Communication has been sent out numerous times about why and what happens if there is lightning during our carpool times; however, we recently had a situation where we could not even start the afternoon carpool due to the lightning storm that was occurring on this particular day. If carpool needs to be cancelled before it starts due to lightning, there will be signs posted to the right of the crosswalk and to the front of the carpool lanes to alert carpoolers we will not be sending children outside the building due to the lightning storm.

Our elementary parent/teacher conference letters are being sent home tomorrow, Friday, September 30. Our elementary conference letters will have a conference day and time that you will be able to either accept or decline. If the time indicated does not fit your schedule and you do decline, there will also be an area that you will be able to write in another time that will fit your needs. As usual, our elementary conferences are limited to twenty minutes. In this allotted amount of time, your teacher will be reviewing your student’s SSLP and First Quarter Report Card. This is a perfect time to ask questions about your student’s SSLP expectations and their grades; however, in this short amount of time, it is too hard for our teachers to also reply to concerns you may have about a particular incident or other issues. If you do have concerns, please inform your student’s teacher that you do need another meeting to address your concerns and a meeting will be set up at your convenience. Thank you for your support.

In our middle school, conferences will look like they did last year. Thursday, October 27 will be an open day for parents to rotate to the different classrooms and discuss each student with his/her teachers. This procedure worked well last year and even though parents have to wait at times to visit with a teacher, most of our parents really liked the freedom to move throughout different classrooms at their convenience and time frame. Friday, October 28, will be conferences that are set up with individual students and their parents. You will be contacted for a conference through a conference letter sent home that will indicate a time and a teacher you are to meet with, that you will be able to either accept or decline. If the time indicated does not fit your schedule and you do decline, there will be an area that you will be able to write in another time that will fit your needs. If you would like to request a conference with a specific teacher, you can also sign up for an open time once the Friday schedules have been posted which will more than likely be on Thursday. These conferences are limited to twenty minutes and it is a great time to discuss your student’s grades with the teacher and to also discuss a student success plan if needed.

There has been an amendment to one of our MS Policies that is in our Parent Handbook. In the Parent Handbook it states that we will not accept late work from students. The MS Teachers and I discussed this and have decided that in order to keep students responsible, but also understanding that we all do make mistakes, we have changed that policy and it now should read as:

Late work will be accepted, but only if turned in the next time you have the class that the work is late for. The late work will only be accepted it if is a ’working’ day late and will be given 50% less credit than it would originally received it turned in on time. Exceptions will be given by teachers at their discretion. If you do believe you have an extenuating circumstance, it is the parent’s responsibility to contact the teacher(s) so that the necessary accommodations can be made for the student. In the case that a test has been missed due to an absence, the parent(s) must contact the teacher(s) to arrange for the test to be taken within two days. The missed test will be taken after school or at a time specified by the teacher so that the instructional time will not be interrupted.

This policy is located on page 24 in your Parent Handbook, please note this change.

Reminder to MS Parents- Your student’s papers, tests and other communication from the school are now put into a packet and sent home every Friday. In this packet there will also be a notification of your student’s grade if they dropped below a C; however, teachers are only required to notify one time. We have received a lot of questions as to why our MS Teachers have not called or sent an email to notify parents, and I would like to remind all that this is how we are notifying parents this year. If you are not receiving student papers and other school communication, please talk with your student about this issue.

Dates to remember:

• Volunteer Opportunity to help our PTO with a staff breakfast- Friday, September 30
• Thursday, October 13- Dress Down Day and End of First Quarter
• Friday, October 14- Teacher Work Day- No Students
• Week of October 17- 21- Fall Break- School Closed
• Monday, October 24- Beginning of Second Quarter
• Thursday, October 27- Parent/Teacher Conferences
• Friday, October 28- Parent/Teacher Conferences
• Saturday, October 29- Fall Carnival, 10:00- 4:00!

Have a great weekend!

Kindra Whitmyre-Nelson
Dean of Academy Charter School
email: nelsonk@academycharter.org
web: http://www.academycharter.org/deannelson

We are picking up some speed at Academy Charter--I can't believe we are talking about parent-teacher conferences already! Thanks again for supporting your students by volunteering here at the school and all the other things you do from your home!

Trish Kakenmaster volunteered to take care of the dress code sample project. I had several folks volunteer and I always take the first one. I appreciate having a number of folks respond to these requests and would encourage you to keep responding!

I can't believe how hard Jessica Herbert and Katherine Titus worked on the E-Book fundraising project--you ladies are awesome. Karen Anderson and Kate Fischer as co-presidents of the PTO have been putting in a lot of volunteer hours already this year. As you know, PTO is gearing up for the Fall Carnival to be held at the end of October. If you haven't already volunteered to help in some way with this event, please contact Katherine Titus at 720-733-2658 and she can find a spot for you. They are continuing to collect candy and prizes for this fun event--just bring in your donations to the school office.

