Back to School 2014

h

THE HAWKEYE

(this year by the numbers) CONSTRUCTION • THE FRESHMAN CLASS • snowdays • And more page 2

ansanswering the question: w'which lunch period

do you have?’

SEPTEMBER CALENDAR page 8

THE

+our quick&easy guide page 6

TOP

TIPS FOR success

understanding

THIS

SCHOOL YEAR plus: survive

page 4

YOU’VE GOT GMAIL (EVERYBODY DOES) page 3

senior year &tacklE

testing page 7

NEWS+BRIEFS by the numbers: everything you need to know for 2014-15

is the cost for one ticket to a home football game this year. The next home game will take place on September 12th against Rochester Hills Stoney Creek. The Black Hawks are also playing at Clarkston on the 5th (this Friday) and at Troy on the 19th.

37.5%

emergency drills (at least) will take place this school year in accordance with state law. Three of the required five fire drills will be held before December 1st. In addition, there will be at least two tornado safety drills (one of them will be in March) and three lockdown drills.

march 2016 is the expected completion date of the new BHHS. However, classes will still begin there in September 2015.

editorial policy The Bloomfield Hills Hawkeye is a student publication distributed free of charge to over 1,600 students, faculty, local

of BHHS students enroll in college level (AP/IB) classes.

39 college level classes are offered and 64% of students who took these classes received a score leading to college credit on an AP or IB exam last year. is the maximum number of snowdays, power outages or unexpected cancellations of school before additional days or hours must be added to the year.

Six of these days are forgiven by the state and the other four are budgeted into the district calendar.

ask the editors: what’s the best decision you’ve made in high school? maitreyi anantharaman “I signed up for the forensics class and auditioned for the team on a whim, but now I can’t imagine high school without it. I’ve met so many incredible people and I can’t wait to be a captain this year to encourage other people to have as much fun on the team as I do.”

the news as fairly and as accurately as possible.

SEPTEMBER 2014 THE HAWKEYE 2

Michigan Department of Education bhhs.bloomfield.org Bloomfield Hills Annual Reports Oakland Activities Association

Welcome back to school, Black Hawks! We hope you enjoy our 1st Day of School issue and our new look as much as we enjoyed creating them. We wish you a wonderful and unforgettable school year.

strive to inform, to entertain and to excellence. We are committed to reporting

sources

from the editors

community members and businesses. We continue a tradition of journalistic

students in the Class of 2018 (the freshman class), the school’s largest class.

sarah kovan

narmeen rehman

“The best decision I’ve “Walking into room 306, made in high school is I didn’t expect that newsto not overwhelm myself paper would ever mean so with extracurricular much to me. But joining activities, but rather to was the best decision choose the ones that are I’ve made. It helped me most meaningful to me.” find my voice, meet great people and grow in more ways than I could have imagined.”

courtney zhu “Taking risks. The best decision I made was to push myself far beyond the boundaries of my comfort zone. And along the way, with infinite courage and perseverance, I discovered my passions and made memories that’ll last a lifetime.”

technology

Q&a

Going Google Media Specialist Stephanie Bevier answers our questions about the new student email addresses

q A

Why did the school decide to adopt student email addresses?

THE HAWKEYE

q A

Are middle and elementary schoolers receiving school email addresses as well?

Don’t want to check two email accounts? We can help!

THE HAWKEYE

Having universal Gmail accounts will make it easier for teachers and students to communicate. There were cases of STEPHANIE BEVIER kids not having emails and emails bouncing back. We’ve also had cases where students have had inappropriate email addresses that have shown up as spam. Your new email addresses are already in our system, which will alleviate all of those kinds of problems. Additionally, the district itself has started “going Google.”

Yes. However, high schoolers have more freedom in that they can email people outside of the district.

STEPHANIE BEVIER Eighth grade and below can only email other people with Bloomfield gmail accounts.

q A

What about the teachers? Are they getting new email addresses this year?

THE HAWKEYE

q A

Forwarding emails to your personal account

The teachers actually switched over to gmail last year, but it was so seamless that not many people noticed.

STEPHANIE BEVIER They will have the same email addresses as always.

Why has the district started “going Google?”

