We can not wait to see all our new and returning EPIC students in just a few days! The Open House for our EPIC freshmen and their parents is Thursday August 2nd from 4 p.m. - 5 p.m. If you have not received an email about our open house, please email me at [email protected] so I can update our contact information for you. Orientation for Mill Creek 10th - 12th graders is Thursday 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. Attached is our supply list for the 2018-2019 school year. Let us know if you have any questions!
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There is quite a buzz of activity going on up in the EPIC Hallways. Freshmen engineering students were recently using Sphero Robots and programming software to look at the connection between distance, speed and time. Sophomore engineering students recently wrapped up a Genetic Tech unit with a Biology Lab where they processed bacterial transformations (made e-coli turn purple and green). We are able to complete this lab through funding from our Bosch grant. The sopho-mores then kicked off their first spring project and are digging into research in Language Arts about our nearby cities such as Braselton, Dacula, and Lawrenceville. They are using a study of the novel Brave New World, a dystopia, to analyzing city structure and purpose. They will tie this research into their Biology evolution vocabulary as they look at the evolution of our nearby cities. Students will use this in Engineering to 3D design a future building for their city, which will be based on a population growth estimated using their Algebra II functions. We love planning and implementing cross-curricular projects that give our students true experiential learning. The students will have to sell us on why their designs fit all of the requirements of their city, so check back soon to hear about their presentations to a panel of community and business experts.
This year Mill Creek is piloting FIRST Robotics as an EPIC curriculum-based team. We have 19 freshmen and sophomores who are diving right into our rookie year and they are ready to “Power Up”. The 2018 FIRST Robotics competition is based around gathering power up cubes to activate different advantages, which means our students are designing a robot to pick up and deliver cubes to maximize points. In the EPIC Makerspace students have been investing many of their hours to get our robot ready. We have three weeks left until the build time is up, and the students are ready to get the robot driving for test trials. You can see our progress by checking out our Twitter: @MCfirsthawks. We have an upcoming competition at Riverside Academy in Gainesville March 3rd and 4th if you would like to come support our first ever FIRST team at its first competition!
Thank you to the parents who made it out on a rainy evening to learn more about our EPIC program. We truly believe in our program and love sharing about it. We realize that you may still have questions so we thought we would start a FAQ blog for registration. We'll include a few questions we got tonight to start, and we'll add on if we get more questions. Please also feel free to email [email protected] if you have any questions and we will make sure to get back to you as soon as possible. Updated: We added the handout from parent night as a download at the bottom of this post if you could not make it that night. 1. My student's teacher recommended him/her for Honors Language Arts? Can he/she still be in the EPIC program? Absolutely! Our academic subjects include Honors, Gifted and CP levels for our students. 2. My student's teacher recommended him/her for Accelerated Geometry? Can he/she still be in the EPIC program? Our entry point for EPIC is Geometry. Your student can choose to take Geometry instead of Accelerated Geometry, but that is a discussion to be had together while looking at the math pathway. 3. Can my student wait until their sophomore year to join EPIC? At this point, students enter EPIC only during their freshman year. 4. My student wants to also take band, is that an option? Our EPIC students will have three electives outside of the program their freshman year, and two electives outside of EPIC and the required social studies their sophomore and junior years. Many of our students are part of the amazing fine arts program at our school - including chorus, marching band, orchestra and theater. 5. My student is also interested in taking another CTE elective, is that an option? Yes, as mentioned above our students have elective space outside of the program and many of our students enjoy classes such as Intro to Digital Technology, Food Science and Marketing Principles. Students do need to keep in mind that they should take at least two consecutive years of a foreign language. 6. Can my student still take AP classes? Definitely. Within the EPIC program, the classes that have AP levels do not start until their junior year and we are offering the AP options within the program. Outside of EPIC there are also many opportunities for students to take AP classes, including AP Human Geography their freshman year if they are interested in that option. 7. How does my student apply? Your student needs to check the EPIC box on the registration form, and choose which pathway - Engineering or Entrepreneurship. There are two levels of Engineering depending on your 8th grade elective. If your student took Foundations of Engineering then they should select Engineering Concepts on their registration form. Your student then needs to fill out an application - they can do this online on our website or they can fill out a paper application. The paper application needs to be stapled to the registration form! Thank you for applying! Have more questions? There is a followup parent question night next Monday night, 1/29/2018, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
It is hard to believe but January is when Rising 9th graders start thinking about their upcoming high school experience. EPIC is an experiential, project-based, innovative, cross-curricular and collaborative option for your student at Mill Creek High School, and we would love to talk to you if you or your student is interested in our program.