Cindy Hazlehurst has been contributing a lot of time and energy to the Original Art Works project and ordering information will be coming home this week.

Martina Been, our middle school language arts teacher, needs volunteers to drive students to the public library here in town once a month. Please let me know if you would be willing to help her and I can give you the details regarding this need.

If you feel like you have not found a way to volunteer for ACS, please give me a call and I will help you find a place that needs you and your talents and abilities.

Thanks again for continuing to "Make a Difference" at Academy Charter!

Anne Belfrage
Volunteer Coordinator
belfragea@academycharter.org

ORIGINAL WORKS ARTWORK
COMING HOME NEXT WEEK!

A packet containing your child’s artwork, Original Works product brochure and order form will be coming home in next week’s Friday Folder. With the holidays just around the corner, we hope you’ll find that perfect one-of-a-kind gift for your family members and friends. Posters and product samples are on display at the school. Please stop by and take a look!

To ensure we get the products back in time for the holidays, orders will be due on October 14th. All proceeds will go to the art department to help buy additional art supplies for our students. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call Cindy Hazlehurst (303-688-9134), Mrs. Marsh-Rose, or Ms. Heiberger.

Thank you for your support!
Cindy Hazlehurst
ACS Original Works Coordinator

Book Drive Scheduled

The library is participating in the Spread the Word book drive October 3-7. Please bring in your gently used books and drop them off at the collection box near the library. Your gift of reading will help provide books for relocated hurricane victims here in Colorado and other disadvantaged children in our area. The book drive is sponsored by The Fund for Colorado's Future. If we are one of two schools that collect the most, we'll receive a $1000 library grant! Let me know if you have any questions.

Janet Zoetewey
zoeteweyj@academycharter.org

It is the time of year to be thinking about the flu again! The flu can range from a mild to a severe illness, and can even lead to death. Fortunately, most people who get the flu will recover in one to two weeks.

Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is a contagious disease that is caused by the influenza virus. It attacks the respiratory tract (nose, throat and lungs). Influenza usually comes on suddenly and may include these symptoms: fever (usually high), headache, tiredness (can be extreme), dry cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, and muscle aches. The flu and the common cold have similar symptoms, but in general the flu is worse. People with colds are more likely to have a runny or stuffy nose.

The flu is spread when a person who has the virus coughs, sneezes or otherwise sends the flu virus into the air. The virus enters the nose, throat or lungs of a person and begins to multiply, causing the other person to become ill. It may also be spread when an infected person touches a surface and then another person touches that surface and then their own nose, mouth or eyes. Some viruses can live up to 2 hours on surfaces such as doorknobs and tables.

A person can spread the flu starting one day before he or she feels sick. People can continue to pass the flu virus to others for up to seven days after symptoms occur and sometimes even longer. Symptomatic children should not attend school. To help decrease the spread of the flu, please keep your student home from school if he/she has a fever or has had a fever in the past 24 hours.

To protect yourself and your family from the spread of the flu:

• Get a flu shot.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Stay home or keep your student home if sick.
• Cover mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing then throw the tissue away.
• Wash hands frequently.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.
• Get plenty of sleep, physical activity, drink plenty of water, and eat good foods.
• Don’t share drinks (water bottles, soda, etc.) or eating utensils.

What to do if you get the flu: rest, drink plenty of liquids, avoid using alcohol and tobacco, and you may want to take medication to relieve the symptoms. A virus causes influenza, so antibiotics don’t work to cure it. If started within the first two days of the flu, antiviral medications may decrease symptoms and shorten the duration of illness. Do not give aspirin to a child or teenager who has flu-like symptoms.

If your student is getting over an illness and is no longer acutely ill (no fever or vomiting for 24 hours), she/he can attend school.

Many people use the term “stomach flu” to describe illnesses with nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. Many different viruses or bacteria can cause these symptoms. The flu is a respiratory disease and not a stomach or intestinal disease.
-Info from CDC Website, 2005

Be Healthy!
Stacey Barlow, RN
School Nurse Consultant

We like to encourage the students at ACS to have fun and get involved with each other during their recess time as this helps them to build stronger peer relationships and character development. When the children choose to bring toys from home, we lose some of the ability to have them all play together and learn the concept of a team.

I encourage parents to have the students who bring their toys from home stress sharing and teaming with all of our children.

We do not allow any electronic toys at school; however, things such as balls, gloves, group type play things are okay, with the understanding that we do not accept responsibility for lost or broken items.

We appreciate your assistance to help our students learn sharing, caring and making their free time at school a great experience.

Brenda Knight
Knightb@academycharter.org