Skyhawk News July, 2017

Lloyd C. Bird High School 10301 Courthouse Road Chesterfield, VA 23832 804-768-6110

From The Principal, Dr. Hebert Dear Parents, Students and Friends of L.C. Bird High School, Here at Bird High School, the month of July is spent reflecting on the events of the past school year and gearing up for exciting times ahead! While the temperature soars outside, the administration and the administration support team is busy preparing summer mailings, scheduling students for classes, and helping students enrolled in summer school and the SOL Academy. Graduation for the Class of 2017 was a highlight of the past school year, and was a visible reminder of the many successes of not only those seniors, but of all the students that attend Bird High School. Our student body is one of the most united, compassionate, and innovative school communities in the county, if not the country, and I am proud to be part of this wonderful group of people. Speaking of a wonderful group of people, many of you have met Mr. Adam Griffin, who became Dean of Students in April of 2017. He is continuing in this role for the 2017-18 school year, and has already forged relationships with students and parents alike. He is not the only new face, however, as we welcome a few new Skyhawks. Four new counselors will be joining the School Counseling team – Mr. Marcus Peerman, Mr. John Bryant, Ms. Emily Grant, and Ms. Ashley Denton. English welcomes Mr. Lukis Kauffman and Mrs. Shannon Jarrard (new to English from our Special Education department). Visual Arts welcomes Mrs. Alycia Bailey and Mr. Micah Scott, while Business is excited to introduce Mrs. Adrian Ward and Mrs. Evelyn Robinson to the Career and Technical Education family. Social Studies is pleased to announce the return of a former Skyhawk, Mr. Matt Bland. In addition, Mr. Darrick Barnes will be teaching US and World History. World Languages welcomes Ms. Keasia Macklin, who will also take on the duties of Department Chair. The Clinic will have a new face, as Mrs. Carla Belsey joins Mrs. Coggins in keeping our students safe and healthy. Finally, our administrative teams has a few new faces as well. Mrs. Cynthia Via is the Coordinator for Special Education and Mr. David Bedwell is fully on board as the Director of Student Activities. The School Social Worker will be Ms. Michelle Sams and the School Psychologist is Ms. Shalisa Harrison. I am confident these new additions will bring even more success and excellence to L.C. Bird. Over the summer, students need to be aware of one important item to make the transition back to school in September easy. NO student will be issues a Chromebook next year if they did not return their Chromebook in June. Also, a $25 fee will be assessed for any Chromebook charger that was not returned. There are some new additions to the building that you may notice when you return. Our Engineering Junior Seminar and Governor’s Academy Capstone students worked collaboratively with staff to design, create and implement several projects. As you enter the foyer, you will see the lighted 3D Art Display cabinet. Throughout the building there are now signs that identify the mileage from Point A to Point B so that staff and students interested in walking as a wellness initiative can track their progress. Students in our Special Education department will benefit from the Murphy Bed, in the Independent Living Lab, which was built to strengthen everyday skills that can be used in the workplace, Other students have designed a Par Course for the area between Bird and Salem MS and have presented their ideas to Chesterfield County Parks and Recreation. Corn Hole games, with college logos were created and distributed to teachers who

had placed their orders. Students designed and built an Earthquake Simulator for our Oceanography teacher, while still others began designing stand-up desks for interested teachers. There are few dates that should be marked on your calendar early, so that you don’t miss mportant information and exciting opportunities. See the chart below, and remember to SAVE THE DATE! Day/Date

Event

Notes

Thursday, July 27

Football Testing/Meeting

8 – 10:30 AM

Friday, July 28

Football Testing/Meeting

8 – 10:30 AM

Monday, July 31

Fall Sports - First Day of Practice

See http://birdathletics.com/

Tuesday, August 2

Senior Pictures

Auditorium

Friday, August 5

Summer Graduation

Clover Hill High School

Tuesday, August 8

Fall Sports Parent Meeting

Auditorium, 6:30 PM

Tuesday, August 22

PTSO General Meeting

SC 24/25, 7:00 PM

Thursday, August 24

Varsity Football

@Meadowbrook, 6:00 PM

Wednesday, August 31

Fee Night

Library, Commons - 6:00—8:00 PM

Friday, September 1

Auditorium, 8:00 – 11:00 AM

Friday, September 1

New Student Orientation Fee Collection Varsity Football

Tuesday, September 5

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Monday, September 11

PTSO Meeting

Library, 6:30 PM

Monday, September 25

6:30 – 8:30 PM

Tuesday, September 26

Back to School Night Fee Collection Underclass Pictures

Wednesday, September 27

Underclass Pictures

Auditorium, during lunches

@Thomas Dale, 7:00 PM

Auditorium, during lunches

As always, please call or email if you have any questions or concerns. 54 days until the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!! Laura Hebert, Principal

