JourneySafe

Hello SAGE members,

A fellow SAGE mother sent me a link to the following video about the importance of driving safely. I highly recommend that you view it: http://www.journeysafe.com/presentation.

Be safe when driving,

Mr. White

Scholarships

As you all should know by now, college is EXPENSIVE! How are you going to pay then? With scholarships of course! Scholarships are extremely important when you go to college and they can save you a lot of money.

There are tons of scholarship opportunities out there and luckily, sites such as the Tempe Union website and CollegeBoard have complied easy to look through lists.

Although there are a lot of opportunities out there, they are no good if you don't go for them. You're going to regret waiting until the end of you senior year to look for scholarships. Instead, start your scholarship search during the second semester of your junior year, and continue on through senior year.

We have found the Tempe Union District scholarship website to be the most helpful. Check it out at the following web address:

https://www.tuhsd.k12.az.us/view.php?page=55,82&tuhsdgroup=2

Here are some other sites to help you with your search:

Fastweb
http://www.fastweb.com/

Princeton Review
http://www.princetonreview.com/college/finance/

CollegeBoard
http://apps.collegeboard.com/cbsearch_ss/servlet/scholarshipsearchservlet?SS_ACTION=DB_SEARCH&pageIndex=0

CollegeNet
http://www.collegenet.com/mach25/app

College Scholarships, College, and Online Degrees
http://college-scholarships.com/

Take a few minutes to look around them. Maybe you'll find a scholarship that suits you. And remember, these are by no means, the only opportunities.

The AP Exams are coming! The AP Exams are coming!

Hello all,

It is that time of year again. Tensions are high and sales of pepto-bismol are shooting through the roof. AP Exams are upon us. Thankfully, your exam isn't tomorrow. You have plenty of time between now and May to study and prepare and agonize. While you are in that process, though, a couple of reminders:

1. If you intend on taking an AP Exam, you need to sign up for it now. Exam order forms are available in a myriad of colors, including blue, green, yellow, goldenrod, and white! You can pick up an exam order form from your AP teacher or just outside the bookstore. The cost is $86.00 per exam and you need to take your order form and your payment to the bookstore. You have until February 22nd to sign up for the exam (a date that is fast approaching). You can order an AP exam form after that date, but it will cost you $30.00 extra per exam. I will not be accepting any orders after Thursday, March 6th at 3:00PM (the order form says Friday, March 7th -- but, please, for the love of everything good and holy, just get your order form in before then. Please. I'm begging you).

2. Whatever color you pick, the final color you will receive is a pink receipt that explains when and where the Pre-Administration session is and when you will be taking your AP exam. Be sure to keep that safe and visible.

3. ALL students who plan to take an AP Exam must attend one of the two Pre-Administration sessions, which will be Thursday, April 10th at 3:15PM and Friday, April 11th at 7:30AM. You will want to report to the room assigned according to your last name. These are the American Studies rooms:

Room C 207-208 (A-G) Room C 220-221 (N-S)

Room C 211-212 (H-M) Room C 273-274 (T-Z)

4. You are not required to send scores to any college or university. You may choose to release the scores later to the college or university of choice.

5. You do NOT need your teacher's permission to take an AP Exam. Your choice to take or not to take the AP exam is YOURS!

If you have any questions, you can check out one of the two AP web sites:

http://www.tuhsd.k12.az.us/Desert_Vista_HS/GiftedProgram/page2.html or
http://www.tuhsd.k12.az.us/Desert_Vista_HS/GiftedProgram/GiftedCoordinator/page4.html

Or you can e-mail me at dwhite.dvh@tuhsd.k12.az.us or call me at (480) 706-7900, extension 92154.

Take care and don't stress out!

Mr. White

If You're Filling Out your Schedule for Next Year, HURRY AND READ THIS!!

Quickly!! Schedules are due practically yesterday!
1) Are you a sophomore or junior?
2) Do you want to explore aspects of a career that you don't know much about, or get a sneak preview of the work world?
3) Do you want an extra period of release?

If you answered "Yes!" to any of these questions, you need to put "Honors Professional Internship" on your schedule this instant!

What it is: The Honors Professional Internship (not to be confused with the Business Internship, in which you spend one period at school and the other two at work) is similar to the Business Internship, but offered only to Gifted students who want a more in-depth experience in the area of their interest (ie: engineering, biodesign, computer technology, medicine, etc). I chose to work for WSI, an online marketing company, but you can choose any company in any field you wish. The bonus is that it only takes up one period (instead of 3) and you spend the whole hour off campus as an intern. NOTE: If you take this class instead of the Business Internship (recommended) you will still need to take care of that business credit necessary to graduation; luckily you can easily take Economics or Entrepreneurship (or anything else in the business section of the DV handbook) to satisfy this requirement.

What you do: First and foremost, you need to go talk to Mr. White (that friendly guy down in the counseling office) and tell him you're interested. Then, the hardest part is to actually find the internship; don't worry, there's dozens to choose from and even though you may have to put up with a few rejections at first, it's no harder than being hired for a job. (Note: yes, i know that most internships aren't paid but it's worth it, believe me)

Any Questions? If so, you can contact me at my email thedukeofhousemagrace@gmail.com, Mr. White or any of the other students involved in the Internship program (they're on the gifted web page http://www.tuhsd.k12.az.us/dvh/GiftedProgram/page9.html). For more information on the Honors Professional Internship (as well as Advanced Studies) you can flip to page 33 in that nifty handbook (the code is IS15).

Good luck! And make sure you get those schedules in on time! :o
-Kadra

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

Art & Your High School Experience: Making More Than the Grade

It's second semester. AP Exams are creeping closely forward, term papers are appearing everywhere, you have three days of homework snowballed because you were working on that assignment that took you three days to finish--in essence, you're a gifted student at Desert Vista. "What does this all mean" and "Why did I do this to myself" might be questions that reoccur in your psyche as you laboriously engrave information into a worksheet for your history class.

I have some news for you, my friends: There Is An Escape.

This escape is better known as the Desert Vista Fine Arts Department. I know for some of you, the sound of "electives programs" that aren't AP or Honors can cause a wave of anxiety, ridden with visions of lost rank points, failure, and visions of a homeless future. I'm here to tell you these fears are irrational. I have taken one or more arts classes every year of my high school career, and I am the top 3% of my senior class. I have a very high GPA. I still enjoy my AP classes just as much, if not more! That's right: art classes won't destroy your life as a gifted student.

In fact, I couldn't live without the fine arts. In the midst of all the chaos of my AP/Honors world, I have found orchestra and ceramics classes to provide me with an outlet just to create. Art is such a personal experience--for one hour every day, you aren't judged on whether or not you can create a masterpiece; assignments aren't examined with a pass/fail mentality; you are given a space where you create your own vision of what you think is beautiful. Art isn't about getting an A--that's relatively easy. Art is about finding your own vision, about exploring your own world.

So when you are choosing your classes this semester, or thinking about your busy schedule next year, remember that you might enjoy this kind of outlet. As a culture, I believe we have become increasingly homogenized in order to "make the grade", and art classes help preserve this lost individuality and creativity. Additionally, these classes can help you look at your AP/Honors classes with a more creative, problem-solving mind.

I encourage you, with all my experiences in high school in mind, to take an art class or two. Take a break, enjoy, and create: you will be glad you did. High school is definitely about being successful, but it's also about finding out who you are--taking art classes can help you discover things you never knew about yourself.

-Kellie

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If you cannot find the information you are looking for on this blog, send us an email at dvsageclub.com@gmail.com and let us know. We would be more than happy to answer your questions or supply you with the information you need.

-Kunal