Sunday, February 28, 2010

Karen Kappelman - Class of 2013

Everyone in the Ryle community is just shocked and devastated to hear the news of the passing of Karen Kappelman. 

Karen was just a good kid; she was quiet, polite, sweet and responsible.  She will be missed by everyone.

Please keep the Kappelman family and all of her classmates in your thoughts and prayers.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

33rd District Champions!

The boys' basketball team played a great game on Friday night and beat Boone County High School by a score of 66-51 in the district championship game.  They will now join the Lady Raiders in the 9th regional tournament held at NKU next week.

Mitch McLeish played extremely well, scored 27 points and was named the tournament's most valuable player.  Overall is was a great night for the boys, they have worked very hard this season and battled throughout some tough games.  I am very happy for the team.  Congratulations!

Lady Raiders Going to the Regional Tournament

The Lady Raiders are moving on to the 9th regional tournament next week at the Bank of Kentucky Center at NKU.  They beat Conner on Tuesday and missed a last second shot on Thursday and lost to Boone County High School by 1 point.  The loss in the championship game to Boone was a tough one as the girls hung close but couldn't pull out the win.  Congratulations to the Lady Raiders on earning the district runner-up!


This link has the complete girls' 9th region tournament bracket . . . 9th Region Girls Tournament

Thursday, February 25, 2010

New math comes to Kenton, Boone schools

Twelve Ryle mathematics teachers have been attending training sessions specifically designed for mathematics instruction.  The training is part of a grant received by Boone County and 5 other school districts in the state.

By William Croyle • wcroyle@nky.com • February 23, 2010
INDEPENDENCE - Ann Shannon recently needed to drive from Owensboro to Louisville to conduct a training session. The native of Ireland, now living in California, knew little about Kentucky. She was going to print a map from Google, but bought a global positioning system instead.
When she got to Louisville, she regretted her decision.
"I learned nothing with the GPS," Shannon said. "But I would have learned something if I had followed a map."
Shannon told that story while training a few dozen math educators Tuesday here at Simon Kenton High School.
Her point? "You want to be your students' Google map, not their GPS," she said. In other words, make them think.
Shannon and Vinci Daro, from Ann Shannon & Associates, have been contracted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to train teachers in four states on a new way of teaching math to high school students.
The grant for Kentucky was awarded to the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, which chose the Kenton County School District, Boone County Schools and four other districts to participate in the pilot project. It's also being done in North Carolina, Tennessee and New York.
"We know they're good thinkers on teaching, instruction and learning, and have already done a lot on trying to improve instruction," Cindy Heine, associate executive director for the Prichard Committee, said about the selection of Boone and Kenton. "They're seen as leaders in the state."
Math teachers from some of the seven high schools in the two districts on Tuesday went through the third of eight training sessions. They've already begun to implement some of the strategies.
The main point of Shannon's training, which she developed over the years as a teacher in England, is that "math is not a spectator sport." The teacher should be more of a facilitator of a discussion among students.
"It's about interactive lecture," Shannon said.
"It makes kids really think - it's not just a performance by the teacher," said Pat Murray, chief academic officer for Boone County Schools. "It really involves students, motivates them and validates what they already know."
Crystal Blanton, a Cooper High School geometry teacher, has started trying some of the strategies.
"The few times I've tried it, the kids were engaged, so that's a positive thing," Blanton said. "Usually if I can get them a starting point, it gets them to start thinking."
Simon Kenton math teacher Craig Reinhart said it's another tool teachers can use.
"Using methods such as questioning them more and making it more interactive is a big thing," Reinhart said. "It's about getting the students to contribute and molding them to the point where they want to do this. We want kids to feel success each day, and I think this can help."

Friday, February 19, 2010

Ryle Wrestlers - 2010 State Runner-Up

The Ryle wrestling team had a very strong showing at the state meet, however, they could not overcome a great showing by Trinity HS.  Four wrestlers made the finals with two winning individual state championships - Michael Osborne and Austin Palmer.  Micheal Osborne was also named the Most Oustanding Wrestler of the state meet as he pinned all 5 of his opponents.  Congratulations on a great season!

Final State Results

Enquirer articles on the Raider wrestling team now in the state wrestling tournament . . .

Ryle contingent could strike gold

Osborne Takes Title, Top Honors

Ryle's Nichols wins That's My Boy award

Congratulations to Tate Nichols on winning the "That's My Boy" football scholar-athlete award last night!

Here's the Enquirer article . . .

Ryle's Nichols wins That's My Boy award

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Scheduling Conferences for 2010-11

Scheduling Conferences for students in grades 9-11 have been rescheduled for Monday, February 22, 2010 (5-8 pm) and Tuesday, March 2, 2010 (4-7 pm) due to the inclement weather this past Monday.

If you have a specific date and time request for your meeting please contact your student’s mentoring teacher on Friday. Otherwise you should be contacted by email, note, or telephone with a rescheduled date and time by the mentoring teacher.

