Welcome to a New School Year

As the banner in front of our school so clearly announces, at Telesis Character Comes First! The new school year for 2008-2009 will be no different: Character-building will be an important part of every school day. Mrs. Mills, Intermediate teacher, shared the following with me and I thought it appropriate to pass it on here.

Watch your thought,
they become words.
Watch your words,
they become actions.
Watch your actions,
they become habits.
Watch your habits,
they become your character.
Watch your character,
it becomes your destiny.

What's the Best Investment?

Your child's education at Telesis Preparatory Academy which is FREE!

Graduation 2008

Congratulations Telesis Class of 2008!

Graduation is always a time of reflection and this year is no different as eleven Telesis Graduates receive their diplomas on June 5, 2008. Attending Telesis anywhere from 2 to 10 years, these students rose to the occasion and met the challenges never losing sight of the ultimate goal: Graduation and a High School Diploma and let us not forget the education they take with them that no one can take from them.

Congratulations to:

Kelsey Battson

Micah Crabtree

Jason Dunavant

Michael Estes

Sheree Hanson

Yuri Hartley

Nickolas Landoni

Justin McShane

Justin Mendenhall

Matt Parsons

Ben Perea

National Charter School Week, 2008

National Charter Schools Week, 2008
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

Education is the cornerstone of a hopeful tomorrow. During National Charter Schools Week, we highlight the contributions of charter schools to ensuring that our Nation's future leaders have the skills and knowledge necessary for a lifetime of achievement.

Charter schools are educational alternatives that empower families with additional choices for their children. By providing flexibility to educators while insisting on results, charter schools are helping foster a culture of educational innovation, accountability, and excellence. Charter schools also encourage parental involvement and help contribute to the national effort to close the achievement gap.

The No Child Left Behind Act has played a central role in America's efforts to improve our public schools and expand the opportunities available to our children. In 2007, American students reached record achievement levels on reading and math tests, and the achievement gap is beginning to close. Charter schools have been an important part of this success. National Charter Schools Week is an opportunity to recognize the strength, vitality, and excellence of outstanding schools.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 4 through May 10, 2008, as National Charter Schools Week. I applaud our Nation's charter schools and all those who make them a success, and I call on parents of charter school students to share their success stories and help Americans understand more about the important work of charter schools.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this second day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-second.

GEORGE W. BUSH

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/05/20080502-10.html

Telesis Alumni

From time to time I think it is important to recognize Telesis Graduates, our alumni, in what they have accomplished and what they have become. If you are reading this and you are a Telesis Alum, please email me or comment to this post to tell me where you are and what you are doing, so I can spotlight you in this way.

Anthony Rizos is a Telesis graduate of the Class of 2003 who is now in the second semester of his junior year at MIT (the Massachusetts Institute of Technology). While at Telesis, Anthony had a passion for trains and computers and has now parlayed them together to fit well with a study of urban planning, realizing that his true passion and career interests lie in the field of transportation! Anthony was just admitted to the master's program in his department at MIT, so if all goes well, he will have both the Bachelor of Science in Planning, and the Master in City Planning, by 2010.

Anthony has done considerable research on passenger experience - i.e., the experience one has while actively in transit, the activities one participates in while commuting, and how travel time can be made more enjoyable and less of a chore. Anyone who has traveled lately knows we can all benefit from this!

While at Telesis, Anthony landed a correspondence position with Amtrak as a software developer. He continues his work for Amtrak with increasing responsibility, and there is a good chance he will work full-time in a management position for a railroad after graduation.

Anthony spent four months at BNSF (the Santa Fe) Railway last year, working as an intern at their headquarters in Texas, and learning about train operations in the freight business. He also took two years of French at MIT and is planning to work on a research project with the metropolitan transit authority in Paris this summer!

To learn more about Anthony, check out this article which appeared in the MIT magazine, The Spectrum:
http://spectrum.mit.edu/issue/2006-summer/train-travel/

We at Telesis are proud of you, Anthony, and of the good character you have demonstrated in your many achievements. At Telesis, character always comes first.

Telesis Alumni

From time to time I think it is important to recognize Telesis Graduates, our alumni, in what they have accomplished and what they have become. If you are reading this and you are a Telesis Alum, please email me or comment to this post to tell me where you are and what you are doing, so I can spotlight you in this way.

I would like to recognize a Telesis Graduate of the Class of 1999 and one that I see every day, Erika DeJulio. I see Erika every day because she works at Telesis! She not only graduated from Telesis, but she went on to earn her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Northern Arizona University and has returned to “her roots” to teach at her alma mater. She now is in pursuit of her Masters Degree. Erika is the Reading Intervention Assistant and works closely with Mrs. Amy Hanon, the Telesis Literacy Coach. Every day Erika helps young students who are learning how to read get better at it. She is patient and kind, persistent and determined to help them which are many of the qualities it takes to succeed in this position.

We at Telesis are proud of you, Erika, and of the good character you have demonstrated in your many achievements. At Telesis, character always comes first.

Read to Feed Program Happening At Telesis

What do cows, chickens, and goats have to do with reading? Students at Telesis Preparatory Academy can tell you. Over the next six week period beginning Monday, February 4th and ending Wednesday, March 12th, the K through 12th graders will be participating in Heifer International’s Read to Feed program. The more books the students read, the more money they will raise to provide hungry families with farm animals.
During the program, students and teachers will discuss issues surrounding world hunger and earn pledges from family, friends, and community members for the number of books they read during this time period. At the conclusion of the program, students will collect the money from their sponsors and donate it to Heifer. The donations will provide food – and income-producing farm animals, and training for their care, for hungry families around the world who lack the necessary resources to improve their lives.
Read to Feed is both a reading motivation tool and a unique educational opportunity. In addition to the reading component, students learn about different cultures and the importance of food security throughout the world. It also provides a way for children to become actively involved and personally make a difference.
Since 1944, Heifer International has helped over 4.5 million families become self-reliant through gifts of livestock. Every family that receives an animal passes on the gift of its offspring to another family in need.
The Read to Feed program is anticipated to involve 100,000 children in the U.S. and Canada over the next year. We at Telesis are excited about the educational and motivational aspect of the program to promote both reading and make families around the world self-reliant.
For more information regarding the program, visit http://www.readtofeed.org/.
For more information about Heifer International and its mission, visit http://www.heifer.org/.