“AP classes like Environmental Science challenge you,” said Hannah, a JHS junior who has taken four AP courses this year and will take five next year. “Also, I plan to go to college for pre-med or engineering. By taking and excelling at AP courses, you show colleges that you are a serious student and stand out when applying.”

Hannah is right. Taking AP courses during high school will help students impress college admissions counselors by looking at students who are willing to work hard and challenge themselves in high school, it makes them more attractive during the admissions process.

At Jamestown High School, students have the opportunity to take 13 Advanced Placement Courses and Tests in the 2011-12 school year. Besides AP Environmental Science, JHS offers AP Chemistry, AP Psychology, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Literature and Composition, AP Studio Art, AP US History, AP European History, AP Biology, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Physics Electricity and Magnetism and AP English Language and Composition.

Research shows that AP experiences in high school will benefit students in important ways when they reach college. If students take enough AP classes, they can potentially graduate from college a semester or even a year early and save thousands of dollars. Many former JHS students have accumulated enough credit through AP and college-level courses that by graduation have started college as sophomores. AP students also qualify for more scholarships. AP classes require the type of high-level calculating and critical thinking that students will encounter in their first year of college.

“I love the AP science and math classes and just really love school. I plan to major in pre-med and I know colleges look at your course load and the types of classes you are taking,” said JHS junior Zachary Eklum who is taking six AP courses this year and plans on taking five next year. “I think one of the reason JHS should continue offering such a wide variety of AP courses is that it helps students stay motivated to learn. We are interested in acquiring additional knowledge subject areas and AP courses help us develop our skills and interests.”

AP classes can help a student select a major by proving in-depth introduction to a specific subject area. By opening up electives through AP credits, students can try different interests and make it feasible to add a minor or even a second major.

“I need the challenge of AP courses,” said JHS senior Haley Kulakowski who took eight AP course last year and five this year, She is interested in majoring in International Relations working in the Peace Corp or women’s rights in the Middle East. “They are challenging and I know, for example, if score high on my AP English exams, I may have a enough credit to go into college with a English minor or maybe even a major depending on the school. We are lucky to have so many AP courses to choose from and that the fact that we can even take five in one year is such a benefit to us as students.”

To read more about the trip, click the link the Post-Journal article:

Raz-Kids gives teachers hundreds of animated, leveled books engaging students at their reading level and in their area of interest. Teachers can customize assignments, view reports, and track student progress every step of the way

The Ironmen ran six station circuits that worked on passing, stick handling, shooting, relay races, pylometrics and even a skating simulation station using paper plates for the students to stand on and slide across the floor using a skating motion.

At an all-school assembly the Ironmen and the Persell Faculty/Student played a floor hockey game. The Persell team held their own but the Ironmen, as professionals, toyed with the Persell players stringing passes together with the ball in the net before the Persell players saw it. The Jamestown Ironmen are the local NAHL hockey team. They gave every student a free pass to the home game on Saturday, February 18th with a paid adult ticket.

“Hopefully activities like this will have students pick up a stick, start playing in their driveway and be more active,” said Mr. Dix. “Or even go to the rink and start skating or playing hockey. People often say ‘There is nothing to do in this town.’ Showing students a new activity including going to an Ironmen game is a great, inexpensive way to see some fast, fun entertaining local hockey.”

photo by Liz Skoczylas @ The Post-Journal

Jamestown High School held a Curriculum Showcase on Wednesday night to highlight to students and parents the wide variety of courses available. The Showcase offered departments the opportunity to talk about their selections and Honor Society students were available to give tours of the school. For more information on the Curriculum Showcase, read the Post-Journal article:

Post-Journal’s JHS Curriculum Showcase Article

For a PDF detailing the 2011-12 JHS Course Selection Guide please click here.

“Whenever you have the opportunity to make an assignment personal and meaningful in their lives, the children learn better and retain more information,” said the teachers.

