-demic achieve-ment, stu-dents in the AP Psychol-

ogy classes recently conducted a statistical analysis on chocolate chip cook-ies!! Students had to calculate on average how many chocolate chips were in each cookie and

each bag of cookies. Medians and modes were also deter-mined as well as each bag's vari-ance, stan-dard devia-tion and

range. "What meaningful informa-

In late October, the Pride of Kathleen Marching band traveled to Denison Sta-dium in Winter Haven to participate in the 2008 Florida Bandmasters Associa-tion Marching Performance Assessment. After a season of hard work and long after school rehearsals, the band is proud to report they received an overall score of Superior from the judges! “Congratulations to the Pride of Kathleen for seeing all your hard work pay off,” said Gabriel Hinton, KHS Band Director.

major parts of a neuron (a brain cell) AP Psychol-ogy students learn and prac-tice the “Neuron Dance.” Students enjoyed sending neurological impulses down their axon (right arm)! They also practiced the “neural wave” in an effort to transmit infor-mation to each other all over the room!

Congratulations to senior, Kaylea Bow-den, the only trom-bone player in our district to make the All State Band. This is a great accomplish-ment as the competitive audi-tion consists of a rigorous process of musical exercises and scales. Congratulations—You are awesome!

Congratulations to Roberto Pererz Rohena for his participa-tion in the “Hispanics in the USA Literacy Contest.” Roberto wrote an essay in Spanish about Antonia Novello, a Puerto Rican United States Surgeon General. The contest winner will be awarded a laptop and we are awaiting the results from the district. Good Luck Roberto. You rock and we love you!

Roberto Perez Rohena

Recently 18 KHS students were given a “free” 2007 KHS Yearbook for making the “greatest” gains in Reading or Math on the 2008 FCAT. Congratulations to Laporschce’ McClain, Isael So-lano, Eloisa Rodri-guez, Mayriel Fe-liciano, Savie Scales, Lavada Walker (not pictured), Kaya Poe, Lonnie Davis and

Miguel Rodriguez. These students made the great gains in Math. We love you and are so very proud of all of you! Congratulations to: Cornelia Donnely (not pictured), Joel Almanzar, Deadrian Wilson (not pic-tured), Marco Marti-nez, Antwain White, Samuel Brooks, Kerisha Bryant (not pictured), Yomiry Martinez and Willie Nathan. These stu-dents made the greatest gains in Reading.

Kaneesha Benefield

Brayon Andrews Kathy Ly

Erica Lewis

Neuron Dance

K H S

Yomiry Martinez

Marco Martinez

Samuel Brooks Joel Almanzar

Isael Solano

Savie Scales

Laporshce McClain Eloisa Rodriguez Miguel Rodriguez

Lonnie Davis

Antwain White

Mayriel Feliciano Kaya Poe

Willie Nathan

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Foreign Exchange Students at KHS

We are proud to have stu-dents from Germany, China and Ukraine here at Kath-leen High School. These students are with the Aca-demic Year in America (AYA) program that places high school students with host families all over the United States.

Attention Seniors and Parents Financial Aid

Seminar Mark your calendar for 1/26/09 at 6:30 p.m. at the KHS auditorium. Topics of discussion will be FAFSA, Florida Bright Futures, and Scholarships. Please plan to attend!

Top Row: Ben Long, Daniela Rusteberg, Lisa Bromenne, Carla Schaefer. Bottom Row: Xingman Liu and Sofiya Zaychenko

The students are actively involved in extra curricular activities and sports. They are really enjoying Kathleen High. If you’re interested in hosting an exchange stu-dent for next year, please contact stacy.pelham@polk-fl.net.

