Dear Family and Friends of ACS,

September is Child Injury Prevention Month! Accidental injury is the number one killer of America’s children, taking more lives than disease, violence and suicide. The flyer attached at the end of the Newsletter, from the SPSG experts, highlights statistics and tips for ensuring the safety of all of your students and staff. Additional safety tips can also be found at www.safekids.org.

Attached to the Newsletter is also an invitation to our Parent Volunteer Training on Thursday, September 21. The training this year will offer different stations that parents can visit to learn more about different volunteer opportunities and how you can help.

Please mark the date on your calendar and join us in the cafeteria at 9:00!

Our phone voice mail system is back in working order. Thanks for your patience while the issues were being corrected!

Don’t forget to check our Event Calendar on the website, as it has been updated to include many ACS events through the year, like game times for our Sports programs and our music programs for the entire school year.

Dates to Remember:

• Tuesday, September 19- Boys Soccer Game- home- 4:00
• Tuesday, September 19- Girls Volleyball Game- home- 4:00 B Team Only
• Wednesday, September 20- Boys Soccer Game- away- 4:00
• Wednesday, September 20- Kindergarten Literacy Night, 5:30- 6:30
• Thursday, September 21- Parent Volunteer Training, 9:00
• Thursday, September 21- Girls Volleyball Game- away- 4:00 & 5:00
• Friday, September 22- Teacher In-service Day- No Students
• Monday, September 25- MS Specials Third Rotation for First Quarter
• Tuesday, September 26- Boys Soccer Game- home- 4:00
• Tuesday, September 26- Girls Volleyball Game- away- 4:00 & 5:00
• Thursday, September 28- Boys Soccer Game- home- 4:00
• Thursday, September 28- Girls Volleyball Game- home- 4:00 & 5:00
• Friday, September 29- Breakfast- PTO
• Friday, September 29- Elementary Virtue Assembly, Cafeteria, 8:50
• Friday,September 29- MS Virtue Assembly, Cafeteria, 2:50
• Friday,September 29- MS and Specials Newsletter goes home

• Tuesday, October 3- Girls Volleyball Game- home- 4:30 & 5:30
• Tuesday, October 3- Boys Soccer Game- away- 4:00
• Thursday, October 5- Girls Volleyball Game- home- 4:00 & 5:00
• Thursday, October 5- Boys Soccer Game- home- 4:30
• Friday, October 6- Elementary Believe Assembly, 8:50, Cafeteria
• Tuesday, October 10- Boys Soccer Game- home- 4:00
• Wednesday, October 11- Girls Volleyball Game- away- 4:00 & 5:00
• Thursday, October 12- Dress Down Day!
• Thursday, October 12- End of First Quarter
• Thursday,October 12- Girls Volleyball Game- away- 4:00 & 5:00
• Thursday,October 12- Boys Soccer Game- home- 4:00
• Friday, October 13- Staff Work Day- No Students
• Monday, October 16- MS Specials First Rotation for Second Quarter
• Monday, October 16- Beginning of Second Quarter
• Tuesday, October 17- Book Fair Preview Day
• Wednesday, October 18- Book Fair Preview Day
• Wednesday, October 18- Girls Volleyball Game- home- 4:00 & 5:00
• Thursday, October 19- Parent/Teacher Conferences-early dismissal @ 12:40; conferences from 1:40- 6:00
• Thursday, October 19- Book Fair!
• Friday, October 20- Parent/Teacher Conferences-early dismissal @ 12:40; conferences from 1:40- 6:00
• Friday, October 20- Book Fair!
• October 23- 27- FALL BREAK!! School Closed!
• (Sunday, October 29- Daylight Savings Time)
• Monday, October 30- Girls Volleyball Game- away- 4:00 & 5:00
• Tuesday, October 31- Harvest Fest Parties

Kindra Whitmyre-Nelson
Dean of Academy Charter School
email: nelsonk@academycharter.org

Please be sure to check out the ACS website where you can find your student’s weekly homework assignments, upcoming projects and test dates. If your student is in elementary, click on the elementary tab and go to the corresponding grade level. If your student is in middle school, click on the middle school tab and go to the corresponding content area. Elementary teachers and core middle school teachers update this information weekly. Please remember that assignments may be modified from the website as teachers are working with skills and assessing student performance. Please consult your student’s planner for the actual assignment for that day to see if any changes have occurred. Our goal is to meet our students where they are in their learning process!

