Upcoming Events and Important Dates:

o March 10, Final

Exams for AM classes

o March 11, Final

Exams for PM classes

o March 12-21, Spring

Break Students do not report to school. Enjoy your vacation!

How would you like to have some free vegetables and herbs to take to your family and cook? This could soon be a reality here at The Academy at Old Cockrill.

Ms. Van Loon and Mr. Flushman are working on a grant to support a garden for student and class use.

All academic classes here at The Academy will be involved in some way in the garden. Math classes will design and build the raised boxes. The Ecology class will maintain the

School Garden Coming to The Academy

Interested in College? Colleges Near You by Gabriel Custer

What are your plans after you graduate from The Academy at Old Cockrill? Maybe you want to get a job and start your life, or maybe you want to go to college and receive a higher education. A college education would provide you with many more career opportunities than just a high school diploma. So if you’re thinking college, we’ve put together some information on a few area colleges that might help you decide where you want to

go and what you want to study.

garden. English classes will write about and for the garden. Social Studies classes will be research about the power of community gardens. French and Spanish classes will label our

garden with signs in Spanish and French.

Please bring your ideas to your teachers on how you would like to help our garden.

Nashville State Community College is located at 120 White Bridge Rd. Nashville, TN 37209. This school offers many programs and courses. Some of which are Business Management, Early Childhood Education, Computer Technology, Office Administration, Culinary Arts, etc.

The minimum high school course requirements for Nashville State are as follows: - 4 English credits, 1 Algebra 1 credit, 1 Algebra 2 credit, 1

Geometry credit, 2 Natural or Physical Science credits, 1 U.S. History credit, 1 Social Studies credit, 2 Foreign Language Credits, 1 Visual/Performing Arts credit.

In addition to meeting the high school credit requirements applicants must submit ACT or SAT scores. The average tuition for Nashville State is around $1332 per twelve credit hours. For more information you can visit the school’s website at www.nscc.edu.

February, 2010

ACT Testing Dates

April 10, 2010 June 12, 2010 * See Dr. Eldridge for registration materials and deadlines.

Proposed site of the garden

Student Spotlight

Hope Renz

Where were you born?

I was born in Nashville, Tennessee. What is your favorite

food? I like steak a lot. What is your favorite

thing to do? I like to shop.

Do you have a hobby?

My hobbies are working, shopping, dancing, anything to keep me entertained.

Tell us something interesting about

you. I love music, dancing, and I am going to college so that I can be an NICU nurse. I can’t wait to get that accomplished.

Middle Tennessee State University is located at 1301 East Main Street, Murfreesboro, TN 37132-0001. This school is divided into seven colleges: College of Basic and Applied Sciences, College of Education and Behavioral Science, College of Graduate Studies, College of Liberal Arts, College of Liberal Arts, College of Mass Communication, Jennings A. Jones College of Business, University Honors College.

MTSU admissions require the completion of the following high school courses: 4 English credits; 1 Visual and/or Performing Arts credit; 2 Algebra 1 or Math for Technology 2 and Algebra 2 credits; 1 Geometry credit; 2 Natural/Physical Sciences credits; 1 Social Studies Credit; 1 United States History credit; 2 Foreign Language credits in the same language.

In addition to these high school course requirements applicants must also present one of the following: 1. A minimum 3.0 GPA 2. A minimum composite ACT of 22 (SAT of 1020)

3. A minimum 2.7 GPA and minimum ACT of 19 (SAT of 900)

The average tuition for MTSU is around $2994 per twelve credit hours. For more information you can visit the school’s website at www.mtsu.edu. Tennessee State University is located at 3500 John A. Merrit Blvd, Nashville, TN 37209. The colleges and schools this university offers are School of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences; College of Arts and Sciences; College of Business; College of Education; College of Engineering, Technology, and Computer Science; School of Graduate Studies and Research; School of Graduate Studies and Research; College of Health Sciences; School of Nursing; College of Public Service and Urban Affairs; and School of Nursing

Minimum admission requirements for TSU are as follows:

Interested in College? Colleges Near You (continued) by Gabriel Custer

1. Act score of 19 or 900 and above

on the SAT, or 2. Minimum grade point average of

2.25 on a 4.00 system, and 3. Must pass the Tennessee

Proficiency Examination, and 4. Must have completed 14 High

School State Board of Regents Unit requirements

The average tuition for TSU is around $2292 per twelve credit hours. For more information visit the school’s website at www.tnstate.edu. Volunteer State Community College is located at 1480 Nashville Pike, Gallatin, TN 37066. This school is divided into five academic divisions: Division of Allied Health, Division of Business, Division of Humanities, Division of Mathematics and Science, and Division of Social Science and Education

In order to be admitted to Vol State students must complete the following: 1. Graduate high school with a

regular diploma or higher 2. Submit ACT or SAT scores

The average tuition for Vol State is around $1465 per twelve credit hours. For more information visit the school’s website at www.volstate.edu. If you plan to attend college, we hope the information we’ve put together can help you decide the university you’d like to attend. We also hope this information helps you to better know what to expect when applying.

Have you ever looked a picture of yourself, and seen a stranger? This life-changing feeling occurs after high school. Like Mr. Tucker, my math teacher, once said, “You will wake up one morning and realize how much the world around you has changed, and you will look back and observe that you’re an utterly different person than you were two years ago.” I think what Mr. Tucker is trying to say is one’s most essential chapter of his or her life starts after high school. Life after high school isn’t like one of those movies where somebody goes to sleep a teenager and wakes up as a 30-year-old fashion designer in New York. After high school, it’s only when you’re tested that you truly discover who you are. And it’s only when you’re tested that you discover who you can be beyond high school.

Unfortunately, everyone will encounter challenges and impediments at some point in his or her life. In order to overcome those challenges and have success there are a few things you can do. Here are some broad guidelines regarding success after high school that I accumulated through my research:

• Face your challenges. Life is hard. There will be challenges. In order to be successful you need to meet your challenges head on. Do not run away from them, but face them.

• Be persuasive. Know who you are, what you want, and be able to convince people that you know what you are doing.

• Be knowledgeable. Know what you are talking about by learning from your experiences and educating yourself. Read and always look for new adventures.

• Create balance in your life. Don’t just do one thing, but also don’t do too many things. You should have a variety in your life, but also be able to manage your life.

• Be nice to people. Bill Gates once said, “Be nice to the nerds. Chances are you will end up working for one.” You never know who might give you an opportunity for a job or success, so it pays to be nice to everyone.

• Be curious. Curiosity leads to questions, which lead to answers, which lead to success. • Work hard. The harder you work, the more possibility you will have to change your life and

realize your dreams. • Have a positive attitude. If you say you can’t, there is

strong evidence that shows that you won’t. If you say you can, there is strong evidence that shows that you will.

And just remember, success is doing what makes you happy and not regretting your previous activities. Looking back on your life, you should be proud of what you have done and hopefully you have not only made your life better, but others’ lives as well.

What to anticipate after high school

by Ahmed Tani

Please note: If you would like to submit an article or write a letter to the editor, please email your submission to michael.flushman@mnps.org. Included with your submission must be your name and a title for your submission.