Dear Family and Friends of ACS,

Don’t forget to stop into the school tonight from 5:30 to 7:30, if you would like to talk with the ‘Parents for Academy Charter’ group about the upcoming election and how the Bond and Mill Levy funds will help our budget here at Academy Charter School!

If you nominated a teacher for the Apple Awards this year, I want to thank you! I will be announcing Academy Charter School’s representative soon!

Our PTO is really motivated to create a Business Directory. This Business Directory would be a place that ACS business owners could advertise their services. If you have any suggestions or comments about this directory, please email me at nelsonk@academycharter.org or greg@gregisfinancingsolutions.com.

We will be offering a Thanksgiving lunch for parents and students on Thursday, November 16. If you would like to participate, please print off the reservation form that is attached to the Newsletter, fill it out and turn it back into our office by November 7. We will also be creating an alternative lunch schedule for this day to give parents more time to eat with their student! Please join us!

Fourth/Fifth Grade Parents and MS Parents- We will be hosting a Middle School Information Night on Wednesday, November 15, at 5:30 in the Gym. This night will consist of Middle School Teacher introductions, information about our Middle School program and will also give parents a chance to speak with Middle School teachers about their curriculum and how they teach it. If you have a fourth or fifth grade student, it would be the perfect opportunity to get more information about our Middle School program, but Middle School parents are also welcome to attend to gain more information about what their student(s) are learning.

Reminder to All Parents- I know we have all encountered frustration because our student’s lunch account is low or out of money, but we do not remember seeing the Lunch Account Reminder sheet! Recently we have decided that these will be sent home through email if you have provided us with an email address for Newsletters and other communication. If you do not have email, then the sheet will be sent home with your student as it has been in the past.

Reminder to MS Parents- I will also be sending home a ‘Detention Notification’ email if your student has or will be serving a lunch detention with me. Last year I sent home letters if your student received a lunch detention, but did receive some feedback because a letter home is not as timely as an email. So, these notifications will be emailed home also. The parent copy of the detention slip will be given to your child when the detention has been assigned, so if you receive a ‘Detention Notification’ email, you can discuss the parent copy with your student. I hope this helps with more timely communication.

Dates to Remember:

• Thursday, November 2- Election Information- Drop-in ACS from 5:30- 7:30
• Friday, November 3- Teacher In-service Day, hours for all staff are from 8:30- 3:30
• Wednesday, November 8- Second Rotation for Second Quarter- MS Specials Only!
• Friday, November 10- Bully Assemblies- K-2, 9:00- 9:20; 3-5, 9:40- 10:00; 6-8, 2:50- 3:20
• (Saturday, November 11- Veteran’s Day!)
• Wednesday, November 15- Middle School Parent Information Night, 5:30, Gym
• Friday, November 17- Elementary Virtue Assembly, 8:50, Cafeteria
  • November 17- PTO Staff Breakfast
  • November 17- MS Virtue Assembly, 2:50, Cafeteria
  • November 17- 3-8 Progress Reports go home
  • November 17- MS and Specials Newsletter goes home
• Tuesday, November 21- Dress Down Day!
• Wednesday, November 22- Teacher Comp Day for P/T Conferences- School Closed!
• Thursday, November 23 & Friday, November 24- Thanksgiving Break- School Closed!
• Tuesday, November 28- Girl’s Basketball Game- away- 4:30 (B Team Only)
• Tuesday, November 28- Boy’s Basketball Game- home- 4:30 (A Team Only)
• Wednesday, November 29- Third Rotation for Second Quarter- MS Specials Only!
• Thursday, November 30- Girl’s Basketball Game- away- 4:00 (A Team Only)
• Thursday, November 30- Boy’s Basketball Game- away- 4:00 & 5:00
• Thursday, November 30- 4-8 Band Program, 6:30, Gym

Please have a wonderful weekend!

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

Dear Families and Friends of ACS,

I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing Fall Break! We had such great weather for most of the time and it was very nice to be home when it decided to dump all that snow!

This seems to be such a busy time here at ACS as we get ready for all the holidays and events that have been planned, that I’d like to share with you a few of the upcoming events for November!

