ALL STUDENTS

80th Anniversary Reunion
If you are an ASFM Alum and are planning to attend the 80th Anniversary Reunion this is a remainder that you have until Sept 30 to pay $65 US Dlls, after that is $75.
Go now and save your money!
For more info:
http://web.me.com/katorga/Site/ASFM_80.html
Alumni Office
alumni.office@asfm.edu.mx

Cesar Lozano at ASFM  
The Character Education Committee has been planning a new type of conference for our Parents & Students with Dr. Cesar Lozano entitled “The 7 Skills of Successful Families”.   The Conference will take place Tuesday October 7th at 8:30 p.m. at Guillermo Zambrano Auditorium. 
The Character Education Committee will like to thank the ASFM community for their support, as the Conference is already SOLD OUT.  We are looking forward to see you and your family next Tuesday October 7th.

Author Visit Hugo Valdez
Huasteca Bach students and the Huasteca Library "Club de Lectura" welcomed Hugo Valdez, author of the novels The Monterrey News (1990), Dias de Nadie (1992), and El Crimen de la Calle Aramberri (1994) and winner of the "Certamen Nacional de Literatura Alfonso Reyes" for his essay "El laberinto cuentístico de Sergio Pitol" (1994), who spoke about his novel El Crimen de la Calle Aramberri on Tuesday, September 30. He also offered a workshop on the creative process and shared lunch with members of the book club who had read the novel. Mr. Valdez was celebrating the release of the fourth printing of the novel. He is currently serving as Coordinator of the Centro de Escritores de Nuevo León.

Gymnasium Conferences
Wow, what a success. Thank you to all parents who joined us this past Thursday for our Parent/teacher conferences in the gymnasium. There were over 1147 meetings with teachers. This is up from our previous high of 1124. Communication is a vital component of success for our children, and our students. Thank you for coming.
PowerSchool--Parents please be aware that you can click on any blue link within PowerSchool to gain more information. For example, click on your child's blue grade to see the assignments that make up that grade.

Eagles of the Month--September
6th--Juan Villarreal
7th--Abiel Gutierrez
8th--Nora Gutierrez
9th--Patricio Elizondo
10--Daniel Martinez
11--Thomas Assam
12--Maria Rodriguez

LockDown Drill
A lockdown is an emergency procedure that we practice every year (much like an evacuation drill). In the event that all students and staff need to be moved to secure locations (an intruder, an unsafe situation, etc.), an announcement is made teachers and students are moved to locked classrooms. Last week we practiced our first lockdown drill of this school year.

National Honor Society events August/September
Tutoring Program
The tutoring program is perhaps one of the most exciting projects in the NHS agenda for this year. As of now, NHS members in collaboration with the HS counselor, Mr. McDonald, have searched for ways to increase participation in this projects. Many students are not aware of the existence of this project which basically offers free tutoring for HS students on any subject by an NHS member before or after school. Sign-ups for the tutoring program are on the NHS bulletin.

Computer Donation
The computer donation was one of the most important projects for NHS this year. Mr. Brandvold together with Javier Garcia and Eugenio Padilla managed to reprogram 44 old ASFM computers and make them run on the free operating system Linux. Once that was achieved, NHS members stepped in and created a drive for used PC mice and keyboards. Aside from that, NHS invested 4000 pesos to buy new batteries for the computers. After a lot of work, we managed to donate the used computers to our sister school: Lic. Miguel Aleman. It was all worth it when we got to see the excitement of the kids. NHS managed to improve the educational level of 200 rural school students with this project.  Computer classes to learn how to run these computers more effectively are now in the planning.
 
Bonding Activity for NHS Members
Due to all the projects that are yet to come, it is important that all NHS members work together. The idea of a bonding activity is that we will tie all the hands of NHS members together with string and have them make root beer floats. We hope that all NHS members will work together and will have a little fun at the same time.
In addition to all of these projects, NHS has created a system to track participation. In Mr. Brandvold's room there is a huge poster that marks with stickers what each individual member has done and a thermometer that tracks our progress towards our "Great Goal" – the improvement of our sister school Lic. Miguel Aleman.  The NHS bulletin is also constantly being updated with pictures and information for all those interested in knowing what is going on within NHS.  Soon you will be able to look to the bulletin board to know if you team colour is meeting that Wednesday or not.
Thank you all for you hard work!!

Lazos Campaign
Last week we received the final amount for the lazos campaign that was held last month. We are very thankful for all the student support. ASFM students were able to give a scholarship to 16 children and will make a strong difference in their lives. Special thanks to Ms. Leal, Ms. Farooq, Mr. Burns, Ms. Mckenna, and Ms. Manzur. Remember these are mexican kids that are in desperate need of economical support.
Once again, thank you very much to all of you and lets keep the enthusiasm going on!!!

ASFM School Data--How are we doing?
Each week we will bring you some information about how are school compares to other schools, or how we are comparing to what we have accomplished in the past.

