Achilles Academy

Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow

Achilles Academy

Picture a school where students dont have to sit still during teachers lectures. Picture students during passing time strolling through our bountiful indoor garden while listening to an assortment of classical music from our extensive repertoire. This is the high school. This is Achilles Academy where students are learning today leading tomorrow. At Achilles academy our students are sure to find a wide variety of classes, including classical fine arts, and advanced science, math, language arts, and history courses. Some other courses being offered are lifelong fitness, high level sports, and an assortment of foreign languages. Also being offered are technological classes such as architecture, business management, and philosophy. In our school everyone works hard. From the school board to the students themselves everyone is on the path to success at Achilles Academy. The academy offers a more advanced curricular than any other school to challenge our students. One major factor of the academy is that its a year long school. Students should be completely devoted to their education.Granted, that a student does get one week off every three weeks on school. Even though the students are allowed to get one week off every three weeks, thats still more school days than a public school. At Achilles Academy, proper and necessary academic possibilities in all fields of studies are taken above and beyond to provide your children with the best education possible. The Academy is known nationally for the campus and teaching techniques which incorporate various technologies. As well as an overwhelming number of students who are learning today and leading tomorrow.

School Calendar
At Achilles Academy, year long schooling is employed with students having to report to school for three weeks and getting a week off after. The idea of year long schooling has sparked many questions in the community, such as, budget costs, maintenance costs, students who

have to work to support themselves, and missing out on opportunities to spend time with friends and family. Although traditional schooling may offer these things, the transition to year long schooling is a gentle one. The maintenance costs will be slightly higher but with the green society mindset at Achilles Academy the costs wont be too much higher due to the efforts to reduce waste, recycle, save energy and water. Students who have to work to support themselves will have no problem because of our Co-Op program where students spend half of their day working and the other half at school, also students will be able to pick up part time jobs on their free week. Students wont be missing out on too many opportunities with friends because of their free week and because of the extensive lunch period and more relaxed class structure. Year Round schooling is becoming more and more popular because of the evenly dispersed schedule and increased student achievement (National Education Commission of Time and Learning). The schedule runs through the full year with 200 days of class without weekends or holidays. Class starts at 8 am and ends at 3:15 with six classes each an hour long, a 45 minute lunch, and 5 minute passing times. Extracurricular activities such as sports and other after school programs start at 3:45 and end at 5:15 depending on the coaches opinion. School dances will be held in their respective seasons with the student body determining their exact date, but dances will start at 7:00 pm and will run until 10:00 pm. The year round schooling program offers more time to be spent with students and offers a greater global context (Edweek.org). Students have more time to ask teachers for help and to visit with other students for help. With students in class for longer periods and having the year distributed as so this offers more time for learning and student growth. This also allows students to spend less time stressing over school related work because of the amount of class time offered to them. The year round schooling program is an overall benefit to the growth and development of students in their areas of expertise. 3

School Structure
Achilles Academy offers a great comfortable and organized environment so every student can be successful. Achilles allows students to be independent along with some team bonding and team activities. This academy will prepare students for the grades ahead of them. Achilles has a year long school but will have weekend off with a school day being 7 and a half hours long. Students will have six classes per day with a five minute passing time in between every class. With a five minute passing time students will have time to chat with friends, teachers, walk through our enclosed garden and get their materials needed for their next class. Also students will be allowed to use their cell phones during passing time and in class only by teachers consent.

The way Achilles Academy will be run is 3 weeks on school then one week off with a long 2 week winter break.The school is structured so that the students have the best possibility in class to achieve success in the school. The school will start at 8:00am and will let out at 3:00pm. We have a lenient yet controlled tardy policy. Students are allowed 5 tardies per class and when you are late you will receive a warning. After you have been tardy 5 times the 6th time you are late you will receive an after school hour long detention and your 7th tady equals an in school suspension. Students will be allowed to have unlimited bathroom passes in every class but teachers are allowed to take away that right to any student if they feel the student is abusing the right. Students will have plenty of time to enjoy a school cafeteria lunch or an off school campus lunch with a 40 minute lunch period. Sitting on a hard chair all day long can start to hurt this is why Achilles has yoga balls for students to sit on. Also with new advancements in technology students have access to mac computers, touch screen boards, high tech scales, new cameras and also have opportunities to design and create new technology. Achilles academy offers great opportunities for students in education,athleticism, technology and much more.

