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In This Issue
Message from the Principal
Re-enroll in April
Senior Research Panels
Microsoft Tour
Music Students Perform
Art in the Style of Chuck Close
Varsity Boys Basketball
French Class Orders Lunch
Teacher Feature: David Mitchell
IDEA Gala
JROTC Cadets Compete
OSSE College and Career Expo
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Coming up at IDEA:


March 31: DC CAS testing begins

April 1-4: DC CAS testing

April 7-11: DC CAS testing

April 10: report cards sent home

April 12: Juniors take ACT

April 14-21: Spring Break

April 22: School resumes for all students

April 29 & 30: Interim #4



A Message from the Principal: Re-Enroll in April and Show What You Know Next Week in the DC-CAS

Beginning tomorrow, April 1, re-enrollment season begins at IDEA. Current families have one month to complete their re-enrollment for the 2014-2015 school year. Visit our admissions page to learn what forms you need to fill out to re-enroll your child. You can find copies of the forms online or in the IDEA office. We will keep the office OPEN during Spring Break for you to come in and ask questions and complete your forms. Make sure your student has a seat saved this fall by re-enrolling at IDEA this month! 

 

Today our students have begun to ACE the DC-CAS, thanks to their hard work and dedication and the encouragement and preparation of our faculty. Testing will last through April 7 and students will be dismissed early during this time. Please make sure your students arrive by 8:15am every day so they can eat a healthy breakfast and settle in before testing starts. Avoid making any appointments for them during testing and make sure they get plenty of rest! Finally, remember to tell them you believe in them. We know they can take this opportunity to show what they know and shine. 

April is Re-Enrollment Month for Current IDEA Students
 

Now is the time for current IDEA students to re-enroll for the 2014-2015 school year. Re-enrollment is due May 1.

 

This year re-enrollment is not online. Parents only have to fill out a few paper forms, available in the IDEA office. Required forms include:

The IDEA office will be open 7am-5pm during Spring Break--April 14-18--for parents to complete forms. Parents may come in after 5pm by appointment only.
 
Families must prove DC residency by May 1 or their students are not guaranteed a spot this fall.
Seniors Present Research Findings to Review Panels

The culmination of months of research, writing, and revising came this week when IDEA seniors presented their research findings to panels of teachers, parents, and community members. Students created PowerPoint presentations that included their thesis, analysis approach, review of relevant literature, opposing viewpoint, evidence, relationship of their topic to texts they read in class, and their conclusion. Seniors tackled topics such as women in military combat, the effects of drugs on society, stereotyping of athletes, teen homelessness, child abuse and neglect, the role of teacher attitude in student success, and domestic violence. Panelists asked questions and provided feedback to the students so they could make improvements to their research papers before submitting them this week. Congratulations to our seniors on their hard work!  

IDEA Students Visit Microsoft Offices in Chevy Chase, MD
Because IDEA teaches Microsoft Academy classes and several IDEA students have already earned Microsoft certifications, IDEA participated in Blacks at Microsoft Minority Student Day on February 14. Students enjoyed hearing from employees about the variety of jobs available at Microsoft, exploring Microsoft products, touring Microsoft, and participating in onsite games and projects. Thanks to everyone at the Chevy Chase Microsoft office for encouraging our students and sharing real-life opportunities to motivate them to succeed.
Music Students Present Keyboard and Guitar Works;
IDEA Band Preparing for Graduation

The music classes presented their third quarter performances for the entire school on March 27.
The students played a variety of songs on keyboard and guitar, including Minuet in D by Beethoven, Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky, Amazing Grace, and some folk songs such as Itsy Bitsy spider, London Bridge, and Hot Cross Buns.

Meanwhile, the IDEA Band is learning popular hip hop songs and also preparing special music to perform at graduation. Stay tuned to hear more! 

 

Art Students Explore Painter and Printmaker Chuck Close

by Deniqua Smith 
Art 2 has been studying the work of print maker and painter Chuck Close. We explored alternative methods of mark making and read about the history of Close. We discovered his challenges with learning and physical disabilities and how that required him to change the way he created art. We finished our unit by creating an everyday activity self portrait. We mimicked one of Close's methods by using the grid method and only using our fingerprints to create the tints and shaded in our portraits.

~ Claire Reintgen, art teacher
By Shaniah Davis
Timberwolves Success on Court Makes School History
Senior Forward TaVaughn Lopez

Throughout the season I've expressed the importance of finishing things all the way through, and because of that the Varsity Boys Basketball Team made school history by winning the Public Charter School Athletic Association Red Division Championship. This was the goal for the team this season and they knew it would not be easy.
 
The Timberwolves faced with some tough out-of-conference games, which helped them prepare to face the outstanding talent in the PCSAA. I run the program just like a college team because I am trying to prepare these guys for the next level. Many of the players have not played varsity basketball, much less played organized basketball before. This was a struggle early on for the team, but as the season went along they began to step up.