Total number of gymnasium parent/teacher conferences held during Progress Report #1 distribution in September.
04/05—917
05/06—959
06/07—1032
07/08—1124
08/09—1147

September Attendance Report
We are pleased to announce that tracking attendance has never been easier. PowerSchool allows us to print a report for total attendance to our school for any student, or all students for any period of time. For this month we are very proud to report:
Middle School (492 students)--98.7% attendance
High School (579 students)--97.7% attendance

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Advisory Time
Our Middle School Advisory Program during conference period guides the academic, social and emotional learning of adolescents as they navigate through this unique stage in their lives. Education is a dynamic process that involves both academic and “real life” experiences, our Advisory Program is in place to assist our middle school students with the “adolescent balancing act”. Modern educational research indicates that adolescence is a stage of development when an individual works through many struggles related to identity, self-knowledge, and social challenges. It is proven that these challenges are significantly easier to face, when students feel supported by a teacher advisor. Advisory programs provide this adult guidance that is necessary during this crucial developmental time.
This week we have:
6th--Guest Speaker Sustainability Jose Orozco
7th--Guest Speaker Sustainability Jose Orozco
8th--Guest Speaker Sustainability Jose Orozco

HIGH SCHOOL

Open Campus valid only with 08-09 ID
Bach/10-12 students should be aware that as of today, September 29th, Security will ask them to show their ASFM 08-09 ID in order to have the Open Campus privilege.
If they haven't picked your ID, they should come by the little window next to the clinic door to get it, during HS Break, Lunch or before/after school ONLY.
If you forget your ID at home and would like to leave campus, it will not be possible. If it is an emergency, you will need to contact an Administrator.

Conference Period
As you well know, ASFM is promoting much more than academic excellence. The whole child is focused on and values and character education are part of our program. We have included in our schedule each Wednesday a conference period during which smaller groups of students gather with a teacher to discuss issues, events and other items that are of importance to our student body. This is an excellent way for teachers to check in on students and get to know them better. Also it provides an opportunity for students to get to know their peers in a non-academic setting.
This week we have:
9th--Guest Speaker Sustainability Jose Orozco
10th--Guest Speaker Sustainability Jose Orozco
11th--Guest Speaker Sustainability Jose Orozco
12th--Guest Speaker Sustainability Jose Orozco

ASFM COLLEGE FAIR 2008
This year's college fair was held on October 1, and it was a tremendous success! Thank you to all of the students and parents who attended, as well as all of the staff who helped to coordinate the event. Comments from college representatives: "The students were engaging and well-prepared. Good questions!" "Great fair - ASFM students are amazing!"

SENIOR TEC DAY AT ASFM--Admission Test
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7
Meetings with directores de carreras have been rescheduled for Wednesday, October 29 (the day of the optional TEC campus visit). However, the PAA will still be offered on Tuesday, October 7 at 3:30 PM, here at ASFM. Seniors who are applying to the TEC need to pick up and complete the solicitud de admisión (available in the counseling office). They should bring the solicitud to school that day, along with all of the supporting documentation (see item 6 in the solicitud).

YALE COLLEGE VISIT
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9 - 3:20 PM in Room A106
Jean Lee, Associate Director from the Yale College Office of Admissions, will be joining us to discuss the fine undergraduate programs available. ASFM high school students who are interested in the possibility of attending Yale are strongly encouraged to attend with their parents.

PSAT/NMSQT
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15 - PERIODS 6,7,1 (8:15-11:33 AM)
All students in the 11th grade generation will be taking the PSAT/NMSQT test on the morning of Wednesday, October 15. This test is a great practice for the SAT and/or the PAA (the admissions exam used by the TEC and UDEM). Students will receive their score reports in January, along with tips for how to improve their scores in the future. For more information, go to http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/psat/about.html

SENIOR UDEM DAY AT ASFM
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16
Throughout the day, seniors will be invited to come to Room A106 to meet with the directores de carreras from the UDEM and discuss any questions they may have. Seniors who are applying to UDEM need to pick up and complete the solicitud de admisión (available in the counseling office) They should bring the solicitud to school that day, along with all of the supporting documentation (see the front page the solicitud). The PAA will be administered after school, free of charge, on that day.

SENIORS APPLYING OUTSIDE MEXICO
WHAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING RIGHT NOW
- Researching colleges and making decisions about where to apply
- Moving colleges to your application list in Naviance
- Working on applications and sending them in before the deadlines
- Taking admissions tests and having your scores sent to universities
- Making sure that you have your two teacher recommendations secured
- Making sure that Ms. Vero has your transcripts from other schools (i.e. if you were a new student in 10th, 11th, or 12th grade, or if you went on temporary leave during high school)
WHAT WE ARE DOING FOR YOU RIGHT NOW
- College conferences (meetings to get to know you better, help you with college decision making, and prepare to write your letter of recommendation)
- Preparing your envelopes with transcripts, school profile, and recommendation letters to be shipped out before Christmas (or even earlier for students with early deadlines)

College/university planning
Please see Ms. Loring's ASFM web site at http://mshs-staff.asfm.edu.mx/~loring_sarah/ and click on the link to the college counseling web page.

NewsFlash!
Students and parents who are interested in receiving NewsFlash! messages about upcoming college events, sign up at http://teacherweb.com/MX/ASFM/Loring/gallery1.stm by clicking on NewsFlash!

Monday Oct. 13th

Tuesday Oct. 14th

Wednesday Oct. 15-17th

Wednesday Oct. 15th

Friday Oct. 17th-18th

Saturday Oct. 25th

Wednesday Oct. 29th

Saturday Nov. 1st

Thursday Nov. 6th-8th