It feels good to write this as we near our half way mark of our first year at DRSS.  While we have had some small bumps along the way, we have had many successes at DRSS already.  A huge thanks goes out to all of our staff, students, parents, and partners for all of their hard work over the first half of the school year!

Last Thursday we hosted our first Exhibition event at DRSS. The event showcased our students' work in  their Aerospace unit over the previous three weeks.  I’ve included some photos of our students working on the unit and of the Exhibition event.  Thanks to all of you that were able to attend.

One other item to pass along is that we are canceling our Town Hall meeting that was scheduled for January 5, 2010.  We had a couple of discussion items for that night, but have not been able to pull things together in time for that evening.  We will either find a later date or include these items in our third quarter meeting.

I hope you find time enjoy this time of year with family and friends.

Dr. Boyd

Exhibition

Parents:

I just wanted to send a quick reminder about the Exhibition event on Thursday evening. The Exhibition for the Aerospace Unit runs from 6:30-8:00 (students need to be at school by 6:15). All of you are invited to attend, and we anticipate a good number of our partners will be attending as well. All guests are welcome to circulate around to students’ posters and hear more about what they learned and accomplished through their project. Also, thanks to those of you who volunteered to help with snacks and refreshments for the event.

Dr. Boyd

Aerospace

DRSS Parents,

As many of you know from the last parents meeting or from your own child, we are in the midst of a unit on Aerospace at DRSS.  While your child can communicate many of the details of the unit, I wanted to point out a few details of interest.

1. The culmination of the unit will consist of formal presentations to teachers and outside experts during the school day on December 17 and 18.  In addition, we will be hosting an Exhibition night on December 17 from 6:30-8:00.  All of you are invited to attend the Exhibition event. 
2. For much of the unit, students will be working and preparing their final presentations in groups.  Each group received a packet of information with all they need for the unit.  This packet is also on Mrs. Helton’s moodle site if students need access to additional copies of the documents. 
3. During the school days on December 15-18, we can use some help with extra supervision as students are working on their project and preparing for their presentation. The times we need help each day are from 9:30-11:00 and 1:00-2:30.  We also could use a couple of volunteers on the exhibition night to help with snacks and refreshments.  If you are interested in helping at any of these times, please email me (brian.boyd@daytonstemschool.org) and let me know the day and time you can help.

Hope you are staying warm and safe as the winter weather begins.

Dr. Boyd

Snow Days and Plan "E"

DRSS Parents:

With the potential for bad weather during the winter months, I wanted to communicate some details about our plans for days when the weather is bad.  Unlike other public schools, DRSS does not get three calamity days from the State.  Each day we would cancel school, we would be required to make up.  To avoid canceling school and having to make up days in June, students will still attend classes electronically using their home Internet access and Elluminate sessions.

Elluminate is a program that allows students and teachers to connect and have class in a virtual setting.  Students will be emailed the links that they need for logging into each of their classes.  Logging in with their netbook may take a few minutes, and students will need to perform an audio set up to make sure the microphone and speaker on their netbook are working.  Students can try the links at any time to check and see that they are able to get into the sessions.  Students are encouraged to try these links in the next two weeks prior to any snow day.  If you do not have Internet access, or have trouble accessing a session, please notify the school ASAP.

If on-site classes must be cancelled, the school will notify students and parents via announcements on local television and radio stations and the school website by 6:45AM.  Channels 2, 22, and 45 should carry the announcement on TV, and WHIO (Channel 7) and their radio stations will have it on their websites. This will be identified as PLAN E on the TV and Radio stations. 

If on-site classes are cancelled, students will attend school via the Internet and Elluminate according to the following schedule. 

Period 1:  8:15

Period 2:  9:30

Period 3:  10:45

Period 4:  12:45

Period 5:  2:00

In addition to the online meetings, students will work on the assignments, activities, projects, etc. that teachers have posted on their Moodle websites. 

We anticipate there will be times when the school district you reside in may be delayed or closed, but DRSS is open.  This could be an issue for those of you that depend on school district busing.  In the event that your district of residence is closed, and DRSS is open, students will not be required to attend DRSS that day – however, students will still be expected to make up any work that they miss on such days.  If you have questions about this, please contact Molly or me.

Please let me know if you have questions. 

