Vampire Math Contest

Ms. Llambi and Ms. Daire organized a “Vampire Math Contest”. The prizes were donated by Burger King Corporation.


VAMPIRE MATH :Give it a try. See how well you do.

A North American wolf, or Canis Lupus, weighs approximately 80 pounds and measures an average of 5 feet from its nose to the tip of its tail. Use this information to answer questions # 1 & 2.

1.)When in wolf form, Jake is 3 times the size of a Canis Lupus. How long is he from nose to tail?

2.)How much do you expect Jake to weigh? HINT: The answer is NOT 240 pounds!

3.)Bella, Edward, Alice, and Jasper are sitting around a round table. How many different sitting arrangements can you make if Bella cannot sit next to Jasper?

Use the following assumptions to answer questions # 4 & 5.

Assumptions:
One vampire exists.
That vampire must suck one person’s blood each week to survive.
Once a person is bitten by a vampire, he or she becomes a vampire.

4.)Assuming that none of the vampires die, how many vampires exist after 2 weeks?

5.)How many people will be bitten during Week 4?

Use the following information to answer question # 6

In The Night World series, it is very difficult for a born vampire (called a lamia) or a made vampire to find its soulmate. Suppose a Vampire scholar collected the following data:

Vampire’s Name Age at which Soul Mate was found
James 17 years & 3 months
Ash 18 years & 4 months
Delos 17 years & 1 month
Quinn 18 years and 2 months
Thierry 19 years & 2 months

6.)What is the mean age at which the vampires listed above found their soul mate?

7.)In The House of Night, Zoey dreams of Heath, Erick, Loren, Stark, and even Kalona. Suppose that she dreams of one of them (in that order) once every day starting on New Year’s Day when the Raven Mockers were reborn. Who does she dream of on February 14th?

Use the following information to answer question # 8.

In the Vampire Diaries Book 3: The Fury, Robert E. Lee High is located in Old Creek Road on the other side of the new bridge as shown. There is a tunnel under the bridge that Elena can take to get to the school unseen. The distance BI = 13 and IT = 7.

8.) What could be the length of the bridge (BT) if it is an integer value?
HINT: < BIT is NOT a right angle! Use picture at top of post.

Thanks to the Burger King Corporation for the prizes.

ANSWERS WILL BE POSTED IN JANUARY. How well did you do ?

Communication Academy meets Leonard Pitts

The Communications Academy visited the Book Fair and met Leonard Pitts, Jr. He was there to promote his new book “Before I Forget.” Mrs. Elizabeth Cardenas uses his columns from the Herald and his other book “Forward From This Moment” a collection of his columns from 1994-2009 regularly in her Journalism class. Mr. Pitts is a Pulitzer Prize winner and the kids love his stuff. It was very exciting. They got to hear him talk and they were able to interview him!!! The picture is the one he took with the Communication Academy students.

Viper Art Blog

If you follow or visit my blog you should also visit the Varela Art Blog. Ms. Figuera has done an excellent job at showcasing all the great things happening in the art department. She also posts information on scholarships, competitions and art information.

Visit and see all the great artist works. One day we will wish we could afford to buy them.

For more information about the Varela art department, you can email Mr. Dan Dawes, department chairperson at ddawes@dadeschools.net

Click here to go to Varela Art Blog

David Essner Mathematics Competition

Congratulations to DAKOTA SANTANA for qualifying to represent Felix Varela Sr. at the final round of the David Essner Mathematics competition sponsored by the University of Miami. Dakota scored the highest among many talented Varela Math students on a preliminary competition test last December 3rd.

Viper Grand Prize winner at Orange Bowl Creative Art Contest

I am proud to announce that Dillon Shah, student at Felix Varela Senior High School is the GRAND PRIZE WINNER of the Orange Bowl Creative Arts Contest. Dillon has won a $1,000 Savings Bond, two tickets to the 2010 FedEx Orange Bowl game at Land Shark Stadium, recognition during on-field presentation at the 2010 Orange Bowl and FREE Burritos from Chipolte Grill for one year.

The artwork will be featured in a full page ad in the FedEx Orange Bowl game program !

Congratulations to Dillon and the Viper Art department :)

American Dance Alliance Competition

On December 9th at Killian Sr High, the American Dance Alliance held thier annual competiton. Schools from all of Miami Dade County competed. I was proud to attend to watch the Jazz and Varsity Open Competitions.

The team received Superior ratings for their National routines in the Open and Jazz division. They also received the Best Overall Award, which included best technique, original choreography and superior showmanship. Angelica Sepulveda received 1st place and Liz Padilla received 4th place in the senior solo division. In the duet category, Samantha Perez and Angelica Sepulveda received 1st place and Jacquelyn Lopez and Rebecca Hernandez took 3rd.

