Dear Family and Friends of ACS,

Our Winter Festival is December 1 here at ACS! The festivities will start at 6:00. Please look for the special invitation with a winter surprise in your child’s Friday Folder tomorrow!

Our PTO is moving ahead to create a Business Directory. This fundraiser is being created as a resource for our parents. You will be able to look in this directory for different services you may need knowing that these parents have paid advertising fees that have come right back to the school. If you would like to advertise your business or service through our Business Directory, please print off the form attached to bottom of this Newsletter and follow all of the instructions. If you need a form, please see our office as we will have extra’s. Thank you!

The Middle School Information Night was a success! Thank you to all who attended, volunteered and organized this night!

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 all, you are all winners!

Dates to Remember:

• 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
• Monday, December 4- Girls Basketball Game- home- 4:00 & 5:00
• Tuesday, December 5- Girls Basketball Game- home- 4:30 (B Team only)
• December 5- Boys Basketball Game- away- 4:30 (A Team only)
• Wednesday, December 6- K-2 Winter Program, 6:00, Gym
• Thursday, December 7- Girls Basketball Game- away- 4:00 & 5:00
  • December 7- Boys Basketball Game- home- 4:00 & 5:00
  • December 7- Orchestra Concert, 6:30, Gym
• Saturday, December 9- Boys Basketball Legacy Tournament- away- TBD (B Team only)
• Monday, December 11- Girls Basketball Game- home- 4:00 (A Team only)
  • December 11- Boys Basketball Game- home- 5:00 & 6:00
  • December 11- Governing Board Meeting, 6:00, Cafeteria
• Tuesday, December 12- Girls Basketball Game- away- 4:00 & 5:00
  • December 12- Boys Basketball Game- home- 4:00 & 5:00
• Wednesday, December 13- 3-5 Winter Program, 6:00, Gym
• Thursday, December 14- Dress Down Day!
  • December 14- End of Second Quarter
  • December 14- Elementary Virtue Assembly, 8:50, Cafeteria
  • December 14- MS Virtue Assembly, 2:50, Cafeteria
• Friday, December 15- Teacher Work Day- No Students
• December 16- December 31- Winter Break- School Closed!
• Monday, January 1- New Year’s Day- School Closed!
• Tuesday, January 2- K-8 Testing Day; Students by Appt.
  • January 2- Beginning of Third Quarter

Have a great weekend!

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

Dear Families and Friends of ACS,

Last Friday was our Middle School Movie Night and it was quite a turnout! Thank you to our Student Council for sponsoring this event as well as the chaperones who came to assist!

Here are a few of the activities that are happening for the rest of this month and the events scheduled for December!

• Our next Virtue Assembly will be held tomorrow, Friday, November 17th at 8:50 in the cafeteria for elementary students and at 2:50 in the cafeteria for Middle school students. Please join us as we celebrate our Core Virtues!
• Friday, November 17th, please look for progress reports for students in grades 3-8. They will be included in your student’s 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 p.m. in the ACS gym. I know the students are working hard on their selections and are anxious to play for an audience!
• The first Orchestra program will be held on Thursday, December 7th, at 6:30 p.m. in the music room. The students have been working on their selections and are ready to “show off” their skills! Please join us for this event!
• The elementary Winter Program dates have been set. The K-2 program will be held on Wednesday, December 6th at 6:00pm in the ACS gym and the 3-5 program will be held on Wednesday, December 13th at 6:00pm in the ACS gym. You can always find this information on the ‘Event Calendar’ at the ACS website for all of these important dates! Once again this year, our teachers worked hard to create, organize the Winter productions. Our teachers can create a program consistent with a Winter Theme or they can create a program that celebrates the holidays. If they choose to celebrate the holidays, they work really hard to be sure we are celebrating all the holidays represented in our school community. The teachers who have chosen to celebrate the holidays will be observing Christmas and Hanukkah. We would like to know if there are any other seasonal holiday traditions that you would like to see represented. Please let your classroom teacher know if there is something else we need to include! Thank you for your help!

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 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.

It is such a pleasure to be a part of such a wonderful school community like ACS! I know I am very thankful to be a part of it! I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving Break with your family!

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

As your volunteer coordinator, I have much to be thankful for. I am truly grateful for all of the parents that work so hard to make ACS a great environment for learning! So many of you come in consistently and volunteer in the classrooms and library every week—we appreciate your efforts. I hope you realize how you are enriching all of our students’ education by being involved here at the school. I would like to thank the PTO and Governing Board volunteers—you folks do so much with so little recognition; thank you for the big time commitment you make to our school.

We have a big need for volunteers to help with the Winter Festival. Please contact Kristen Bushlack, bradbushlack@msn.com or Brandi Essegian at BEssegian@aol.com.

I will be contacting the winner of our 10-plus volunteer hours next week and they will be awarded a large turkey!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Anne Belfrage
Volunteer Coordinator
belfragea@academycharter.org

We still need a lot of help for the Winter Festival, 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.