• We will be having our second Bully-free assembly on Friday, November 10th, and they will be each held in the cafeteria at the following times: K-2 9:00-9:20; 3-5 9:40-10:00; MS 2:50-3:20.
• Don’t forget…The Middle School Movie Night will be held Friday, November 10th from 5:00-9:00 p.m. There will be more information regarding this later in the newsletter!
• Our next Virtue Assembly will be held on Friday, November 17th, at 8:50 in the cafeteria for elementary students and at 2:50 in the cafeteria for Middle school students.
• The first Band program of the year will be held on Thursday, November 30th, at 6:30 p.m. in the ACS gym. I know the students are working hard on their selections and are anxious to play for an audience!

Reminder to Eighth grade Parents and Students:
I have just received information from the DSCD regarding their upcoming freshman informational meetings for the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at Douglas County High School. If you think that you might be interested in the IB program, please attend one of the three informational meetings they are offering. The remaining meetings will be held at: Douglas County High School on November 2nd; or on November 30th. All meetings will be at 7 P.M. If you are unable to attend or have further questions, please call (303)387-1109.

I know many of you are wondering when the Winter Programs for elementary will held. I met with the elementary teachers yesterday to set dates for the Winter Programs. We still need to make sure the dates are good to go and then I will be announcing them as well as program times next week!

Thank you to all the parents and students who made the Scholastic Book Fair such a hit! I know Mrs. Zoetwey and Mrs. James were amazed by the sales which were generated this year…I think we set a new record!

It was very nice to meet many parents during parent-teacher conferences. I would appreciate any feedback you have regarding our change from Fridays to Thursday in the set appointment times for middle school conferences. Your feedback will assist me in determining how we set these appointments for 3rd quarter conferences. Please email me your thoughts on this at petersk@academycharter.org.

I’d also like to thank all the parents who assisted with our Harvest Parties this week! I think all the students had a grand time!

As always, thank you for your support of ACS, our staff and our students!

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

Thanks to the following ladies who helped me with Vision and Hearing screening this week: Nancy Schuster, Jacqueline Moore and her daughter, Laura, Sally Rehmann, Cherie Wallace, Emily Ragan, Maggie Masters, Cassie Smith, Jennifer Donahue, Sharon Tschudy, Katie Swenson, Carolyn Kouts, Kathy Goings, Julie Harkin, Rebecca Larson and Brigitte Twitty—thank you so much! It was a big job, but you folks certainly helped to make it run smoothly.

I would like to congratulate Hamid and Rachel Akhavan for winning our volunteer hours drawing before Fall Break. They have a certificate for dinner at Pizza Hut to enjoy. This month I will be awarding a turkey on November 21st for volunteer hours logged. Your name will be in the drawing for the turkey if you have logged 10 hours or more of volunteer time.

I want to thank all of you who generously volunteer your time every week to come in and work with our students. We are so grateful to have parents who can do this for us.

Our ACS Volunteer Team is winning!

Anne Belfrage
Volunteer Coordinator
belfragea@academycharter.org

In English: Click here
En Espanol: Marqué aquí

Calendar

Special Messages

IMPORTANT – ACS BUSINESS DIRECTORY INPUT NEEDED
Recently, the PTO Board commissioned that an exploratory committee be formed to gauge interest in an ACS Parent Resource Business Directory and other possible advertising mediums for PTO fundraising purposes. PTO Communications VP, Greg Polashock and Dean Kindra Nelson currently serve on this committee. If you are interested in learning more about advertising through school-based media, please contact both Greg and Kindra immediately by email:

• Greg@GregIsFinancingSolutions.com
• NelsonK@AcademyCharter.org

Separately, ACS needs any parents with their own businesses or parents working for companies that have the ability to donate to their school, to look into donating in any capacity they can, whether monetarily or with physical items the school could utilize.

The PTO fully supports ACS parents’ business contributions to our school, however the PTO can not advertise for you. The PTO will advertise for businesses only if part of a fundraiser that is being managed and sponsored by the PTO. If your business would like to contribute a percentage or dollar amount of products sold to ACS customers back to our school, you will need to provide your own advertising for placement in Friday Folders. The PTO is not permitted to represent your advertising, unless you are part of a sponsored PTO fundraiser.

Please Attend PTO General Meetings!!

