APRIL 28 - MAY 2

Dear Parents and Students,

The school year is coming to an end. This is the calendar of events:

SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY
27	28 Spanish Assembly @ 2:30	29	20	1 -Honors Breakfast @ 7:00 -Discovery Idol @ 10:15 -Early dismissal @ 11:45	2 HOLIDAY	3
4	5 AP Env. Science Exam	6 AP Spanish Lang Exam	7 AP Calculus Exam	8 AP English Lit Exam	9 Career Day @ 8:30	10 DPTO Carnival and Fun Run
11	12	13 AP Human Geography Exam	14	15	16 AP Spanish Lit Exam	17 General Assembly @ 9:00 DPTO Garage Sale and Car Wash
18	19	20	21	22 Last day for new material grades 8-12	23 Review Day grades 8-12	24
25	26 Review Day grades 8-12	27 Review Day grades 8-12	28 Semester Exams grades 8-12	29 Semester Exams grades 8-12	30 Semester Exams grades 8-12 Awards Ceremony Last Day of Students	31
1	2 Recup Day for 12th grade	3 National Anthem Exam	4 TES Exam Rehearsal for graduation	5	6 Graduation day @ 9:00	7
8	9 Summer school	10 Summer school	11 Summer school	12 Summer school	13 -Report Cards -Summer school	14
15	16 -Recup Exams -Summer school	17 -Recup Exams -Summer school	18 -Recup Exams -Summer school	19 -Recup Exams -Summer school	20 -Recup Exams -Summer school	21

APRIL 21 - 25

10 High School Study Tips for Students

The Best Way to Get Ready for Your Exams

By Holly Ashworth

1. Study Alone

Unless you've got a couple of friends who are super-serious about getting down to business, stay away from group study sessions because they tend to get off-topic pretty quickly. Save the social time till after you've handed in your test.

2. Create Your Perfect Study Area

The place where you study should be quiet, comfortable and free from distractions.  Go to your room, close the door and kill as many distractions as possible - like music, television, and even the internet and your phone.  If you don't have your own room that you can sneak away to, consider studying at the library instead.

3. Get it All Out

Your study materials, that is. Before you dig in, make sure you have all your books, notes, study guides and writing utensils in front of you. Don't give yourself another excuse to get up and rummage around.

4. Turn Your Notes into Flash Cards

Now that you've got all your notes in front of you, open up a pack of index cards.  As you read through the important facts, rewrite them in Q&A form on the cards.  For instance:  to study historical facts, write the historical fact on one side of the card and the key details on the other side.  To study geometry formulas, right the name of the formula on one side and the formula itself on the other side.

5. Snack Healthy While You Study

If you want to stay sharp while you study, stay away from junk food.  Instead, snack on studying-friendly foods like dark leafy greens, whole grains, peanut butter, milk and seafood.  Feeling sluggish?  Caffeine or energy drinks won't help you in the long run.  Get your energy boost instead by eating a banana or an apple.

6. Narrow it down

If you try to study every single thing your teacher's ever said, you'll go crazy. Instead, focus on the most important topics. If you're not sure what those are, read the study guide (if there is one), or ask your classmates. Once you've nailed down the important stuff, if there's still time left before the test, you can move onto the finer details.

7. Take a Break

Your brain can only take so much hard work at one time. For every hour that you study, take about 15 minutes to do something mindless, like taking a walk, listening to music or playing a computer game. (You can even take a 15-minute nap, if you're confident you can wake yourself up at the end of it.) It'll keep your stress level down and give your brain a chance to let all that information sink in.

8. Put Yourself to the Test

Once you've got your set of flash cards, test yourself with them.  If you don't trust yourself not to cheat, give the cards to your parents and have them test you.  Don't stop till you've made it through the whole stack without any mistakes.  And be sure to bring your flash cards to school with you on the day of the test:  you'll be amazed at how much more you can retain if you run through the cards right before your teacher hands out the test packet.

9. Get Some Sleep

You might be tempted to pull an all-nighter, but if you do, you'll only be hurting your chances of getting an A.  Get a full 8 hours of sleep so your brain is in good shape on test day. 

10. Study All Semester Long

It's tempting to hold off on studying till the last minute, especially if you tell yourself that anything you try to memorize earlier on won't really stay in your brain.  That's not true.  Take some time throughout the semester to review all of your notes and re-read important passages in your text book.  It might seem tedious, but it'll really keep all those facts in your brain on test day.

Taken from: http://teenadvice.about.com/od/schoolscolleges/tp/10-High-School-Study-Tips-For-Students.htm

APRIL 7 - 11

7 Steps to Becoming an Effective Listener

Effective communication is one of the keys to success in life, and when you’re good at it, people notice. When you mention improving communication skills to most people they tend to think this means developing persuasive speech and conversational skills, but that is only a part of it. To be a really effective communicator you have to understand just how important it is to be an effective listener!

“Why do you think we have two ears and only one mouth?” There’s major clue about the importance of listening in that question. Always remember that listening is at least 50% of the communication effort so it’s well worth your time and effort to develop this precious skill, too.

None of your persuasive, conversational skills will matter if you don’t listen too. Think about it: don’t you always know when you are talking to someone and they are not listening to you? Of course you do, and it works both ways. You want your audience to be an effective listener so return the compliment and make sure you are one too.

Fight the urge to speak. Sometimes when you’re engaged in a heated conversation, you start to concentrate on what you’re going to say next. You may even be tempted to open your mouth before the other person is finished. Make the extra effort to keep your lips sealed until they’ve finished talking.  While they’re speaking, don’t worry about what you’re going to say or how you’re going to say it. Instead, focus on the words and body language of the other person. Let them know you are listening to them.

Look interested. Your nonverbal communication skills are important while you’re listening. If you look disinterested and uncaring, the person trying to communicate with you will likely pick up on these subtle hints. They may become flustered and less likely to share their thoughts. Makes sense, right? Why bother if you’re not listening? Try to engage with the person talking. Make eye contact and nod your head or smile. Let your conversation partner know that their points are coming across to you.

Repeat the highlights. One way to literally tell your conversation partner that you’re an effective listener is to simply restate their points. You can repeat key phrases in an affirming tone. You can even give them a quick summary of what they just said in your own words.  Try to avoid sharing your opinions when repeating their concepts or ideas. At this point, you simply want to communicate that you’ve listened to them and completely understood their meaning.

Ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask your conversation partner to elaborate on what they’re saying. If you need further information, then ask for it. The important thing is that you really understand what they’re trying to get across.

Be patient. It’s also important to be patient, especially when you’re working with people who may be shy or may not have the ability to communicate very well. You must allow the speaker the opportunity to speak. If you’re not patient, you may well kill the conversation stone dead and scare off your conversation partner.

Follow your partner’s lead. Being an effective listener doesn’t mean that your only job is to listen. You can and should add to the conversation, too. At the same time, you don’t want to overpower the conversation. Add your input when they ask for it or when they’ve finished their point.

Practice to become the most Effective Listener.  These skills don’t just apply to important business discussions. They should be used to enhance your everyday life. Practice often to make sure you are becoming a more effective listener. After you’ve had a conversation, ask yourself what you remember from it. Write down the details if necessary. Did you allow the other person to do most of the talking?

When you fight the urge to dominate conversations, you’ll become a much more effective listener and be able to truly hear what people have to say!

Taken from: http://positivitytoolbox.net/positivity-tool-effective-listener.html