Congratulations to the Enchanters, their coaches and the parents.
The Viper family is very proud !!!

Click below to watch excerpts of dances:
Open Dance
Jazz Routine
Solo I
Solo II

Haitian American Leadership Organization

Haitian American Leadership Organization (HALO) offers 6 scholarships for post-secondary education

HALO is offering six scholarships of up to $1,000 to high school seniors of Haitian descent in good academic standing. Applications are now being accepted for the 2010 scholarships and the deadline is December 11, 2009.

The award recipients will be invited to attend HALO's annual gala and award ceremony that will be held on January 16, 2010 at the JW Marriott Hotel in Miami.

You may contact HALO with any questions at (888) 759-0085. You may also visit www.halohaiti.org.

Bright Futures Application

Seniors:
The Bright Futures application is now available online. You may apply at: http://www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org

FAFSA application will be available as of January 1st. You and your parents may now request a PIN, which will be needed in order to complete and process the FAFSA. The PIN may be requested at: http://www.pin.ed.gov

Thespian Troupe 6162

It is with great pride that that we announce that Felix Varela’s very own Thespian Troupe 6162 has been chosen two years in a row as a critique’s choice out of 27 High Schools that competed in Dade County for their originally written 1 Act The Memoirs of Romeo and Juliet.

Not only did the students attain an overall rating of Superior, but our Thespians also took home the coveted prizes of Best Technical Production as well as one of the highest honors in the district Best Actor through Zack Lopez’s performance as the Narrator.

To let you know the scope of these accomplishments, we have been chosen over such supposed “highly acclaimed schools” such as New World and have the honor of having on of our students be chosen as THE best actor in the district of Miami-Dade County which includes private schools.

Congratulations to all the thespians, to our theater arts teacher Mr. Quintana and Mr. Bode, our stagecraft teacher.


Click to watch openning

Vipers go to college !!

It’s the time of year when many of our student-athletes are deciding where to continue their education. This decision has already been made for one of our Vipers! Johnny Barbato will attend the University of Florida next year, signing a scholarship to play baseball for the Gators! This is a proud day for Johnny and his family whose father is our own baseball coach, John Barbato. Several other Viper Athletes are weighing college scholarship offers and will make their decisions in the coming months. We wish the best of luck to all our athletes as they continue their athletic careers.

Viper Cross Country Team

The Viper Cross Country teams qualified for the State Tournament in Dade City a few weeks ago. Representing the Girls squad was Stephanie Espinosa making her 2nd trip to State. The entire Boys team qualified including: Angelous Serna, Yazid Tejada, Mauricio Raules, Marc McIntyre, Marco Madriaga, Blair Bryce and Martin Tenorio. Congratulations to all of these athletes!

Proration of Student Allocation

The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) plans to prorate the Base Student Allocation for school districts. As a result of this proration, districts througout the state will be penalized. If you recall, our district has experienced a decrease in student enrollment and as such, our revenues have suffered due to lower FTE.

MDSCPS submitted an estimate of 341,627 for the 2009-2010 school year and the state did not accept this estimate. MDCPS had to lower the estimate by an additional 1,400 FTE'S to 340,227 even though there was no disagreement about the validity of the data. As it turned out, the actual FTE for the district will be 342,085. If the Legislature chooses to reduce the Base Student Allocation (BSA) for every student, the results for our district will further erode the budget thus negatively impacting all aspects of school operations including salaries.

I strongly urge you to contact your state legislators to urge them not to reduce the BSA. I have included a list of the Miami-Dade County Legislative Delegation including telephone numbers and email addresses so you can contact them and express your opposition and concern. You should also encourage your stakeholders to do the same.


 2009-2010 MIAMI-DADE COUNTY LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION

Felix Varela Senior:

State Senator: N. Rich
State Representative: M. Llorente

Viper Vibe Link

An issue of our newspaper is officially up online at ASNE’s website. Don’t forget to visit it. They award the schools with the highest hits every month. Encourage your everyone to give us a look. It is in full color. You can even download a pdf of the full paper.


Viper Vibe Link

Information for Parents about Eating Disorders

Mental Health and Crisis Management Services Information for Parents about Eating Disorders

Did you know?

• The holiday season is a fun time of the year for millions of children throughout the world. Festivities, gathering with family and friends and celebrating often includes increased pressure to indulge in holiday meals and treats.
• For individuals suffering from eating disorders, this can be an extremely difficult time.
• The most common eating disorders, Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia, affect more than 24 million Americans each year, according to The Alliance for Eating Disorder Awareness.

What is an eating disorder?

• Eating disorders -- such as Anorexia, Bulimia, and Binge Eating Disorder – include extreme emotions, attitudes, and behaviors surrounding weight and food issues. Eating disorders are serious emotional and physical problems that can have life-threatening consequences for females and males.