President Kawon Hunter

Vice President Suzanne Richardson

Reporter/Historian Shalonda Lewis

Secretary Yajaira Avina

Centennial Shawn Anderegg

Junior Rep. Hannah McClellan

Junior Rep. Chelsea Wilson

2008-2009 Student Council Officers

F.C.C.L.A. met for their district meeting in Novem-ber in the Red

Devil’s Diner. Casey Carden was elected as District V Chairperson and State Sec-retary. Our 2008-2009 Officers: Kayla Ferro, President; Cali Dominicak, Presi-dent-Elect; Brandon Wimbrow, VP of Fundraisers; Taylor Behnke, VP of Com-munity Service; Cassie Carden, VP of Membership; Tranita Excellent, VP of Finance; Shelby Walker, VP of Public Relations. We are selling white or black with red logo “red devil socks” for stocking stuff-ers and gifts. Buy three or four packs for the special price of $10.00 for 3 pairs. We appreciate your support as we learn and grow.

FCCLA

National Honor Society News

NHS will be sponsoring an Angel Tree in December. The tree will be placed in the teacher’s lounge. All club spon-

sors are encouraged to sponsor an angel. We are asking for do-nations of “new” items that can be given to needy families. Items have to be wrapped and returned to NHS by 12/17/08. For more information, contact Donna. Cross, donna.cross@polk-fl.net.

Test Date Registration Deadline (Late Fee Required)

01/24/09 12/26/08 01/06/09 (by Mail) 01/09/09 (Online or by Phone)

03/14/09 02/10/09 02/24/09

05/02/09 03/31/09 04/09/09 (by Mail) 04/14/09 (Online or by Phone)

06/06/09 05/05/09 05/15/09 (by Mail) 05/19/09 (Online or by Phone)

2009 SAT Testing Schedule

Test Date Registration Deadline (Late Fee Required)

02/07/09 01/06/09 01/7/09 - 01/16/09 04/04/09 02/27/09 02/28/09 - 03/13/09 06/13/09 05/08/09 05/9/09 - 05/22/09

2009 ACT Testing Schedule

K H S

Yearbooks are on Sale Yearbooks are $75.00 until 1/20/09

Price goes up to $85.00 1/21/09 For more information contact: jessica.judkins@polk-fl.net or

(863) 499-2983

Mr. Cress has a core group of about a dozen students that are meeting weekly for Bible study and prayer dur-ing lunch on “Red” Mondays and Tuesday. Several of the stu-

dents are also meeting on a daily basis in the

morning before school begins to spend about 10 to 15 minutes in prayer before starting their day.

FCA at CFAA

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Seniors need to apply for Bright Futures Scholarship after Dec. 1, 2008. This must be completed by the end of their senior year to be eligible. The link is: http://www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org/ssfad/bf/ Junior and seniors: For infor-mation or to register for the SAT

Guidance Department Update

or ACT tests visit: www.collegeboard.com or www.actstudent.org. SAT and/or ACT are used for college entrance. If you have taken the FCAT 3 or more times, a con-cordant score on either the SAT or ACT will also count as a passing FCAT score. If you qualify for free or reduced lunch, see your guidance counselor for a fee waiver. A stu-dent may receive up to 2 fee waiv-ers for each test. Reminder : First semester ends January 21, 2009. The grade your student earned at the first 9 weeks will be averaged with the 2nd 9 weeks. This will be the final grade posted as a .5 credit on their tran-

There are several opportunities available both to parents and stu-dents to improve student success this year. The

three specific items are: PIV, tutor-ing, and the I-Contract. Each of these is important because they offer parents and students the opportu-nity to review classroom perform-ance and missing assignments, provide teacher assistance to stu-dents before or after school, and set up a contractual agreement between the parent, student and teacher to improve a “D” or “F” in a content area course. Students and parents who want access to grades and attendance must submit a Parent Internet Viewer Form and/or Email Notifica-tion Form. For more information about PIV, contact John Jacomet, john.jacomet@polk-fl.net. The 9th grade academy teachers are available to tutor any 9th grade student with notice. This assistance is invaluable and can be arranged by the student. Any tutoring questions, please contact Sam Scott, sam.scott@polk-fl.net, 863-499-2655. What is an I-Contract? The I-Contract (not to be confused with

