Tornado 'Drill'

Mother Nature sure does have her way of keeping us on our toes!  These things never come at a good time, but in a school, there is no worse time for a tornado warning than LUNCH TIME!

Thanks to the cooperation of our staff and students.  We were able to cram 900 students and 50 plus staff members into a few small hallways, prepared for the worst.  Fortunately, it turned out to only be precautionary -- a story to tell.  In talking with a few staff members, many cannot remember ever having an actual tornado warning during school!

Again, our staff and students are to be commended for how they handled the situation!  THANKS!

20th Annual Mole Day

Friday was the CHS AP Chemistry classes' annual recognition of Mole Day (actually Mole Day eve since Mole Day is Oct. 23).  Here is a brief explanation and of the day and activities from Mr. Dave Scott:

Celebrated annually on October 23 from 6:02 a.m. to 6:02 p.m., Mole Day commemorates Avogadro's Number (6.02 x 10²³), which is a basic measuring unit in chemistry.

When the atomic masses shown on the periodic table are expressed as grams, the number of atoms present are equal to                                     6.02 x 10²³ atoms (or 1 mole).

Mole Day was created as a way to foster interest in chemistry.  Schools throughout the United States and around the world celebrate Mole Day with various activities related to chemistry and/or moles.   Mole Day, 2010 is the 20^th annual National Mole Day.

At Celina High School, Mr. Scott’s AP Chemistry class traditionally celebrates Mole Day with liquid nitrogen demos performed by

Mr. Scott, along with decorations, food, and music.

Spirit March VIDEO

We have talked about the 'Spirit March' a number of times throughout this fall.  The CHS 'Spirit March' happens on Friday mornings around 7:30 AM when the Marching Band plays the fight song as they march through the CHS hallways.  This has become a very popular and exciting event... and now you can see a small clip of the march!  Enjoy the show!

CHS Announces New Exam Schedule

Hard to believe, but we are only one month away from the end of the 1st trimester at CHS.  On November 22nd & 23rd, CHS students will be taking exams and wrapping up the trimester -- 1/3 of the way through the year!

Below is the exam schedule... parents, please note that ALL students will be released at 1:00 PM on November 23rd.  If students are unable to arrange for a ride home, they are welcome to wait in the cafeteria until buses run at 2:20 PM.

DAY 1

1st p. 7:25 - 7:55

2nd p. 8:00 - 8:30

3rd p.  8:35 - 9:05

4th p.  9:10 - 9:40

5th p.  9:45 - 10:15

4th EXAM A 10:20 - 11:05

B 11:10 - 11:55

C 12:00 - 12:45

5th EXAM 12:50 - 2:20

DAY 2

1st EXAM 7:25 - 8:55

2nd EXAM 9:00 - 10:30

3rd EXAM A 10:35 - 11:20

B 11:25 - 12:10

C 12:15 - 1:00

RELEASE AT 1 PM.

Freshmen Scholars

Pictured above are Celina High School's Freshman Scholars.  These current
sophomores were ranked as the top ten students in their class at the end
of the second semester of the 2009-2010 school year.  The Freshman
Scholars program was started to encourage students to set high academic
standards at the beginning of their high school careers.  Celina High
Academic and Motivational Promoters (CHAMP) recognized them with letters
of commendation and gift cards to CJ's HighMarks, donated by JT Irmscher,
General Manager. In addition, their names appear in the academic honors
display case at the High School.

Notes From Monday's CHAMP Meeting

At Monday night's CHAMP meeting, members of the Spirit Squad informed parents about all of the activities the 70 plus members have been involved in since the start of the school year.  Following their presentation, two cast members from the fall play promoted the upcoming production.  Visit the CHS Musical website for more information about the fall play, the spring musical, and donation information.

CHAMP Meeting

Celina High Academic and Motivational Promoters (CHAMP) is conducting their first meeting of the year this evening with an action packed agenda.  Mr. Luebke will give the high school update, focusing on new initiatives for the 2010 - 2011 school year.  He will be followed by the Spirit Squad, the Drama Club, and Student Council with a presentation on 'How to Be Successful in High School'.

Please consider joining us for these informative meetings that take place in the High School Media Center from 7 - 8 PM.

Celina High School 'Crushes' Cancer

In the typical spirit of 'Doing good for others', CHS students are once again stepping up to the plate to help a good cause: this time, we are fighting cancer.  October is 'National Breast Cancer Awareness Month', and two CHS organizations are helping to raise awareness and money in the fight against cancer.

The Spirit Squad decided to make this Friday's theme for the football game 'Dress Pink' to raise awareness.  All students, staff, and community members are encouraged to wear some sort of pink to work and the game on Friday to show support -- much like the NFL wears pink during the month of October.

In the same spirit, Student Council has been selling cans of Crush soda all week during lunch with proceeds benefiting cancer research.  The slogan is simply: 'Crush Cancer'!  203 cans were sold and will be delivered today during Advisory period.

Thanks to all students and staff involved in this special week!

CHS Announcements Take on a New Look

Celina High School has upgraded the delivery of the daily announcements.  In the past, announcements were broadcast live over closed circuit television into all classrooms on 25 inch TVs.  This year, we are using a Flip Video camera to prerecord announcements.  Teachers are then playing these announcements daily with the classroom projectors.  Each day, Mrs. Black's Successful Speaking students record the announcements, using the skills they learn in class to keep the announcements interesting and lively.

We have also added Character Education to the daily announcements through Project Wisdom.  Each day, a different student, staff member, or other adult reads a positive message encouraging students to make wise choices.  View the sample below...

Trimesters Going Well

In case you missed it, the Daily Standard recently did a story on the recent schedule change at CHS.
The story summarizes comments from many students about the trimester schedule.  Overall, student reaction to the new schedule has been positive.  Some of the comments I have recently heard include:

"Classes go really fast!"
"The day goes by quickly."
"I really like only having 5 classes."
"I don't really like not having study hall, but Advisory period helps!"
"The new classes that I can take are great!"
"The teachers are doing different things to keep class interesting."

I have heard a lot of the same comments from staff and parents as well.
Parents are encouraged to attend the 1st CHAMP meeting of the year on Monday, October 18th @ 7 PM to learn more about the schedule change and what we have been working on in the transition!

CHS Spirit

In case you haven't noticed, there have been a great number of changes around here this year!  Of course, the obvious ones are the schedule, advisory period, announcements, etc.  However, one of the biggest changes has been SCHOOL SPIRIT.  Maybe its the Marching Band in the hallways playing the fight song every Friday morning, or possibly the great pep assemblies, or maybe the addition of the Spirit Squad -- the bottom line is that students here are FIRED UP!!!  Of course, a winning football team only adds to the excitement.  All of these things help make coming to school fun and ultimately, could help academic achievement.  

I have received many compliments from a number of people about how well behaved and respectful our students are each and every Friday night.  Thank to all of the students and fans for your sportsmanship, your support, and most importantly your school spirit.  Nothing has been more exciting this year than watching the students RING THE VICTORY BELL!!

It is important to remember that we have a lot of great things going on here at CHS.  To help us showcase these great things, we have created a blog titled "CHS Awesome Things" to model the website http://1000awesomethings.com.  Each day we will post a brief summary (with a picture) of something Awesome about CHS.  

Thanks for reading...  

GO DAWGS!