Spieg quote

“One of the goals of teaching Advanced Placement is you want to see your student pass the AP test, but that’s not the only goal in teaching an AP class. There’s definite data out there that tells us that students do better in college regardless of how they do on the AP test. I don’t really judge myself as a teacher based on how my students do on the AP test. I like to see them pass and I push them to but it’s not going to change what I do in the classroom.” -Spiegelman

In January of 2008, Miami Beach Senior High School began acting on the interest of starting an International Baccalaureate program. When asked what the IB program was, Andy Weiss, who is the school’s Scholars Academy lead teacher and the IB Coordinator Designate, explained that “The IB program is a course of study that allows students to earn college credit in high school, similar to our AP courses that we already have within the Scholars Academy.” The only difference between the two is that the IB program is recognized worldwide and it is a more comprehensive program of study.

            In an IB School, students must take a college level course in each of the six subject areas -English, Mathematics, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Foreign Languages, and Fine Arts. So far, the IB Program proposal at Miami Beach Senior High has been through the first two of four stages in the application process. The second stage was completed on October 16, 2008- when Andy Weiss received a congratulatory email notifying him that the school’s IB candidacy was approved. When asked about the positive influence of the IB Program, the school’s Science Department Chairperson and AP Environmental Teacher, David Guthrie, said “it gives students more opportunities here at Beach High to participate in advanced programs for college preparation and have more rigorous content and curriculum. I think it’s going to be a great program to give students a well rounded education.”

 

Currently, there are some enthusiastic and dedicated teachers who are completing the third step of the acceptance process, called “Application B”, which must be turned in by April 2009. “Application B” requires the faculty to create curriculum plans for the classes the school intends on offering through their future IB Program. So far, 11 teachers have already attended workshops, and have begun writing their intended course curriculums. Beach High’s “Anatomy and Physiology”, “Honors Biology”, and former “AP Biology” teacher Jennifer Russell, when asked about her IB Biology workshops, said “I very much enjoyed it. I thought it was great to be with other people who were internationals. You get to work with people, teachers, and students from all over the world, and the teachers students have an opportunity for exchange.”

 

In Fall 2009, in-school evaluations of students and teachers by IB Site Visitors will be conducted. When that final step is completed, and Miami Beach Senior High is approved as an IB School, classes of the International Baccalaureate program will start in August of 2010 with its first participants being the Class of 2012 who will then be juniors. If and when accepted, Miami Beach Senior High will join a South Florida community of schools that are already part of the International Baccalaureate program. Other IB Schools in the area include Coral Reef High School, Gulliver Preparatory School, North Miami Senior High School, and Miramar High School. When asked what his feelings were on the IB Program’s progress at Miami Beach Senior High, Weiss said “Everything is going as planned and I am excited to see what challenges the next months hold for us. The IB Program is a necessary tool that Beach High could use to strengthen its students’ minds and raise the standards of public education.”

omg-ib1

IB UPDATE 

In January of 2008, Miami Beach Senior High School began acting on the interest of starting an International Baccalaureate program. When asked what the IB program was, Andy Weiss, who is the school’s Scholars Academy lead teacher and the IB Coordinator Designate, explained that “The IB program is a course of study that allows students to earn college credit in high school, similar to our AP courses that we already have within the Scholars Academy.” The only difference between the two is that the IB program is recognized worldwide and it is a more comprehensive program of study.

 In this program, students must take a college level course in each of the six subject areas -English, Mathematics, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Foreign Languages, and Fine Arts.  So far, the IB Program has been through the first two of four stages in the application process. The second stage was completed on October 16, 2008- when Andy Weiss received a congratulatory email notifying the school that the IB candidacy was approved. When asked about the positive influence of the IB Program, ________said “________”.  Currently, select teachers are completing the third step of the acceptance process, called “Application B”, which must be turned in by April 2009.

“Application B” entails creating curriculum plans for the classes the school intends on offering through their IB Program. These same teachers have been attending workshops, and preparing for evaluations. David Guthrie, when asked about his “Theory of Knowledge” workshops, said “_______”.

In Fall 2009, in-school evaluations of students and teachers by IB Site Visitors will be conducted. When that final step is completed, and Miami Beach Senior classes of the International Baccalaureate program will start in August of 2010 with its first participants being the Class of 2012 the current freshmen.

Schools that are already part of the International Baccalaureate program include Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, Coral Reef High School, Gulliver Preparatory School, North Miami Senior High School, and Miramar High School. These schools are nationally renowned for academics. Soon, this list will hopefully include Miami Beach Senior High.

rock-ensemble

Amendment 8

Amendment 8, the Local Option Community Funding bill, failed to pass in Florida with 56.5% of voters disapproving it on November 4. This amendment, if passed, would have required the state to impose local option sales tax levies for counties to fund community colleges. Although the Miami Herald endorsed this bill, South Floridians voted no on the item. The benefits of this bill passing would have included more direct funding for community colleges and local education programs. Voters chose not to pass the bill, though, because it would be another local sales tax to pay and it could eventually decrease funding sent directly from the state to the community colleges. Many people in South Florida who are affected by Miami Dade Community College’s economic stresses were disappointed at the outcome. Miami Dade Honors College student Gleider Dominguez stated that “the school needs money, and Amendment 8 really would have helped us out.”

file: amendment-8

I LOVE JOSH DERMER WITH ALL MY HEART. I

WANT HIM TO FATHER MY FUTURE CHILDREN.