The Board noticed a marked absence of parents at this, our first General Meeting of the year. The PTO Board believes active parent involvement is vital. Since there are only four scheduled General Meetings throughout the year, and part of the ACS parent responsibility is to attend at least one PTO Meeting during the year, the PTO Board is pleased to work with the 8th grade class in providing free babysitting services during our General Meetings for the rest of the school-year.

ATTENTION PARENTS:

If you paid $30 for your Ebooks instead of the $25 amount, the PTO would like to offer you your $5 back. If you would like the PTO Board to cut you a check for your overage, you must fill out a form at the front office NO LATER THAN NOVEMBER 3RD. After November 3rd, your request will be researched and your check will be cut within two weeks or by November 17th.

Enrichment

The PTO brings Mad Science back by popular demand! If you have enrolled a child, don’t forget about the current fall classes entitled Showers, Towers and Powers! Classes run Tuesdays through December 12 (with a skip date on November 21.)

November – RAAP Personal Safety Skills for Girls: This program is appropriate for girls 9-12 years of age. (2days, 11/6 and 11/13, from 4:00PM - 5:30PM in Room 123) Cost is $32.

The Rape Assistance and Awareness Program has offered this affordable self-defense program to the Denver community for 15 years. All Personal Safety Skills programs are taught in a safe, supportive and non-competitive environment by RAPP-certified instructors who have extensive backgrounds in victim related issues. All classes are taught exclusively by women, and are appropriate for girls ages 9-12, regardless of strength or physical activity.

Personal Safety Skills for Girls (PSSG) program participants will:

• Learn about their rights to personal and physical boundaries through educational discussions and role-play activities.
• Become skilled at effectively asserting their personal boundaries.
• Gain knowledge of the difference between safe and unsafe touches and secrets.
• Learn to recognize and follow their instincts.
• Learn how to use their voices to effectively stop an attack.
• Be trained on basic, physical self-protection techniques, including releases from threatening holds, through hands-on practice.

December – Abrakadoodle Art Education (Grades 1-8) (3 days, 12/5, 12/7, and 12/12, from 4:15 to 5:30 in Room 128) Cost is $45 and materials are included

Doodlers develop new skills and talents while designing unique creations using a variety of wonderful tools and materials. Each lesson introduces new techniques and artistic styles featuring contemporary and master artists specializing in acrylics on canvas, watercolor and sculpture. Children develop skills and confidence while having a blast. Always a new lesson!

To learn more about Enrichment opportunities, contact Sherry Hill at s.hill@beef.org or 303-814-2115.

Social

October Teacher Breakfast
Thanks to all the help I received for the teacher luncheons. It went great and the teachers really appreciated it. I could not of pulled it off without the following help:

Mary Anderson, Cinzia Bale, Tracy Belk, Ann Beth, Heidi Brady, Kelly Brown, Julia Connor, Jill Cramm, Tamaris Dortch, Susan Gadeken, Kathy Goings, Shelia Hardison, Sharon Hunter, Alice James. Sara Johnson, Carolyn Kantz, Jodie Kaylor, Kris Kuchenbrod, Jennifer Leingang, Allyson Lowe, Kathleen Montgomery, Krissy Moore, Annette Muholland, Janet Nelson, Lisa Nicholaides, Misty Oleary, Gina Ordunez, Cori Oshea, Colleen Page, Sue Parks, Sheila Porter, Emily Ragan, Sally Rehman, Tina Rolle, Cori Ruth, Patty Sansom, Jeni Schaffer, Stacie Searle, Katie Swenson, Debra Swisher, Amy Tenn, Deb VanSicklin
Thanks Again… you are all truly amazing!!!
Allyson Ford
Social Chair

Teacher Breakfast coming up November 17th. To learn more about helping, contact Allyson Ford at allyson4d@hotmail.com.

This is a great and easy way to not only show support for our outstanding staff; it is also an easy way to help satisfy part of your time commitment to the school.

Fundraising

The Entertainment/Gold C Fundraiser ended in September. We are still missing books, so please return them or appropriate funds in lieu of.

We are excited about our new fundraisers this year, starting with the Winter Festival on December 1st from 6pm-9pm. If anyone can provide or knows of someone who is able to provide the following services please let us know.

• SLEIGH RIDES
• REINDEER/CARIBOU (LIVE)
• FENCING
• CHRISTMAS TREES

Thank you for helping us to make this a successful fundraiser.

