Finals Approaching

SAGE,

You totally don’t want to think about it right now, but finals are just around the corner. That means you can add studying for them to your already vast to-do list. Here are some helpful hints on how to prepare for your exams and get everything else done.

Tip 1: Start early
Preparation for exams should begin earlier than the day before the test. You can’t cram an entire unit of information into an all-nighter. Get started at least a week before the exam. Space out studying in advance, so you're not overwhelmed at the last minute.

Tip 2: Organize
Begin by making yourself a calendar outlining a daily schedule of topics for review. Cover a small amount of material for each class each day. Every time you complete a topic, give yourself a mini review on what you've already learned.

Tip 3: Outline
Once you have decided what you need to study and how much time you need to spend studying, it is time to actually study. One of the best ways is to make succinct outlines. As you read over your textbook and class notes, write a brief summary for each topic. Highlight the areas in your outline that were most troublesome. When you have finished with all the material, you will have an outline you can review.

Tip 4: Make flashcards
Similar to outlining, making flashcards is a really helpful technique for studying. By writing down the information from your outline, you are already doing half the studying. Once the flashcards are complete, you will have a portable study packet to look over.

Tip 5: Get help
If you are having trouble memorizing something or a particular concept is just not sinking in, get help before it’s too late. Ask your teacher to go over a glitch you might be having. All your teachers are there to help you before school, and sometimes after school as well.

Tip 6: Sleep
You need at least seven hours of sleep a night to function. Tests are designed to make you think. If you are sleep-deprived, you won’t be able to remember any of the information you worked so hard to cram into your brain. When cramming the night before (you shouldn't, but this is a worst-case scenario) KNOW WHEN TO STOP. A good night's rest is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO FOR YOURSELF.

Tip 7:Stay calm
Do not panic at the exam! Even if at first glance the test is overwhelming, remember to breathe. If a question seems too hard, answer all the questions you know, then return to the ones you left blank. Remind yourself that you are prepared. Step into the test with confidence, because you're prepared.

Tip 8: Don’t rush
You have spent at least two weeks studying, so what’s another couple of minutes? Work through the exam slowly and read all the questions before answering them. If you are done before the time is up, look over your answers. Checking your work may be boring, but it can catch stupid mistakes that cost you easy points.

Tip 9: Relax post-exam
Don’t let panic overwhelm you. Even if you think you bombed the exam, worrying will not change your score. It may, however, affect your mindset for your next final. Zone out the last test and stay focused on the next one. Odds are, you didn’t do as badly as you think.

And last, try not to stress. Stay calm, and know that it'll all turn out alright in the end. Good luck!

-Victor
:)

Community Service!!!

Hey everyone!

There are several ways you can help out your community! SAGE is currently hosting two great community service programs, the Angel Tree Drive and the Maricopa Book Drive. Make sure to check them out, because they are both amazing ways to give back to your community! Here is some info on both of them:

--

Angel Tree Drive

Where: The tree is currently set up in the DV Guidance Center.

When: All tags are due December 11th, 2008. That's a Thursday, so don't be late!

Who: The names of the requesters are on the tags, and their ages range from newborn to 50+.

Purpose: The Angel Tree Drive is a touching way to make one less fortunate person's Christmas much better! Each tag on the tree has the name of a person and two gifts that they are requesting. Our task is to help grant their wishes by going out and buying both gifts that they are asking for.

How: Once you take a tag, you must sign up in the Guidance Department by giving your name, the name of the person that will be recieving your gifts, and the names of the two gifts you are donating. Afterwards, when you bring your unwrapped gifts in, you should attach the tag to the presents before placing them underneath the tree. Remember, leave them unwrapped!

About the SAGE Angel Tree Drive (From Mr. White):

The SAGE Angel Tree Drive is in conjunction with A New Leaf (formerly PREHAB of Arizona), an organization that serves the needs of families who are homeless and/or abused. For those of you not familiar with the program, every year the Desert Vista SAGE Club coordinates a school wide program to fulfill a two item wish list for hundreds of individuals who are homeless, either because of financial reasons or because they are seeking safety from an abusive home. As you may already know, hard financial times mean that rates of homelessness and domestic abuse increase; as a result, A New Leaf is experiencing an overwhelming number of needy families. Therefore, we are looking to assist 200 individuals, as opposed to our normal 150. If you feel as though you might be financially strapped this year, understand that many of the items individuals ask for are quite simple, such as diapers, a teething toy, a packet of toy cars, a doll, a pad of paper, etc. It is important that the needs of these individuals are served, so whether you are or are not able to give this year, please pass this information to friends and family.

--

Maricopa Book Drive

Where: The boxes are located in the library, the Guidance Office, and the front office

When: Similar to the Angel Tree Drive, books are due on Thursday, December 11, 2008

Who: The receivers of these books will be the students of the Maricopa Unified School District, schools K-8.

How: This book drive is for anybody with dusty picture books stashed away at home! These books may no longer hold any importance to you, but they can help out a needy kid. Books can be dropped off at any of the three centers mentioned above. Please make sure they are age appropriate! Books can be newly purchased or used, and sign-up sheets will be placed next to each box if you wish to receive community service hours.

--

More opportunities...

Another great community service opportunity to look out for is the Festival of Lights. 100+ volunteers are needed on November 29th, and it's a fun way to earn your community service hours!

The kick off party is on November 29th, 2008. There are four shifts that you can currently apply for:

Shift #1 - 10:30 am - 1:30 pm
Shift #2 - 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Shift #3 - 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm
Break Down - 7pm to 10pm

Activities include working at the game booths, selling tickets, manning an inflatable activity, working in concession booths, and much more!