L.C. Bird High School, “Where Champions Reign”

STUDENT DISMISSAL PROCESS If you know ahead of time that your child will be dismissed prior to 1:50 p.m., please send them with a note (this is to be delivered to the attendance office first thing in the morning) or call the clinic line (804-768-6110 ext. 3022) to arrange for their dismissal. Your student will receive a dismissal pass and meet you in the main office at the arranged time of dismissal. When you arrive, please bring identification for verification. We will then have you sign your student out in the main office. If you are unable to provide prior notice of dismissal, please come to the main office where we will verify identification and send for your student. Sign out remains the same, occurring in the main office.

Food deliveries from restaurants or fast food establishments are not accepted during school hours. Please provide your student with lunch from home, lunch money or be sure their lunch account is up to date. If they do not have lunch or money, the cafeteria manager, Ms. Hughes, will be sure they are fed that day. Thank you!

L.C. Bird High School, “Where Champions Reign”

Bookmark these very helpful websites to help you Throughout the school year! Chesterfield County Public Schools -- http://www.mychesterfieldschools.com/ Bird HS Homepage — https://sites.google.com/a/ccpsnet.net/bhs/home Bird HS Athletics — www.BirdAthletics.com Skyhawk Faces — http://www.lcbirdskyhawks.com Bird HS PTSO— http://www.birdptso.com Online fee payment— http://osp.osmsinc.com/chesterfieldVA Calendars— http://mychesterfieldschools.com/about/calendars/ Parent Vue— https://parentvue.ccpsnet.net/ For Parent Vue Log In Information, email [email protected] Bus Routes— http://mychesterfieldschools.com/transportation/bus-routes/ Parent Handbook — http://mychesterfieldschools.com/wp-content/uploads/ parents_files/2016-17Parent_Handbook.pdf Helpful links for parents— http://mychesterfieldschools.com/parents/

L.C. Bird High School, “Where Champions Reign”

Visit https://www.chesterfieldfcu.net/services/visa-debit-card.aspx for more information!

L.C. Bird High School, “Where Champions Reign”

L.C. Bird High School hit the lottery this year with accolades for several of our teachers. Mrs. Beth Lucas was named the CCPS High School Teacher of The Year Ms. Karen Richardson was named the CCPS Beginning Teacher of The Year Mrs. Kimberly Gianopoulos was named the CCPS Visual Arts Teacher of The Year Congratulations to these teachers on their well-deserved awards! Aren’t we lucky that they are SKYHAWKS?!

Mrs. Elizabeth Lucas Teacher, English

Ms. Karen Richardson Teacher, English

Mrs. Kimberly Gianopoulos Teacher, Visual Arts

L.C. Bird High School, “Where Champions Reign”

COUNSELING DEPARTMENT Scheduling for 2016-17 Over the last months of school, Counselors met with every 9th, 10th and 11 grade student individually to discuss course selection for 2017-18 school year. Scheduling course request were sent home in April for parent(s)’s to approve or make changes to the courses your son or daughter will take for the coming year. Any changes made have been added to your child’s schedule request. Please be aware that staffing needs were based on these requests. 2017-18 Dual Enrollment is now closed The Deadline for all John Tyler Dual Enrollment paper work was April 21, 2017. John Tyler CC has processed the received applications and has placed eligible students into their Dual Enrollment classes. This closes the 2017-18 dual enrollment registration period. AP Testing AP exams were administered May 1 through May 12, 2017. Remember you will get your scores before we do, AP Test scores are not sent to L. C. Bird until late July. Seniors If you are still undecided about your future after high school you may want to visit John Tyler Community College. They offer a wide range of majors and transfer options. A high school diploma is all they require to enroll. Transcripts Beginning in September, all transcripts are now ordered on-line via Parchment transcript delivery system. Instructions for using Parchment can be found at: https://sites.google.com/a/ccpsnet.net/ bhs/home/resources/counseling/transcripts This link is also available on the L.C. Bird webpage under: resources, counseling, transcripts. 2017 School Counseling Summer Hours The School Counseling Office will be open Monday thru Thursday from 7:00 am – 4:00 pm during the summer. Due to training and other commitments that take place during the summer there may be days where the School Counseling Office is not staffed by a School Counselor or members of the School Counseling Staff. If you need to see a counselor during the summer, please call for an appointment.

