SPOTLIGHT ON INSTRUCTION
Mr. Shurter’s biology class recently did a lab in which students represented a lizard population, and they observed how this population was impacted by various environmental changes. Mr. Shurter posed as a predator during this simulation to add pressure to students’ populations. Students made their populations grow by “feeding” them through spooning water into flasks and “reproducing” by combining genetics from two parent lizards. Mr. Shurter collected the class data, and individual lab groups graphed and analyzed it. This lab showed how natural selection can change a population over time. It forced students to get out of their seats and become engaged, and helped the process stick in their minds by allowing them to actually see how populations can change over time.
Reporting by Angela Mammel
SENIOR SCHOLAR OF DISTINCTION LEVEL STUDENTS
Congratulations to our soon to be graduating seniors. Academic recognitions that will be awarded at our Honors Convocation that include Scholars of Highest Distinction, Scholars of Distinction and Scholars of Achievement have been announced and are posted in the counseling office. If you have a question or concern please contact the counseling office.
Students attaining the highest level have received a composite ACT score of 32 OR SAT composite of 1450 or higher, taken four or more AP courses and have a GPA of 3.9 or higher. Acknowledgement as a Scholar of Distinction requires a 3.8-3.899 GPA, three or more AP courses and a composite ACT of 28 OR SAT composite of 1310 or higher. Scholars of Achievement have a GPA of 3.5-3.799, taken two or more AP courses, and have a composite ACT score of 26 OR SAT composite of 1240 or higher.
Students attaining the highest level have received a composite ACT score of 32 OR SAT composite of 1450 or higher, taken four or more AP courses and have a GPA of 3.9 or higher. Acknowledgement as a Scholar of Distinction requires a 3.8-3.899 GPA, three or more AP courses and a composite ACT of 28 OR SAT composite of 1310 or higher. Scholars of Achievement have a GPA of 3.5-3.799, taken two or more AP courses, and have a composite ACT score of 26 OR SAT composite of 1240 or higher.
SCHOLARS OF HIGHEST DISTINCTION
Zahra Ahmed Afrah Ansari Meredith Benson Katherine Dyar Natalie Fylak Claire Gleason Olivia Hayen Claire He Bilal Ibrahim Ramona Johnson Lauren Karmo Gita Kattimani Alexander Lee Katherine Lee Grace Murphy Amala Nayak Melaina Neto Jongbu Park Anirudhan Ramaseshan Rachel Rettie Victoria Schwutke Christina Shepich Delna Sholapurwalla Keneth Sokoli Maya Subramanian Preethi Surapaneni Constantine Tangalos Kendra Trader Natalie Treichel Lauren Wegener Erik Williams |
SCHOLARS OF DISTINCTION
Justin Baker Grant Benedettini Kathryn Chatman Samuel Corrion Julia Couch Ashok Dodaballapur Eleanor Eisele Joel Fickel Sana Halim Chester Ho Anna Huetteman Ahmed Ilyas Christina Irons Kendall Jordan Hanul Kang Vanessa Karagounis Lucas Kastran Guen Kim Elizabeth Kowalczyk Theodore Kurokawa Julia LaTrouno Rui-Tao Ma Isabella Malatesta Angela Mammel Sid Osborn Mahnoor Rauf Austin Remick Steven Salkowski Makenzie Shubnell Tia Stathakios Sandip Sundash Kengo Takenouchi Sara Trumza Fatima Uddin Harshith Vempati Stephanie Wong Keri Yang Noor Yousif |
SCHOLARS OF ACHIEVEMENT
Momin Alam Madelyn Arsenault Edward Azzam Riley Becks Benjamin Bisio Richard Bland Emily Boar Brent Burtraw Fahro Cejvanovic Bu Sung Chung Lizabeth Desmet Laura Eshelman Grace Forlines Alexander Gaydayenko Rainey Golab Paige Gonterman Sarah Hill Sana Hussaini Lauren Jakobiak Krithi Jaligama Benjamin Kable Martin Karpinski David Karwaski Alexa Ligon Rui-Qi Ma Ariella Miller Chad Miller Harper Monica Hussein Murray Joshua Murrell Anthony Ng Elizabeth Novak Martin O'Neill Paige Radman Rohan Singh Evan Smyth Jackson Stewart Emily Taylor Samantha Thiessen Audrey Weber Reagan Wegener Isabell Wyborski George Zagrodzki |
SNHS JOINS WITH THE PULSERA PROJECT
Spanish National Honor Society is participating in the Pulsera Project again this year! For those who do not know what the Pulsera Project is, Spanish NHS members will be selling beautiful and colorful bracelets, which are homemade from artists in Nicaragua and Guatemala. Each bracelet is $5 and ALL the money we raise will be given back to these countries to support their educational programs. Spanish NHS members will be selling the pulseras before and after classes and during lunch from Monday, April 16th until Friday, April 27th. More information can be found at http://www.pulseraproject.org/.
PTSA CHAIR OPENINGS
Needed: BATTLE OF THE BOOKS PARENT SCHOOL CHAIR
The Battle of the Books School Chairperson is a year-long position in which he/she is the point person between the PTA Council Battle of the Books Chair and the staff and students at RHS. They will forward and disseminate messages from the Council Chair to those in charge of the social media, newsletters, and PTSA newsletters at their school. They give updates at PTSA meetings regarding the program when asked, and they promote the program via posters, morning announcements, and organization of contest submissions. They also could potentially organize a book club or study sessions for student readers. In May, the chair is called on to help with set-up, implementation, and clean up of the Battle of the Books Battle Night Competition.
If you are interested in volunteering for this committee position, please email PTSA Vice President Emily Collins at emilycollins78@gmail.com.
The Battle of the Books School Chairperson is a year-long position in which he/she is the point person between the PTA Council Battle of the Books Chair and the staff and students at RHS. They will forward and disseminate messages from the Council Chair to those in charge of the social media, newsletters, and PTSA newsletters at their school. They give updates at PTSA meetings regarding the program when asked, and they promote the program via posters, morning announcements, and organization of contest submissions. They also could potentially organize a book club or study sessions for student readers. In May, the chair is called on to help with set-up, implementation, and clean up of the Battle of the Books Battle Night Competition.
If you are interested in volunteering for this committee position, please email PTSA Vice President Emily Collins at emilycollins78@gmail.com.