Also, you can sign up to work at the Hayrides (Saturdays, December 13th and 20th) and the Light Removal (Saturday, January 10th, 2009)

For more information on signing up for the Festival of Lights, you can contact Alix Parker, president of Desert Vista's Key Club.

You can also apply directly at their home page:

http://www.folaz.org/volunteers.php

--

I hope to see everybody participating in these great events! Remember, both the Maricopa Book Drive and the Angel Tree Drive come to a close on December 11th, 2008.

~Grace Ma, Community Service Officer

THE LIT 600 Award Winners

The winners of this year's very first literary magazine contest at Desert Vista High School, entitled THE LIT 600 have been decided. All of the winners receive an award certificate and an invitation to read their piece at Changing Hands Bookstore, located on the corner of McClintock and Guadalupe. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Prize Winners will all receive gift certificates to Changing Hands Bookstore. Fifth Prize winners will receive a $5.00 Gift Certificate; Fourth Prize winners will receive a $10.00 Gift Certificate; Third Prize Winners will receive a $15.00 Gift Certificate; and, Second Prize Winners will receive a $30.00 Gift Certificate.

First place winners will receive $200 for their award winning work.

The winning prizes for Non-Fiction will be announced live on DVTV, 3rd period, tomorrow, Tuesday, 29 April 2008. Prize winners include Ashley Bennett, Freddy Eschrich, Kellie Mejdrich, Justin Sanders, and Rachel Wilt.

The winning prizes for Fiction will be announced live on DVTV, 3rd period, Thursday, 1 May 2008. Prize winners include Fiona Pigott, Carolien Schieke, Samara Shanker, Anny Wu, and Lauren Zack.

The winning prizes for Poetry will be announced live on DVTV, 3rd period, Friday, 2 May 2008. Prize winners include Adam Lozier, Nina Martin, John Mason, Maitri Mehta, and Nina Ogesen.

Please stay tuned and be sure to congratulate the award winners.

-- David White

DV Literary Magazine: What the Thunder Said

The Spring 2008 edition of the Desert Vista Literary Magazine, which is volume seven of What the Thunder Said, is on sale now, today, and everyday, in the Desert Vista bookstore. The cost of the Literary Magazine is $5.00. You should also know that Literary Magazine pens are still on sale for $2.00. What could be a better gift to give this spring than the Desert Vista Literary Magazine? IT'S LITERARYIFIC!!!

-- Mr. White

April 16th Meeting: AP Study Session

With the AP exams less than a month away, SAGE is hosting an AP study session in the library after school on Wednesday. The unique part about this meeting is that we will have students who have scored a 4 or a 5 on the exams last year to lead the study sessions for each subject. Thus, we are offering a student's perspective on the AP tests to supplement -not reiterate- the teacher's advice.

We will have study sessions for the following subjects:

English Language and Composition
Calculus BC
Spanish Language
US History
World History

Leave a comment if you have any questions or concerns.

-Kunal

Staying Chill

High School can be pretty stressful, especially with a rigorous school schedule. But it does not have to be. AP classes and extra-curricular activities are wonderful in healthy doses, but too much of anything can really hurt...like blunt-force head trauma.

AP classes are usually much more interesting and rewarding than your everyday honors or regular course, but also require a bit more effort. Three or four AP classes are really all you need in any given year, depending on the difficulty level of the courses (the most difficult AP classes are pretty notorious, so you should know that two or three of these are enough). Honors classes are weighted the same as AP for ranking, and DV GPA is on a standard 4.0 scale so AP classes do not have much of an advantage on honors classes. Some colleges will offer credit if you manage a 4 or 5 on the AP test, but some colleges just use the AP test to place you in more advanced classes in college.

Extra-curricular activities are a must in High School. They will not only keep you involved socially, but also help to motivate you academically. Just like a double-double is better with a side order of animal style fries (or whatever you like to eat), your school schedule should be complimented by some activity you enjoy. Whether it is football, ceramics, painting, martial arts, running, competitive sweater knitting, or whatever; you need to do something other than study. Believe it or not, sometimes having that something extra on your plate will help you enjoy your meal that much more (sorry for extending this analogy so far...haha). A good balance of school and extra-curricular is not only fun for you, but colleges like to see that too (it proves to them that you actually have a soul). So keep trucking academically, but don't forget to moderate and to do something for yourself once in a while.

-Minyu Kim

SAGE Meeting Dates

In case you were wondering, the following is a list of the SAGE meeting dates for the rest of the year:

February 20
March 5
March 19
April 9
April 16
April 30
May 7

The complete list of SAGE meeting dates has been available on the DV Gifted Services website: http://www.tuhsd.k12.az.us/Desert_Vista_HS/GiftedProgram/page4.html

However, do not confuse this site with the SAGE Club Homepage, which is accesible at the following web address: http://www.tuhsd.k12.az.us/dvh/GiftedProgram/GiftedCoordinator/page2.html

The latter is the site that has our research and our previous presentations.

If you're confused about what's going on at SAGE, or if you have any other questions, let us know by email at dvsageclub.com@gmail.com, or post a comment on the blog.

-Kunal

The College Confidential Forums

The College Confidential Forums (http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/) are a great resource for the high school student. On it, you will find information from students, parents and college official about SAT preparation, college essays, financial aid, summer programs, and more.

However, there is are a few caveats:
1. To find the information, you will have to do some fishing in the sea of posts. It will take time.
2. Take the comments with a grain of salt. A few people's opinion of a testing strategy or college is not authoritative.
3. Many of these posters are egregious overachievers; don't feel intimidated by them or pressured to emulate them.

Notice that the link to the forums is on the right, under "Useful Links". Be sure to browse the other links as well; it's in your best interest, for they really are useful.