L.C. Bird High School, “Where Champions Reign”

FINE ARTS As the 2016-17 year in the Visual Arts closes, we want to encourage all of you to see Art, do Art and appreciate the Arts. The VMFA has a fabulous show of “Designers” through June and maybe we will see you there. Each year all the schools in Chesterfield County have artwork on display during the Chesterfield County Fair in August and Sept. These are the participants for this upcoming 2017-18 school year! Please take a moment this Fall to view our Schools art. County Fair Art show: Cheyenne Lowery, Caitlin Sonnier, Cristian Mejia-Arbaiza, Melany Moreira, Ashley Thompson, Katrine Smith, Jocelyn Smith, Corey Pisa, and James Weeden.

Tushar Gayali’s art piece was chosen to be in the VCU Metro Art Show and it will be on display for a year.

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Our last senior spotlight of the year goes out to Alicia Martin. Alicia is a senior here at Bird and has been in 3D Design her entire high school career. She has already been accepted in the Hartford Art School and will be going there in the fall. Alicia is planning to major in Illustration and minor in Art History. We are proud of you Alicia!

L.C. Bird High School, “Where Champions Reign”

HEALTH & P.E.

Health and Physical Education The health and physical education department wishes everyone a happy and healthy summer. Please, take a moment to think about how you will schedule in movement time during your summer break. Think about a way to add at least an hour of movement into your day. Find something that you enjoy doing, that will get you up and moving. Try to choose a healthy snack, of fruits and vegetables, over chips and soda. You will be surprised at what a big difference, little healthy choices and habits can impact on your energy level and outlook. So, keep moving and disconnect from the electronics and reconnect with your health. Have a safe and positive summer Skyhawks!

Behind the Wheel Behind the Wheel sign-ups will start back up when school opens. The first Wednesday afternoon of back to school week, will be the next opportunity to sign-up for behind the wheel. Sign-ups occur throughout the school year, on Wednesdays, after school in the small commons area. There is paperwork that parents need to fill out prior to signing up. The sign-up packets are available for students to pick up in the small commons, under the announcement TV, and beside the bookstore window in the large commons. Students that have your learner’s permit, need to be sure to log your driving hours. Students that are ready to go test at DMV, for you learner’s permit, need be sure to really study the book and take online practice test at dmvnow.com. Students have to hold the learner’s permit for 9 months before a license can be issued. However, students can take behind the wheel at school, once they have a learner’s permit for at least 5 months and have logged at least 30 hours. The students will drive for a total of 7 days. They take their driving test on the last day of behind the wheel. We look forward to signing up students for behind the wheel!

L.C. Bird High School, “Where Champions Reign”

MATH The math department is so proud of our students and all of their hard work as well as all of the wonderful teachers who put in all the time after school during SOL Bootcamp and Mega Math. Countless hours of practice, patience, and pizza have paid off. Congratulations to our own Ryan Goulet for his acceptance into CodeVA’s Computer Science Principles program, to our own Mr. Epperson for submitting all of his National Boards paperwork, and to our student teacher Leah Powell for graduating from VCU’s School of Education. Fun Fact: The name of the popular search engine ‘Google’ came from a misspelling of the word ‘googol’, which is a very, very large number (the number one followed by one hundred zeros to be exact).

SCIENCE End of the year in science not only meant SOL and AP testing, but time for fun projects and interesting year -end accomplishments! The L.C. Bird Rocketry Team competed in the nationals finals of the Team America Rocketry Challenge the weekend of May 12-14 and were also featured on the Building Better Minds segment on CBS 6. Here is the link to the story - http://wtvr.com/2017/05/17/lc-bird-rocketry-challenge/ Additionally, AP Biology students raised baby chicks as they studied animal behavior. Biology students studied forensic applications and built their own animals from scratch (well, fictitious ones anyway...). Physics classes built an Egg Lander to drop protected eggs from the top of the bleachers in the Football Stadium. Some Earth Science classes created survival kits for severe weather, while Chemistry classes made apple pie without apples and making ice cream - fun making food to watch physical and chemical changes!

L.C. Bird High School, “Where Champions Reign”

ENGINEERING Rocket Boosters Awards $5,500 in Scholarships Rocket Boosters is proud to announce that we are awarding a total of $5,500 in college scholarships to six graduating Governor's Academy for Engineering Studies seniors. Recipients were announced in the Senior Assembly on June 1. Rocket Boosters appreciates the support of all students, faculty and family members in helping us to fundraise so that we could award these scholarships. Thank you for your continuing support!

