Telesis Preparatory Academy: Telesis Girls Teach Lesson in Courage

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Telesis Girls Teach Lesson in Courage

Yesterday was my birthday and it wasn't until Friday that I finally figured out what I wanted.

Just the other day I took an online quiz, and one of the questions was what character from the Wizard of Oz am I most like. I thought I was a perfect fit for the scarecrow, but after Friday I now know that I'm more like the cowardly lion than I'd like to admit.

I want what the cowardly lion wanted - courage. I don't want your run of the mill courage. I want the courage that I saw exhibited by the Lake Havasu Telesis girls basketball team.

Before Telesis took on our Kingman Academy of Learning, I did some research on the league's Web site and saw that Telesis was 0-1. The Web site reported a score of 75-0, but that couldn't have been right, could it?

Unfortunately, it was correct. And it is correct that KAOL beat them 68-0 on Friday.

Stephen Crane wrote "The Red Badge of Courage" in 1895. If he had seen the play of Telesis on Friday, he would have never written his book and would have allowed someone in the year 2007 to write it. It was truly as remarkable a show of courage that I have ever seen take place on a basketball court or any athletic field. Ever.

After losing their opening game to Quartzsite Scholars, I am left to wonder what was going on in the minds of those young ladies. Did they consider quitting? I hope not. The Telesis Tigers have a lot to offer to those who witness their games.

I do know that they aren't quitters. Telesis did not lay down one bit against KAOL. They kept trying and trying. I only saw one moment where one of their players got frustrated. Her coach quickly took the time to talk to her, and that was the end of that.

I have to look at myself through the mirror that the Telesis team has held up in front of me. Do I have what it takes to come off of a 75-0 drubbing and be willing to face another one?

As I begin another trip around the bright yellow orb in the sky, I have discovered that I need a dose of Telesis-like courage.

When my boss hands me that assignment that presses me down to the core, I will remember Telesis and what they have given me, even if they don't realize it.

I'll leave our cozy little confines here at the Miner and face the challenge as if I was trying to score a basket.

I have to do this. Though Telesis scored nothing, they didn't try for nothing. It is my moral responsibility to the Telesis Lady Tigers that their effort on Friday never goes down in history as nothing.

After all, they gave me the best birthday present I could have ever asked for.

Shawn Byrne

Miner Sports Writer

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Curriculum

The classroom environment will be stimulating and challenging; however additionally, at Telesis we will be focused. We will use the Arizona Academic Standards and the Arizona Board of Regents requirements as a foundation and guideline from which we will build our program. The curriculum will be developmentally appropriate and student oriented. By this we mean that the subject matter chosen will address the abilities and maturation of the respective students and will be relevant to the students. Whenever possible, student input will be encouraged when considering subject matter to be addressed in the classrooms.

READING

Houghton Mifflin Reading: The Nation's Choice.
A program that delivers:
Evidence of effectiveness, based on scientific research
Powerful, comprehensive instruction in the five strands of reading
Assessment that diagnoses needs, informs instruction, and documents results
Resources that meet the needs of all students
Management tools that make teaching and planning easy

DIBELS
The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) are a set of standardized, individually administered measures of early literacy development. They are designed to be short (one minute) fluency measures used to regularly monitor the development of pre-reading and early reading skills.

Discover Intensive Phonics for Yourself
Discover Intensive Phonics for Yourself teaches a foundation for good reading, spelling and vocabulary development through a systematic, intensive phonics approach in which students are taught the 42 sounds of the alphabet, 5 phonetic skills and a 2-step skill for decoding multi-syllable words. Discover Intensive Phonics for Yourself accomplishes the primary goal of phonics instruction: learning to recognize words rapidly and automatically, but Discover Intensive Phonics goes beyond phonics! It is much more than just letter sound relations – rather, through direct, multi-sensory instruction students complete word structure. Discover Intensive Phonics is a scientifically based program incorporating phonemic awareness, decoding and encoding (spelling) skills, blending and fluency, vocabulary development and language arts. Through the use of a unique marking system, the program provides a working knowledge of likely and unlikely sequences of letters and the ability to easily break words into syllables.

Accelerated Reader - Reading Renaissance
Accelerated Reader can do even more to help accelerate reading growth for students, from emergent readers to college prep. Helps kids get excited about books. Accelerated Reader (AR®) helps students focus attention on careful reading of books, which improves students’ critical-thinking skills and builds the intrinsic love of reading.

STAR Reading
STAR Reading helps to determine the reading level of each student, measure individual and class growth, and forecast results on standardized tests. Students can complete the computer-adaptive assessment in less than 10 minutes, and you get accurate, reliable, norm-referenced scores immediately!

MATHEMATICS

Saxon Math
Saxon Math is the only major math program on the market today that systematically distributes instruction and practice and assessment throughout the academic year as opposed to concentrating, or massing, the instruction, practice and assessment of related concepts into a short period of time -- usually within a unit or chapter. Saxon Math 's unique approach to math instruction ensures that students not only gain but also retain essential math skills. Saxon Math is unique, effective and research-based.