H. E. A. T.) is used by all 9th grade academies in Polk County. The con-tract provides an opportunity for a student to replace a “D” or “F” final grade re-ceived in a content area course. This requires re-sponsibility on the part of the student to take the con-tract home, get it signed, return the contract to the teacher, get the make-up work, complete the work, and return it to the specific teacher(s) within two weeks. Com-pletion of the work will result in a “C” final grade in the contract area course that will replace the “D” or “F.” Makeup Policy for 9th Grade Stu-dents. Students should ask for make-up work following an absence. Make-up work is due one-day after a student’s return. Additional time is available for longer absences. When it is determined that a student has neglected to make-up work or fallen behind, the student will be removed from an elective class and placed in H.E.A.T. (Helping Eliminate Academic Tardiness) to provide time to make-up work.

Together, our commitment is to help our students become the Brightest and Best. Team Blaze includes Susan Yelv-ington (Algebra), Lauren Applewhite (Intensive Reading, English), Kitty Wells (Intensive Reading, English), Will Bahler (Intensive Math), Cindi Patton (ESE), Andrea Spychalsky (Guidance) and Therese Gibson (Earth Space Science). Team Inferno recognized our A/B Honor Roll Students from the first 9 weeks. A pizza celebration was held in their honor on 11/07/08. The

KHS has a new mentoring program sponsored by Desmond Clark, Chicago Bears tight end and KHS alumni. Currently, Mike Rosenau, Alvin Jones, Mike Echols, Mac Carpenter, Eugene Peterson, and Ben Cherry meet with approximately 15 students each Wednesday.

students that were recognized include: Tabitha McCraig, Darren Rodriguez, Rachel Nipper, Amber Scribner, Kyle Wetherington, Tonancy Sanchez, Curtisa Young, Latoddra Flourney, Ashley Siner, Akimo Ellis, Jacob Stevens, Emily Boudreau, Tiauna Rogers, and Kenton Kaiser. Team Inferno includes: Ashley Gambrell (Intensive Math); Kevin Brown, (Algebra); Tycie Peterson, (English/Intensive Reading); Stacy Pelham, (English/Intensive Reading); Cliff Bard, (Earth/Space Science); and Kim Hicks, Support Specialist.

Row 1: Susan Yelvington, Ashley Gambrell, Stacy Pelham. Row 2: Teresa Harwell, Michelle VanBenthysen, Tycie Peterson, Kim Hicks, Therese Gibson, Katherine Wells. Row 3: Jon Gulley, Norma Block, Chad Holmes, Kevin Brown, Lauren Apple-white. Not pictured: Will Bahler, Clifford Bard, Andrea `Bolton, Mary Knox, Michael Locke, Yvonne Miller, Cyndi Patton, and Joyce Viscusi.

script in January. In most cases, student’s need a full credit of a sub-ject to meet graduation require-ments. As of November 3, 2008, all jun-iors and seniors have met with their guidance counselor. They received a copy of their permanent record and what is required to graduate. Students also logged in to www.facts.org. Through FACTS they can research and apply for colleges as well as financial aid, register for SAT/ACT test, and Bright Futures. They were also given access to monitor their grades and attendance online. Guidance will be completing sophomore conferences in Decem-

ber. Before the holiday break, all 10th grad-ers will have met with their counselor as well and will be receiving the same informa-tion. Ninth grade academy students met with their counselors individually to review and log in to www.facts.org. Students updated their current major of interest. They can access this planning tool anywhere they have internet access. If you have a question or concern, contact their guidance coun-selor at 499-2670 or email. joe.izzo@polk-fl.net Director Students 9- 12th last names A-D andrea.spychalsky@polk-fl.net 9-12th E-L david.hutchinson@polk-fl.net 9-12th M-R kimberly.sprouse@polk-fl.net 9-12th S-Z

9th Grade Fire Academy

K H S

Fire Academy Teachers

Sam Scott

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Date Opponent Time

Tuesday, December 09, 2008 Bartow 5:30/7:00 p.m.

Thursday, December 11, 2008 *McKeel 5:30/7:00 p.m.

Friday, December 12, 2008 Spoto 5:30/7:00 p.m.