RHS Student Co Chair |
RHS STUDENT IN STATE FINALS POETRY OUT LOUD COMPETITION
Savannah Young, from Ms. Kuslits' Poetry class, did a phenomenal job representing RHS at the state finals of the Poetry Out Loud competition March 2, 2018 in Lansing.
JOIN THE PTSA
Make a difference in the lives of the students at RHS. Join the PTSA Executive Board as a Vice President. Contact Debbie Jones at debra-L-jones@hotmail.com with questions.
QUIZ BOWL COMPETITION
This year's Quiz Bowl Club entered their first judged competition at Michigan State University last Saturday, April 7. They did well, placing in the top half of the 30-school field. Our six Falcons faced very tough competitive teams like Troy and Country Day high schools, which provided a clear picture of how grueling academic trivia competition can be. Rochester's 12 place finish is a great outcome for such a young, untested team, and shows real promise for next year's competitive season. If anyone is interested in academic trivia, please stop by Mrs. Kuslits' room, F110, on any given Monday after school to check out what our fun group is up to. Congratulations, Quiz Bowl!
ATTENTION SENIORS
Seniors - please make sure that any awards for Honors Convocation are turned into the counseling office by April 25 to be included in the program. Also After School Plans form needs to be returned to the counseling office.
Any questions, please visit the counseling office.
Any questions, please visit the counseling office.
2018 HOMETOWN HUSTLE