Dress Code: At Achilles we allow students to express themselves through clothing with our dress code while also being appropriate for a learning environment. All rules apply to both genders and are implied by the administration. Anyone breaking the dress code rules will be given a warning and will be sent down to the office to borrow appropriate clothing or call home for new clothes. No see through clothing No low riding pants or shorts No belly revealing shirts 5

No hats or beanies No pajamas Any shoes No cleavage Shorts can only be as short as your finger tip Two inches shirt straps

Use of Technology
Technology is thriving, with new software and devices coming out every day Achilles will embrace technology to teach our students. Our teachers will have podcasts for lesson lectures for our students to access at their fingertips whenever they want.Technology will include ipads, with interactive books instead of heavy dull textbooks, our students will be able to interact and learn with each other on a single app. Ipads will offer lectures , speeches, and videos from experts and institutions all over the world to open up a whole new world for endless education to the students .Ipads also allows teachers to adjust materials and learning styles to fit the student according to Apple. Smart boards will also be in every classroom . Smart board will allow teachers to show the same image on their laptop onto the board to show to the whole class. Using the smart boards will allow teachers to show better models for teaching According to Government Studies at the Brooking Institution.For example, if a teacher wanted to demonstrate how vibrations

make sound,its harder to show students what evolution is, how molecules behave in different situations or exactly why mixing two particular chemicals is dangerous. Digital simulations and models can help teachers explain concepts that are too big or too small , or processes that happen too quickly or too slowly to demonstrate in a physical classroom(kessler). For social learning out of the classroom, blogs will be available for students to talk to each other about the material and assignments along with the teacher to help the students out of the classroom . This school will grasps technology and use it to help our student learn achieve excellence in every area.

Student to Teacher Ratio

Compare a public school class to a class of Achilles Academy, a regular class will have 30 or more students in a classroom with one teacher but, a class at Achilles Academy will have at most 20 students with one or two teacher helping the students. Studies have shown that when students are put into a classroom with a lower student-to-teacher ratio that they do better on tests, and are more out-going in the classroom (Globalpost). There will be a 15-18 student to teacher ratio. Research demonstrates a low student to teacher ratio benefits learning, especially reading and math. This will close the gap between the minorities and also narrow the gap between affluent and low-income students. The Brooklyn Institution of reports the advantages of lower student-to-teacher ratios may be even greater for less-advantaged students; and have been shown to have the greatest advancements in the classroom. Small classes have been shown to have a lasting effect on students through the years of schooling. A study was taking that if students had smaller class sizes during their first few years they were more likely to take a college- entrance exams. A small classroom size is a great plus for the kids who are nervous to ask questions and/or speak in front of the class. The

primary example of benefits from a small student class size is that the student gets more individualized attention from the teacher. Also the teacher has a more manageable workload, can engage the students more, and have less students to look after which means more time for group projects and with our yearlong schooling students have more space to explore better ideas for group assignments and essays.

Math and Science

In the math and science halls you will not see teachers lecturing students. You will see teachers incorporating technology and integrating activities to engage the students. The use of technology in the math and science classes benefit both the teachers and students by saving time, and adding a wider range of activities to increase students comprehension. Technology will provide the maximum amount of in and out-of-class studying. The teachers assign homework to students through an online class website. On this website the students will perform practice problems at home before each class. The teacher can prepare lectures which focus on the material in which the students lack understanding. During class the students have handson, real-life activities to demonstrate when, how, and why the students will apply the math later in life. As well as the the basics, the newest cutting-edge technology will assist in the plethora of experiments performed during class. This is to prepare students for their potential professions.

Math Curriculum
Ap classes
Algebra I A Algebra I B Geometry A

Geometry B Algebra II A Algebra II B Consumer Math Trigonometry Pre-Calculus Pre-Calculus A Pre-Calculus B Calculus A Calculus B Math Models Introduction to Probability and Stats

College Algebra and Probability Sequences, Series, and Foundation (University of Minnesota)

Science Curriculum
Biology Chemistry Physics Natural Science Aviation and Spaces Genetics / Biotech Forensic Science Physiology HumanAnatomy Environmental Science Advanced Placement (AP) Biology Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry

Advanced Placement (AP) Environmental Science Advanced Placement (AP) Physics C: Mechanics http://www.sunprairie.k12.wi.us/district/HS_Science_Course.cfm

English Class
You wont find your typical English books in our school in their place youll find students listening to teachers with typing up notes on their laptops, reading the classics online at home and taking online tests. Our typical class time will mostly be spent with in class discussion reviewing material recently learned and how it ties into the material we learn in the future. Achilless grading rationale is fifty percent homework based, twenty-five percent test based, and twenty-five percent participation. Over the summer students are to read at least 3 books and write a 3 page report on each book to turn in on the first day of school.Children also partake in multiple projects over the summer, one of which is to create an english board game; with a complete set of rules cards dice etc. When the project is due students will present it and then spend the hour testing their game out. In our school we believe a healthy learning activity is field trips, in our typical english class there is an opportunity to take field trips to england to visit the national Shakespeare museum and other monumental writers around the world. We also take another trip to visit the new york times and other popular magazines/ newspapers.The field trips are funded by the parents if they want their child to attend.