Calendar

Special Messages
IMPORTANT – ACS BUSINESS DIRECTORY INPUT NEEDED
The PTO has approved the production of a Parent Resource Directory promoting businesses owned by ACS Parents. This will be a great, affordable way for businesses to gain exposure to families and staff as well as a way for the entire ACS family to help support businesses owned by ACS parents. If you are interested in learning more about advertising through school-based media, please contact both Greg Polashock and Kindra Nelson immediately by email. Their email addresses are:

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

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. (More info below.)

Enrichment Corner
The registration form for the Abrakadoodle art education class was included in last 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.

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 Corner
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 Corner
Believe catalog orders will be in on Monday morning, November 20th. Volunteer help for sorting and distributing is greatly needed. (This is another way to get your volunteer hours!) To find out how you can help, contact Kristen Bushlack at bradbushlack@msn.com (303-663-8966).

We are excited about our fast-approaching 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.

As mentioned above, 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.

… and Don’t Forget!…
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!

Budget Requests
Budget Request deadline for the Feb. 8 meeting is January 24. 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.

School safety meeting
School safety at ACS was the main topic of discussion at the general Governing Board meeting on November 13. ACS parent and security specialist Twain Wilkins provided a handout and gave a short talk on his observations, research, and recommendations, saying “access control” is a major factor in school safety. Several ACS staff members and parents were also in attendance, including two parents employed as a firefighter and a police officer. Almost everyone present made a comment or suggestion regarding this issue. We really appreciate the great participation and input!

Outfitting all outside doors (except the front doors) with an emergency exit alarm device that sounds when opened and locks automatically was one idea to which the board is giving serious consideration. Other suggestions included installing a card reader system, a code-activated keypad, an intercom and camera, all at the front entrance, and/or hiring a School Resource Officer from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department. ACS is somewhat limited to what measures we can take by the school’s budget, but the alarm doors, at approximately $250-300 per door, seem a definite possibility. It was also suggested to utilize parent volunteers to help monitor the comings and goings of people in the front hallway. A short survey is being considered to help gauge parents’ thoughts on the issue.

GB meeting highlights
Speaking of safety, our security cameras are almost all installed. Have you noticed them on the building? It is our hope that these cameras will help ACS thwart vandalism to the school. The cameras have a recording device that is motion-activated, and they will be turned on at all times.

Dean Nelson is working with the PTO on creating a business directory that will feature participating ACS parents and their businesses. The cost to advertise in the directory will pay for having the books printed. Books would be available free to every ACS parent.

ACS parent Chad Mitchell was voted in as the newest member of the Governing Board at Monday’s meeting. He has a 5th grader and kindergartner at ACS, and will be a great asset to the board. Welcome, Chad!

The Strategic Planning Committee’s Gifted Initiative team will be meeting this Thursday (today) from 4 to 6 p.m. in the conference room. Interested parents and teachers are invited to attend and give input or suggestions. Contact Ellen Neal-Eakin for further information.

The Communications Committee has been getting a good response from parents on receiving meeting, survey, and bond issue information. Of note is the fact that many parents reported they were not aware of Amendment 39’s impact on ACS until they received the flyer sent home by our parent group. Good to know that our ACS parents are an informed bunch!

The Policy Committee is looking to merge the ACS Policy and Procedures manual and the Parent Handbook into one document. This new document will be available on the website next year and not handed out in hard copy unless otherwise requested. Volunteers are still needed to serve on this committee, and can contact Clayton Watson to learn more.

Middle school information night
There was a good turnout from interested ACS families at Wednesday night’s Middle School Information Night. The event was designed to help inform our upcoming and current middle school students and their parents about the 6th, 7th and 8th grades at ACS. We had complete representation from our middle school teaching staff and administration at the meeting. Attendees were shown a PowerPoint presentation that helped explain why ACS has a K-8 model and why it works for middle-school students. Also explained were some of the benefits of having your student in ACS through 8th grade. Parents were then able to visit one-on-one with teachers, student council members, and others at various stations set up in the gym. ACS alumni were also on hand to share their experiences on life at ACS and how they are doing in high school, information that both parents and students were quite interested to hear!

Survey over
The Fall 2006 survey has officially ended. We had 132 participants, just one more than our spring survey. The next step is to have the results compiled and reviewed by the administration and the board. We hope to get a summary of these results back to ACS parents in a timely fashion. Thanks very much for your time and feedback – we really appreciate it! Don’t forget to record your 1 hour of volunteer time for filling out the survey.

Next meeting
The next general meeting of the Governing Board will take place at 6 p.m. on Monday, December 11, at the school. A working session will start at 5 p.m. All meetings are open to ACS parents.

ORIGINAL WORKS ORDERS ARE HERE!

Thank you to all the families that placed an order! All proceeds will go to the art department to help buy additional art supplies for our students. Original Works shipped our products early! They were delivered to each classroom on Monday and sent home with your student. If you haven’t received your order, please check with your child’s teacher. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your order, please call me.

I’d also like to say THANK YOU to Ms. Huskins, Liz Smith, Anne Belfrage and the O’Shea, St. John, Farmer, Vann and Watson families for all their help throughout this fundraiser. You all are amazing and I greatly appreciate your help!

Cindy Hazlehurst
ACS Original Works Coordinator
303-688-9134

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