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Upcoming Events

• April 15 Graduation Project Presentations

Join us as our students present all of their hard work from the year.

Presentations will take place during day and evening sessions.

• April 21 Student-Led ConferencesAll parents of 9th, 10th, and 11th graders should have a time scheduled to meet

with their student at school. Call the school office if you need more information.

• May 13 REaCH Graduation REaCH Commencement will be held in the Foundation auditorium at 7 p.m.

• May 17 Isothermal Graduation Isothermal Graduation will be held in the Foundation auditorium at 7 p.m.

Student Government (SGA)

Thanks to everyone who

Made the 3rd annual REaCH

dance a success. SGA will host

various sports events during

the March for Babies field day.

Let your class representative

know the sport you are

interested in playing. Signups

will begin soon!

From the Principal’s Desk:

Welcome to the first edition of

the Rutherford Early College

High School (REaCH)

newsletter. The intent of our

publication is to provide

students, parents, college

instructors, and community

members current and relevant

information about REaCH and

to highlight the successes of

our students and faculty

members at the high school

and college level. Each issue

of our newsletter will be

published on our website and

copies will be available in the

REaCH office. We encourage

you to stay current by reading

the newsletters and staying in

touch with our faculty

members. As we kick off

this project, please provide

feedback on ways we can

keep you informed.

Dr. Laura Thomas

Principal

REaCH High School

laura@rcsnc.org

Student Focus: Lexi YorkeWhile all of our REaCH students are

interesting individuals with great stories to

share, each issue of our newsletter will focus

on one student and find out more about him

or her as people—their hopes, dreams,

successes, and challenges. This month’s

Student Focus choice is Senior who achieved

Senior status in only three years, Lexi Yorke.

When asked why she chose to attend

REaCH, Lexi stated, “My decision to attend

REaCH was based on the fact that I would

get two years of college for free. Looking at

all the different colleges and their costs, I

think you should know that college is VERY

expensive. So these two years for free are

truly a blessing.” Asked about her favorite

thing about REaCH, Lexi commented, “We

aren’t simply a high school, we are a family.

The teachers are there for every student, and

the students are remarkable. REaCH is one

of the best things to happen to me.”Some of

Lexi’s hobbies include making people laugh,

traveling, music, playing the piano, and

singing. In fact, she states, “I randomly break

out in song or dance...seeing other people

laugh or making them happy is what

brightens my day.” As far as plans after

REaCH, Lexi says, “I plan on going to Liberty

University, located in Lynchburg, Virginia, and

majoring in Missions with a double minor in

Music Performance and Worship Studies.

Missions will allow me to have a position in

which I go to different countries where people

are in need physically, emotionally, and

spiritually, and I can do whatever I can to

meet their needs.” I would like to hold a

position in a church, such as a worship

leader.” We know no matter what she

chooses to do, Lexi will be a success.

this issueStudent Focus P.1

Classroom News P.2

Around the Campus P.3

Clubs and Events P.4

THENEWSLETTER

OF REaCH01ISSUE

MARCH/APRIL2010

National Honor Society (NHS)

The National Honor Society

(NHS) at REaCH is

participating in several

projects this semester. First,

they sponsored an Easter

egg hunt for the 1st grade

students at Forest City-

Dunbar Elementary School.

Club members helped the

students decorate bags for

the egg hunt and conducted

games such as bingo and an

egg race. SGA members ate

lunch with the students, then

took them outside to search

for the eggs. The NHS is

also raising money for the

March of Dimes, hosting a

field day for REaCH students

There will be a donation

taken for students to

participate. All of the money

raised will be donated to the

March of Dimes. Club

members are also planning to

visit a local nursing home to

bring treats and play bingo

with the residents.

Clubs at REaCH: Get involved and give back!Academic TeamIn its inaugural, or first, season, the REaCH

Academic Team has had a strong year,

traveling to competitions at Clemson, Wofford,

Dorman, and even UNC-Chapel Hill. The team

practices diligently, studying everything from

classical music and literature to sports and

entertainment. Team members this year are

captain Brooke Tomerlin, Matt Bradley, Jamie

Cuthbertson, Da’Vantez Johnson, Susanna

Pyatt, Kelsey Holden, Shelby Davidson,

Jonathan Tomerlin, Cindy Garcia, and Brandon

Morgan.

Drama, Speech, and DebateAlso a new club at REaCH, the Drama,

Speech, and Debate group of students are

working on a play to be performed later in the

year. Mr. Daigle is secretive about which play it

is, but promises that it will be an event worth

waiting for.

Fellowship of Christian Athletes(FCA)The FCA raised around $200 for the Haitian

survivors after the terrible earthquake

devastated their capital city. They also enjoyed

a few wonderful concerts like Casting Crowns

and Todd Agnew. A few of us watched the

movie, “To Save a Life” at Retro Cinemas. The

spring is sure to offer more opportunities to

serve our community and celebrate the common

bond that we all share.

Reach Out for Animal Rights (ROAR) ROAR partnered with the SGA for REaCH’s

annual dance held on February 26. Dance

tickets were reduced with pet food donations.

ROAR collected several hundred pounds of food

to donate to Rutherford County’s Community Pet

Center to give to families who are looking for

ways to feed their pets rather than give them up.

ROAR will continue its food drive into April.

RUTHERFORD EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL EST. 2005

REaCH Students

Have Class

Daigle--HistoryOur class is knee-deep in

history! Honors US History is

currently studying the early 20th

century and getting ready to

jump into World War I, my

specialty. Our class if really

moving along at a rapid pace

with no signs of slowing down!

