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Student to
Student |
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Visesh,
Vishvaas and Vandana are siblings attending The Davidson Academy of Nevada. They share their experiences below.
 Hello Prospective Students!
I’m Visesh and this is my sophomore year at
The Davidson Academy. One of the most unique traits about the Academy is the fact that the curriculum is molded superbly to match the interests and abilities of students. Of course, standards must be met and we do things other high schools do in the academic sense; however, the staff and even fellow students are so ready and willing to make sure that you are able to pursue your interests and goals outside of what is taught in the classroom. What would the Academy be if it didn’t cater to the individual needs of its students? After all, our student body is very diverse and full of youngsters who care greatly and deeply about their education. It would be a shame if such potential were to go to waste. Fortunately, we have a good school, where each individual is encouraged to push their boundaries, work hard and realize their dreams.
The
Davidson Academy accomplishes this in a multitude of ways, the most important being
the development of a Personalized Learning Plan (PLP) for every student. What’s great about this is that a student’s curriculum is mapped out based on their interests, goals and current progress. What’s even better is the fact that this PLP can and probably will be subject to change as a student grows and begins to explore the vastness of knowledge, as well as the diversity of their interests and capabilities. Also, the fact that students are evaluated
by ability, rather than grade level, opens up numerous possibilities for the advancement of a child who is attending the
Academy. Students are free to advance at their own pace and more importantly, their PLP will reflect this. Often times, students can’t do all of this by themselves. They need the support of friends, family
and the Academy staff. Fortunately, the Academy's great staff makes this wonderful education possible. As I have said before, our staff really works hard to ensure that each student gets the academic attention and challenge that he or she needs. Although the
Academy is definitely no walk in the park, I am glad I was given this opportunity to be a part of it and I hope you will give it a shot, too.
~ Visesh Ravikumar, Second Year Davidson Academy Student
 Hello prospective Davidson Academy Students!
My name is Vishvaas Ravikumar, and this is my second year at
The Davidson Academy. The only thing that comes to my mind whenever I think about the Academy is amazement. I came to the Academy when it was time to finish up middle school and find a good high school to attend. My family and I looked at all the possibilities, all the opportunities, and no school seemed to match all of our needs. That was until we found out about the Academy. A personalized learning plan? Classes matched to ability? Teachers that would help us side by side? The Academy seemed perfect!
At first, I was a little worried. What if I looked stupid compared to everyone else? What if I couldn’t make any friends? My doubts quickly subsided as I began my year at the
Academy. It was easy to make friends, as many people share similar interests. Intelligent conversations are aplenty, along with conversations about whatever any kid would want to talk about, such as video games, movies or sports. The classes are intellectually challenging and engaging, and although there is homework, it’s not overly difficult to finish it. From the moment I step in every morning to the time when 6th period is finished, I never regret coming to the Academy.
~ Vishvaas Ravikumar, Second Year Davidson Academy Student
 Hi, Prospective Academy Students!
My name is Vandana Ravikumar and I’m 13 years old. This is my first year at
The Davidson Academy, and I can’t believe there are just a few months left! Going to the Academy has been a wonderful experience so far. At first, when I found out I would be going to the Academy for my 8th grade year, I was super excited, but I was also kind of scared. I had been going to the same school for the past
nine years! I had never had to switch to a new school. I was worried about everything - making friends, getting used to a new school, the homework - but now, looking back, I think my fears were kind of silly. Now, every morning, I find myself looking forward to going to school. All the students are so nice, they make it easy to make new friends. Conversations can be over a wide range of topics, from the latest episode of Glee, to math homework to, well, just about anything, and there will be people who understand you. The teachers are really understanding and kind, spending time with you if you don’t understand something and helping you to do the best you can. They don’t always go by the book, they mix it up and throw in fun extras too, like watching a movie in History about Ancient Greeks, or putting on a skit in French class. The homework is tough sometimes, but it’s not impossible, and it really helps you. I know that moving to a new school can be a tough decision, but I hope you decide to give it a chance!
~ Vandana Ravikumar, First Year Davidson Academy Student
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Get to Know Us |
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 There is no doubt that these are tough times for education. Each day, we hear more about budget issues at the state and local levels. The Davidson Academy is a public school and receives Distributed School Account (DSA) funding, as does every other public school in Nevada. However,
The Davidson Academy also receives a significant amount in private donations. This combination of funding sources allows the Academy to stand firm on continuing to offer programs and services that are consistent with our mission of providing profoundly gifted young people an advanced educational opportunity matched to their abilities, strengths and interests.
There is still time to apply for the 2011-1012 school year, since the last application deadline is April 1, 2011. Please be sure to check out the application details and to contact us with any questions you have about the application process or the Academy.
~ Colleen Harsin, Director of The Davidson Academy of Nevada
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Program
Updates |
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Application Deadline for 2011-2012 School Year Approaching
If you are interested in applying to
The Davidson Academy of Nevada for the 2011-2012 school year, please review the
Qualification Criteria and
How to Apply pages of our website. The Academy is specifically designed to meet the needs of profoundly gifted middle and high school students who score in the 99.9th percentile on IQ or college entrance tests, such as the SAT or ACT. On the
Application Review Process page, you will find
detailed information about the on-site assessment.