Happy Graduation Class of 2017! Celebrate graduation, bittersweet goodbyes and your future with a playlist of pop, rock, and country graduation songs. Rocket Boosters has assembled the following list as a send off: https:// spinditty.com/playlists/Graduation-Playlist-50-Best-SongsCollege-High-School-Graduates.

Bowling at Spirit Day was a Blast Rocket Boosters hosted a Governor's Academy Spirit Day at Uptown Alley on May 13. Students enjoyed bowling, pool, lunch, arcade games, and being with one another. Thanks to our parent volunteers for supporting this fun event!

L.C. Bird High School, “Where Champions Reign”

Dear Skyhawk Families, I hope this finds you enjoying the first few weeks of summer. Congratulations to the class of 2017! The PTSO wishes you well wherever your next adventure leads you. For all who will be returning, we have already begun planning for next year and want to share our summer calendar of events in hopes you will be able to join us for many, if not all, of these upcoming activities: *August 8--massive summer mailing compilation for administration, student and parent volunteers needed, small commons 9-2, service hours and lunch provided *August 22--Meet the Principal Parent Meeting, ALL are invited and encouraged to attend, Specialty Center Room 25, 7:00 pm *August 28--assist with Welcome Back Teacher Breakfast, 4 parent volunteers needed to serve, 6:30-8:00, meet in small commons *August 29--collate Orientation materials, student and parent volunteers needed, small commons, 10-12, service hours and snacks provided *August 30--Back to School Teacher Luncheon, student and parent volunteers needed, small commons, set up 9:00, serve 11:30, finish up by 1:30, service hours and lunch provided *August 31-- collate first day of school materials, student and parent volunteers needed, meet in large commons, 9-1, service hours and snacks provided *September 1--Orientation, need student and parent volunteers to greet, collect $$ and memberships, sell spiritwear, large commons, set up 7:00 am, program 8:00 am *September 1--assist with fee collection following Orientation, 6-8 parent volunteers needed, library, 10:30-11:30 *September 6-8, 2 parent volunteers needed to help with fee collections, during Bird Block 8:18-9:00 in the small commons As you can see, there are many opportunities to get involved over the summer. I also want to point out the attached flyer about the upcoming Goodwill Denim Drive. LCB has been chosen as one of the two collection sites this year, so it's super easy to donate and help our school (hopefully!) place in the top three and win some prize $$ !! So clean out those closets, donate denim to LCB, win money for our school, and help the community! Collection boxes will be at the front office starting September 1st. We thank all who joined and supported the PTSO throughout the past year. Together we accomplished and provided many events and opportunities. On behalf of the PTSO, I ask for your support for the upcoming year. Please join the PTSO, support our Campaign drive, volunteer to help, send in donations when able, attend our monthly meetings (first Monday @ 6:30 in the library), and be a part of what's happening at LCB. If you have any questions or need more information about any of the above events, please contact me. I look forward to working with all of you again this year! Mandy Hamner-Ford, PTSO President [email protected]

L.C. Bird High School, “Where Champions Reign” PTSO SCHOLARSHIP RECEPIENTS The Bird PTSO offers scholarships annually to graduating seniors who plan to attend any post-secondary educational institution and have a GPA of 2.5 or higher. Applicants must be a member of the Bird PTSO and are considered based on academics, school participation, community service, and financial need. This year, six students applied for $6,000 in scholarship money. Congratulation to the six Seniors who were selected by the PTSO Scholarship Committee to receive a PTSO Scholarship at the Senior Awards Program on June 1st. Scholarships are mailed directly to the college or university for which the student is attending. Congratulations to this very deserving group of Seniors. Natalie Cristine Ban

$2,000 University of Kentucky

Cuba Lashea Barber

$1,000 Longwood University

Kiara LaTonya Bennett

$500

North Carolina A & T

Sydney Janee Means

$500

Naval Academy Prep School

Collin Marshall Profita

$1,500 Virginia Tech

Mimi Thi Tran

$500

University of Richmond PTSO SERVICE AWARDS Student PTSO Board Members

Congratulations to the students who were recognized for serving on the PTSO Board and working closely with the PTSO for 2016-2017 school year. They received a Certificate of Appreciation at the Awards ceremonies on May 31st and June 1st.

