1/18 No School-Student & Staff holiday
1/19 B
1/20 A
1/21 B
1/22 B
Events and Important Dates
North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad, Thursday, January 28, 9:00-noon
NACLO is a pencil and paper contest in which high school students use analytical skills to solve compelling and creative puzzles in languages they do not know. The contest requires no previous knowledge of linguistics, languages, or computing. Puzzles can be solved by analytic reasoning alone, applied to the structure of dozens of human languages and how computers can process them.
The competition has attracted top students in the fields of math, computer science, and languages. Winners of NACLO are eligible to compete in the International Linguistics Olympiad, one of twelve international high school science Olympiads.
NACLO has no prerequisites and no registration fee.
NACLO timeline:
1. Registration is now open at http://www.nacloweb.org.
2. The NACLO open round is on January 28, 2016, from 9:00-noon. (Note, this is a late start day. Please arrive by 8:45. If you need help with a ride to school, please let Marie atmariewalker@earthink.net know.)
3. The top 100 students from the open round will participate in an invitational round on March 10, 2016.
4. Eight students will be chosen to represent the US at the International Linguistics Olympiad (http://www.ioling.org) in India in July, 2016. Funding is provided for students on these teams.
How to Prepare for NACLO: Students can practice with past exams from the NACLO web site.
Registration deadline: January 27, 2016, by 2:00 PM CST
For more information, please contact Mr. Mueller, Computer Science, LASA,rmueller@lasacs.com.
Wellness Event
"WHAT'S ONLINE: Your Child's Second Resume & Cyberbullying" Thursday, January 21, 2016
6:30pm - 7:30pm
School Library in Conference Room
How does a high school student's online footprint affect their future college and job applications?
What is "cyberbullying"? What are the school policies and legal ramifications if a student is involved?
How can parents teach their children to use smart and safe habits online?
Join us for a presentation by internet security expert Tony Howlett, Founder and CTO of Network Security Services, Inc., Wellness counselor Marissa Rivera, and a campus police officer. Q&A period after the presentation.
Counselor's Corner
Testing Information Thank you all who came to the PSAT Interpretation event on Wednesday, January 13. We were so pleased to see so many families in attendance and hope you found the information helpful. Session handouts are attached.
At the presentation, Andy Albright from More than a Teacher encouraged students to take advantage of free practice SAT and ACT tests. Taking free practice tests is a great way for students to find out which test is better suited to their strengths before taking the real thing. LASA is partnering with More than a Teacher this spring semester to offer some FREE practice tests for juniors and sophomores. The free practice ACT will be held on Saturday, January 30 in the LASA/LBJ Library from 9:00am to 12:30pm. The free practice SAT will be held on Saturday, February 27 in the LASA/LBJ cafeteria from 9:00am to 12:30pm. Students will walk out that day with a score and test booklet. Both opportunities are FREE, but students must sign up through the More than a Teacher registration sites listed below. Due to available space in the library, there will be a cap on the number of students who can sign up for the January 30 practice ACT so do not delay in registering if you want to participate.
Register here for the practice ACT on January 30: https://www.morethanateacher.com/practice-test/ls-act-1-30-16/
Register here for the practice SAT on February 27: https://www.morethanateacher.com/practice-test/rsat-ls-2-27-16/
We realize these dates won't work for everyone, but fortunately, many of the test prep companies offer free practice tests around Austin and online:
More Than a Teacher: http://www.morethanateacher.com/practice-tests/
National Alliance on Mental Illness With 1 in 5 youth experiencing a mental health condition but only 50% of them receiving services, we recognize the importance of early intervention and education.
NAMI Basics: a free, 6-week education program for parents and caregivers of children and teens experiencing symptoms of a mental or behavioral health issues. NAMI Basics is a peer-led course offered in a group setting allowing participants to connect with and find support in others. NOW ACCEPTING REGISTRATIONS FOR CLASS SCHEDULED TO BEGIN JANUARY 30 (see attached flyer).
http://www.namiaustin.org/education/nami-basics/
News and Information
LBJ Baseball Fundraiser Show your team spirit by joining us for a fundraiser to support LBJ Baseball Boosters. Come in to the Chipotle at 10515 N Mopac Expwy in Austin (Arbor Walk) on Tuesday, January 26th between 4:00pm and 8:00pm. Bring in this flyer, show it on your smartphone or tell the cashier you’re supporting the cause to make sure that 50% of the proceeds will be donated to LBJ Baseball Boosters.
Please share with friends and family. The Mueller Chipotle is closer to LBJ but this one isn't much further away and has a larger area for seating.
https://gallery.mailchimp.com/79442a71ec267d181f3471191/files/Chipotle_flier.pdf Hope to see you there!
Track Meeting
Tuesday, January 19th
3:45 pm in the cafeteria
Ms. Jones invites students interested in track to the above meeting. Practice will be Monday- Thursday starting at 4 pm - 5pm for distance kids and 4:45 pm - 5:30pm for sprinters. There are never any morning workouts or weekend practices for track kids. A completed physical form is required. If a student competed in a fall sport, they have already turned in the appropriate form.
Softball Tryouts Softball Tryouts are on Friday, January 22, 4:30-7:00pm. If you have any questions, please notify Head Coach, Pete Moreno. He can be reached at 512-414-1912 (office), or via email,pedro.moreno@austinisd.org. Coach is located in the gym.
All physicals must be turned in prior to tryouts to our Athletic Trainer. Forms can be picked up in the gym with Coach Moreno, or in the athletic trainer's office.
Wish of the Week
LASA Chinese Program Mei Huang, teacher of Mandarin Chinese, would like to start a collection of non-textbooks and workbooks for the LASA Chinese program to give students an opportunity to experience and practice Chinese reading and comprehension outside of class.
Please drop off interesting and appropriate Chinese story books, pictures, culture books, etc. to portable 5B or in the LASA office.
Please note if you drop them in her room she is only there B days (Tuesdays, Thursdays and every other Friday), but the Spanish teacher with whom she shares the portable can take them.
Questions or want to let her know you have a donation? Contact Ms. Xuemei Huang at (512)841-6385 or xuemei.huang@austinisd.org.
Communication by email preferred, or call call during lunch time (1:05-205 pm) or before or after school ( 7:40-8:10; 3:50-4:30 ) on B-days. Thanks!
Mindfulness Trail The Environmental Club is working on a project to benefit everyone on the LBJ/LASA campus. The club has teamed up with the LASA wellness team to build a Mindfulness Trail. The goal is to create and sustain an outdoor space where students and staff can de-stress, while simultaneously improving the environment around the school. Please contact sponsor John Stormberg if you would like to donate funding, materials, plants, guidance, ideas for grants, etc. atjohn.stormberg@austinisd.org
Accolades
Model UN This last week 58 Model UN students participated in the MUNSA conference and 11 students took home individual awards.
Best Delegate - Ujwal Punyamurtula - Australa - HRC
Distinguished Delegate - Kari Siegenthaler - Australia - ILO
LASA Amateur Radio class On their second day in class (Jan. 7th), the LASA Amateur Radio class learned about FUNCube, a UK educational satellite. The satellite can deliver "Tweets" embedded within its telemetry data. The class decided to send a photo to the UK satellite team via e-mail letting them know we were learning about satellites. Students also requested a message be delivered by the satellite. So, for the past week, this message has been beamed around the world by FUNCube:
"Greetings to K5LBJ, LASA High School in Austin, Texas! Go Jags!"
Below is the photo the students sent to the UK Satellite team.