Thursday, December 18, 2008 Teneroc 5:30/7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, January 06, 2009 *Ridge 5:30/7:00 p.m.

Thursday, January 08, 2009 McKeel 5:30/7:00 p.m.

Friday, January 09, 2009 *Haines City 5:30/7:00 p.m.

Monday, January 12, 2009 George Jenkins Var, 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, January 15, 2009 *Lake Gibson Var. 6:00 p.m.

Friday, January 16, 2009 *Lakeland 5:30/7:00 p.m.

*Home Games

District Games in Bold.

District Tournament will run from 1/19/09 - 1/23/09.

Game days and times will be determined by seeding.

J.V. Head Coach: Chris Housley; Assistant, Ashley Summers. Varsity Head Coach: Nick Nixon, Assistants, Chris Housley, Ashley Summers. Team Manager, Brandy Hull.

2008 Lady Red Devils Girl Soccer Schedule

Varsity Roster: Captain Mariah Housley. Jenna Jarrett, Antonia Garcia, Bailey Smith, Narce Salgado, Rebecca Garcia, Diana Avalos-Perez, Shanette Gon-zalez, Raquel Garcia, Jordain Ash-Dunn, Trish Hutchisson, Brooke Kaiser, Kiara Matias, Kaylon Henderson, Jenni-fer Pate, Linda Blas, Buggy Bowden, Silvia Mata, Jennifer Haley, Richelle Lee, Monica Blymire, and Bethany Harrison

Captain Inez Ascencio; Co-Captain, Jennifer Coskey. Margarita Pascual, Michelle Romero, Presline Paulisaint, Amber Warthman, Yudalis Ortiz, Jenny Butts, Erica Taylor, Kiara Matias, Karen Obando, Elena Lopez, Brittany Cabral, Isamar Hernandez, Rebecca Spencer, Tierney LeSueur, Rudy Rodriguez, Amber Pettifer.

Silver Garland Silver Garland Interviews will be held at Jim Miles Training Center on February 11, 2009. The ceremony will take place at Florida Southern Branscomb auditorium on April 20, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. Any questions, contact Donna Cross, College & Career Facilitator, 863-499-2670, donna.cross@polk-fl.net.

A T T E N T I O N

J U N I O R P A R E N T S

If your child scored a Level 2, 3 or 4 on the 2007 Math FCAT, he/she will be bringing home a letter the week of 12/1/08. Please note that your child is eligible to take the computer-based version of the College Math Readiness Exam “free” at KHS on Friday, February 20, 2009. You must return the letter by 12/17/08. Please take advan-tage of this opportunity.

“When defining the word ‘coach’ many different terms come to mind, and several vivid memories of my former coaches

accompany those de-scriptive images,” said Coach Wilson. Many count-

less hours and little pay are part of the job description that comes with the title of “Coach.” Some feel they are called to be a coach and try their hand at it, and their coaching career is short lived. Others give many years of their time and dedicated attention to student athletes, in the lean years as well as the years of victory. Those long tenured coaches jug-gle responsibilities in their per-sonal, family, and professional lives. The word sacrifice should also fall into the definition of

coach in some manner. With all these factors in mind the term “Coach” can be placed in front of the name Robin “Peanut” Wag-man. Coach Robin Wagman has given over thirty years of her time and energy coaching athlet-ics in Polk County. She always wears a smile, and gives the appear-ance that all is well. The general spirit of her teams are they would run through a brick wall to succeed for their coach, as well as they never want to disappoint her. This year our team raised over $350 by sponsoring a money collection drive in first period classes. We donated the money to the Susan G. Komen Founda-tion, in honor of Coach Robin “Peanut” Wagman, a true cham-pion fighting a second battle with

cancer. We honored Coach Wag-man at the Kathleen/Haines City volleyball match. The team mem-bers presented her with a bouquet of flowers, and a plaque for her

courage and continual support of female athletics in Polk County. “As a coach, I am very proud of our young ladies and their project to raise money for cancer research,” said Coach Wilson. Chelsea Wilson did a great job serv-ing as project coordinator and the JV and Varsity girls worked hard promoting the

project. Being a coach becomes very fulfilling when you see student athletes step-up and make a differ-ence in the lives of others. Way to go Lady Red Devils you make me proud to be your Coach and a Red Devil!

