by John Maxwell
Kensington Woods High School is exploring a new type of classroom experience called Symposium. Symposium is an interdisciplinary, thematic, project based class and has two versions: Humanities and STEM. STEM is an acronym for "science, technology, engineering and mathematics." Mr. Ferguson and I are having an amazing time digging into the most relevant and practical scientific issues of our American culture. This last year has been focused on food, water and alternative energy. The primary educational objective of STEM is to prepare our students for the research, investigation, community involvement, writing and presentations skills that they will need when they become college students. STEM gets students involved in not only exploring issues in science that affect their daily lives, but also communicating those ideas within a professional format. Our first semester STEM class was designed to look at the big questions revolving around our society's food and water issues. What is the current state of fresh water in the world today? Since fresh water is a finite system, can it run out? Given that many wars are birthed out of resource scarcity, is there a possibility of water wars in the coming century? What is the science of genetics doing to our food supplies? How are industrialized meat farms changing what we consume and how we consume it? These big questions guide our discussions and research in STEM. This current semester we have been exploring alternative energy and energy consumption. We created houses out of cardboard boxes, set up "heating systems" and made modifications to house shapes, size, window dimensions and insulations properties. The houses turned out wonderfully and the students learned cooperatively while having a great time. Mr. Ferguson and I have been able to teach as a team and we hope the students have had as much fun learning in STEM as we've had teaching.  | | Students Caitlyn Bratton and Kayli Mills working with Mr. Maxwell to create their Energy House. |
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KWHS Senior Julie Franck Places in the 2011 Michigan Statistics Poster Competition!
| by Shawn Pollman
In the first week of March, students in Mrs. Pollman's Advanced Algebra 2 & Trigonometry class submitted statistics posters for the 2011 Michigan Statistics Poster Competition. This contest is sponsored by the Department of Statistics and the Regional Math and Science Center at Grand Valley State University. The posters are judged by officials from GVSU and the results were made official last week. Congratulations to senior Julie Franck for receiving special recognition in the 10-12 grade level category, as well as a cash prize!
3rd Place Winner- Julie Franck
Topic- "Children in Foster Care 2008"
The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in each grade level category were on display Saturday, March 26 at the Fieldhouse on the Allendale campus of Grand Valley State University from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Science Olympiad. The top five posters in each grade level category are sent on to the national competition. The judging for the national competition takes place on May 7th in Ohio. Photos of the winning posters can be seen on the competition website (www.gvsu.edu/stat/statposter). |
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American Red Cross Blood Drive
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KWHS will host an American Red Cross Blood Drive on April 15 - yes, Tax Day! - 9am to 3pm. April 15 is Parent Friday, so we hope you allow time to your teacher visits to give of yourself as well, in the form of blood donation!
16 year olds can now donate with parent permission. Make sure you bring a note!
Donations of cookies, fruit juice and water are greatly appreciated, please contact Lori Waas if you would like to donate cookies, fruit or water (lwaas@kwoods.org)!
See Claire Damm or Lori Waas (lwaas@kwoods.org) to schedule your appointment. Thank You!!
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Students Test Their Luck in the Stock Market!
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by Shawn Pollman
 Students in Mrs. Pollman's Advanced Algebra 2/Trigonometry class are testing out their financial skills in The Stock Market Game. The simulation game started March 14th and will continue until May 20th. Starting with a virtual cash account of $100,000, students strive to create the best-performing portfolio using a live trading simulation. Students use real internet research and news updates, making the game a mirror of the real marketplace. Students trade common stocks and mutual funds from the NYSE, Nasdaq and AMEX exchanges; earn interest on cash balances; pay interest if buying on margin and pay a commission on all trades. Students across the nation participate in this simulation game. Each state is broken into regions where the top finishers are ranked on a weekly basis. Even with the tragic events in Japan impacting the global economy, KWHS students have gotten off to a good start in the game.
A special congratulations to seniors Willie Hazel and James Stewart who currently have the strongest portfolios at KWHS. In the regional rankings which include over 700 students, Willie is ranked63rd and James is ranked 65th. At the end of the fourth week, Willie's portfolio was worth $102,622.30 and James's portfolio was valued at $102,598.14. It will be exciting to see what happens in the market over the next couple of months!
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Find KWoods
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Upcoming Events
| Wednesday, April 13, 3-4pm
Green Revolution Meeting in Mrs. Pratt's room
Thursday, April 14, 3-4:30pm
Game Club Meeting in Mr. Muennix's room
Thursday, April 14, 5pm
First Girls Soccer game of the season! Home vs. Mercy @ Page Field.
Friday, April 15, 9-3pm
American Red Cross Blood Drive
Friday, April 15, 1-3pm
Parent-Teacher Drop In Afternoon
Friday, April 15, 4:30pm
First Boys Baseball game of the season! Away @ Lutheran Westland.
Monday, April 18, 3-4pm
Talent Show Tryouts
Saturday, April 30
Prom @ the Johnson Center
KWoods Event Calendar
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Announcements
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Lockers
If you are interested in obtaining a locker for the remainder of this school year, see Mrs. Marcum. You will need to have your own master lock. There will be no charge for locker use during this school year.
Prom
This year's Junior/Senior Prom will be on April 30th at the Johnson Center in Cleary University. Due to a generous donation from the school store, tickets prices will remain the same as they were last year; $40 in advance and $45 the week of prom. Tickets will go on sale next week.
Yearbooks for Sale!
Kensington Wood's Yearbook Staff is finally finished designing and creating the Kensington Wood's 2010-2011 Yearbook! Buy a yearbook today to not only keep as a memorabilia but to gain access to the End of the Year Yearbook Party, where there will be food and plenty of time to sign yearbooks! The cost of a yearbook is only forty-dollars and is in full color and has every student featured more than once! Limited Supplies so buy now before it's too late!
Project Term Rosters Announced
Project Term rosters have been released. You can find them outside the office or in front of Mrs. Pratt's room. If you have any issues, please see Mrs. Pratt. All fees are mandatory and are due by Monday, May 9. Please give them to the teacher of your course.
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