The students wrote two letters with their activities and interests and learned to ask questions of the high school students who then responded in a letter back. Every time an envelope arrived in the classroom the students lit up with excitement. They could not wait to read the letters and write back.

“I like to play soccer so I told my pen pal,” said first grader Olivia Kubera. “It is fun to write because it helps us learn better in school. I found out that my pen pal really likes to play basketball.”

Meeting their pen pals was the highlight of the project. The classes have been keeping track of the JHS Boys Basketball games and the scores, which has incorporated math into the project. The players and students created pom-poms to use at the last home game. The students were also invited to attend the game with their teachers.

“It’s a great idea for high school students to participate in projects like this as it gives the kids a good role model,” said JHS senior Adam Cecchini who attended Ring Elementary School. “It also shows students that it is a good idea to be involved in extracurricular activities.”

So begins an excerpt from the book, Goodnight iPad, a parody of the book, Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. While this modern day version offers smiles from the students, it’s an observation of where our world has advanced to via technology. As times have evolved, so has Jamestown Public Schools in providing current day opportunities and experiences so that students can compete and succeed as they enter the real world. The Technology Department generously provided iPads for Love students to use during their library time with Library Media Specialist, Jennie Vaughn.

The students were ecstatic to learn they would be utilizing the iPad as just one means of research this year. Currently, they are learning how to use the online catalogue, “Destiny,” and finding specific authors, titles or keywords. This is a valuable skill in order for students to feel confident walking into their middle school library or public library and be successful and independent in locating what they need. The students are quick studies on how to switch from landscape to portrait, enlarging text for easier reading, typing in their searches and flipping from screen to screen.

“I like using the iPad because it’s like a computer but I can find things on it easily,” said third grader Lebron Fisher. “Once I look up something, I can go directly to the place in the library where the book is located.”

Students’ journey with iPads is only in the beginning stages. Mrs. Vaughn plans to incorporate a variety of applications to complement the lessons and accommodate a variety of learning styles. The student’s enthusiasm for utilizing this equipment is showcased in their collegiate response toward learning. They are actively engaged; eager to complete their work correctly to showcase they can capably utilize the equipment, and demonstrate a more respectful attitude toward the use equipment that has been provided for them.

As Library Media Specialist for Love and Lincoln Schools, Mrs. Vaughn believes it is her job to infuse and rally as much enthusiasm for whatever tools the library has to offer to further children’s knowledge – books, globes, reference materials, computers, iPads, etc. It is all about balance and exposure to many different types of research tools.

Examples of other Love School library activities include: First grade’s comprehensive map/globe unit which includes singing songs about the oceans and continents, searching globes, reading books about animals from around the world, creating a pictorial map, placing an animal on the correct continent and using a map database to create a zoo map. Second graders complete a research unit on bats – reading both fiction and nonfiction, taking notes, organizing and editing to create a final paper. Third graders benefit by going into more in-depth research tools like the dictionary and thesaurus during their library time.

“The balance of providing valuable literature and effective technology is a pivotal role in our library media centers today,” said Mrs. Vaughn. “Building confidence in using these resource tools is vital in building the foundation towards increasing student’s success levels in all core curriculum areas.”

“By showing them how to cook using healthy foods, it is not only good for them but also shows how inexpensive and fun cooking at home can be,” said Mrs. Badach. “Family & Consumer Science is a life skills class. It is one thing to talk about how to eat healthy, but experiencing it firsthand by creating, tasting and sharing leaves students with  a healthy relationship with food.

“Everyone was  amazed at how different and unique each student’s artwork was even though they all used the same circles as the basis for the piece,” said Mrs. Whitman. “We also concentrated on the proper care and use of markers for this project.”

Leann Love, from JHS’ Career & Counseling Center also presented information on how to complete and submit the FAFSA form and  the JHS on-line scholarship. Please click links below for more information.

Community Foundation’s PowerPoint Presentation

How to Approach College Applications & Scholarships

Senior Financial Aid Calendar