Dear Family and Friends of ACS,

Enrollment Sheets for re-enrolling your student in ACS for next year went home on Friday, January 6. Please fill out this form and return it to our office by Wednesday, January 18. We will be checking our sibling priority list and pulling lottery soon for any student positions that may open.

I have planned a Parent Workshop Night for Wednesday, January 25, from 5:30- 7:00 in our school cafeteria. Dean Peters and some of our ACS staff members will be there to help parents as they move to different stations in order to gain more information to help support their students and ask questions. The following stations will be available this night:

1. Emergent Literacy
2. Early Literacy
3. Intermediate Literacy
4. K-2 Math
5. 3-5 Math
6. 6-8 Math
7. Intermediate Science
8. Spanish
9. Homework

If you would like to participate in this workshop, please call our office to RSVP by Monday, January 23rd. Also, feel free to come to the cafeteria during the above hours at your convenience; however, understand that we will be shutting the workshop down at 7:00.

On Friday, February 17th, our school will be closed for an in-service day. On in-service days, even though the ACS staff is going through different trainings, our office has always been open; however, on this particular day please make note that our entire staff will be in-servicing and even our office will be closed on this day. Please do not try to come to the school to retrieve missing student items or to discuss an issue with our office or staff, as we will all be learning about positive and effective communication this day and cannot be interrupted. Thanks for your understanding!

Our office has had quite a few calls recently about school delays and school closures. Please refer to your Parent/Student Handbook, page 29, as it provides you with information regarding where you should look to see if our school will be delayed or cancelled. We do follow the Douglas County School’s decision for a delayed start or school cancellation due to inclement weather. With Douglas County being such a big district now, and if necessary, the District will sometimes communicate by referring to different sections of Douglas County. On 9News, we will follow either ‘All Douglas County’ or ‘Castle Rock Schools’ and on the Douglas County website (http://www1.dcsdk12.org) we are referenced as the West Area.

A Look Ahead:

• Friday, January 13- Dress Down Day
• Friday, January 13- MS Movie Night!
• Monday, January 16- Martin Luther King Day- School Closed
• Tuesday, January 17- Girls Basketball Game- Away- 4:00 & 5:00
• Tuesday, January 17- Boys Basketball Game- Home- 4:00 & 5:00
• Thursday, January 19- Girls Basketball Game- Away- 4:00 & 5:00
• Thursday, January 19- Boys A Basketball Game- Away- 4:00 & 5:00
• Friday, January 20- 7th Grade Play, 6:00, Gym
• Monday, January 23- Second Rotation for Third Quarter
• Tuesday, January 24- Girls Basketball Game- Home- 4:00 & 5:00
• Tuesday, January 24- Boys Basketball Game- Away- 4:00 & 5:00
• Wednesday, January 25- Parent Workshop, Cafeteria, 5:30- 7:00
• Thursday, January 26- Girls A Basketball Game- Away- 4:00
• Thursday, January 26- Girls B Basketball Game- Away- 4:00
• Thursday, January 26- Boys B Basketball Game- Away- 5:00
• Friday, January 27- PTO Breakfast for ACS Staff
• Friday, January 27- Elementary Virtue Assembly, 8:50, Cafeteria
• Friday, January 27- MS Virtue Assembly, 2:50, Cafeteria
• Friday, January 27- MS and Specials Newsletter goes home
• Friday, January 27- 8th Grade Play, 6:00, Gym
• Tuesday, January 31- Girls Basketball Game- Away- 4:00 & 5:00
• Tuesday, January 31- Boys Basketball Game- Home- 4:00 & 5:00
• Wednesday, February 1- Girls B Basketball Game- Away- 4:00
• Wednesday, February 1- Boys B Basketball Game- Away 5:00

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

Dear ACS Families and Friends,

Last Tuesday, representatives from Douglas County High School were here and provided course information to our 8th grade students who will be attending DCHS next fall. Students received course description booklets, freshman registration forms, and a postcard which provides information regarding a student and parent information night. This will be held on Wednesday, January 18th, from 6:00-7:00pm. Please note: The freshman registration form from DCHS is due in the ACS office by Wednesday, January 25th, by the end of the day.

This coming Wednesday, January 18th, representatives from Castle View High School will be here to provide 8th grade students information regarding their courses as well as the process for course registration. This will be held in the afternoon at 2:50 p.m. in the Library. Castle View High School will also be providing a student/parent information night here at ACS on Tuesday, January 31st, in the Cafeteria. More specifics regarding this will be coming soon!