 

The Timberwolves were led by Senior Forward TaVaughn Lopez. TaVaughn averaged 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals per game. The most important thing that TaVaughn brought was his leadership on and off the court. Tavaughn knew early on what it would take to have success and he made sure that the team knew as well. Junior Guard Aaron Brooks and Junior Guard Jabari Young also added to the success of the Timberwolves this season. Aaron always played his heart out and made sure that his teammates followed suite. Jabari, although quiet at times, let his action on the court and in the classroom build a strong foundation for the team to follow. 

 

As a coach, I have never been so proud of a team. These young men went through the ups and down, but through it all they stayed focus and made history. It is not often that a team can be the first to do something and this team will forever go down in history.

~Coach James Pope
French Class Practices Language Skills at Restaurant
The French class is working on a unit about food and each student has to present a cooking show. We saw and ate a special breakfast burrito, a fruit salad, s'mores, a strawberry parfait, croissants and chickpea salad. For our
end of unit project, the class wrote a script and went to practice our French in a real French restaurant, Cafe Montmartre, on Capitol Hill.

~Karine Chapdelaine, music and French teacher 
Teacher Feature: David Mitchell, AutoCAD and Microsoft Academy and ACE Club Sponsor
Mr. Mitchell with his wife and two of his children. 

 

AutoCAD is a software program for two-dimensional and three-dimensional computer-aided design and drafting.

 

Why I Teach What I Teach

 

One of the biggest motivations for being an AutoCAD teacher is being able to explain to students how they can impact their community by redesigning it. One thing that drives me is trying to get students to connect with their community so they can see how blueprints they create can shape their community to lead it in a good direction.

 

How My Classes Relate to the Real World

 

The big difference between traditional academic classes and the technology classes is that students get to learn a skill on the computer. In Microsoft Academy, the skills are more business oriented, in order to be able to do things you'd do on a daily basis in an office like creating spreadsheets, letters, or documents. In AutoCAD they're learning two-dimensional drafting and also working toward a certification exam. As they're working toward that, I try to include some design theory.

 

We talk about how architects and engineers think. That gives them a chance to spark creativity by designing different buildings, or thinking about how an existing building would look if they made it over.

 

Taking Class into Deanwood

 

We're in the beginning stages of figuring out the project and scope of looking at buildings designed by Louis Giles Jr. in Deanwood. We're locating 20 or 30 buildings he designed. Students are going to evaluate how the buildings look now and determine ways the buildings could be restored. Giles worked and lived in Deanwood around the early 1900s designing residential houses. Some have been turned into shops or barber shops. We're going to try to restore-just theoretically-based on his style and adding another style that students determine.

 

Life Lessons Learned through Architecture

 

I'm getting students to look past failing and learn from what risks they take in order to help them improve their product and keep trying, working off those lessons that they gain. In beginning of the year we did a marshmallow challenge. They're given some materials to create the tallest tower in 18 minutes that can hold a marshmallow at the top. We reflected on it and then did it again. The lesson was they could make as many prototypes as possible within 18 minutes in order to get the best result.

 

READ MORE>>
Tickets on Sale Now for IDEA's Gala:
Honoring our Founders, Forging Our Future

Visit our gala web page to learn more or purchase tickets.

 

 

JROTC Unit Represents IDEA in Academic and Athletic Ceremonies and Competitions
 
On March 20 and 22, the JROTC color guard and honor guard participated in ceremonies presenting the colors and assisting Center for Stude  nt Support and the American Legion in conducting ceremonies in Washington, DC and Arlington, Virginia respectively.

IDEA's JROTC had one of three teams in Washington, DC that qualified to participate in the second level of a nationwide Academic and Bowls. The team competed in phase II on March 20 in hopes of qualifying for the national JROTC Championships in April.

We also had an academic team compete on March 26 in the Washington, DC JROTC Academic Bowl and are hopeful that our team did well in the competition. Results should be release by early next week.

A team of Cadets participated in a Raider Challenge Competition on March 22 in the Waldorf, Maryland area. Most of our cadets were new to this type of competition, and they participated primarily as an opportunity to develop the teamwork and see the requirements, to enhance their chances for greater success in the next Raider Competition on April 5 in Baltimore.

~Major Terrence Lewis, JROTC instructor 
OSSE Presents Smart Choice College and Career Expo

Saturday, April 12, 9am to 1:30pm
The Howard Theatre, 620 T Street NW, Washington DC

DC students in seventh through eleventh grades are invited to the third annual OSSE Smart Choice College & Career Expo.

Families will have the chance to:
  • Speak to 20+ local, regional, and national college representatives
  • Investigate high-growth careers in the Washington, DC area
  • Complete an innovative online career guidance tool, the Career Navigator
  • Learn about postsecondary pathways in 1:1 counseling sessions
  • Participate in a scavenger hunt through the fair to guide younger students in beginning conversations with college, career, and financial aid representatives.