2018 HH Participant Form & Waiver |

HH Family Donations |
FEDS 201 UPDATE
YEARBOOK SALES HAVE ENDED
2018 yearbook sales have officially ended. To be placed on a wait list, pleas email Mrs. Huvaere directly for more information. Jhuvaere@rochester.k12.mi.us
GET YOUR SENIOR ALL NIGHT PARTY (SANP) TICKETS!
Congratulations to our March ticket raffle winners! Sydney Jones, Karlyn Kelley, Alyssa Miller and Taylor Simmons – see you at the SANP! If you have not yet picked up your gift card go to the Main Office to claim your prize.
Buy your ticket NOW for a chance to win! Everyone who has purchased their ticket by the first of each month through June 1st will be entered in a drawing to win a $10 gift card to Tropical Smoothie. Four winners will be selected each month -- are you feeling LUCKY? The only way to enter is to buy your SANP ticket today! Pay online or send in a check payable to Rochester Community Schools, memo RHS SANP along with the permission slip to the Main Office.. ^Prior winners excluded from future drawings.
Questions? Contact Kari Willimas at karilee_williams@yahoo.com or 248-933-6228.
Buy your ticket NOW for a chance to win! Everyone who has purchased their ticket by the first of each month through June 1st will be entered in a drawing to win a $10 gift card to Tropical Smoothie. Four winners will be selected each month -- are you feeling LUCKY? The only way to enter is to buy your SANP ticket today! Pay online or send in a check payable to Rochester Community Schools, memo RHS SANP along with the permission slip to the Main Office.. ^Prior winners excluded from future drawings.
Questions? Contact Kari Willimas at karilee_williams@yahoo.com or 248-933-6228.
YOUTH LEADERSHIP SUMMIT
BATTLE OF THE BOOKS
FREE PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY HELP
Professor Koppen from Oakland University will be in the RHS Media Center Wednesdays from 2:30 to 4:00 for students who would like extra help with Physics and Chemistry.
JUNIOR LEADERSHIP OAKLAND

2018 Jr LO Application Packet |
PTSA HEALTH AND WELLNESS UPDATE
RHS DANCE TRYOUTS
WE NEED YOUR HELP FOR THE SENIOR ALL NIGHT PARTY (SANP)
Questions? Contact Kari Williams at karilee_williams@yahoo.com or 248-933-6228.
- We need a few more senior parents to volunteer to ride on the busses with our students to/from the event. C’mon – it’ll be fun! Contact Kari Williams at karilee_williams@yahoo.com or 248-933-6228.
- We need BASKETS -- a variety of shapes and sizes are needed to package and display our raffle prizes. If you have any baskets we can use, contact Anne Crites at anne.crites@mcc.edu or 248-978-2975 to make arrangements for your basket(s) to be collected. Did you win a basket at the recent Falcon Boosters Gala – give your basket back for use at the SANP!
- We are also seeking donations of items to add to our assortment of PRIZES such as video games, phone accessories, Vera Bradley -- anything appealing and/or useful for a student after high school graduation. GIFT CARDS to popular stores and eateries would also be welcome. Let us know what you can contribute for our event on the sign-up at: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080f45aaae2fa6f85-senior.
- If you'd rather make a monetary donation to support the RCS Senior All Night Party events, please contact Mary Beth Johnson at marybeth.johnson7@gmail.com. Donations are tax deductible and will be split between all three Rochester high schools unless a certain school is specified.
- We need JUNIOR & SOPHOMORE parents, too! Get in on the action now so you will be prepared to continue the amazing tradition for your child's graduation class.
SENIOR GRADUATION SIGNS

2018 Senior Graduation DVD/Lawn Signs |
2017 - 2018 MEETING DATES
PTSA Meetings will be held in the Media Center at 7:00 p.m. (unless otherwise noted) on the following dates:
May 9
Athletic Booster Meetings will be held in the Media Center at 6:00 p.m. on the following dates:
May 14, and June 11
Band Booster Meetings will be held in the Band Room at 7:30 p.m. on the following dates:
May 8, and June 12
Senior All Night Party Meetings will be held in the Media Center at 7:00 p.m. on the following dates:
May 14 (starts at 7:30 p.m.)
May 9
Athletic Booster Meetings will be held in the Media Center at 6:00 p.m. on the following dates:
May 14, and June 11
Band Booster Meetings will be held in the Band Room at 7:30 p.m. on the following dates:
May 8, and June 12
Senior All Night Party Meetings will be held in the Media Center at 7:00 p.m. on the following dates:
May 14 (starts at 7:30 p.m.)
RHS SPORTS
GIRLS AND BOYS SWIM TEAM EARN ACADEMIC ALL-STATE
Congratulations to the Rochester Girls and Boys Swim teams for earning Academic All-State. The Girls team had the highest GPA of any team in the state, finishing first with a 3.91 average. The Boys program finished runner-up in Division 2, with a 3.88 GPA.