THE HAWKEYE

We started using Google applications because they allow for collaboration between teachers, between students, and beSTEPHANIE BEVIER tween teachers and students. Google Drive makes the sharing of documents very easy. Up to 50 people can work on a single document at once, which works really well with Project Based Learning. Google Calendar allows students, teachers, and parents to subscribe to district calendars and layer them on top of their personal calendars so that everything is in one place. Google Drive, Google Calendar, and many other Google applications automatically come with your student Gmail accounts.

q A

How can we figure out our email addresses and passwords?

THE HAWKEYE

Your username will be your last name dot your first name, followed by the last two numbers of your stuSTEPHANIE BEVIER dent ID at bloomfield.org. Your password will be your locker combination.

WANT TO REACH A BLACK HAWK?

1.

2.

3.

4.

Log on to your school Gmail account.

5.

Select “Add a forwarding address” and enter your personal account name.

6.

Check your personal account for a verification email from Gmail.

7.

Click the link to confirm your request.

Click on the gear in the top right corner.

Select “Settings.”

Select “Forwarding and POP/IMAP.”

last name . first name and last two numbers of student ID @bloomfield.org

example: doe.john55@bloomfield.org

our top back-to-school apps

MYHOMEWORK

BRAINSCAPE

This digital planner will color code your assignments by due date, send you reminders, and even reward you for doing your homework MyHomeork is free in iTunes, Google Play, Kindle Fire, and Windows 8.

This recently updated flashcard app lets you embed videos and uses confidence-based repetition to modify the pattern of cards based on the liklihood that you will remeber an answer.

BrainScape is free in iTunes.

EVERNOTE This easy-to-use app allows you to create notes and to-do lists, record voice notes, digitize documents, and more. Plus, it can instantly sync your notes to your computer and other devices.

Evernote is free in iTunes, Google Play, Kindle Fire, and Windows 8.

september 2014 the hawkeye 3

a guide to understanding

looking into

small learning communities 2014-2015 The current ninth grade class will be divided into four learning communities while the tenth grade class will be divided into three.

Each learning community contains four core disciplines: math, social studies, English, and science. students within that learning community will share the same teachers for their core academic curriculum.

9th grade 10th grade

4 FAQ

?

3

Is this going to be like middle school all over again?

Small learning communities are not like ‘teams’ found in junior high but are what students will encounter in most college campuses.

What is a small learning communtiy?

It is a form of school structure that subdivides large secondary schools into smaller groups of students and teachers.

math english

social studies

Beginning in the fall of 2014, students in ninth and tenth grades at Bloomfield Hills High School will move into a Learning Communities model in many of their core classes.

outside each

community

Learning communities are only for core classes. Beyond the classroom, students will still be able to take electives such as art, gym, music, and world languages.

art

Current juniors and seniors will not move into learning communities for the 2014-2015 school year.

The decision to move to learning communities is based on our four cornerstones.

sports

innovation

authentic learning

science

responsibility

&ownership

FAQ

?

music

What if I take a higher level math class?

Students aren’t “locked” in an LC. Students will travel in and out of the LC based on course selections.

WHY DO WE HAVE LEARNING COMMUNITIES? Learning communities offer increased interdisciplinary connections, greater responsibility and ownership of your community, and the chance to build stronger relationships with teachers and other students.

For more information about learning communities, visit the BHHS website.

Information courtesy of the BHHS Learning Community Committee of 2014

within each community

learning communities

HOw are students divided?

Can you still see your friends if you’re not in the same LC?

Divisions and placement will be based on course requests made by each student.

Of course. Your friends may already be in your LC. For those who aren’t, you will see each other during electives, lunch, extra-curriculars, and passing time.

quiz when do you have

lunch?

start

Do you attend BHHS? yes

Go check your

no

You don’t even go here!

Do you know what class you have 5th/6th hour?

schedule.

no

yes Which campus?

main

model

9th grade Which room?

Which hallway?

