The Next Governing Board Meeting is October 9 at 6:00 PM

Dear Family and Friends of ACS,

What a tragedy that happened in Park County! All I can do is just shake my head and wonder ‘why,’ as I hear of the events that took place. I have had several questions this morning from students and parents about Mr. Orcutt, as there is a picture of him consoling a student in the Rocky Mountain News this morning. At this time, all I can confirm is that Platte Canyon High School is the school that hired Mr. Orcutt this summer. He was hired as their Guidance Counselor. We do not have any other information about how Mr. Orcutt is doing, but we are grateful that he appears to be OK. I would welcome any questions you may have, but the above is all I can confirm at this time. I have alerted teachers to let me know as soon as possible if they believe any of the students who knew Mr. Orcutt are in need of counseling and/or support at this time! I would ask that parents do the same.

MS Parent Reminder- Seventh and Eighth grade students may assume the responsibility for bringing to school and administering their own medication providing they carry only enough for one day. Students using poor judgment in carrying and taking their own medication will have such medication confiscated by school personnel, and parents or guardians will be notified. A structured plan will then be developed for the administration of the medication. Please adhere to these guidelines for everyone’s safety.

Don’t forget to nominate a teacher for the 2nd Annual Apple Awards! The purpose for this prestigious nomination process is to honor teachers who have demonstrated a superior ability to foster excellence in education while contributing to the continuous improvement of student learning and school environment! Last year, Academy Charter School’s Apple Award nominee was Mrs. Christie Marble. She was celebrated district-wide at the Apple Awards dinner and you can see the plaque honoring her in our hallway as you turn the corner right after the Library. We are now calling for teacher nominations for this year’s Apple Awards. If you would like to nominate a teacher, please follow the key points below:

• Nominations will be accepted from September 18th through October 27th
• Nomination forms can be printed from our website or picked up in our office
• Please turn the nomination form back to our office when you have completed it adhering to the dates above

All schools will have a representative and these representatives will move to the feeder area level. From this level, two semi-finalists will be chosen, one elementary and one secondary.

The federal No Child Left Behind law allows parents to obtain certain information about the professional qualifications of their child’s teacher(s). Specifically, as a parent or guardian, you have the right to request the following information:

• whether the Colorado Department of Education has licensed or endorsed your child’s teacher for the grades and subjects taught
• whether the Colorado Department of Education has decided that your student’s teacher can teach in a classroom without being licensed or qualified under state regulations because of special circumstances
• the teacher’s college major; whether the teacher has any advanced degrees and, if so, the subjects of the degrees
• whether a teachers’ aide or similar para-educator provides services to your child and, if they do, their qualifications
  If you would like to receive any of this information, contact our office at 303-660-4881. You will receive a request form to complete and return to our office. You will receive the information within 30 days.

The Family Support Line can be a lifeline when family concerns arise. Whatever your child’s age or your issue, you will be treated with compassionate listening, practical answers and information on all aspects of family life and child development, as well as referrals to community resources. The Family Support Line is a program of Families First, a private, non-profit, non-sectarian agency devoted to strengthening families and protecting children. Other support services include parenting classes, seminars and Circle of Parents groups. In Metro Denver, call 303.695.7996 or call toll-free in Colorado, 1.877.695.7996. For Spanish-speaking families, Consejos Para Familias, 1.866.LAS-FAMILIAS (866.527.3264). Operators are available from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. seven days a week. You can also visit Families First online at www.FamiliesFirstColorado.org.

The State of Colorado passed a law in 2004 requiring public schools to provide parents and guardians with information on how to access information regarding registered sex offenders in their communities. In Douglas County, parents and guardians can request the sex offender registry by contacting their local law enforcement agency or online at www.dcsheriff.net. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office website provides a link to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) web site. You can also search www.sor.state.co.us for a statewide list of certain high-risk registered sex offenders.
In addition, the Colorado Sex Offender Management Board publishes the School Resource Guide to Sex Offender Registration, including information about the list itself and facts about sex offenders. For a copy of the resource guide, go to www.cde.state.co.us/cdesped/download/pdf/ChildAbuse-SchResGU.pdf. For information about how the district deals with issues involving sex offenders in Douglas County, contact the office of School Safety & Security at 303.387.9999.

Dates to Remember:

• Friday, September 29- Breakfast- PTO
  September 29- Elementary Virtue Assembly, Cafeteria, 8:50
  September 29- MS Virtue Assembly, Cafeteria, 2:50
  September 29- MS and Specials Newsletter goes home

• Tuesday, October 3- Girls Volleyball Game- home- 4:30 & 5:30
  October 3- Boys Soccer Game- away- 4:00
• Thursday, October 5- Girls Volleyball Game- home- 4:00 & 5:00
  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!
  October 12- End of First Quarter
  October 12- Girls Volleyball Game- away- 4:00 & 5:00
  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
  October 16- Beginning of Second Quarter
• Tuesday, October 17- Book Fair Preview Day
• Wednesday, October 18- Book Fair Preview Day
  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
  October 19- Book Fair!
• Friday, October 20- Parent/Teacher Conferences-early dismissal @ 12:40; conferences from 1:40- 6:00
  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

Have a great weekend!

