HEADLINER NEWS and ACTIVITIES THIS WEEK

Progress Reports. Friday marks the end of 13.5 weeks of school in the second semester. Consolidated progress reports will be distributed in PRIDE on Thursday. Please review, sign, and have your student return the report to their PRIDE teacher Friday.

Prom this Saturday night! Students, are you ready for an unforgettable evening? We hope so! We think you will feel as if you have actually escaped to the forbidden city! Fernbank is an awesome venue. Important Prom Reminders: Bring a picture ID and monies for Prom pictures if you plan to be photographed. Check-in/Wristbands: When you arrive you will first go to the check in table, which will be directly in front of you in the Museum foyer. After checking in you will receive your wristband. The wristband must be worn while in the building. If you leave the dance before the evening ends, we will clip the band off your wrist as you exit. You may not re-enter the building a second time. There will be no formal Coat Check-in. Fernbank does have a few (40) personal lockers that use a quarter and a coat hanging area that is hang at your own risk. The Presentation of the Prom Court and the Crowning of the 2009 Prom King and Queen will take place at 10:15 PM; the festivities will end at 11:00. We will ask that you make a prompt exit so that you, like Cinderella, will be safe at home before the clock strikes 12:00AM.

ACADEMICS

Tenth Graders. The main administration of the Gateway test will be the week of April 20. Please make sure you are at school on time, have had a good breakfast, and are ready to test!
Monday, April 20 Social Studies/Language Arts – Main Administration
Tuesday, April 21 Social Studies/Language Arts - Make ups
Wednesday, April 22 Science/Language Arts - Main Administration
Thursday, April 23 Science/Language Arts – Make ups
Make up days are for all retakes and all new 11th or 12th grade students who have not passed or taken the Gateway.

CISCO Dual Enrollment Open House. Tuesday, April 21, 2009. 7:00 pm.
Gwinnett Technical College Busbee Center
5150 Sugarloaf Parkway
Lawrenceville, GA 30043
Busbee Center (Building 700)
CISCO Lab Room 2.308
All current high school juniors and their parents are invited to the CISCO Dual Enrollment Open House. Dual Enrollment allows a student to take a college course such as CISCO and earn credit toward high school graduation and college credit for the same course(s). CISCO is a comprehensive e-learning program that provides students with the Internet technology skills essential in a global economy. The CISCO Networking Academy delivers web-based content, online assessment, student performance tracking, hands-on labs, instructor training and support, and preparation for industry standard certifications including CCNA, Network+, and A+. Contact: Jeff Fitzpatrick jfitzpatrick@gwinnetttech.edu Office (678) 226-6665

AP Psychology. There will be review sessions for the AP Exam on Wednesdays and Fridays after school in B206 from April 15th to May 8th. Please contact Mrs. Cardwell at julie_cardwell@gwinnett.k12.ga.us with any questions.

AP Macroeconomics. There will be review sessions for the AP Macroeconomics exam for five weeks beginning March 24 and ending May 1. The sessions will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please see our flyer at http://www.peachtreeridge.org/index_files/FunkAPReview.pdf for the full schedule.

China summer camp. Congratulations to the following students for being selected to participate in the summer camp in Beijing this summer. The Chinese HanBan (National Mandarin Chinese Office) sponsors this program and covers all the cost of the trip in China, including room and board and travel to tourist highlights.
Jolie Tu
Brittnie Oo
Annie Khoa
Ana Carter

Odyssey of the Mind. Peachtree Ridge High School was well represented at the Odyssey of the Mind state competition on April 4th. Not only did both of our teams win 1st place in their divisions but both teams won a Ranatra Fusca. The Ranatra Fusca award for outstanding creativity is the highest award presented in the Odyssey of the Mind program. These awards are not routinely given out. Judges only give out these awards when a team has solved a problem in an exceptionally creative way. Peachtree Ridge is the only high school in the state of Georgia that received a Ranatra Fusca at state this year. It is truly impressive that both of our teams received this prestigious award. Both teams will advance to World Competition at Iowa State University on May 26th.

UPCOMING EVENTS, ITEMS OF INTEREST

Volunteer Center Announcements:
1. Volunteer opportunity: Get volunteer hours at Mason Elementary School's Carnival, Friday, May 1st from 5pm-9pm. Sign up on the upstairs atrium bulletin board.
2. Volunteer Opportunity: GA SPCA is desperate for volunteers and supplies. See the upstairs bulletin board for information about how to volunteer and what supplies are needed.
3. Volunteer Opportunity: Sign up to work at the Concessions Stand at Peachtree Ridge Park for all PRYAA Baseball, Softball, and Soccer games starting March 6th. Sign up on the upstairs atrium bulletin board.
4. Volunteer Opportunity: Sign up to work at the Concessions Stand for PRHS Baseball games. Sign up on the upstairs atrium bulletin board.

Graduation Signs/Neighborhood Banners. The PRHS Technology Education Department is offering GRADUATION SIGNS for seniors. These are Vinyl 18” x 24” Coroplast Yard Signs with Metal Stands. In the school colors, the sign includes the student’s name, school logo, school name, and class year. A sample sign can be seen outside the Technology Lab (across from the Media Center.) Print out the order form at http://www.peachtreeridge.org/index_files/graduationsignsorderform.pdf, attach your payment to the form (checks made out to Peachtree Ridge High School,) and bring it to E110/111 or leave it at the Front Foyer desk. The deadline for orders is May 8. Turn around time is usually 2 to 3 days.

Peachtree Ridge DECA students are competing in the International DECA Competition in Anaheim, California. The cost per person is approximately $1000. The 11 students attending the conference have been fund-raising through bake sales during lunch. They are currently planning a yard sale for Sunday, April 26th. While you are busy cleaning out your closets, please think of donating items to the yard sale. Items can be brought to the school store. We would like to get an estimate of the amount of items by the end of the week. Please e-mail Yalanda_Bell@gwinnett.k12.ga.us with any questions. Thank you all for your support of PRHS DECA.