We still need a lot of help, so please contact Kristen Bushlack at bradbushlack@msn.com (303-663-8966) or Brandi Essegian at BEssegian@aol.com to learn how 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. November’s Applebee’s Night (11/7) will benefit our Spanish Department (don’t forget to take your flyer, which will be included in the Friday Folder) and the Chick-Fil-A Restaurant Night (11/16) will be for the benefit of our Fourth Grade classes. As always, Chick-Fil-A accepts ACS participants ALL DAY LONG! Everyone is welcome to participate and, Fourth Grade Families, this is a great chance to show your school spirit by literally putting your money where your mouth is! Please show your school spirit and take advantage of both of these nights. This is an easy way to support the classrooms and departments… and all you have to do is eat!!

August's Chick-Fil-A Restaurant Night raised $120, originally slated for the 8th Grade. The 8th Grade will be given another chance during December, since their August night occurred so early in the new school year and wasn't advertised as well as we would have hoped. For this reason, the PTO Board has decided to allocate August’s Restaurant Night proceeds to any future shortfalls that may occur.

Thank you for your continued support of this culin-icious fundraiser that directly impacts the grades and departments at ACS!

Dear parents—

here is a FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY! This event promises to be a life-enriching, academic-enriching experience for all who attend. By the way, this event holds particular interest for 2nd and 6th graders, who both have Bach in their curricula. But you don’t have to be a 2nd or 6th grader to attend, enjoy, or benefit from the event. Be sure to call and order your tickets early, as the event is noted to fill up quick

Click Here for more details!

TONIGHT! - Informational meeting on ballot issues – We will hold an informational meeting/open house regarding ballot issues for this November’s election tonight (Nov. 2) in the ACS front lobby from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. This is your opportunity to learn the facts about these issues before the election next Tuesday.

The survey has begun!

The Fall 2006 Parent Survey was sent home via email yesterday to ACS parents, unless you already completed one during teacher conferences in October. If you did not receive a survey online, or if your email address has recently changed, please contact cdfheikes@msn.com. The survey will run for two weeks, from November 1 through November 14.

SCHOOL SAFETY MEETING – November 13th

A meeting concerning school safety has been set for Monday, November 13, at 6 p.m. at ACS, as part of the regular monthly Governing Board meeting. Plan to attend and bring your comments, input, and suggestions on how we can improve safety at our school.

Open position on board

We are still accepting applications for the open position on the Governing Board. Any ACS parent is eligible to run. For more information or an application, contact Board President, Kirk Huffstater or Office Manager, Anne Belfrage.

Here at ACS, we offer boys and girls basketball for 6th-8th graders. There is a parent information meeting on Thursday, November 2, at 6:15 in the cafeteria. If your child is interested in playing, please plan on attending.

Practice will begin on Monday, November 6, in order to be ready for the first games, which are on November 28. If your child is planning on playing basketball, he/she must have a physical form signed by your doctor in order to practice. Forms are available in the office.

We are in need of assistant coaches for our boy’s basketball teams. If you are interested, please contact Lisa Arnell at arnelll@academycharter.org.

IB Program Enrollment

If your 8th grade student is interested in enrolling in the IB program at Douglas County High School, you can download the application form from the Douglas County High School website. The deadline for submitting these applications is December 1, 2006. For more information about the IB program and informational meetings that are scheduled, please click on this link.

Deborah Wick, Admin. Asst.
303-387-1109

Fall Movie Night

What: Middle School Movie Night
When: Friday, November 10th
Time: 5:00-9:00 p.m.
Where: ACS Gym

Showing 2 Movies: Cars (G), Glory Road (PG)

Taco Bell Food tickets will be sold for $1.50

Stuco is having a movie night on Friday, November 10, 2006 for Middle School. The movie night will be held in the gym from 5:00- 9:00. We will be selling Taco Bell burritos and tacos for $1.50 the week of the movie night. We also will be selling snacks during the movie. The movies that are showing will be Cars and Glory Road. If you would like to be comfortable, then bring your own pillows, chairs etc.

If you have any questions, then contact Student Council at stuco@academycharter.org

Thank You,
Sarah Freeman
Student Council Secretary