Our cluster middle schools will bring 8th graders to visit Mill Creek next week. Students are welcome to ask questions to both current students and teachers when they tour our EPIC hallway. The Hawk Guide will also have information about the EPIC program. In addition, Mill Creek High School hosts a Rising 9th grade parent meeting on Monday, January 22nd, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. EPIC is one of the sessions available that night and we would love to see you there. If you still have questions, Mill Creek High School will have a follow up Q&A on Monday, January 29th, at 6 p.m. At any time, please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. We have a contact form available here on the website under the About Page. We will get back to you as soon as possible. #make2018EPIC - EPIC Teachers The first ever semester of EPIC biology is wrapping up and we are heading into the holidays! Our 10th grade engineers finished their latest project, It's In My Genes, in which they designed prototypes for people with disabilities. The amount of research that went into the project was amazing and filled with authentic biology concepts! Students researched different genetic disorders and the symptoms of those disorders to determine a need that their prototypes could address. Some students went above and beyond to serve a specific group of people and got a glimpse at what professionals, such as physical therapists, special needs teachers, and engineers, do every day to provide people with disabilities the accommodations to perform everyday tasks. We are very proud of our EPIC students and cannot wait to see how they "adapt" to next semester's challenges. Hopefully they continue to "evolve" in their ever changing environments. Stay tuned to see how these hints of our next project come to life!
Students discovered that the relationship between the length of a pendulum and the time it takes to complete one full swing is represented by a radical function. Students used different string measurements and recorded the time it took to complete 10 full swings. Using the results the students then divided by 10 to determine the period of its length. Having a firm conceptual understanding of radical functions they then graphed the data and created a line of best fit that represented a radical function. Each group then created the actual function of the graph through their understanding of algebraic transformations of radical equations and restricted its domain and range to fit this real world scenario.
Students measured the intensity of their phone flashlights using solar panels. This process allowed students to discover that the relationship between light intensity and distance is modeled by a rational function. They then plotted their data on a scatter plot and created a line of best fit representing a rational function. Each group then created the actual function of the graph through their understanding of algebraic transformations of rational equations such as reflections, translations, and dilations.
On Tuesday, December 5th, the EPIC program hosted its first ever EPIC Night for students to display their hard work for parents, friends, and community partners. The students truly lived up to the program's vision to SOAR to EPIC heights with polished presentations.
Entrepreneurs used creative displays to showcase real life data from digital ads they created for local businesses. The student presentations and ads were so successful that multiple entrepreneurs were offered jobs to continue their work with local businesses. Engineers chose a variety of work to display including 3D designs of animal cells, VEX solutions for genetic disorders, and electrical devices to help with needs in high schoolers' daily lives. Many of the engineers are currently pursuing grants and funding to further the research and development of their prototypes. Check back soon to see the updates! EPIC Night
Parent Information EPIC Video about EPIC Night What is EPIC night? EPIC night is about showcasing the hard work of our students because we are so proud of them and we want families to see their hard work as well. Each student will get to choose what they are displaying on EPIC night and it will have a similar feel to a science fair where guests get to walk through and see all of the students with their work. When is EPIC night? December 5th at 6:30 p.m. Students should arrive at 6:00 PM and we will have a waiting area for parents with a light snack. Who is invited to EPIC night? The more the merrier, so feel free to invite anyone who would like to see our students and their hard work. Where is EPIC night? Media Center at Mill Creek High School How should our EPIC student's dress? Students should dress for success. Anything else I should know? Students will receive a raffle ticket for each guest they bring - with the opportunity to win a prize! What if my student cannot attend? We would love for every student to attend if possible but we understand that there might be a prior commitment. Please just let us know ahead of time by sending us an email to [email protected]. This is a night for our students to shine so please help us encourage them to SOAR at EPIC night. |