Robolions! The time is finally here! The final competition - FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP - the "Worlds" is this week, Thursday through Saturday, April 16-18. Plan on coming down to the dome on Saturday to cheer us on! There will be 4 different fields for the over 300 teams from all over the world to compete. Students need to arrange their own transportation for Friday and Saturday. Go Lions!!

SPORTS

Wrestling. Please congratulate senior Sam Kuntz for placing 6th at the NHSCA Senior National Championships and gaining All American status. Congrats to Sam as he goes on to wrestle at Rutgers University next year.

Lacrosse. The varsity girls dropped a close game to Wesleyan, losing by a final score of 13-10. The girls were down 11-4 at the half but played well in the second half to lose by only 3. This brings our record for the season to 4 wins, 6 losses, and 1 tie. The girls play their final home game of the season on Friday night against North Cobb here at the stadium. The JV girls will play at 5:15 pm and the Varsity team will follow at 6:45 pm. Please come out and support these girls as it should be nice afternoon!

Vidalia Onion sales are here! Support the PRHS Volleyball teams by purchasing ten-pound bags of fresh sweet onions for only $10! Contact Carole Siracusa for more details or to place your order -siraone@bellsouth.net or 770-995-0980.

Volleyball. Current PRHS students interested in trying out for the Lions JV and Varsity Volleyball teams should note the following dates: Conditioning will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30 - 4 pm starting April 14 and ending May 7. Summer open gym dates will be July 14, 15, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29 and 30 from 5 - 7 pm. Final open gym will be held July 31 and tryouts will take place on Saturday, August 1. Did you miss the informational meeting? For PRHS, those students who missed the volleyball informational meeting can pick up informational packets from Cindy Albert this week. For Hull, those students who missed the volleyball informational meeting can pick up informational packets from Christie Oliver this week.

Varsity Boys' Soccer. Having to play two tough region games back to back on consecutive days due to rain outs, your varsity boys with their "backs to the wall" needed both wins to make the state play-offs. They pulled off the double-double. In a come from behind win on Wednesday versus N. Gwinnett and last night's overtime penalty kick win (the 5th of the season) versus Norcross, the Lions survived to face Brookwood in the first round of the state play-offs next Wednesday, April 23 at Brookwood at 7:00 pm. They completed the regular season at 13-4 overall and 6-3 in the region.

Varsity Girls' Soccer. The Lady Lions, having suffered a tough loss on Wednesday night in the Region Championship game versus N. Gwinnett, rebounded for their 15th win of the year against Norcross as well. They will face Grayson, the only other team to beat them this year in the first round of state here at the Ridge on Tuesday, April 21 at 7:30 pm. Please make every effort to attend and support your Lions in their quest for a state Championship. The girls finished the regular season at 15-2 and region play at 8-1. Please congratulate all these players.

COUNSELING INFORMATION

Information in our Counseling Newsletter this week (at http://www.peachtreeridge.org/index_files/counselingnews.pdf) includes:

1. 8th grade Shadow Day on Wednesday, April 29.
2. Senior-Freshmen Alliance Applications (Lion/Cub Alliance) for 2009-2010
3. Academy Day (Representatives from all five military academies will be in attendance.)
4. Upcoming college/military visits from Georgia Gwinnett College

SENIOR SECTION

Graduation Tickets! Each senior will get 9 graduation tickets. They will get their tickets at graduation practice May 20, 2009. The number of tickets is based on the size of the class. The class of 2009 is our largest graduating class with over 750 graduates. There are two ways to acquire extra tickets. Senior packets were mailed March 23, 2009. In there is a form to be entered in a lottery for up to 3 extra tickets. You must complete the form and mail it back to the school ATTN: Mrs. Lynne Bombard. Students may also acquire tickets from other classmates who do not need all 9. If there are any extra tickets after the lottery, I will hand them out at graduation practice. Please do not e-mail or call to request extra graduation tickets. Children 2 and under do not need a ticket for graduation.

Attention Senior Parents!!! Senior dues are due ASAP. The current cost is $120. You can ONLY pay by cash. Dues do cover the cap & gown fee for graduation. Also, please visit our website at http://www.peachtreeridge.org/pages/PRHSSeniors/index.html for more senior information. NO senior will participate in senior week if they have not paid senior dues.

Senior Week a Success! We would like to thank all of those who helped make senior week a great success! The kids had a great time and enjoyed all of their daily surprises! We appreciate all of the parent volunteers who came daily to hand out all items. Thank you to all the parents who donated items for our door prizes. The kids love winning things! Lastly, we would like to thank the support of the 12th grade pride teachers, 12th grade administrator, James Parrish and the 12 grade administrative assistant, Diane Clausen. They helped coordinate and lend support for many of the activities and volunteers for Senior Week 2009.

Senior cap & gown photos will be held after school April 23, 2009 from 2:30pm - 8pm. Sign up sheets and order forms are outside B106. These photos are optional and just an opportunity for you to get a formal picture of your child in their cap & gown. Lifetouch will provide the cap & gown needed to use for the photos.

Senior cap & gowns will be delivered Monday, May 4, 2009, during all lunches. Every child who has paid senior dues will receive their cap & gown at that time. Please mark the date and make sure your child picks up their cap & gown during lunch on May 4.

Grad Nite. Don't miss out on the "time of your life!" We still have openings for Grad Nite 2009; the cost of the trip is $215. This is your last chance to attend; the trip is April 25-26. See Mrs. Brimmer or Ms. Kohnke for details.