Dear Family and Friends of ACS,

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, fifth or sixth grade student, it would be the perfect opportunity to get more information about our Middle School program; however, Middle School parents are also welcome to attend to gain more information about what their student is learning.

I would like to congratulate LaRae Seifert for winning the prestigious position of Academy Charter School’s Apple Award Representative for the second annual Douglas County Apple Awards. Mrs. Seifert will be entered into the ‘feeder area’ competition, along with all the other elementary and middle school representatives in this area; however, no matter who wins at that level, she will still be honored at a dinner in March. I would also like to applaud Nina Pears, Adi Sanders and Jo-Ellen Solita for being nominated for the position of Academy Charter School’s Apple Award Representative. Congratulations to you, you are all winners!

3A and 3B passed and this is good news for Douglas County School District and Charter Schools in Douglas County! We will receive much-needed funding from the passing of these initiatives and we are excited to put this money to good use in the school!

We are pleased to announce that the new and improved ACS website is almost completed. Look for the launch of this new website this next week. When it is up and running, we would appreciate your feedback.

ACS received a call from the town of Castle Rock letting us know that there will be many semi-trucks on Prairie Hawk for the next few weeks; please allow yourself more time for our carpool and be very careful as this may cause some delays.

Our PTO is really motivated to create a Business Directory. This Business Directory would be a place that ACS business owners, etc…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.

Dates to Remember:

• 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- 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

Have a wonderful weekend!

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

Dear Families and Friends of ACS,

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 this 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 is this Friday, November 10th, from 5:00-9:00 pm. There is more information regarding this later in the newsletter!
• The annual Thanksgiving Feast at ACS will be on Thursday, November 16th, in the ACS Cafeteria. Due to the large number of RSVP’s, we have altered our lunch schedule for this day in order to accommodate our guests. Listed below is the alternative lunch schedule for this day only:
  • K-1 10:45-11:30
  • 2-3 11:35-12:25
  • 4-5 12:30-1:15
  • 6-8 1:17-1:57
• 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.
• Next Friday, November 17th, please look for progress reports for students in grades 3-8. They will be included in your students’ Friday folder or for middle school, in their Friday packet of work.
• The first Band program of the year will be held on Thursday, November 30th, at 6:30 pm 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:
There is still one more informational meeting regarding the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at Douglas County High School for incoming freshman. If you think that you might be interested in the IB program, please attend the remaining meeting to be held at: Douglas County High School on November 30th. The meeting will be at 7 P.M. If you are unable to attend or have further questions, please call (303)387-1109.

As I mentioned last week, many of you are wondering when the Winter Programs for elementary will held. I met with the elementary teachers and we have set the dates. The K-2 program will be held on Wednesday, December 6th, at 6:00 pm in the ACS gym and the 3-5 program will be held on Wednesday, December 13th, at 6:00 pm in the ACS gym. You can always find this information on the events calendar at the ACS website for all of these important dates!

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

Our volunteer team is working hard here at ACS! There are many opportunities to volunteer for the school right now. Hopefully, you can squeeze some time out of your busy schedule to help out here at the school.

Ms. Huskins, our Art teacher, would like some volunteers to help with students working with clay. If you are available for your child’s art class or an afternoon in the next two weeks, she would love to have your help. Contact Ms. Huskins at huskinsj@academycharter.org.

Remember, I will be drawing a name for a free Thanksgiving turkey on Tuesday, November 21st. If you have logged 10 hours or more of volunteer time, your name will be included in the drawing. Keep logging those hours!

Thanks again for being on our volunteer team!

Anne Belfrage
Volunteer Coordinator
belfragea@academycharter.org

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. Their email addresses are Greg@GregIsFinancingSolutions.com and 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.

WINTER FESTIVAL - The PTO would like to sell Christmas trees at our Winter Festival on December 1st. If you might be interested in purchasing one of the beautiful live trees that will be at the festival, please let us know. If you let us know, you are under no obligation to purchase the tree, we would just like an idea of how many trees to order. the prices will be comparable to any other tree lots around town. 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.

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.

Enrichment

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.

The registration form and waiver of liability form for the Personal Safety Skills for Girls Class (ages 9-12) was sent home this week. The classes are on Monday, November 13 and 27 from 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM. The registrations are due Friday, Nov. 10. The fee will be $32.00 per student. If you haven’t registered your child but would still like to please contact Sherry Hill at 303-808-8356 or s.hill@beef.org.

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!

The registration form for the Abrakadoodle art education class is included in this week’s Friday Mail folders. The classes are on Tuesday December 5, Thursday December 7th and Tuesday December 12th from 4:15 PM – 5:30 PM. The instructor will need 15 minutes to set up the class before instruction can begin at the scheduled time. The registrations are due Wednesday, November 22. You can register by the form or online at www.abrakadoodle.com/co04.html

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

Social

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

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
• PHOTOGRAPHER FOR HOLIDAY PICTURES

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

The PTO would like to sell Christmas trees at our Winter Festival on December 1st. If you might be interested in purchasing one of the beautiful live trees that will be at the festival, please let us know. If you let us know, you are under no obligation to purchase the tree, we would just like an idea of how many trees to order. The prices will be comparable to any other tree lots around town. Please contact Kristen Bushlack at bradbushlack@msn.com (303-663-8966) or Brandi Essegian at BEssegian@aol.com

The PTO Winter Festival Committee is looking for boxes of holiday lights! If you would like to donate a box of clear or multicolored lights, please send them in by November 20th! Thank you for your help! Please contact Kristen Bushlack at bradbushlack@msn.com (303-663-8966) or Brandi Essegian at BEssegian@aol.com.

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

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 restaurant nights. This is an easy way to support the classrooms and departments… and all you have to do is eat!!

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

SCHOOL SAFETY MEETING - November 13

A meeting concerning school safety will be held this coming Monday, November 13 at 6 p.m. at ACS, as part of the regular monthly Governing Board meeting. As parents at ACS, it is up to you how much you want to be involved and informed. We encourage you to attend and bring your comments, input and suggestions about how we can improve safety at our school. Parent participationis highly encouraged and appreciated at this meeting, and all Governing Board meetings. Working session to start at 4 p.m.

Middle School Info Night - November 15

This is an opportunity for ACS students and parents to find out what Middle School is all about! Teachers, ACS alumni, current students and others will be on hand to answer your questions. A short Powerpoint presentation is also planned. The event starts at 5:30 p.m.

You still have time to fill out the survey!

Parents still have until next Tuesday to fill out their survey online, if they have not already done so. If you did not receive a survey, or if your email address has recently changed, please email cdfheikes@msn.com.The survey will end on Tuesday, November 14. Thanks to those who have already participated.

Open position on Board

We are still accepting applications for the open postion 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.

In the coming week, we will be starting clay in most of the elementary classes. Since most of the projects will be “one day creation”, it would be wonderful to have some parent volunteers to assist in making sure that the clay and other supplies get given out in a timely fashion. The clean up is also very involved (hand washing with only one sink in the art room!).

If you are available for your child’s art class or an afternoon in the next two weeks, we would love to have you! Please contact me through the voice mail, or preferably email - huskinsj@academycharter.org.

Thank you parents, for all your time and help!

Ms. Huskins, Art

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.

Deborah Wick
Admin. Asst.
303-387-1109