Keep it up, you guys! Honors

Civics is full of freshmen! The

poor “newbies” are still trying

to find their way around

campus. They are trudging

right along, though. We have

been drilling our constitutional

amendments daily, so please

quiz any of them at any

moment of the day.

DeCaprio--EnglishIn Mr. DeCaprio’s Honors

English II class, students are

learning about Mesopotamian,

Egyptian, and Hebrew

literature and the way these

cultures are impacted by the

literature. Students are also

reading Ray Bradbury’s The

Illustrated Man. In English IV

Honors, students are studying

the literature of the Romantic

We asked teachers to give us updates on their classrooms, and we found great minds at work in numerous endeavors.

Faculty Focus:Isothermal Instructor

Maria Bivins

interview by Brandon Whitaker

and Hannah Waddell

¿Hablas español? Do you

speak Spanish? Students

in Maria Bivins Spanish

courses do, and we

interviewed her ,teaching

on the second floor of the

LLC. From Hillsborough,

NC, Mrs. Bivins has worked

at ICC for one year. She

attended NC State and

UNC Charlotte. She said it

was her abuela (Mexican

grandmother) who inspired

her to learn Spanish. She

collects Pez dispensers and

loves to make people laugh.

Her advice to students is

“set a goal, stick to it, and

work hard to achieve it.

Don’t let anyone get in the

way.” She also advises

students to try to “be the

best at everything, be

passionate about what you

do, and never cease to

learn new things. Always

work towards improving

yourself and helping

others.”

REaCHInstructional

Support:

Ann Merritt—CounselingNeed help with class

scheduling, does an issue

have you concerned, or just

need someone to listen?

Visit Mrs. Merritt in the

guidance office.

Wanda Kendrick—Distance Learning With 103 students in 184

courses, Wanda Kendrick is

the expert in helping

students with their online

studies, organizational skills,

and time management. The

Distance Learning Lab offers

students a chance to take

courses that would not fit

into their regularly scheduled

day.

Brenda DeCaprio—SeminarNeed a quiet place to get

your homework done?

Seminar is just what you

need. Check out the newly

improved Seminar Room in

the Student Services

building.

Gerry Francis—Instructional TechnologyThe computer wizard, Mr.

Francis can be seen in every

classroom, every day. No

matter what your computer

issue may be, Mr. Francis is

your man.

Age. Specifically, we are

targeting the following authors:

Byron, Keats, Wordsworth,

Shelly, Blake, and Coleridge.

Students are also reading

Erich Remarque’s All Quiet on

the Western Front, and

finalizing their Graduation

projects for Boards Night in

April.

Laughter--GeometryThe spring semester is well on

its way with my Geometry

students. We have already

completed a few projects

learning about two famous

architects and one where we

looked at how advertisers use

logic to write the best slogans

for their products. Currently,

we are finishing up Chapter 6Lambert—EnglishStudents in Honors

English II are traveling

the world, studying

literature from Greece,

China, Japan, India, and Africa. We are also

expanding our vocabulary by

studying the etymology (word

history) of various base words.

English IV Honors students

have studied Animal Farm,

The Lord of the Flies, and the

literature of World War II, and

even “enjoying” eating an

MRE (military for “meal ready

to eat”) given to us by a guest

speaker, a soldier from the

U.S. Army, Sgt. M. Keene.

where we

investigate and

analyze the

different types

of quadrilaterals

and their

properties.

Marshall—Adv. MathMrs. Marshall’s Advanced

Functions and Modeling class is

finishing up their data collection

unit with a school survey.

Check out her class webpage to

see their Census public service

announcements. They are

moving into the exponential and

logarithmic functions unit

(Doesn’t that sound fun!) and

will be posting assignments to

our class blog.

“Daigle has the best classes ever. He is very funny.”

Asia Hill

Tucker--ScienceMrs. Tucker’s Honors Chemistry

students have been studying

periodicity. They have learned

that Mendeleev’s arrangement

of the known and unknown

elements into the current

periodic table was a significant

feat for understanding

chemistry. Today, his periodic

table is still relevant, even

though he created it in the

1860s. Students learned to

predict the characteristics of

elements, based on their

locations on the table. Next,

her chemistry classes are

moving into bonding and

naming compounds. Then, as

students grasp the concept,

they become very empowered

in the process. They will

undoubtedly start calling

common household items by

their chemical names, such as

the box of baking soda as

sodium bicarbonate. Honors

Biology students are finishing

up a fun unit on the structure

and function of cells. They

particularly enjoyed the labs on

osmosis and diffusion. One

was a challenge because they

had to design the experiment

on their own in groups. Who

would have guessed all the

uses they found for potatoes!

Next, they will delve into the

fascinating topic of classical

genetics, pioneered by Gregor

Mendel. It is always fun to

learn of another ancient

scientist’s miraculous

conclusions in an age with no

technology. Our students will

investigate DNA and genetics.

This Month’s Q&A Technology Tips

Q: Why can’t I save my documents

or other items to my laptop’s

“desktop”?

Our laptop computers at REaCH

utilize a system called DeepFreeze.

This helps keep viruses from

infecting your computer, among

other things. The best way to save

items is to put them on the school server,

your flash drive, or the laptop’s hard drive.

Q: If I take a summer class, do I get to

keep my computer, or do I turn it in?

ALL laptops must be turned in at the end of

each semester in order to be updated and

“re-imaged.” If you take a summer class,

however, you will have your computer re-

issued to you when summer classes start. If

you do not take summer classes, your

computer will be given back to you in the fall.

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