| Financial Forces | Belly Brain | Art Attack | Big Decisions

Amazing qualities of the people that make up the ATA community are apparent, not only through the breadth of knowledge, but also through the generosity of giving and sharing.  This semester CP students are gaining valuable information from guest instructors, John Spencer, Dio Miranda, Linda Racino, and Susan Steffes.

Financial Forces

ATA patron, John Spencer, offers his expertise and passion by teaching an upper level course on Finance and Economics.  Students are learning 1) practical tools to manage personal finances and 2) basic concepts of corporate financing and accounting principles.  Covering topics as differentiating between wants and needs, ways to acquire and finance each; appreciation and depreciation; assets and liabilities; risk, interest, and present value; annuities, bonds, leverage buyouts and venture capital, and IPO’s.

Lookout world… ATA CP is producing business leaders with knowledge AND compassion.

Belly Brain

Striving to get the most out of the student-athlete by teaching them the best practices to feed the body, Dio Miranda, CHEK certified trainer and nutritionist, shares his expertise and passion by teaching self-awareness through the belly-brain connection.  Students’ food choices affect performance in all aspects of daily life:  1) the body through athletic fortitude and stamina; 2) the mind through electrical stimulation and hydration; and 3) the spirit through attitude and compassion.  Using the results of a self-test questionnaire, students now know their metabolic type, along with instructions of how to best support it with suggested foods and quantities for eeach meal.

Art Attack

As a reinforcement, students hand painted plates designating the percentages of their metabolic type.  Linda Racino, from Art Attack in the Galleria, brought her studio to ATA CP so that students could create their own plates.

Big Decisions

CP parent, instructor, and physical therapist, Susan Steffes, is teaching BIG DECISIONS; a 5 week educational unit covering reproductive anatomy, healthy relationships, se* and its consequences, why abstinence is the best choice for teenagers, prevention of se*ually transmitted infections and pregnancy, and setting and communicating healthy boundaries.  Students in this class are participating in lively activities and discussions to reinforce topics every child (and adult) should be able to discuss respectfully and knowledgably. You may visit the Big Decisions website to learn more about the curriculum.

It takes a village.  ~Carol

PLEASE NOTE: If you are interested in sharing your expertise and working with the students of ATA CP, please contact me.  We are looking for people who are excited about what they know and do and would like to pass that on to the next generation.

“The fish trap exists because of the fish. Once you’ve gotten the fish you can forget the trap. The rabbit snare exists because of the rabbit. Once you’ve gotten the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words exist because of meaning. Once you’ve gotten the meaning, you can forget the words.”      ~Chuang-tzu

The five-paragraphy essay is a formula.  It does not lend itself to creative thinking.  It asks the writer to contrive thoughts on a given topic into an artificial container.  It has no real purpose after 8th grade.  So what is the purpose of writing?  I recently asked a few students “For whom are you writing that paper?”.  They answer… “Mr or Mrs ___________.”

Well THAT is the problem.  Don’t write it for HIM or for HER… write it for an interested reader!   Write like you know more than the person reading your essay.  Find out something interesting that no one else knows about your topic; become the expert.  Then tell it with excitement!  Your audience is not Mr ______; it is the world.

So… write like you mean it!  ~Carol

Austin Tennis Academy and ATA College Prep are constantly striving to grasp the power of technology to better serve its students. Through interaction via Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and the ATA website, or analyzing intricate technique with the latest in video sharing technology, ATA works to be at the forefront of using these tools to offer the best possible product to its community.

Today’s middle school World Geography class was another wonderful example of this ongoing effort.  Jesse Wikso, while in Florida at Spring Nationals, Skyped into class to give a presentation on research he’d completed for our unit on Asia.

He was able to access the assignment online through TeacherEase, our student information and classroom management tool, complete the assignment, and present it to the teacher and the class without ever falling behind due to tournament travel.

Great job, Jesse!

from Travis, student contributor

The past few weeks, the Geometry class and the Advanced Algebra class (both taught by Bryan Rutherford) have been constructing Tennis Ball Cannons. They will be powered by a small force of combustion, building up an enough pressure to send the tennis ball soaring.  The devices are made of numerous different parts including large PVC pipes, couplings, screws and spare grill ignition components. They are secured  to rotating stands; a ball gets rammed down the barrel; and BOOM! Little Wilson is on his way. The class who’s cannon shoots the farthest wins!

Stay tuned for the results…