Thank you students and congratulations! 12th

Genesis Gaines, Sydney Means

11th

Noah Ford

9th

Stacy Ban

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE SENIORS WHO WON THE PRESTIGIOUS PTSO SKYHAWK ACADEMIC & SERVICE AWARDS Congratulations to the 21 Seniors who received the PTSO Skyhawk Academic and Service Award at the Senior Awards Program on June 1st. These seniors were selected by the administration at Bird High School and served the school and student body well throughout their years at Bird. Each student received a $20 gift card from the Bird PTSO. Congratulations to: Kyra Battle, Madison Baum, Kiara Bennett, Brina Bentley, Angelina Caraballo, David Comayagua, Kevin Cordova Diaz, Jordan Crowder, Katherine Edwards, Victoria Ingram, Tony Jackson, Emily Johns, Brandon Jones, Stephanie Lewis, Russell Lutge, Isaiah Moore, Ricardo Portillo Mejia, TeRance Spurlock, Dillan Stroh, Sabrina Viera, and Kendell Witherspoon.

L.C. Bird High School, “Where Champions Reign” PTSO COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS PRESENTED Congratulation to the students who received the L.C. Bird PTSO Community Service Awards at the Awards programs on May 31st and June 1st. Students received a Certificate of Appreciation from the L.C. Bird PTSO noting the number of hours they volunteered this year on PTSO sponsored programs. A total of 88 students worked 709 hours for the PTSO during the 2016-2017 school year. The breakdown by class is as follows: Class

# students

# Hours

Seniors

33

282

Juniors

18

162

Sophomores

22

182

Freshmen

15

83

Totals

88

709

Students from the freshmen class who worked a total of 83 hours are: Jovanny Baltazar Lopez, Anton Byrd, Jr., James Cheatham, Myles Childs, Justin Coleman, David Counts, Madison Edinger, Peter Fisher, Zane Grundler, Angel Knight, Jordan Ledbetter, Kwaku Ofosu-Tuffour, Katherine Potocko, Keira Rice, and Selma Salih. Students from the sophomore class who worked a total of 182 hours are: Rayan Alam, Richard Alfaro, Kurtis Anderson, Jaylen Bentley, Alexandr Brun, James Doherty, Lucas Griffith, Yakirah Harris, Josiah Hill, Mical Jemison, Ifechilu Maxwell, Kyra McCants, Steven Morris, Leigh Ashley Pettiway, Wendy Quinn, Jeremy Rhem, Zahmir Tisdol, Zavian Williams, Camryn Wilson, Jordan Wilson, and Emily Woodall. Students from the junior class who worked a total of 162 hours are: Amethyst Adams, Roni Armstead, Noah Ford, Nuria Gonzalez Iglesias, Tyler Harris, Amaya Jackson, Parker Kenny, Marcy Kuzma, Joshua Martin, Miranda Mozingo, Jonathan Newby, Syria Newson, Corey Page, Lea Salgado, Nuha Salih, Daniel Strunk, Takeah Wallace, and Gwyneth Welsh. Students from the senior class who worked a total of 282 hours are: Albin Alex, Eric Bailey, Natalie Ban, Naveh Baylor, Kiara Bennett, Brina Bentley, Desmon Booker, Kingston Briggs Gary, Destiny Brown, Elijah Bullock, Ayse Cicek, AnnMarie Colavito, Matthew Farmer, Genesis Gaines, Joy Gill, Tinyia Harris, Addison Jacunski, Yahaya Kamyuka, Matthew King, Sara Kuzma, Charlie Layne, III, Ashuntique Massenburg, Sydney Means, Margaret Miller, Taylor Miller, Kaielle Pollard, Collin Profita, Ana Salgado, Kenneth Sullivan, Gigi Sun, Kelly, Torres Gonzalez, Russell Watson, and Julia Zane Thank you students and congratulations!

L.C. Bird High School, “Where Champions Reign”

Ms. Alison Carreras Ms. Carreras is one of our talented interpreters for the deaf and hard of hearing. She attended East Carolina University where she studied Health and Physical Education but was exposed to sign language and fell in love with it. Upon graduation, Ms. Carreras combined education and sign language and began working in Chesterfield County in 1991 as an educational interpreter. She loves the challenge of working with different students and teachers each day. Congratulations, Ms. Carreras and thank you!

L.C. Bird High School, “Where Champions Reign”

Chesterfield County Public Schools does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, age, religion disability or national origin in employment or its educational programs and activities. For more information go to http://mychesterfieldschools.com/