BUSINESS/TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT
Mrs. Sweeney, Marketing and Personal Business and Finance instructor will continue to be an advisor to the DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) organization.Students will attend the district conference in January as well as the state conference in April.Mrs. Sweeney will also be the advisor for the LEO club.
Mrs. Harp, Accounting instructor, will continue to be an advisor for the Future Educators of America as well as for the school newspaper, The Olivian.
Mr. O'Connell, Web Design instructor, plans to continue to be an advisor for the Guitar Club.
Students are encouraged to join these organizations.
Students enrolled in the Finance class and Accounting class will need to purchase a workbook.The cost of the Finance workbook is $19.00.The cost of theAccounting workbook is $22.00.Checks should be made payable to the Oliver Ames Activity Fund.
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
The members of the English Department are looking forward to meeting their new students and starting the new school year as a grade 9-12 high school.There is a new department chair, Joanne Coffman, who will occupy the position left vacant by the retirement of Joan Nicholaides and a new English teacher who will replace Joanne Coffman's position, Kaitlyn Myers.We wish Mrs. Nicholaides best wishes as she starts a new chapter in her life.
Kaitlyn Myers student taught last fall with Oliver Ames High School and is a recent graduate of Bridgewater State College.She will be teaching 9th and 10th grade classes.We are very fortunate to have her as an addition to the English Department.
During the first few days of school, English students will need three ring binders, pens, preferably black, a pencil, and a highlighter.Books will require covering.Teachers will pass out welcome letters delineating the classroom expectations, both academic and social, as well as a brief description of the course.Students will also be given a syllabus listing their future assignments.A copy of each syllabus is posted in the student's classroom, too.Summer reading exams will be administered on Tuesday, September 8th.Vocabulary books will be distributed the first week of school: Freshman and Senior vocabulary books require a fee of $10, and Sophomore and Junior vocabulary books require a fee of $15.For those students taking the SAT Prep course, the SAT book fee is $20.
This year Oliver Ames High School is excited about using the Turnitin software program as an aid in assisting students with properly citing sources and avoiding unintentional plagiarism. Programs like Turnitin have been used effectively in schools and colleges across the country and are a growing trend in secondary and postsecondary education.You are invited to review the website at turnitin.com and to access the student training video in order to become familiar with this valuable new tool.During the first few weeks of school, each English class will devote time to help students login and navigate their way through the process of submitting a piece of writing electronically to Turnitin.Since Turnitin software requires students under 18 years of age to obtain permission from their parents and guardians, the English teachers will be distributing these permission slips.
WORLD LANGUAGES
Congratulations go to those students in the Spanish V class who passed the Spanish AP exam.Their teacher, Dahri McFaline, merits special recognition for her dedication and commitment in preparing the students for the exam.
The department will be continuing with the exchange program this year.The program has been in existence for over twenty years.During the last few years our exchanges have been with Spain and France.However, other countries like Venezuela and Costa Rica have participated as well.This program is an integral part of our curriculum.It offers the students a unique opportunity to truly use the language, and experience the culture, that they have been studying for six years.
The exchange program is an educational experience where students live with a family and attend school with the host student.When not on a field trip, students participating in this program are required to attend all the classes of the host student.Unlike the experiences of the average tourist, our students gain insight into the everyday life of the families, their culture, and their educational system.In addition, they further develop their language skills, which make them more marketable in today's global society.
The department is currently looking for volunteers to host the exchange students. The students usually stay with us for around two weeks. We are still awaiting the travel dates for these groups.The students from Spain will be arriving in September and the French students in the spring. We hope that you will consider hosting an exchange student. It can be a great experience for the entire family!