Accelerated Math - Math Renaissance
Imagine a classroom where every student loves math. Teachers work one-on-one with students as each one moves ahead at his or her own pace. And timely, objective performance data helps teachers make sure all students enjoy success.
Math Renaissance works with existing curricula and textbooks to help you personalize instruction and manage the extensive practice every student needs.
With Math Renaissance software, you can quickly assess students’ math skills, generate daily assignments at each student’s level, and score assignments automatically. You get results in the form of timely, information-packed reports that help guide each student's instruction.

STAR Math
STAR Math helps to determine the math level of each student, measure individual and class growth, and forecast results on standardized tests. Students can complete the computer-adaptive assessment in less than 12 minutes, and you get accurate, reliable, norm-referenced scores immediately!

Foreign Language
Rosetta Stone Classroom Version 3, used at our Academy level, unleashes the power of technology to create an environment that accelerates language learning and provides quantifiable measurements of success.
Innovative Technology
· Advanced speech recognition technology compares a student’s voice to that of a native speaker and guides students to more accurate pronunciation.
· Students engage in interactive, life-like conversations based in context. This allow them to produce completely new spoken and/or written language
· Through Adaptive Recall, the program schedules review material to appear at optimal intervals to test students’ new language knowledge and ensure efficient retention.
Engaging Activities
· Interactive and engaging speaking activities get students producing language on their own in just a few screens.
· End-of-unit Milestones test language skills using real-life simulated conversations.
· Interactive grammar and spelling activities reinforce lessons and make learning fun.
Teacher Tools
· Powerful reporting tools deliver easy-to-read reports and graphs that track and guide student progression.
· Easy-to-use curriculum editor allows teachers to customize courses to address individual student or entire class development needs.
The most widely used language-learning software in the world that offers 27 different languages, Rosetta Stone has been adopted successfully by tens of thousands of schools, corporations, government agencies. It is easy to use and it works.

Admissions

Telesis is dedicated to the purpose of offering an educational setting for any student regardless of race, color, creed, sex, and religion. We exist to help children learn. All applicants will complete a needs assessment questionnaire, called an Application for Admission. This process is necessary in order to place a student correctly in one of our six academic levels per our developmental format.
Telesis is proud to have our application for admission available online. Simply download and print out the application below. Please complete the form and do one of the following:
Mail to:
Telesis Preparatory Academy

2598 Starlite Lane

Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403-4946
Fax to (928) 855-9302
Place in dropbox under the flagpole on the Telesis campus.
Note: Submitting an application places your child's name on our waiting list; registration for enrollment is a separate process. Accurate completion of the application form in its entirety is absolutely essential.

About Us

When Telesis began in 1991 as "Hands On Learning", it had a meager 9 students. The original idea of Telesis, was to focus on student strengths and bolster any weaknesses, all in a way that would challenge students without frustrating them. Focusing on the individual child and his/her specific needs and learning style in a small class size setting is an additional asset, all working together to teach children to enjoy and appreciate the process of learning.
Telesis operated as a private school with tuition based support for its first seven years. In 1998 an opportunity to become a part of the fast growing Charter movement, allowed Telesis to become tuition free, without losing its private school philosophy. Although Telesis receives charter funding, it is actually an Academic Magnet School, which means having a specific focus of academic achievement.
Today, Telesis nearly 350 students strong, has moved from the ten room duplex (which is now the administration building) to the beautiful new 16 classroom campus. There are additional plans for expansion in what will be Phase II of the overall campus development.
A great deal of hard work and dedication (many done on a volunteer basis), by the Telesis staff, administration, community members and other supporters have helped Telesis to become what it is today. For many years as a private school donations and volunteer time were the staple of survival of the programs and facilities. Many of the courses and extra-curricular activities have been "student-driven" depending on student needs and interests. With its active Student Government, Telesis still listens to the needs and suggestions of its student body.
Along with the school’s founder, the Telesis Board of Directors, staff members, students and families are the other factor in the Telesis story. Without each, the school would most likely be just like any other school. Instead, Telesis is a structured, balanced, forward thinking program that looks to the future with hope and anticipation.
Telesis has plans to continue to monitor and develop the best and most effective programs for both educational and personal growth of its student body. We look forward to years of growth and to celebrating our 20th Anniversary!

Philosophy

The word "Telesis" (derived from Greek) means: to bring each child to completion through intelligent and planned direction, in other words "planned progress." We want each child to learn how to reach his or her own unique potential. As we have developed our curriculum, we have been guided by the following commitments:

To plan individual progress inherent in the name "Telesis".

To allow and encourage each individual child to progress at a pace that is appropriate to his or her abilities.

To provide specialized programs which benefit the future growth and development of each individual.

To offer quality education at its best.

Telesis Preparatory Academy

2011-2012 School Calendar

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Telesis Girls Teach Lesson in Courage

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