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Social Studies
When compared to other schools our school stands out the most in Social Studies. We currently have one of the best average gpas in all of the country and not to mention some of the best history classes and teachers provided in the world. With round the clock services and staff an A is something to work for in our school. The types of Social studies courses the children can take are world history (2 terms) U.S history ( 1 term) economics(1 term) and government (1 term) these classes are all available in ap as well. Summer homework is only required for ap classes which will be administered by the teachers The field trips over the course of the year include a trip to hiroshima ,japan to see the damage of the atomic bombs, smithsonian museum and Washington D.C. Grading rationale includes 25% participation 25% homework and 50% tests.At the end of the year students are required to make a visual representation of (in their opinion) what the biggest event of history they have learned in the past year. When it comes to passing the course students must have an overall grade of a C- or better, have a test average of 70% or higher and turn in all assignments

Additional Components
Academic Offerings

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Algebra I A Algebra I B Geometry A Geometry B Algebra II A Algebra II B Consumer Math A Consumer Math B Trigonometry Pre-Calculus Pre-Calculus A Pre-Calculus B Calculus A Calculus B Math Models Introduction to Probability and Stats College Algebra and Probability Sequences, Series, and Foundation

English/ Social Studies Curriculum

English: Ap Arts and Humanities Ap Literature

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Ap Composition Ap Language culture [ Ap central.collegeboard.com]

Social Studies: Ap World History Ap Government Ap Economics Ap Comparative Government and Politics [Ap central.collegeboard.com]

Electives in English
English: Journalism Public speaking Creative Writing Independent Reading Greek Literature Independent Fiction Reading

Social sciences Anthropology Psychology

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Sociology Contemporary World Issues Family and consumer science Global politics

Extracurricular activities
At Achilles non-mandatory conditioning for each sport starts 1 month prior to the actual season to stay fit and active. Every sport ( when in season) will have daily practice from 3:305:00pm. Games make up for twenty-five percent of the season, For every sport there is 12 games total: six home six away.Practices make up fifty percent of the season seeing as their daily and are held on weekend as well. And team bonding makes up for the other twenty-five percent.Team bonding includes Friday night team dinners, laser tag, rollerblading, and study

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sessions for teammates to help one another in different classes. Achilles is a district one team as a result we face some of the best teams in the league. Athletics Football Cheerleading Tennis Cross country Equestrian Volleyball Soccer Wrestling Basketball Snow sports: Skating Snowboarding Skiing ice hockey Snowboarding/ ski jumping

Baseball Softball Swimming Track and Field Gymnastics Rowing

Extra Curricular Activities

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Robotics Chess team Debate team Music Program AP Music Theory Home Education National Honors Society Foreign Language Club Business Professionals of America Art Program Book Club Study Groups Fine Arts

Conclusion
Achilles Academy is proud to say the school offers only excellence in education. This school is filled with endless class choices for students, along with thrilling state-of-the-art technology, sports and clubs to join. Achilles Academy is one of the finest schools and offers a study abroad opportunity for the students, with global interaction within the school, our student are exposed to different cultures and people from around the world. The sports teams strive for perfection. Every student counts here. Within these walls, Achilles Academy is thriving with endless opportunities. Within these walls students are learning today and leading tomorrow.

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Works Cited
American School System, (2013) October 2013 <c2.com/cgi/wiki?americanschoolsystem>

What Are The Benefits of Field Trips For Children? (2013) October 2013 <www.livestrong.com/article/127612-benefits-field-trips-children/>

8 Ways Technology Is Improving Education, By Sarah Kessler, (2010) November 22, Teaching with iPad,< http://www.apple.com/education/ipad/teaching-with-ipad/>

Benefits of Technology in Todays Classrooms, Crystal A Gasell, Boise State University, Dr. Pollard/Introduction to Educational Technology, (2008) May 2008 <http://www.app;e.com/education/ipad/teaching-with-ipad/>

Gasell, Crystal A. Benefits of Technology in Todays Classroom (2008) May 2008 Boise State University

Barkhorn, Eleanor. Teachers Are Supposed to Assign harder Books, but They Arent Doing It Yet. The Atlantic 280760 (2013) October 2013 <http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/10/teachers-are-supposed-to-assignharder-books-but-they-arent-doing-it-yet/280760/ Sun Prairie Area School District List of High School Science Courses (2013) October 2013 <http://www.sunprairie.k12.wi.us/district.HS_Science_Corses.cfn>

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University of Minnesota. Courses List (2013) October 2013 <http://www.math.umn.edu/courses/> Federal Government. Federal Support for after School Youth Sports PRograms: an Overview of Funding Sources and and the Current National Policy Debate (2002) July 2002

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