Group sessions for incoming 8th grade students will be held in the Ryle auditorium on February 22, 2010 from 5-8 p.m. Students with last names A – L will meet from 5-6:30 p.m.; students with last names M – Z will meet from 6:30-8 p.m.

If you have questions please call the school office at 384-5300.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Scheduling Requests for 2010-11

When making your schedule request for 2010-11 and considering your class choices for the next few years, here is some research from the US Department of Education to consider: 

The best predictor of college graduation, based on the records of students, is NOT good high school grades NOR good test scores, but the best predictor is . . .

the number of challenging courses taken in high school.

A student who works hard and struggles in an AP or IB course is better prepared for college than a student who takes an easier course and/or test.
Adelman. U.S. Department of Education. (1999)

To learn more about challenging and rigorous courses available to you check the Ryle course description guide and the following link from the College Board about Advanced Placement classes.

Advanced Placement Program ?About AP Exams and Courses

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Using PLAN/ACT Scores for Scheduling Requests

The ACT Corporation has published some very interesting research connecting student's PLAN test scores and their success on Advanced Placement exams later in their high school career.

The PLAN test is taken by all sophomore students and is essentially a shorter version, based on fewer standards, than the ACT test.  The ACT test will be taken by all junior students at Ryle on March 9th.

The ACT's research lists PLAN test scores that yield a probability of success on certain AP exams.  This information could certainly be used to confirm thinking that a student should take an AP course and exam and could also be used to spur a student to work harder and smarter if their PLAN scores indicate they may not score as high as they wish on the AP exams.  This is especially important to consider when completing schedule requests for 2010-11.

Using PLAN to Identify Student Readiness for Rigorous Courses in High School

If you'd like to recieve a daily ACT question for review, check out this link:

ACT Question of the Day

No School - Wednesday, February 17th

Due to the winter weather, all Boone County Schools will be closed on Wednesday.

Raiders lead state qualifiers

The Community Recorder has a nice article on the Raider wrestling team.

Raiders lead state qualifiers

Bank, Brownell win state medals

Ryle High School senior Mary Bank finished her swimming career with two state medals February 13 at the University of Louisville.  Bank finished third in the 50-yard freestyle (24.27) and seventh in the 100 free (53.65).
Meredith Brownell finished second in diving with a 466.75, with the winner just nine points off the state record.
Senior Katie Eichinger was 18th in the 200 free (2:00.31) and 19th in the 500 free (5:20.74).
Sarah Truskot was 24th in the 200 individual medley (2:22.19).
The 200 medley relay team was 13th (1:56.35) with Eichinger, Bank, Darby Cochran and Taylor Piatt.
The 400 free relay team was 10th (3:45.23) with Bank, Eichinger, Piatt and Truskot.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Scholastic Writing Contest Award Winners

A lengthy list of Ryle students have recently won awards in the Scholastic Writing Contest.  The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers and its Regional Affiliates will recognize more then 30,000 young artists and writers with Gold Keys, Silver Keys and Honorable Mention Certificates.

Silver Key Winners
       McKeough, Samantha
       Wilhoite, Andrea
       Albright, Amy
       Worley, Kara
       Gonzales, Gabrieilla (3)
       Mahoney, Edward
       Fegenbush, Marshall
       Banks, Mary

Gold Key Winners
       Gonzales , Gabriella   
       Carron , Desirae (2)     
       Wilson , Jessica      
       Alissa Stieha
       Tobey, Kelcy (2)
       Eckstein, Meredith
       Kenkel, Sarah (2)
       Lonneman, Abby
       Cronin, David

Certificate of Merit Winners
      Wilson, Renee
      Groathouse, Carl
      Carron, Desirae
      Forlenza, Jeff
      Coots, Jessica
      Dunsing, Ashley
      Gale, Alana
      Loyd, Shelby
      Worley, Kara
      Wilson, Renee

Sarah Kenkel also won a Gold Key for her complete portfolio of work.

Governor's Cup Results

On January 30th the Ryle Governor's Cup team competed in the District 32 Governor's Cup competition at Randall K. Cooper High School. The following teams and individuals won the opportunity to compete for the regional title at Boone County High School on February 20th.
     Future Problem Solving team - 1st place
     Quick Recall team - 2nd place

     Tom Bailie - 5th place Mathematics
     Daniel Dilger - 4th place Social Studies
     Gabby Gonzales -2nd place Science
     Kari Nealon - 4th place Science
     Desirae Carron-Lofton - 4th place Language Arts
     Savannah Edwards - 1st place Composition

Congratulations and good luck to all at Regionals!

Scheduling Conferences CANCELED

Due to the winter storm, the scheduling conferences for today and tonight have been canceled.  This includes all individual conferences scheduled and the group sessions set up for the incoming freshmen tonight.