This Friday, September 15th, we will be having a bullying assembly for all ACS students. Please see the calendar on the website for the specific times for grades K-2, 3-5 and 6-8. Dr. Ed will speaking with students about what bullying is, what rules are in place, and the top ten facts about bullying.

Our middle school students are being introduced to a supplemental character education program called “Second Step.” This program is designed to assist students in dealing with interpersonal conflicts, showing empathy, and many other facets of communicating appropriately with peers. This program will be taught to students in 6th grade as part of study skills with Ms. Hotzfield, in 7th grade with Mr. Hall and Mrs. Greer as part of academic assistance, and in 8th grade with Mrs. Greer as part of academic assistance. We will, of course, be focusing on our school-wide virtues as well in middle school!

Students in grades 3-8 should be receiving their first progress reports for this quarter in their Friday Folders. If you have any questions, please be sure to contact your student’s teacher so they can provide clarification for you!

As a reminder, the grading scale is listed below for our students in grades K-8.

Students in K-2 receive grades in the form of a minus (-) = below grade level, check ( ) = at grade level or plus (+) = above grade level. If you have a student in these grades, you should have received these grading guidelines from your classroom teacher.

Students in grades 3-8 use the following grading scale which is listed below for your reference:

A+	99.5, 100, 100+
A	98-92
A-	91-90
B+	89
B	88-82
B-	81-80
C+	79
C	78-72
C-	71-70
D+	69
D	68-62
D-	61-60
F	59 and below

I’d like to remind everyone that every Friday, students in grades K-5 will receive a physical folder which contains your student’s papers. Middle School students will receive a “packet” of their papers which will be distributed during homeroom at the end of the day. Please note that information from PTO, etc., which used to come home in “paper” form, will now be included in our weekly newsletter as a way of reducing our copying costs. If you do not have email, you will continue to receive a “hard” copy of these items!

Thank you as always for your wonderful support of ACS, it’s staff and our students!

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

We have finally scheduled a date and time for our Parent Volunteer Training-- September 21st at 9:00. I would really like to see as many people as possible attend this special meeting. We are going to have different stations for you to visit and learn about the opportunities to volunteer here at the school. We will have information on Guided Reading, Writing, Library, PTO, Governing Board Committees, Lunch and Recess Time, and training for the Classroom Coordinators. We are hoping this will be a very beneficial time for you and help you to select the area where you want to volunteer. Please note the invitation to this special event by clicking on this link.

It is nice to see the flow of volunteers coming in to help. If you haven’t found your name badge in the clear plastic file, please look for it and attach it to a lanyard so you can easily access your name badge every time you come to volunteer. Please log your volunteer time in the wooden file on the large index card system. You will find your family card in this file and we would like you to record your hours there.

Thanks for playing on the “ACS Volunteer Team!”

Anne Belfrage
Volunteer Coordinator
belfragea@academycharter.org

Parents Encouraging Parents (PEP) Conferences are family centered conferences designed to offer support, information and education to parents and professionals. PEP promotes the partnerships that are essential in supporting and including children with disabilities and their families in all aspects of the school and community.

Two PEP Conferences are scheduled as follows:

• November 2,3 & 4, 2006 – Breckenridge
• March 1, 2 & 3, 2007 – Estes Park

These conferences are available to persons residing in Colorado who have a child with a disability—ages birth to twenty-one. The purpose of this conference is to bring parents and other professionals together, allowing them an opportunity to share ideas, discuss concerns, celebrate successes and obtain information relating to parenting, educating and supporting a child with a disability.

For more information about PEP, please visit http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdesped/PEP.asp or call 303-866-6846.

Schedule Items

• September 14, - 6PM – PTO Executive/Working Meeting, ACS Cafeteria
• September 21 – Chick-Fil-A Restaurant Night (details below)
• September 21 – Deadline for Budget Requests for consideration at Oct. 5 Meeting (details below)
• September 29 – Teacher/Staff Monthly Breakfast
• October 5 - 6PM – PTO General Meeting, ACS Cafeteria

Fundraising

The Entertainment/Gold C Fundraiser ended September 13th. Thanks to All for your support of this fundraiser.

Restaurant Nights

Restaurant Nights this school year will be for the benefit of specific grades and departments. Any funds generated above the $150 allocated by the PTO will be disbursed for the benefit of that grade/department. This month’s Chick-Fil-A Restaurant Night (9/21) will be for the benefit of our Third Grade classes. Everyone is welcome to participate and, Third Grade Families, this is a great chance to show your school spirit by literally putting your money where your mouth is! ?

