May the Fourth Be With You!
Dear Central Academy students and families,
Happy Star Wars day to all my fellow fans! (May the 4th… May the Force). I pulled out my Jedi costume just to type you this note! The fictional character, Jedi Master Yoda, has many comments that take on special meaning for me as we continue our remote learning this semester. For example, I love Star Wars’ concept of the Force as “an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and…binds the galaxy together” as we think about all the invisible ties of friendship and connection that have bound us together during this crisis.
“Reach out with your feelings.” – Yoda
Teacher Appreciation Week
May 4th kicks off National Teacher Appreciation week. Please consider sending a note of gratitude to a current or former teacher. Often the appreciation we have for our teachers manifests long after we leave their classes. Teachers are essential workers. This year in particular, a few heartfelt words could have a big impact, not only for the teacher, but also for you. Expression of gratitude helps both the sender and the receiver. You can find Academy teacher email addresses HERE. Every DMPS school website has a faculty page with teacher email addresses listed.
“Mind what you have learned. Save you it can.” – Yoda
Advanced Placement Testing
Open note AP Tests will be taken at home this year starting next week. As the tests get closer, people sometimes forget that we have been preparing for these exams all year. Remember, study guides are most helpful to the people who prepare them. On an open note test, you don’t want to spend time searching for the answer; you want to spend your time crafting your answer. The AP Tests will be about the skills you have developed over the course of the year. Working with friends to pull together and share study guides is a great way to practice and review what you know. It can give you confidence that you know where to look if you need it. Download any shared documents you want before the test. Spend time organizing your files and resources so that you have everything on hand for the test. Remember, using shared documents DURING the test would be a violation. But downloading shared documents to use during the test is fine.
Parents and students, you can find all the latest updates for this year’s unusual AP tests at cb.org/AP2020 Watch this SHORT VIDEO on how testing will work. You can practice using the upload tools and test your system by doing the DEMO to avoid technical difficulties on the day of the test (use the word, PRACTICE as your username). Anyone, even parents, can do the demo to see how it works. Download the AP Testing Guide 2020 and the AP Student Exam Day Checklist. Students who take a World Language test have to download an app onto their phone or tablet for their test since it will be a speaking and listening test.
If you are taking the class World History People and Places, your AP Exam is HUMAN GEOGRAPHY!
Find out more in the testing guide or on our webpage.
“Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future.” -Yoda
Senior Recognition Ceremony
Every year Central Academy has a Senior Recognition Ceremony in April to honor and celebrate our seniors. Many of them have been attending the program for 5 – 6 years. This year we are celebrating virtually with the largest collaborative project I’ve ever been a part of! Seniors have been invited to film a 10 – 30 second “Stage Walk Video” and we are pulling them all together with our awards speeches and elected senior speaker.
As a parent of a graduating senior, I have been heartsick about the loss of this particular semester of celebration. But making the demonstration videos and now watching the students’ submissions roll in, has been a balm on this hurt. The videos that have come in so far have been a variety of sweet, serious, and funny. There have been expressions of gratitude, whimsical commentaries, memories about Academy experiences, and documentation of this spring’s unusual activities during building closure. There have been statements of hope and statements of purpose. There have been dances, sighs, laughs, and even demonstrations of personal hygiene! There is still time, Seniors, to get in on this project. Of course, we are offering multiple opportunities to participate. Learn more HERE.
Cheers! And May the Fourth be with you!