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

Dear Families and Friends of ACS,

I can’t believe it’s already the end of September! This month has really flown by! Since we have many exciting events coming up in the next month and I would like to take this opportunity to share them with you.

Student Council is busy preparing for the first Middle School Dance for the 2006-2007 school year. The Fall Ball will be held this Friday, September 29th,from 6:00-9:00 p.m. in the ACS gym. There is a flyer attached to this week’s newsletter with more details as well as many creative advertisements have been hanging on the walls in the middle school wing!

We have our first virtue assembly scheduled for this Friday, September 29th, at 8:50 for our elementary students in the cafeteria and at 2:50 for our middle school students. We’d love for you to be there and give well wishes to our virtue winners for the month of September! You can find the dates for all of our virtue assemblies on the website on the event calendar.

PTO will be having their kick-off assembly for the “Believe” campaign on Friday, October 6th, at 8:50 for our elementary students. This is always a fun assembly and the students are so eager to see what kind of prizes they might win for being top sellers in this PTO fundraiser!

The Scholastic Book Fair will be here the week of conferences so don’t forget to stop by and see the great collection of books that will be there. I know our librarians will be giving you more details in their specials newsletter which goes out on Friday!

As a reminder, parent-teacher conferences are approaching and our teachers in grades K-5 either sent out sign-up sheets last week or will send them this week. Please see their current newsletter to see when these were sent out or will be sent out. During these conferences, teachers will be going over the SSLP’s, Report Card, and ILP’s (if applicable). If you have more to discuss with your teacher than what can be covered in the 20 minute time frame, please be sure to set up another time to meet with your teacher while you’re at conferences.

In middle school, we have a set day for “scheduled appointments” which will be on Thursday, October 19th, and on Friday, October 20th, will be a “drop-in” day where parents can come by the middle school and visit with their students teacher(s). We had several reasons for this change and I would welcome any feedback after conferences regarding this change. Parents will be called for “scheduled appointments” to meet with middle school teachers in the next few weeks. Of course, you can always request to meet with your middle school students’ teacher as well.

Remember that parent/teacher conference days are early release days and students are released at 12:40 on Thursday, October 19th, and Friday, October 20th. Conferences run from 1:40-6:00 p.m. each of those days.

I hope you all have a great weekend and get a chance to get out and see all the beautiful fall colors Colorado is so famous for!

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

What a wonderful team of volunteers we have here at ACS! I would like to thank Shel Dammann and Cheryl Amaya for helping with picture retakes yesterday. Also, D’Anya St. John, for completing a huge collating job for me in just two days! If you are interested in doing work from home, please email or contact me by phone as I do have projects that can be done from home once in a while. Currently, I have a coloring project that needs to be completed as soon as possible.

Cindy Hazlehurst could use 3 volunteers to assemble the art packets for Original Works at the school on Thursday, October 5th. If you can help with this, please contact her directly at 303-688-9134.

Mrs. Spangler, 6th grade math teacher, is looking for volunteers to work with groups or to aid independent workers for her math class on Mondays and Wednesday from 9:30 through 11:50. If you would like to help her with these students, please let me know as soon as possible.

If you were unable to attend the parent volunteer training last week, you may pick up a copy of the handouts from this training which would be helpful to you.

Please continue to log in your volunteer hours as I will be having a drawing for a special prize at the end of October! Thanks for working on the ACS Volunteer Team!

Anne Belfrage
Volunteer Coordinator
belfragea@academycharter.org

Encouraging Your Child To Read

Scholastic.com is a valuable resource for tips on helping your child fostering a love for reading. Advice for all age levels, Birth through 8th Grade, is available for FREE! Go to www.scholastic.com/parents/ to check it out!

Along with reading, Scholastic.com offers other valuble articles and activities to help jumpstart your child's education. Come check it out www.scholastic.com and help make your child's future a success.

Calendar

Fundraising

The Entertainment/Gold C Fundraiser ended September 13th. If you have not turned in books or sales funds, please do so as soon as possible.

We are excited about our new fundraisers this year, starting with the Winter Festival in December. We will be pre-selling wreaths, garland and trees in October, along with the Believe Catalog to gear up for the holiday season. Our Fundraising Committee has been working hard all summer to bring us these great fundraising ideas and have already put a lot of thought and manpower into them. They still need a lot of help, so please contact a Board Member and get on a committee to assist with the Winter Festival.