Budget Requests

Budget Request deadline for the Oct. 5 meeting is Sept. 21. Please remember, all budget requests must have completed its process and be in the PTO Board’s possession two weeks prior to a budget meeting. For more information, contact a PTO Board Member.

Our health rooms have already been very busy this year with generalized cold and cough symptoms. Flu season is just around the corner. Here are helpful tips and reminders to use when your student is ill.

It is important to be vigilant for illnesses to help prevent the spreading of symptoms to other students and staff. Please do not send your student to school if they have any of the following:

• Skin eruptions / rashes
• Nausea/vomiting / diarrhea
• Severe abdominal pain
• Fever of 100° or higher
• Decreased activity –droopy, tired appearance
• Irritable behavior
• Sore throat/ swollen glands
• Runny nose/cough

When can a child return to school if they have been home sick?

• After the student is:
• Fever-free and free of diarrhea and/or vomiting for 24 hours
• After 24 hours of medication for the following conditions:
• Strep throat
• Bacterial conjunctivitis
• Infected skin eruptions
• Other conditions requiring antibiotics

How to Eat Fried Worms Book Club

The library will be hosting a How to Eat Fried Worms book club on Friday, September 29th from 3:45-5:00. This book club will be for students in 3rd-5th grades who have read the book by Thomas Rockwell. We will be having lively discussion about the book and comparing it to the new movie, playing a “wormderful” game and eating “wormy” snacks. All interested students please sign up on the sheet outside the library and make sure you have read or reread the book recently. Sign up soon as the book club will be limited to 20 participants!

Spread the Word Book Drive

Do you have unused children’s books at home? Please join our school, Governor Owens and The Fund for Colorado’s Future in participating in the Spread the Word Book Drive. This book exchange is designed to boost literacy among disadvantaged children by providing them with much needed reading material. Please begin to collect your gently used books at home during your fall cleaning and bring them in to school the week of October 2-6th. (Please no coloring books, text books or adult books). During this week there will be boxes available in the halls for donations to be placed in. We had wonderful participation in this book drive last year and would love to see even bigger participation this year. The top two schools will receive a $1000 library grant!

ORIGINAL WORKS IS BACK WITH NEW PRODUCTS!!!!

This great program is back and just in time for the holidays! Mrs. Huskins has our students working on a special project in art class. Original Works will take these works of art and turn them into beautiful full color products, such as magnets, mugs, journals, shirts and much more. New items this fall are ornaments, hand towels, night lights and a newly designed key chain! Posters and samples will be on display in the lobby for you to see. Information about the program and how to order these products will be in the October 6th Friday Folders. Orders will be due on October 12th to ensure we receive them in time for the holidays.

This is a great opportunity to purchase one-of-a-kind gifts for family members and friends as well as help raise money for the art department. All proceeds from this fundraiser go directly to the art department to replenish art supplies, fund special classes and more. If you have any questions about this program, please do not hesitate to call Mrs. Huskins or Cindy Hazlehurst (303-688-9134). Thank you for your support!

Flu Shots Available

It's that time again! Flu season is coming and ACS is offering a flu shot clinic with a new company this year.

The CDC is recommending that school aged children be vaccinated. Studies have shown a drastic reduction in flu in the elderly and at risk population, when school aged children receive flu shots.

When: October 5th, Thursday, 8-10 a.m. (we will offer another clinic Wednesday, November 1, 11:30 to 12:30 pm in the conference room for employees or those who still need to be vaccinated)

• Where: ACS Cafeteria
• WHO:
• FLU SHOT Cost $25.00

4 years or older (A parent/guardian must be present if child under 18 y/o). **Pregnant women do not have to have a doctor's prescription and the CDC recommends that pregnant women be vaccinated.

**For children under 9 who are first 0- time flu shot recipients, two doses at least one month apart are recommended to maximize the likelihood of a satisfactory antibody response.

PNEUMONIA SHOT Cost is $42.00

Must be 18 y/o or older to receive.

FluMist Nasal Spray Cost $30.00 will be made available if you sign up prior to Oct. 5th with Jaynee Hodgkins at JMHodgkins@msn.com.

For ages 5-49 if not at risk (ie. asthma). This is a great option if your child hates shots!

Website for questions about the flu shots etc. go to www.frontrangeflu.com

Questions about the ACS flu clinic or for more locations in the Douglas county school district, email Jaynee at JMHodgkins@msn.com.

There is no cost to those with Medicare part B, Secure Horizons and Rocky Mountain HMO insurance if their insurance card is presented.

Let's have a healthy school year!