Dr. Boyd

November Parent Meeting Notes and Volunteers

Parents,

The link below will take you to the agenda and notes from Monday's parent meeting.  I didn't do as well on the notes part as last month, but the second page includes those of you that have volunteered for the various activities we need help with.  For anyone else that is interested, please email Molly or I.  If you were not at the meeting and have questions about these opportunities, please email or call.

https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AW9hCVV9xmV5ZGR0NGhiNDJfMmdzY3Fwcmdu&hl=en


Dr. Boyd

Moodle

Parents:

Our moodle site has moved. The new address is http://moodle.daytonstemschool.org/.  All usernames and passwords remain the same.  Let us know if you have questions.

Dr. Boyd

Welcome back from Thanksgiving!  As you might be able to see from the picture, the students’ new sweatshirts have arrived!  Mrs. McFarlin’s bunny tried one on to see how they fit!  :)

We will get these distributed this week to students who ordered one.  There should be extras available by the end of the week for students who still wish to purchase one for $30.

Dr. Boyd

I cannot believe that this is the last day before Thanksgiving Break.  Have we really been in school for 14 weeks already?  As we look ahead to the three weeks of school between Thanksgiving and Holiday Break, there are a few things to point out...

1. We have our next parents group meeting on Monday, November 30^th at 5:30. The agenda will consist of a few update items, some requests for help, and a time for discussion and questions.  All DRSS parents are welcome to attend.
2. On Tuesday, December 1^st we have our first Information Session for prospective students and parents for the next school year (current 7^th and 8^th grade students).  If you know anyone interested, please encourage them to attend this or future sessions.  The dates of the other sessions are on our website.
3. School pictures are scheduled for the morning of December 3^rd.  Picture packets are coming home today with your child.  Fill out the packet and have your child bring it with their payment on Thursday, December 3.  Under the “teacher/homreroom” section, please list your child’s advisor.  Pictures will be back to your child prior to the Holiday Break.

We also need help from two or three parents from 7:45-9:30 on December 3^rd.  If you are willing to help us organize the students for the photographer and help pictures run efficiently and smoothly, please email Molly (molly.johnson@daytonstemschool.org). 

I know our students are looking forward to the break.  I hope each of you enjoys some time with family and friends over the next week. 

Dr. Boyd

Robotics event, November 19

I wanted to let you know about a robotics event being held at the University of Dayton. On the evening of Thursday, November 19, Dr. Kimberly Kendricks from Central State University (and a DRSS Governing Board member) and Dr. Ordonez from the University of Dayton will provide several robotics demonstrations from two different robotics labs at UD.  This event is for high school students and their parents with a purpose to inspire a career in STEM. Sorry for the late notice, but the event is Thursday, November 19, from 6:30-8:00pm in Room 205 of the Kettering Labs building on the University of Dayton campus.

Dr. Boyd

November 12, 2009

Hello all.  Hope you are having a good week.  A couple of things of interest coming up...

There is an opening reception at the Westcott House this Saturday (November 14) from 3:00-5:00 to kickoff the exhibit of our students’ furniture from their summer project.  The opening reception is free, and we hope many of you can attend.  The exhibit runs through November 29. 

We are working to secure a photographer for the week of November 30 to have school pictures taken.  Once we have the details worked out, I will send home the information with students and post documents on this blog.

Have a great weekend!

Dr. Boyd

Entry #1, November 10, 2009

Hello all.

Welcome to my first attempt at a blog for the Dayton Regional STEM School.  Its primary purpose is to communicate with parents and students about DRSS, but may also prove helpful to prospective students, parents, and others interested in our work.  Here are some highlights for the next several weeks...

1. We have a couple of extra tutors that will join us regularly on Mondays and Thursdays from 3:30-4:30.  Both Joe and Nick are science/engineer majors at WSU and will be especially helpful to students in the areas of science, math, and engineering.  They will also be here this Wednesday (11/11/09), as there is a project due in engineering on Thursday.
2. Our second parents’ group meeting is set for November 30^th at 5:30pm at DRSS.
3. We are hosting an information session at the school for prospective students and parents on Tuesday, December 1^st at 6:30PM.  Please spread the word to any current 7^th or 8^th grader (and their parents) that may be interested in applying to DRSS for the fall of 2010.  A list of other upcoming information sessions under the “news and events” tab of our website, www.daytonstemschool.org.  We may also be asking your child to help be ambassadors for the school at events like this.

Hope you find this useful...more to come.

Dr. Boyd