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. October’s Applebee’s Restaurant Night (10/3) will be for the benefit of our Art Department. Please participate and show your support of our Art Department. October’s Chick-Fil-A Restaurant Night (10/19) will be for the benefit of our First Grade classes. Everyone is welcome to participate and, First 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 Nov. 9 meeting is October 26. 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.

Teacher “Wish Lists”

Don’t forget to check out the teacher “Wish Lists” located on the ACS website. This is a great way to support the teachers and departments for the extra needs and wants that make the teachers jobs easier and more creative, and ultimately make our students learning experience even more fun.

Calling All Parents

ACS NEEDS YOU! If you have your own business or work for a large corporation, ACS needs you. We need your support in any and all areas you can think of. Many corporations have the ability to match donations or make donations, and you might not even know it. Sometimes all it takes is you proving you are volunteering and your company can donate to your school. We need you to go to your Human Resources Department or your boss and ask them how that company can give back to your school. Tell us what we can do to facilitate the donation, and we will do all we can to assist your business. We can provide any documentation needed for a tax write-off. Please contact us and let us know how you and your company can help ACS.

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! Click Here for a flyer.

Student Council Fall Ball

What: Middle School Dance
When: September 29, 2006
Time: 6:00- 9:00
Where: ACS Gym
Cost: $2.00 advanced or $3.00 at the dance
Dress: Casual

Student Council is having a welcome back dance for the middle school. This dance will be on September 29, 2006 in the gym, from 6:00-9:00. The cost is $2.00 in advance or $3.00 at the dance. This dance is a fall dance and is casual. We will also be selling snacks and drinks. Mr. Orcutt will be the DJ at the dance.

If you have any questions, you can e-mail student council at
stuco@academycharter.org.

Thank you,
Sarah Freeman
Student Council Secretary

• 62.1% attend programs at their actual home school site such as in the gym or cafeteria
• 18.1% participate in programs located at a place of worship in the community
• 8.6% participate in a more traditional after-school program setting such as a YMCA or a Boys & Girls Club

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. Be sure to check out the new items - ornament, hand towel, night light and a newly designed key chain! They are amazing. 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 12th. 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 contact Ms. Huskins or call Cindy Hazlehurst (303-688-9134).

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

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 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!

DIRTY CAR???

The 8th graders will be having a car wash on Saturday, September 30, at Wal-Mart to earn money for their trip to Washington, D.C. Come have your car washed between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. and help support their efforts. Thanks!

Are you registered to vote?

In Douglas County School District, our Board of Education’s vision is to produce students who acquire the knowledge and abilities to be responsible citizens who contribute to society. What better way to model that behavior for young students than to exercise your right to vote.

This year, Douglas County is offering its residents new voting equipment! The County continues to try to meet the needs of busy people with busy lifestyles! This year’s election has three different ways for residents to vote! But, don’t waste time, deadlines are approaching.

In the County, you can vote via absentee ballot, register for early voting, or visit one of the many vote centers located throughout the County. The General Election date is November 7, 2006. If you have recently moved or had a change in name, you must complete the Voter Registration/Change of Information Application and sent it to the Election Department to ensure you get to vote and your vote counts. Key dates are:

The County website offers a quick and easy way to check to ensure you are registered to vote in this November’s election. Go to www.douglas.co.us/clerk/douglasvotes/ and click on “Am I registered?” The website also allows you to download Change of Information Applications and Absentee Ballot Applications. Additionally, you can find information and a list of all 29 voting centers available for your vote. If you want to vote in an election, you are required to mail or deliver a voter registration application form to your County Clerk and recorder no later than 29 days before the election in which you want to vote. Make your vote count!

Additional information about upcoming elections issues can be found on Douglas County School District’s website at www.dcsdk12.org, or you can contact the Communications Office at 303.387.0033.

On September 14, 2006, sixty-nine members of the Class of 2008 were inducted into the IB program at the annual IB Induction Reception. We congratulate each one for the decision and commitment they have made for their high school education.

APPLICATION DEADLINE
Dec. 1, 2006

The deadline for the completed application to be submitted to participate in the IB program for the 2007-2008 school year is DECEMBER 1, 2006. Any 8th, 9th or 10th grade student may download an application from the Douglas County High School IB website in November and submit it to the IB office for consideration. (If you are currently in the IB program you do NOT need to submit another application to continue).

Three informational meetings are offered: October 19th at Cresthill Middle School in the Commons; November 2nd and November 30th at Douglas County High School (North Commons). All meetings will be at 7 P.M. These meetings are a wonderful opportunity for parents and students to get an overview on the program and hear from students who are currently navigating their way through IB. Often we have guests on the student panel who have graduated with the IB diploma and are currently participating in college.

Feel free to call Steven J. Fleet, IB Coordinator at 303-387-1131 or Deborah Wick, IB Secretary at 303-387-1109 for further information.