Upcoming Tours for Prospective Students
 Hear from current students and Academy parents, familiarize yourself with faculty and staff, network with others and ask specific questions at one of our
upcoming school tours. Everyone is invited to attend one of the following tour dates below so RSVPs
are required. If you would like more information, please email
explore@davidsonacademy.unr.edu.
- Friday, March 25, 2011
- Friday, April 15, 2011
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Student Life |
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 North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad (NACLO)
Davidson Academy student Alex Wade recently qualified for
the Invitational Round of the North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad (NACLO). He ranked
4th out of 100 qualifiers in the nation!
 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards
A number of Davidson Academy students recently received awards from
the Sierra Arts foundation, the local hosts of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Ian McKeachie
received two Gold Key awards, Angela Xu received a Gold Key Award
and a Silver Key Award, and Jacob Lokshin received a Gold Key Award.
More than 10,000 Gold Key works will be reviewed by judges in
New York City to determine the 1,000 most accomplished young
artists and writers in the nation.
MATHCOUNTS
The Davidson Academy
MATHCOUNTS
team recently competed in the Northern Nevada Chapter Competition,
running away with seven of the top eight places in the Individual
Competition and first place in the Team Competition. Jagger
Alexander, Lillian Chien, Joseph Chou and Tyler Hart were
the students who participated in the Team Competition. The
results of the Academy students in the
Individual Competition are as follows: - 2nd - Lillian Chien
- 3rd - Austin Shinagawa
- 4th - Ian Oh
- 5th - Tyler Hart
- 6th - Jagger Alexander
- 7th - Joseph Chou
- 11th - Emmy Tian
- 14th - Brittany Percin
- 18th - Caelan Caudell
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38th - Adelaide Oh
Next, seven Academy students will compete at the State Competition in Reno on March 26.
DECA
The Davidson Academy's
DECA team
recently traveled to Las Vegas to compete in the Nevada State Career Development Conference and came out on top! 
- Amy Bodner and Ikya Kandula placed 3rd for the Hospitality Services Team Decision HTDM Making event.
- Christopher Huh placed 1st in the Principles of Business Management and Administration event.
- Stephan Kim placed 1st in the Principles of Finance event.
- Taylor Wilson placed 1st in the Principles of Marketing event.
- Duncan MacKinnon won an award in the Principles of Marketing event.
DECA is an international student marketing association which: 1) encourages students in marketing-related classes to pursue careers in marketing, management, and entrepreneurship and 2) promotes understanding and appreciation of the free enterprise system as well as the responsibilities of citizenship.
All of these students have earned a seat to participate in the biggest DECA competition in the world -
the International Career Development Conference (ICDC), which
takes place April 30 to May 3 in Orlando, FL.
Congratulations
to all for these very impressive accomplishments!
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THINK Summer Institute |
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Applications will continue to be accepted for the 2011
THINK Summer Institute, which will run July 9 through July 30. Students can earn six college credits at this three-week residential summer program on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno,
also the home of The Davidson Academy. To qualify, students must be 13 to 16 years old during the program dates and meet the minimum
qualifying test scores. We only have a handful of spots available, so hurry and
apply today!
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Meet Mr. Guisti, Science Instructor |
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 What subjects do you teach at the Academy?
My background is in physics and technology and I have an appreciation for both the theoretical and applied aspects of physics. This year I am teaching Physical Science and Advanced Physics. Physical Science is a middle school class and for the majority of my students is a first exposure to the basics of physics and chemistry. Advanced Physics is a high school course that follows a calculus-based curriculum similar to the university physics courses for scientists and engineers. Next year I will likely add Astronomy and High School Physics to my schedule.
What do you enjoy most about teaching Academy students?
Students at the Academy are bright, dedicated, and inquisitive. This allows me to teach challenging concepts that get beyond what one might see in a traditional classroom. It also means that I can put my energy into developing new and engaging topics of study rather than worrying about motivating a disinterested student.
What are a few of the more interesting or challenging projects that you have assisted Academy students with in your classroom?
In physics we often like to simplify things almost to absurdity (e.g. frictionless surfaces, massless
strings, etc), which has its merit for identifying
underlying principles. But at the Academy we can go further
and start adding back in factors that are more true to a
real world application. When studying projectiles we looked
into the effects of drag coefficients on the range of a
rocket. We see how principles of forces, momentum, and
energy can all be used in analyzing the performance of a
catapult.
The Academy’s science classes have access to the University of Nevada, Reno labs. What are some of the ways you have built this resource into your curriculum?
My classes do the majority of their labs at The Davidson Academy. When studying motion, most anything that moves can become a lab. We often capture videos of objects in motion and then use video analysis to find a wealth of information. For more specialized labs involving topics such as electricity, we make use of the lab resources at
the University. In this case we will jump in with an actual college class and do the lab along with them.
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“The school environment is really wonderful. Although there is a relatively small amount of students, the diversity is high. There are so many different interests in this school, you are sure to find somebody to talk to about subjects ranging from
'what do you think of my shirt' to the history test to nuclear physics.”
Mallie Prytherch, Second Year Davidson Academy Student
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