Really….

IB Update

IB UPDATE 

In January of 2008, Miami Beach Senior High School began acting on the interest of starting an International Baccalaureate program. When asked what the IB program was, Mr. Andy Weiss (the school’s Scholars Academy lead teacher and the IB Coordinator Designate), explained that “The IB program is a course of study that allows students to earn college credit in high school, similar to our AP courses that we already have within the Scholars Academy.” The only difference between the two is that the IB program is recognized worldwide and it is a more comprehensive program of study.

 In this program, students must take a college level course in each of the 6 subject areas -English, Mathematics, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Foreign Languages, and Fine Arts.  So far, our IB Program has been through the first 2 of 4 stages in the application process. The second stage was completed on October 16^th, 2008- when Mr. Andy Weiss received a congratulatory email notifying the school that the IB candidacy was approved. Although this is great news, the next two stages of IB acceptance will be brutal. In 2009, in-school evaluations of students and teachers by IB Site Visitors will be conducted. If the school is not ‘up-to-par’, it could mean waiting another year before the IB Program is launched at Miami Beach Senior High.  If all goes well, though, the International Baccalaureate program will start in August of 2010 with its first participants being the Class of 2012 (our current freshmen).

Schools that are already part of the International Baccalaureate program include Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, Coral Reef High School, Gulliver Preparatory School, North Miami Senior High School, and Miramar High School. These schools are nationally renowned for academics. Soon, this list will hopefully include Miami Beach Senior High.

 

Uniform

UNIFORM Do’s & Don’ts

            Scarlet, silver and white. Miami Beach High got voted as a uniform school by the parents for the 2008-2009 school years and on. The school decided on the uniform regulations such as, the students may wear white, silver gray and scarlet red Tee’s. As for the bottom, they may wear denim or black jeans, khaki pants and cargo pants for boys and capris for girls. Parents were relieved for the school being voted for uniforms, while some students felt the opposite. “It’s unfair [the school] is making [the students] wear uniform,” Junior Eduardo Keane stated. “Being able to wear what we wanted was our way of expressing ourselves.” Even though, students disagree with the new rule, many others have created ways to make it “fashionable.” Here are Do’s to make your uniform “stylish” and Don’ts that make your uniform inappropriate and just plain ugly…

Do’s

Don’ts

·         Plain Tee’s without any logo (“Yup, in my white tee!”) ·         Back-strapped sandals (Very stylish for girls.) ·         V-necks (Not so stuffy on your neck.) ·         Mid-Knee length shorts (Keep it cool in Bermudas) ·         Accessorize: -Jewelry (Oversized studs, bangles, and watches shine!) -Belts (Rocker studded belts or cowboy leather works.) -Book bag (Neon, plaid, and messenger bags are hot.) -Sunglasses (keep them on your head till dismissal) ·         Vests (Not only for boys anymore, make sure it’s a button down) ·         Unique Shoes ·         One word: MATCH ·

·         Shirts with logos (including the “MB Senior High” logo… Whack!) ·         Flip-flops (Safety first– clean feet second!) ·         Deep V-necks (Cleavage? NO!) ·         Short shorts (Save the legs for the beach!) ·         PE uniform outside PE area (Ballin’ all day?) ·         Extremely ripped jeans (Why pay so much, for such little fabric…) ·         Baggy pants (No visible underwear, please.) ·         Leggings (Leaves nothing to imagination…) ·         Tank-tops (No need for underarm hair!) ·         Imitation sneakers (They never looked real anyway.) ·         No silly jewelry (Chonga hoops with names inside, ew.) ·         Tacky: Wacky-Mix and Overmatching

 

Planner (for opinion piece with Amanda)

Name: Kristeen Pawly

 

Story:  Pro: Rudy Crew

 

Section:  Opinion

 

Deadline: Next Week

 

People I need to talk to for quotes / information                 When?

 

1. Dadeschools.net                                                                  1. ASAP

2. Miami Herald                                                                      2. ASAP

 

Six initial questions I’ll ask:

 

Who? Who is Rudy Crew? Who likes him?

What? What has he done to improve the MDCPS System? What has he done to negatively affect the school system?

 

When? When was he elected or presented the title of “Superintedent of the Year?” When did problems with him begin to arise? When did he put the ZONE program into action?

 

Where? Where does Rudy Crew’s positive work show the most?

 

Why? Why is it that people support Rudy Crew? Why do some want to fire him before his term is over?

 

How? How is it that people expect to fire the superintedent of schools during the school year? How has Rudy Crew and others reacted to this surge of opposition?

 

After reading this story, the reader should have a clear idea of:

 

Who Rudy Crew is, what he does, how he does it, and why somebody would want to support him in keeping his job as Superintedent.

I think I finally fixed this blog up!

AWESOME?

COMING SOON….

“Kristeen’s Top 10 Things” – Not To Do When You’re A Freshman