Kathleen Lady Red Devils Volleyball Honors Haines City Coach

Attention Seniors

Things to Do List: • Please pay your $40.00 dues

to Mrs. Simmons (main of-fice).

• Make sure you have applied to the colleges) of your choice.

• Start working on your schol-arships by getting your data sheet, letters of recommenda-tion together. Prepare an essay about yourself to have it ready.

• Turn in your Community Ser-vice Hours to Mr. Lineberger in order to have them on your transcript in January.

• Be weary if you receive a letter inviting you to local hotels for scholarships or financial aid meetings—bring in the letter to your coun-selor.

Junior Varsity Roster

Varsity Roster

Upcoming Testing Dates

Name of Test Test Date Target

Alternate Assessment January 12 – January 13, 2009 ESE Students (All)

On-Line Maze Fluency #2

Jan. 24, 2009 – Feb. 24, 2009 (Dates may be one day earlier if we have a Hurricane makeup Day)

9-12

FCAT Writes February 10- February 13, 2009 10

FCAT March 10 – March 19, 2009 9-12

K H S

Websites for College-Bound Students

www.fastweb.com www.floridapride.org www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org www.fafsa.ed.gov

7

ESE teachers at KHS recently attended a Secondary Transition Training. The work-shop assisted KHS ESE staff to better under-stand the transition part of IEPs. Seven focus areas were included: individual needs of in-

Front row: Leopold Morris, Greg Robinson, Patricia Sanders, Susan Povey, Toneka Smith, Charlotte Gardner, Fay Luster. Back row: Nicholas Nixon, Anthony Troutman, Pam Dyess, Jeff Karns, Rob Salimbene, Kim Hicks, Deidre Wright, and Barbara Vickers.

struction, related services, community experi-ences, development of employment, post school adult living, daily living skills and functional vo-cational evaluation. We are proud of our ESE staff.

KHS ESE Staff

Congratulations to Donna Cross. She was named the National Mentor of the year for the Ron Brown Scholars last month. Mrs. Cross graduated from N. Miami High School in 1961. She mar-ried her high school sweetheart less than two weeks after

graduation and has been married ever since, 48+ years. They have two children and one grand-son. She began her career in the corporate world and worked for General Telephone for over 25 years. She retired from GTE in 1993 and began working at Kathleen High. She was a paraeducator,

mentoring students and helped them apply for scholarships. The success that KHS has had over the years in scholarship monies is astronomical. In 1993, $100,000 was awarded for scholarship to our stu-dents. In 2007, $7,500,000 was awarded for schol-arships to our students. Mrs. Cross feels that her purpose here at KHS is to motivate and encourage our students to be the best. She has developed a

manual that reminds students to set goals, identify their life purpose, and

remind them to give back to their commu-nity. The manual illustrates the proper way to

write and submit an essay, methodology of getting letters of recommendation, and how to update a resume or datasheet, etc. “I have an extremely rewarding job and I have fun. Thank you for al-lowing me to be a part of your children’s lives,” said Mrs. Cross.

College and Career Counselor—Donna Cross Recognized as Mentor of the Year

K H S

B ecome a member of the Kathleen High

School PTSA. Be a part of the powerful, dynamic organization that works for the well-being of your children through commu-nity and family involvement. Everyone can join. Parents, grandparents, students, teach-ers, administrators are encour-aged to join. Many opportuni-ties to earn service hours are also available. The dues are $5.00 per school year. Anyone interested in becom-ing part of the KHS PTSA Board, please contact Lia Maf-fett, lia.maffett@polkfl.net or email ptsa1181@polk-fl.net.

• Do not guess, use the process of elimination.

• When a graph is included, the answers often can be found there. Don’t ignore it.

• Write in the text booklet—actually underline or mark your booklet as you are reading.