Signs and Symptoms

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa is characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss.

• Refusal to maintain body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for height, body type, age, and activity level
• Intense fear of weight gain or being “fat”
• Feeling “fat” or overweight despite dramatic weight loss
• Loss of menstrual periods in females
• Extreme concern with body weight and shape

Bulimia

Bulimia includes eating large amounts of food (binging) --more than most people would eat in one meal--in short periods of time, then getting rid of the food and calories through vomiting, laxative abuse, or over-exercising (purging).

• Repeated episodes of binging and purging
• Feeling out of control during a binge and eating beyond the point of comfortable fullness
• Purging after a binge, (typically by self-induced vomiting, abuse of laxatives, diet pills and/or diuretics, excessive exercise, or fasting)
• Frequent dieting
• Extreme concern with body weight and shape

Compulsive Eating

Compulsive eating is characterized primarily by periods of uncontrolled, impulsive, or continuous eating beyond the point of feeling comfortably full.

• May be sporadic fasts or repetitive diets and often feelings of shame or self-hatred after a binge.
• May struggle with anxiety, depression, and loneliness, which can contribute to their unhealthy episodes of binge eating.
Body weight may vary from normal to mild, moderate, or severe obesity.

Get Help• If you suspect your child is suffering from an eating disorder, seek treatment immediately. The goal of intervention is to help children develop a healthy outlook about themselves and a positive attitude about food.
• Set a healthy example by serving a variety of nutritious foods and discuss the importance of a balanced diet. Exercise should be encouraged as part of a healthy lifestyle.
• See your family doctor for medical advice and or resources.
• Visit your school counseling professionals for resources in the community.
• Many times individual, group, and family counseling services are found to be very helpful.

Information adapted from http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/nedaDir/files/documents/handouts/WhatIsEd.pdf and http://www.uclahealth.org/workfiles/documents/healthtips/ht0508.pdf.

M-DCPS wishes you and your family a Happy, Healthy Holiday Season!!!!

Mental Health and Crisis Management Services
M-DCPS Crisis Hotline: 305-995-CARE http://mhcms.dadeschools.net/

Varela Feeder Pattern AP of the Year

Congratulations to Ms. Nery Fins, assistant principal at Felix Varela Senior High school who has been nominated the Varela feeder pattern AP of the Year.

Beyond the Bell

BECAUSE LEARNING DOESN’T STOP WHEN THE SCHOOL DAY ENDS.

What does Beyond the Bell provide?

•Supplemental online curriculum content to support student learning
•Individualized student learning paths beyond the school day
•Supplemental learning tools for targeted students in grades 3-11 aligned to their FCAT level
•Resource for students and parents to engage learning using technology
•Updates every nine weeks to the learning paths reflecting the district curriculum focus

Instructional Tools Available:
Grades 3-5
• Ticket To Read

Grades 3-11
Reading Plus
Riverdeep
Destination Math
Destination Reading

Grades 4-11
Gizmos
Mathematics and Science

Grades 6-8
Compass Learning
Language Arts/Reading
Mathematics
Science
Social Studies


How do I access Beyond the Bell? Log in using the M-DCPS Student Portal at
http://myportal.dadeschools.net/student/

Greater Miami Dog Show & South Dade Kennel Club

Dog Show at the Miami Dade County Fair Expo Center
presented by the Greater Miami Dog Club and South Dade Kennel Club
the Felix Varela Sr High Vet students were asked to help with the animals and with the set up.

December 2 - 1:00 PM
Breed Specialty Shows
December 3 - December 5
All Breed Conformation Shows
Junior Showmanship
Obedience and Rally Trials
December 5
Agility Trails

For more information abuot the show, please contact MiamiDogShow@gmail.com

Magnet Fair at Varela Senior High School

We are holding a Magnet Fair for interested parents of 8th graders on Wednesday, December 9th at 6:00 p.m. Our Magnet Programs include Global Studies and Veterinarian Science programs.

FIFA World Cup

Once every four years, the world's premier national soccer teams participate in the FIFA World CUP. Please join me in support of the bid to bring the World Cup to Miami in 2018 or 2022. The participation of the entire Miami-Dade County Public Schools' family will go along way toward ensuring that the world's most prestigious soccer tournament comes to the United States and Miami. Help us obtain the needed 50,000 signatures before any other U.S. city by taking: a moment to sign the online petition in support of this effort. The petition may be found at:

www.gousabid.com/miami

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Miami-Dade County Public School's to join others in our community to welcome the world to South Florida. Thank you for helping to promote our community's participation in this exciting worldwide event.

Parent Resource Guide

Everything you need to know about your Child’s Education
is now at your fingertips! www.dadeschools.net

Todo lo que necesita saber sobre la Educación de su hijo
¡En la punta de sus dedos! www.dadeschools.net