FSA 5th Graders Reading to Kindergarten

FSA 5th grade students have been practicing reading with fluency and expression. In order to improve these skills, 5th graders have been spending a few Friday afternoons reading to Ms. P's kindergarten class! This has become a great way to practice reading aloud while demonstrating leadership, not to mention it has become a Friday favorite!

FIRST GRADE STUDENTS WISH EVERYONE A VERY HAPPY 100TH DAY OF SCHOOL

We've been together for 100 days,

Learning and growing in so many ways,

We've come together to sing and say,

Happy, Happy, 100th Day! 

Thursday, January 23^rd marked the 100th day of school for all students. First grade celebrated the 100^th day in a mighty big way!! Students demonstrated they are now 100 days smarter by applying mathematical concepts and skills through a variety of activities. Just to name a few, first grade estimated how many times they could jump in 100 seconds; used sparkly glitter and colorful paper to make 100 day crowns, hats, and glasses; identified several words that rhyme with the word hundred (This is harder than it sounds!); demonstrated how many ways the number 100 can be represented; gobbled down 100 different snacks; counted 100 super cool Pokémon figures, and the list goes on! As you can see from our smiling faces, the 100th day of school was 100 times the fun!! 

KINDERGARTEN 100th DAY CELEBRATION

As most Kindergarten classes do across the nation, our students celebrated the 100^th Day of School after counting and tracking each day all school year!  To prepare for this upcoming event, the Kindergarten students learned important facts and skills pertaining to 100.  The celebration of 100 days in kindergarten was first introduced in the 1981- 82 Newsletter of the Center for Innovation in Education.  Today, the sheer quantity of 100^th Day related books, activities, and merchandise is mind-boggling.  It’s tempting to try and do everything 100-related, and our kindergarteners would claim we probably did!  January 23^rd  was a fun-filled day of hands-on activities, games, tasty treats, and lots of parent volunteers who joined us to share in the celebration. 

The 100^th day is not just about math.  This easily becomes a cross-curricular celebration.  Students worked in small groups to write 100 words for a class display.  After we collected 100 words, students worked in teams to alphabetize them.  We wrote and illustrated about what we will look like when we are 100 using our individually aged photos from an aging application as inspiration, and wrote a sentence about what our “100” turned into!  Students worked in teams to try and build a tower of 100 solo cups, raced against the clock in boy and girl teams to try and pick up 100 pieces of paper, and used Sharpies to work on 100^th Day sun catchers.  Some of our most popular events included a “zero” eating contest, creating “Derdnuh” (10 each of 10 different snacks), creating necklaces of 100 beads, the 100 balloon drop, and of course getting photos with the teachers who turned into 100 year old ladies just for the day!

Fulton Science Academy Chess Team Won 2nd Place in MLK Tournament

On Monday, January 20, 2014 Fulton Science Academy Chess Team students competed at Martin Luther King Jr. Chess Tournament and won 2nd place as a team at the middle school level. Congratulations to FSA Math Team students, their parents and and our chess coaches for these wonderful results. FSA Chess Team includes Vikram Ruppa-Kasani, Katherine Li, Sidharth Marupidi and Charlie Furniss.

FSA ROBOTICS TEAM, ROBO-NATIONS WON "TEAMWORK AWARD" AT SUPER-REGIONAL QUALIFIERS

On Saturday, January 11th, our Robotics teams, Robo-Nations competed at FLL Super-Regional Qualifiers. 

Robo-Nations won the "Teamwork  Award". This award recognizes a team that is able to accomplish more together than they could as individuals through shared goals, strong communication, effective problem solving and excellent time management

Robo-Nations includes: Andre Hamelberg, Julian Hamelberg, Jay Lee, Saad Maan, Jean Moorman, Mira Mutnick, Yusuf Tas, Hasan Unal, Maryam Unal, and Simon Wang.

FSA Junior FLL Team Won Robust Design Award

FSA Robotics Team, Jr. LhKnighterz, competed at Junior FLL and has done a wonderful job. Team Jr.LgKnighterz received Robust Design Award. This award recognizes the team whose understanding and application of construction knowledge allowed them to produce the most solid and sturdiest design. 

Our team includes following students  Abhiram Vuribindi, Shreyan Ghelani, Damien Davis,Neel Bhatt, Navya Poonia.

Fulton Science Academy Math Olympiad Team Dominates Math Competitions This Year

Fulton Science Academy Private School Math Olympiad Team continues to dominate Math tournaments this year. After winning 1st place in three different math competitions this year, FSA Math Team attended 2014 Dunwoody High School Invitational Math Tournament this past Saturday, January 18 and won 1st place as a team again. Additionally, FSA 8th grader, Brian Shoffeitt won 1st place individually among all students.

