Photo Montage of Yale SCHOLAR Program Featuring ESUMS Students

Click here: Yale SCHOLAR

"The Yale summer S.C.H.O.L.A.R. program brings 120 high school students from New Haven, West Haven, and Amity Public Schools to live and study science for two weeks on Yale campus. The goal is to prepare motivated and academically promising students for success in college and to strengthen their ability to pursue science majors and careers. SCHOLAR provides an intensive, hands-on science curriculum that emphasizes discovery, critical thinking and problem solving. The curriculum is designed by Yale University faculty, graduate and professional students, and teachers from local public schools. Yale undergraduate students serve a vital role as teaching assistants and mentors."

ESUMS Science CMT & CAPT Scores 2014

New Haven Averages:

8th Grade = 55.3% Proficient -- 35.2% Goal
10th Grade = 53.0% Proficient -- 17.3% Goal -- 47.4% Inquiry

Connecticut Averages:

8th Grade = 78.3% Proficient -- 62.5% Goal
10th Grade = 78.7% Proficient -- 46.8% Goal -- 62.9% Inquiry

ESUMS 2014:

8th Grade = 86.7% Proficient -- 77.1% Goal
10th Grade = 73.9% Proficient -- 47.8% Goal -- 59.1% Inquiry

Middle school science scores were up from 2013.  High schools scores fell a bit, but the high school "Goal" percentage is still the highest in town.  All scores are close to state averages and among the top scores in the district.  Explore more details here: http://www.nhps.net/node/3377.

While standardized testing is an incomplete measure of the quality of a school, it's always nice to do well.  Congratulations students!

First PTO Meeting on Tuesday at 3:15 pm

If you have any items you would like added to the agenda, please send an email to Cathy Berni.

Hope to see you there!

Perfectly Good Graphing Calculators

On ebay.  TI 84 or better is recommended.

Free Open-to-the-Public Events at Yale

2014 Windham Campbell Prizes Literary Festival
When: Monday, September 15, 2014 5:00 PM - Thursday, September 18, 2014 9:00 PM
View the festival schedule
(Zadie Smith will be speaking)

Civil Resistance: the Study of Nonviolent Power and Organized People

When: Thursday, September 25, 2014 - Friday, September 26, 2014 (All day)
Where:  Luce Hall (LUCE), Rm. 203, 34 Hillhouse Ave., New Haven, CT 06511

CT Folk Festival & Green Expo

This weekend, for those interested in environmental engineering, the CT Green Expo in Edgerton Park will feature solar phone charging, a giant water fountain, and velomobiles.  And folk music, of course.

Details.

Hey, How's That New Building Coming Along?

The welcome letter to UNH students this fall reads, in part:

"Soon, construction will begin to the west of Bergami Hall on the Engineering and Science University Magnet School (ESUMS), an interdisciplinary school for middle and high school students. ESUMS was created in 2008 through a partnership among UNH and the cities of West Haven and New Haven. Once completed, UNH students will have access during the evening to some of the state-of-the-art lab spaces there, which will help to address a critical need on our campus."

If you get a chance, you can walk by the site and see how the work is coming along.  

Call for Parent Volunteer: School Newspaper

Any parent who might be able to volunteer an afternoon each week to moderate the school newspaper meetings should please contact Mrs. Robinson as soon as possible.

A fledgling staff has already met to begin planning, but without an adult supervisor, they cannot begin to publish a paper.  If you have a writing or journalism background -- and even if you don't! -- please consider whether you can give a couple of hours a week to help out.

Nice Article on the First Woman to Win the Fields Medal in Mathematics

http://www.simonsfoundation.org/quanta/20140812-a-tenacious-explorer-of-abstract-surfaces/

Dress Code Review

Shirt with collar in navy blue, royal blue, "goldenrod" yellow, or white;
Pants in navy or tan;
Short and skirts are acceptable if (1) long enough to touch knees and (2) worn with socks or tights in dress code colors only (or black).
No dangling jewelry, no tight "skinny" pants, no jeans, no sweats, no exposed undies, no hoodies.
Sweaters and jackets must comply with dress code if they are to be worn all day.

Middle school:
Shoes/sneakers must be single color -- all black with black soles or all brown with brown soles.  These are hard to find!
Students must have a belt and shirts must be tucked in.

High school:
Allegedly, the one-color-shoe rule has been relaxed and girls may wear shirts untucked.
High school dress code violations are taken seriously.

The school has a great selection of used uniforms; just ask in the office.

Upcoming Parent Events in New Haven

http://nhpsparents.net/

Citywide Parent Leadership Team Sept. 4, 5-7 pm, Wilbur Cross High School, 181 Mitchell Dr.

Financial Freedom Series, September 16, 2014 at 6:00 pm – 8:45 pm Bethel AME Church, 255 Goffe St.

Citizen Science

Volunteer and help the USGS (United State Geological Survey) improve its maps.  High school students can inquire in the Guidance Office whether this would count as community service hours.

National Map Editing Guide 

"Astronaut" is a STEM Career

Astronaut Michael Massimino's story about his spacewalk to repair the Hubble telescope (free download -- audio).

Dates for Yale Sprout and Splash, MIT Splash

If you've never been to a Splash event, they're fun.  College students teach short classes to middle- and high-school students on interesting topics.  The cost is low ($15 + optional lunch & t-shirt) with financial aid available.

Yale Fall Sprout will be on Saturday, October 4th, 11th, and 18th; Yale Fall Splash will be on Saturday, November 8.  Yale Splash

MIT's program is the weekend of Nov. 22.  MIT Splash

First Blue News of the Year

Blue News

Sneak Peak at the New Website

For an informal preview of the school's great new website (not yet officially launched), visit esumsnh.net.  

Back to School

Welcome back!

A quick reminder for the first day of school: parents who pick up their students at the end of the day should now use the BACK doors and park behind the building.

This request was in error: instead, pick-up students will be dismissed OUTSIDE the front doors, and parents will be able to drive up.  Sorry for the inconvenience!

Yale Science Saturdays Fall Schedule

Yale Science Outreach has published the Science Saturdays schedule for Fall 2014.  Events will be held Sept. 27 (engineering), Oct. 18 (astronomy), and Nov. 15 (biology).   Science Saturdays are free and open to the public.  They consist of a lecture and hands-on demos.  Details here.

Calendar Confusion

If you were at orientation today, you may have received two conflicting calendars: one inside the handbook, and the other from the PTO.  The following calendar clears up the discrepancies and is the one you should use.  The dates are always subject to change later on, so please check back for updates in the months ahead.

Orientation Schedule and Sign-Up Sheet

Hi Everyone,

This is a reminder that orientation is on Friday, August 22nd:

   Grades 9 and 12 are from 8:30 to 9:30 am

   Grades 10 and 11 are from 9:30 to 10:30 am

   Grades 7 and 8 are from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm

   Grade 6 is from 1:00 to 2:00 pm

If an evening session is needed, there is one for all grades on Friday, August 22ndf from 5:30 to 6:30 pm.  If a morning session is needed, there is one for grades 6, 7 and 8 on Tuesday, August 26 from 8:30 to 9:30 am.

The first day of school is Thursday, August 28th.

You can join the PTO by filling in the attached form and bringing it to orientation.  Hope to see you there!

Regards,

Cathy Berni

ESUMS PTO President

Click HERE to volunteer.