We will work to reschedule and make up these meetings within the next few weeks.  Please be careful if traveling or out in this winter weather.

Ryle romps to sixth straight region title

Congratulations to the Raider wrestling team on winning their 6th straight regional championship.  They'll now begin preparing for the state wrestling tournament in Frankfort next weekend.

Ryle romps to sixth straight region title

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Student Scheduling Conferences

Student scheduling conferences for the 2010-11 school are set to be held tomorrow from 1 - 8 p.m.

We will use the automated phone system and this space to communicate any change to the scheduling conferences due to the winter storm that is predicted.

Two Ryle Seniors Named National Merit Finalists

Amy Albright and Ariel Blythe-Reske, Class of 2010, were named National Merit Finalists this past week!  Congratulations to both for this great achievement.

Approximately 15,000 senior students nationwide received this honor, representing 1% of the highest achieving students.

National Merit Corporation


Saturday, February 13, 2010

2nd Annual Raider Nation Celebration TONIGHT

The 2nd Annual Raider Nation Celebration will be held on Saturday, February 13, 2010 from 6:30-11:00 p.m. at the Triple Crown Country Club.

This will be a great evening with the agenda including social time, dinner, a silent auction, and a guest speaker along with introductions and recognition of the second class of inductees into the Ryle Athletic Hall of Fame. Last year's inaugural class of the Ryle Hall of Fame included Justin Doellman and Katie Holtzapfel.

The new inductees into the Ryle Athletic Hall of Fame include:

     Kim Bina, Class of 1997

     Susanne Funken, Class of 2001

     Keith Jones, Class of 1995

     Michael Setters, Class of 2000

     Charles Holland, Ryle Athletic Director 1992-2001

Tickets to the event are $75 per couple or $40 per person and are available from any current Raider athletic coach or from the school office. Contact Jim Demler, Athletic Director at 384-5300 for more details. All proceeds benefit the Ryle athletic programs.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Swim & Dive Teams in State Meet

The following Ryle students have qualified for the KHSAA state swim and dive championships in Louisville, KY.  They will be competing during the day on Friday, Feb 12th.

TJ Albright
Tom Bailie
Mary Bank
Meredith Brownell
Darby Cochran
Katie Eichinger
Robert Parmele
Taylor Piatt
Hide Seki
Sarah Truskot

Preparing for the ACT

Juniors attending Kentucky public high schools will take the ACT, the nation’s most widely accepted college entrance exam, on March 9.  The ACT test assesses high school students' general educational development and their ability to complete college-level work.  Higher scores may also qualify students for a bonus award through the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES) program.
To do their best, students should follow these tips from the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA), which administers the KEES program:
      ·         Study, take notes and do your homework in your regular high school classes.  Retain the information you learn rather than “dumping” it  after the next test.
      ·         Take practice tests. ACT offers sample tests at www.actstudent.org, and practice tests are included in the ACT booklet school counselors receive each year. If those aren’t enough, you can buy larger practice books at any bookstore.
      ·         Take advantage of ACT classes. Many high schools and colleges offer such classes for a small fee.
      ·         Answer the questions you’re sure about first, then go back and tackle the others. But don’t spend too much time on any one question.
      ·         Remember that your first gut feeling is more often right than wrong.
      ·         If you can eliminate one answer, you have a one-in-three chance of guessing the right answer. If you can eliminate two, you have a 50-50 chance. If you’ve answered the questions you’re sure of and made educated guesses on others but have no clue about the rest, fill in any circle. The ACT doesn’t count off for wrong answers, so you haven’t hurt yourself if you guess wrong.
      ·         Make sure you get a good night’s rest the night before and you leave home early enough to get to the test site on time. And don’t forget to bring some ID.
For more information about Kentucky scholarships and grants, visit www.kheaa.com; write KHEAA, P.O. Box 798, Frankfort, KY 40602-0798; or call (800) 928-8926, ext. 6-7372.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Schools Closed - Tuesday, Feb. 9th

The Boone County Schools will be closed on Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 due to the inclement weather.

Please drive safely in these winter conditions.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Evening Activities Canceled - Friday, Feb. 5

All evening activities in the Boone County Schools are canceled for Friday, Feb. 5th due to the inclement weather.  This includes all home and away events.

The Ryle Speech and Debate Tournament scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 6th has also been canceled.

A decision on the ACT test being given at Ryle at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 6th will be made the morning of the test.

Please drive safely in the winter weather.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Tate Nichols - Signing with Notre Dame

Ryle senior Tate Nichols signed an official letter of intent with Notre Dame University yesterday.  Tate and his family gathered in the Ryle media center along with dozens of his teammates and classmates.

Congratulations to Tate for this great accomplishment!

This brings some intrigue to this fall's matchup between Notre Dame and Navy.  It'll be great day to see Tate dressed for the Irish and Vince Murray for the Midshipmen.