Earlier this school year, Fulton Science Academy Private School also won following first places as team:

1st Place as a Team in 2013 Luella High School Math Competition
1st Place as a Team in 2013 War Eagle Math Competition (Accelerated Division)
1st Place as a Team in 2013 Rockdale Math Competition

Fulton Science Academy Math Team includes Brian Shoffeitt, Jean Moorman, Charlie Furniss, Hasan Unal, Araneesh Pratap, Katherine Li, Mira Mutnick, Julian Hamelberg, Aditya Choudhari, Ananya Terala, Karuna Kumar and Elaine Wen.

Please see top five team placements from 2014 Dunwoody Math Tournament below:

1st Place – Fulton Science Academy Private School – 157 Points
2nd Place – Webb Bridge Middle School – 152 Points
3rd Place – Chamblee Middle School – 148 Points
4th Place – Peachtree Middle School – 107 Points
5th Place – Burke City Middle School – 74 Points

Principal Kenan Sener congratulated the students of the FSA Math Olympiad Team, their families, and their teachers for the team's wonderful results this year. He said, "Achievements like these do not come easily. I applaud all the math olympiad students and math teachers for their tireless efforts, hard-work, and dedication. Now, we have started to prepare our students for both national and international math competitions. It is our hope to bring back many trophies to our wonderful city of Alpharetta in a very near future. Way to go!

FSA 8TH GRADER, BRIAN SHOFFEITT WON 1ST PLACE INDIVIDUALLY AMONG ALL STUDENTS

FSA COLLEGE MENTORSHIP PROGRAM SPEAKER SERIES HOSTED KRIS RINNE, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AT AT&T LABS

Last Friday, December 13, FSA hosted Kris Rinne, Senior Vice President at AT&T Labs. Mrs. Rinne talked about earlier, current and future communication technologies and made some demonstrations. It was a time travel through technological innovations. Simply amazing! Mrs. Rinne asked students about their opinions and ideas about future communication tools. The answers were very brights and innovative. The program ended with many wonderful questions from our students. We thanks Mrs. Rinne for taking time from her busy schedule and giving this wonderful speech. We also thank one of our parents, Mrs. Kefalas for arranging this event for our students.  

Kris Rinne, senior vice president of network technology at AT&T Labs, has a depth of knowledge of the wireless network that leaves most in the industry in awe. She can rattle off answers to just about any technology question in such a succinct manner that those listening need a couple seconds (or more) just to process her answer.

But that vast knowledge of the network serves her well. In her current role, she oversees all the architecture and planning for AT&T's LTE network, handling standards and device certification. She also oversees network platforms and service platforms via AT&T Labs, as well as the analysis and optimization of the network.

Throughout Rinne's 30-year tenure in the industry she has participated in the deployment of several different network technologies including GSM, HSPA and now LTE. As a long-time technology leader, she has contributed to the industry by serving on the board of several industry associations including as chairperson of the Board of Governors at  4G Americas (previously known as 3G Americas) and as a director of the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS).

In 2011, Kris was named as “The Most Influential Woman in Wireless” by Fierce Wireless and was a member of the Global Telecom Business Power 100 list of the most powerful telecom executives. She made the Fierce Wireless list once again in 2012.

Rinne also is a 2013 Wireless Hall of Fame inductee. Inductees are selected by an anonymous panel consisting of current Hall of Fame members, which include such wireless industry luminaries as former Qualcomm CEO Irwin Jacobs, Craig McCaw, founder of McCaw Communications, and former AT&T Mobility CEO Stan Sigman.

2013 is an important year for Rinne as she and her team work to expand AT&T's LTE footprint so it covers 270 million POPs by year-end. In addition, Rinne will likely be overseeing the deployment of LTE Advanced features, including carrier aggregation technology.

FSA STUDENTS ATTENDED MICROSOFT CODE OF HOUR EVENT

On Thursday, December 12th, 16 FSA students from 7th and 8th grade went to the Microsoft to attend Code of Hour event. During the event students learned and practiced some Java skills and completed some certain tasks. Then students visited Microsoft Technology Center, Envisioning Center and Data Center. Students also had a chance to use latest Microsoft products including an 80" touch screen, the Xbox One, the new Nokia phone, and the Microsoft Surface. We thank Microsoft for this amazing opportunity. We also thank one of our former parents, Merrill Oakes, for arranging this wonderful event for us.  Our students truly enjoyed it and came back to school very happily :) 

RoboNation Won Presentation Award and Advanced to Super-Regionals

On December 14th robotics team RoboNation has done a great job at FLL Georgia Official Qualifying Tournament. RonoNation won Presentation Award as a team and advanced to Super-Regionals. This award recognizes a team that effectively communicates the problem they have identified and their proposed solution to both the judges and other potential supporters. Robo-Nations includes the following students: Andre Hamelberg, Julian Hamelberg, Jay Lee, Saad Maan, Jean Moorman, Mira Mutnick, Yusuf Tas, Hasan Unal, Maryam Unal, and Simon Wang. Congratulations to these students, their parents and coach Mr. Kaya. We wish them success at their future competition. Way to go!