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Dear Prospective Academy Student,
I am frantically wracking my brains, trying to find some
‘new’ sliver of insight that I can share with you about the
Davidson Academy. If you’ve been reading these newsletters for
some time, you’re well acquainted with our hymns about the outstanding
caliber of instruction, the amazing opportunities available,
the wonderful people that we are fortunate to call our teachers,
our mentors, and our friends.
You’re hearing these things
over and over again for a reason - because they’re true.
My peers and I could probably go through reams of paper
attempting to express how the classes at the Academy challenge
and inspire us, how the firework show of mile-a-minute arguments
and points and counter-points going off like flashbulbs in the
night is the most beautiful discussion on Chaucer, or Chain
rule, or Entropy humanly possible. Prior to the Academy, I spent
almost four years at a local University, yet I can attest to
being challenged here, perhaps more so than before. We each
could describe a foot-long list of the advantages that working
so closely with the University of Nevada has brought us, from
lab research and internships to our Entrepreneurship program,
to the chance to study under some of the University’s brilliant
faculty. During my time at the Academy, the close interactions
with faculty from both the University and the Academy have helped
me found a small business (Marker Ninja Studios) and start our
first Slam Poetry Club - and I am hardly unusual in this respect.
We can all name the faculty that have encouraged us both inside
and outside of the classroom, how their passion and gift for
working with the students is beyond belief. The teachers here
persuaded me to fall in love with math and science (no small
feat, considering I’m the girl who pledged her life to Faulkner),
they have helped me grow through essay-feedback and real-life-feedback
and their numinous presence as outstanding role models. We all
have stories, so unique and crazy and all over the place that
their sole similarity might well be that we’re all here. We’re
all going to the Academy, an implicit recognition of our past,
our present, and what we want for our futures. We’re all going
to the Academy, and could not imagine a better place to be.
Yet the Davidson Academy is more than a laundry list of
opportunities forged or found, it’s more than an ‘intellectual
environment’, more than a ‘rigorous education’. It’s a home.
Credits, resumes, numbers on a page, all fall away in the face
of what is truly amazing about this place. When a CNN reporter
asked me if people were happy here, I thought about how guitar
chords and off-key singing echoes through the school almost
every day. I thought about how clusters of kids big enough to
block the hallways would emerge during lunch to play card games
or gossip with friends. I thought about how cafeteria conversations
would jump from Nicki Minaj to quantum physics without missing
a beat. And I thought about me. Fourteen years old with wire-rimmed
glasses and beat-up-shoes, emerging from my first day at the
Academy with the inexplicable feeling that I had finally come
home. In some way or another, we’ve all found our tribes, our
people, an aspect of ourselves we never realized we were missing,
and I cannot conceive of a place where we could possibly be
more content. ‘Happy’ is too weak of a term to describe the
way we feel within the Academy.
In a totally-not-postmodern
and utterly sincere way, I must say that I am in love with this
place. My journey has almost come full circle, and though I
will graduate in the spring I know that I’ll find my way back
here, somehow. I wish that everyone could have the good fortune
to grow up within this environment, and if you get the chance,
well then: welcome home.
-Grace Hong, Fourth Year
Davidson Academy Student
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It is hard to believe that it’s already
mid-October! The fall semester at the Davidson Academy has included
a whirlwind of activities. The student council held our annual
Fall Festival this month. Student clubs have booths at this
event, which serves as a fundraising opportunity for the clubs.
From cake walks to card games, Academy students, families, friends
and staff had a great time while supporting the various clubs.
College application season is in full swing, with early
action and early decision deadlines right around the corner.
We have 16 anticipated graduates for May 2015, all of whom are
applying to four-year institutions or BS/MD programs throughout
the country. All of us here wish them great success in this
process.
I recently spoke with the Rotary Club of Reno
Centennial Sunset and shared information about the Davidson
Academy with them. This group thanks their speakers by donating
ten polio vaccines; such a generous and inspiring way to give
back! I am honored to have been invited, and appreciate the
opportunity to talk about the Academy as a resource for students.
the Davidson Academy application for 2015-2016 is now available.
We have started receiving them and inviting students to visit
us for a day of interaction and assessment. Be sure to check
out the application and required information as soon as possible,
so that you can plan for the coming months. We look forward
to seeing an excellent incoming class for the 2015-2016 school
year!
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How long have
you taught at the Academy, and how has the
school changed since you started?