Students in grades 6-8 who made the Dean’s List and Honor Roll were mailed their certificates and letters this week for second quarter. We are so proud of the hard work and dedication these students achieved during second quarter. At the end of today’s newsletter, you will see the names of these students. This information will also be scrolled across the carpool screen today as well as tomorrow. In addition to this, we have also placed the scrolls on the bulletin board as you enter the middle school wing. Way to go ACS Middle School students!

Thank you for your continued support of ACS, our students, and our staff!

Kendra Peters
Assistant Dean of Academy Charter School
email: petersk@academycharter.org

Lots of activity around the school again. I want to thank Shannon Saviers for helping me with a little clerical job last week--what a help! I also would like to thank Sara Johnson for bringing the mail into the office everyday so faithfully.

The following families have completed 20 hours: Cheryl & Andy Ardrey (25), Tracy & Jay Belk (23), Diane & Michael Bodiford (50), Linda & John Gemmell (23), Sherry & Mark Hill (47), Joni & Job Kitching (24), Lisa & Kraig Krueger (20), Cheryl & Art Lizotte (31), Sheri & Craig Magram (21), Jacqueline & Mike Moore (20) and Susan & Kirk Trost (22). We have logged 5,333 hours to date--way to go!

Please remember to stop by the office and pick up your "gift" for completing 20 hours or more. Thanks again for continuing to "Make a Difference" at ACS.

Anne Belfrage
Volunteer Coordinator
belfragea@academycharter.org

• Douglas County High School – January 18th, 6:00 p.m., at Douglas County
• Rock Canyon High School – January 19th, 6:30 p.m., at Rock Canyon
• Ponderosa High School – January 25th, 7:00 p.m., Ponderosa Gymnasium
• Castle View High School – January 31st, 6:30 p.m., ACS Cafeteria

SECOND IN A SERIES – ACS GRADUATE ON LIFE AT THE HIGH SCHOOL

Our second ACS graduate to share her thoughts on the transition from ACS to high school is Lindsey, currently a freshman at Douglas County High School.

Many of Lindsey’s comments echo those of our student from last week. Lindsey also recalled it taking only a short while, about a week and a half, to get adjusted to her new surroundings at the high school. The building size and amount of students were a little overwhelming at first, but it quickly became “no big deal.”

Having smaller class sizes at ACS made it “easier to get help,” Lindsey recalled. While many of her high school classes are larger, she says it depends on the teacher and the class on how much personal attention each student is given. She adds, “I did actually enjoy the teachers at ACS.”

Lindsey believes that ACS did a good job preparing her academically for high school. She says. “In science, I’m ahead. Everything we’re doing this year, we did last year at ACS.” And in math, Lindsay is in Algebra at the high school. She thinks that her pre-Algebra class at Academy Charter “really helped me understand what was going on” and helped prepare her for this class.

She does admit to being challenged in her Spanish class. Lindsey is taking Spanish II as a freshman, but feels that Spanish I might have been a better fit for her.

Playing volleyball in 6th and 8th grades at ACS played a role in how easily Lindsey fit in at DCHS too. She made the high school team this year, and says that it was one of the things that most helped her transition into this new environment.

When asked if she thought she missed out on anything by not attending a different middle school, Lindsey says, “I think I would have met more people there.”

That is one area where Lindsey is definitely making up for lost time!

The ACS Parent Survey has been revised and updated, and will be sent out electronically to all ACS parents this Friday. Your assistance in helping us to assess our school is invaluable and we encourage you to take a few minutes to fill it out. You will have two weeks to complete the survey, and it is due back on or before Friday, January 27th. If you do not have access to a computer, please contact the school and we can make arrangements for you to fill out the survey online at ACS. We are hoping for 100% participation - thank you in advance!

Grocery Certificates Available

Just a reminder, Sean Templeton and his wife, Jennifer, will be selling grocery certificates every Friday during carpool time. This is such an easy way to earn money for our school! We earn 5% from the sale of these certificates which don't cost you anything--what a deal!

The certificates are sold in $25 denominations and can be used at King Soopers or Safeway and they are just like cash. They can also be used to buy gasoline at King Soopers stores. You may purchase them in the school office any time that is convenient for you.