• Statistics show that students with higher scores wrote in their booklets and those with lower scores did not.

• Pictures are also very supportive information. Sometimes they give big clues.

• Spend about 5 minutes answer-ing a short response question and about 10 minutes for an extended response question.

• If you think you don’t know the answer to a short response or extended response question, make an attempt to answer it anyway. This may result in partial credit, which is better than none.

• Some questions have two tasks. Circle each one. Make sure your answer covers each part.

• Use only information from the passage in your written re-sponse. Do not include your opinion or prior knowledge.

Bullying or harassing behavior will not be tolerated at Kathleen High School. All incidents of bullying or harassing behavior are taken very seriously. The administration will investigate all allegations of bullying and follow the Polk County Code of Student Conduct. Students are en-couraged to report situations of bullying or harassing behavior. Students, parents, and staff members may report bullying anonymously through the “Anonymous Concerns Box” in the main office. Bullying may also be reported to the dean’s office by filling out a bullying reporting form ob-tained from a teacher or the attendance office. Many cases are also re-

ported directly to the deans by e-mail, phone, or in person. Any questions, please contact Tony Williams, Assistant Principal of Administration, tony.williams@polk-fl.net or Greg Wilson, Dean of Students, gregory.wilson@polk-fl.net.

KHS Has a “No Tolerance Policy for Bullying?

Donna Cross

8

KHS

2009 Academic Boost Camps at KHS On January 31, February 7, February 28 and March 7, 2009 from 9:00—11:00 a.m., KHS students may attend academic tutoring sessions. Sessions will be approximately 2 hours in length and will focus on the academic areas of Math, Reading and Science. Sign-up sheets are in the guidance office. We will have

drawings at the end of each Academic Boost Camp for student incentives. Any questions, contact Lia Maffett, lia.maffett@polk-fl.net.

Schoolboard of Polk County P. O. Box 391 Bartow, FL 33831

Non Profit Organization U. S. Postage Paid

Lakeland, FL Permit #2004

Ronald McDonald House Chari-ties of Tampa Bay, Inc. is offering six (6) 2-year scholarships. Eligible applicants must be on free/reduced meal plan and be in the 10th grade, US citizen or permanent resident, 2.8 GPA, must pass FCAT, and complete Alg 2 with a C or better, and graduate with a standard di-ploma. Applications are due by December 15, 2008. Chair Scholars 2+2 Scholarships are available to students with dis-abilities in grades 6-12. Applica-tions are due by February 2009. For more information and applica-tions please see Mrs. Cross or visit the Take Stock in Children section of the PEF website, www.polkeducationfoundation.org.

Attention Sophomores

W E’ R E O N T HE W E B HTT P: / / S C H O OLS. PO LK- F L. N E T/ K HS

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Date Period

January 13, 2009 1st Period

January 14, 2009 3rd & 5th Periods

January 15, 2009 2nd & 4th Periods

January 16, 2009 6th & 7th Periods (Early Dismissal @ 12:00/Noon)

Research has shown that “12 Powerful Words” help in-crease test scores and close the achievement gap. In prepara-tion for the FCAT, all KHS teachers have been invited to participate in a contest from 12/01/08 to 03/06/09 to promote Larry Bell’s 12 Powerful Words. Prizes for students and teachers will awarded weekly.

12 Powerful Words Contest

12/1/08 – 12/5/08 Trace 12/8/08 – 12/12/08 Analyze 12/15/08 – 12/19/08 Infer 1/6/09 – 1/9/09 Evaluate

1/12/09 – 1/16/09 Formulate 1/19/09 – 1/23/09 Describe

1/26/09 – 1/30/09 Support 2/2/09 – 2/6/09 Explain

2/9/09 – 2/13/09 Summarize

2/16/09 – 2/20/09 Compare

2/23/09 – 2/23/09 Contrast

3/2/09 – 3/6/09 Predict

Dates Word Student Friendly Phrases

List in steps Think through Figure out Judge, examine

Make a plan Tell about

Give examples Teach to someone

Tell main parts

All the ways they are alike All the ways they are different Educated guess