I started at the Academy in 2008
and much has changed since then. For one, I have relaxed a great
deal and enjoy teaching science more. I find the students’ enthusiasm
to learn invigorating and inspirational. I am able to give students
more thorough feedback and correct misconceptions more concisely.
Generally,
what is your average class size?
The average class size is 10.
What
are a few of the more interesting or challenging projects that
you have assisted Academy students with?
Science fair projects are always
interesting and challenging. I find a lot of the Academy students
have such creative and innovative minds, and their projects
are no different. We have students working on solar cell technology,
fish guts, radioactive materials, mice, etc. Each one has its
own challenges and rewards. Science club is another interesting
project. Currently, we are working on trying to get a shark
lab up and running where we will investigate numerous materials
for the possibility of finding a catalyst suitable for reducing
water. Other than that, students have a myriad of other interests
from micro-pathology to astronomy and beyond.
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2015-2016 Application Available
The Davidson Academy of Nevada application for the 2015-2016
school year is now available! Visit the
How to Apply page to access the online application system.
If you are looking for an environment to better fit your social
and academic needs, the Davidson Academy may be the place for
you!
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. Please review the recently updated
Qualification Criteria page of our website as these scores
are mandatory for student eligibility. On the
Application Review Process page, you will find detailed
information about the on-site assessment.
Upcoming
Tours for Prospective Students
Each month during
the school year, the Davidson Academy hosts a tour for prospective
students and their parents. At these tours, visitors meet current
Academy students, parents, faculty and staff, and ask specific
questions about the school.
Upcoming school tours will
be held from 2 p.m. To 4 p.m. on the following Fridays:
- Oct. 24, 2014
- Nov. 21, 2014
- Dec. 12, 2014
- Jan. 30, 2015
- Feb. 27, 2015
For details, including directions to the Davidson Academy and
RSVP information, please visit the
Tours page. If you would like more information, please contact
us at outreach@davidsonacademy.unr.edu.
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 Davidson Academy students gathered after school this October
for our annual Fall Festival, where clubs have the chance to
fundraise, and students have a chance to play games and consume
massive amounts of sugar. Although the student turnout was lower
than it was in previous years, most clubs still made upwards
of $75. Student Council prevailed once again as the most monetarily
productive club, but Math Club came in a close second. “I think
it was a smashingly groovy event!” said senior Dylan Bowman.
For the October community meeting,
in true Halloween spirit, the staff organized a friendly Relay
Race between seven randomly-selected teams of students. There
were 11 events to participate in, ranging from traditional relay
events such as Bean Bag Toss and a Potato Sack Race, to a Mummy
Wrap and a Witch’s Ride. Even the college students walking by
wanted to participate!
 Whether rocking out in the Rock Band room or getting a 10-victory
streak in the League of Legends room, everywhere in the Academy
was bursting with activity at the first lock-in of the year.
For video game fans, there were rooms set up for Minecraft,
Super Smash Bros, Wii, and even the original Pac-Man on the
big screen in the cafeteria. Students also participated in games
like Air Hockey, Foosball, Tag, and Hide ’n’ Seek. Students
couldn’t resist the free pizza at 10:00 p.m., the ice cream
party at midnight or the 3:00 a.m. dance party that included
strobe lights, a disco ball, and tons of glow sticks. No matter
what attendees did at the lock-in, even if it was sleeping,
it’s almost certain they had fun.
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Kids in the
Kitchen: Karthik Rohatgi's Butternut Squash Kale Soup
Karthik
is not only a Davidson Academy graduate and
Young Scholar Ambassador, but also a creative young chef.
His recipe for Butternut Squash Kale Soup was featured on Monica
Hide's blog in the "
Kids in the Kitchen - Future Chef's" section. Ms.
Hide also talks about Karthik's efforts to solve childhood
obesity and obesity-related diseases.
Farm
Fresh for Kids started as a venture to solve childhood hunger
when Karthik realized that some were not receiving fresh vegetables
from the Food Bank of Northern Nevada. Karthik made his program
a reality providing fresh produced to under-privileged kids.
KTVN Weather Kid: Derek Chien
 Derek
Chien presented the weather for the Davidson Academy of
Nevada with local weather man Mike Alger. KTVN selects a different
student from the Reno/Sparks area each week to be The Weather
Kid and present the weather every Thursday during the 5 p.m.
news broadcast.
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“At the Academy I was surrounded by people just like me,
who understood what I was talking about and commonly taught
me new things. All the teachers and advisors were extremely
dedicated to helping the students achieve things they never
thought possible.”
Alex Hayes, Davidson Academy Graduate (pictured,
left)
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