200 500 learning strategies

] 100 400 engineering

] 300 DHH ESL music PE TV

a lunch 10:35am - 11:05am 6 THE HAWKEYE SEPTEMBER 2014

1-11 15 L-2 K-2

b lunch 11:30am - 12:00pm

c lunch 12:20pm - 12:50pm

12-14 16-18 K-1 art music

the hawkeye’s high school survival guide freshman A+

advice

Gain insider tips for the upcoming school year from students and alumni

High school is the real deal Adjusting to high school may seem scary, but it isn’t really that hard. Try your best and put in all the effort you can into your classes because high school may seem hard at first, but if you put in the time then adjusting to your classes will not be hard at all.

-Sophia Little {Soccer}

Now that you’ve jumped over the huge hurdle of adjusting to high school, you’re in a perfect position to start shaping yourself in a non-academic way. Clubs and sports at school will help you find your passion and enrich you as an individual.

-Kelly Wester {Forensics}

{to get that A+}

Don’t overwhelm yourself

High school is overwhelming, especially as a freshman.

You’re introduced to a much heavier workload that’s often hard to manage. It’s easier to bite off more than you can chew. Start off with a few extracurriculars, see how you can handle it, and then get more involved.

-Nick Bellinson {Cross Country}

sophomore Get involved at school

LIFE HACKS

Having trouble waking up?

Place your alarm on the other side of the room so you will be forced to get up out of bed instead of automatically reaching for the snooze button. Also, make sure that your alarm tone is something tranquil so that you will wake up calm and refreshed.

Don’t let hard classes scare you The work that you put into your classes will come back to you. So if you put in the time, you will get the results you want. If you’re taking your first AP/IB class, know that it will help you grow as a student and better prepare you for more challenging courses your junior year.

Always running late to class?

-Meridith Pensler {BuildOn}

Set your schedule and a map of the school as your phone’s background so you can take a peek at them during passing time and make it to class on time during the first week of school.

Don’t burn yourself out

Having trouble memorizing for tests?

junior Seriously, don’t procrastinate

This year matters more than anything; colleges are looking at you and it’s your time to prove yourself. Procrastinating is easy, but don’t let yourself do that--keep your phone away and social media silent so you can avoid procrastinating while studying.

-Jubilee Jackson {Lacrosse}

Junior year is the most rigorous year of your high school career. Take hard classes and get good grades, but don’t sit in your room and study 24/7. Go out, take a break, and have fun. If you don’t, you’ll get burnt out and you don’t want that to happen before senior year.

-Siddharth Ramanathan {Tennis}

senior Finish college applications early

Every year, many seniors are still scrambling in November and December, writing essays either because they procrastinated or because they entered senior year without a clear idea of schools to apply to. Finishing applications earlier will take a weight off of your shoulders and your senior year will become instantly more enjoyable.

-Josh Inwald {Northwestern University}

Don’t let colleges discourage you Self-respect is going to matter for much longer than the result of a lottery that happened when you were eighteen. So yes, do your best, start early. If you know what kind of university you want to go to, then by all means, do whatever it takes--do whatever you can--to get what you want. But keep in mind that whether you get it does not change your worth as a human being.

-Anshu Chen {Yale University}

Get out your gum and get chewing!

According to CNN, studies show that chewing gum can increase your concentration. If you chew the same flavor that you chewed while studying during your test, it will improve your memory.

tfd Can’t focus while studying?

We’ve all been there. A five-minute break on twitter turns into an hour and you just wasted time you don’t have. To avoid that scenario, download a software such as Self Control [Mac] or Cold Turkey [PC] to block distracting sites for a certain amount of time.

september 2014 the hawkeye 7

September^ 2014

Sunday

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Wednesday

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Thursday

Friday

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Saturday

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BACK TO SCHOOL! O

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BOYS VARSITY SOCCER GAME 7pm fall musical auditions Picture DAY

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BOYS VARSITY FOOTBALL GAME ACT TESTING 7pm

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GIRLS VARSITY VOLLEYBALL GAME 7pm

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Curriculum night 7pm

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O=Odd Day E=Purple even day [No moving] E=Black Even day [moving]

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NO SCHOOL KEY

BOYS VARSITY SOCCER GAME 7pm

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GIRLS VARSITY SWIMMING 6pm

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BOYS VARSITY FOOTBALL GAME 7pm

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October^ preview COLLEGE NIGHT 10/06

HOMECOMING GAME 10/10