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I hope everyone is logging in their volunteer hours….I
will be drawing names from those who have logged 20 hours or
more for some little gifts. I know many of you have been involved
with the Winter Festival and classroom projects and parties—don’t
forget to log in your hours.
There is a basket of candy on the office counter for all ofyou
wonderful volunteers. Please help yourself when you come into
the school—a sweet treat for our great volunteer team!
Thanks again for your time and dedication to Academy Charter
School. Anne Belfrage
Volunteer Coordinator
belfragea@academycharter.org
Calendar
| December 21 |
Chick-Fil-A Restaurant Day – Benefiting
the 8th Grade |
| January 11 |
6PM – PTO Executive/Working Meeting, ACS Cafeteria |
| January 24 |
Deadline Budget Requests for consideration for February
8 Budget Meeting |
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 by
December 8th by email. Their email addresses are Greg@GregIsFinancingSolutions.com and NelsonK@AcademyCharter.org.
Wreath Update - MickmanBrothers (the company we bought wreaths
from) was unable to fill our order for the light sets. The
PTO will be sending out reimbursements for this.
Christmas Program
Thanks to Jordan Murphy, Wednesday nights
K-2 Christmas Program was taped. If you are interested in
purchasing a CD of the performance, please email Misty O'Leary
at jimandmisty@comcast.net.
Fundraising Corner
Believe! Orders…
…
came a couple of weeks ago and were distributed to all the
classes. The children should have come home with them. If an
order is incorrect or damaged in any way, please call the number
on your packing slip ASAP to get issues taken care of. Three
orders were received that didn't have a child’s name
on it. If you haven't gotten your order, please stop at the
ACS front desk to pick it up.
Winter Festival
A very special thank you to the people who made our Winter
festival possible! We couldn't have done it without you!
The Fabulous Emcee extraordinare, Mike McVicar, Brenda
Knight, Dean Nelson, Dean Peters, the teachers and administration
at
ACS, Morgan Pears, The Hardy's, The Powell's, Cheryl Ardry,
The Brinkman's, Misty O'Leary, Mike Burchett, Tina Villari,
Barry Haneke, Debra Mirizio, Kathleen Montgomery, Nadine
Einhorn, Cindy Solomon, Kim MacDonald, Sherry Hill, Sharon
Hunter, Heidi
brady, Cali hanson, The Linder's, Mindy Whitworth, The Burkhardt's,
Kristen Sidney, The VerBerkmoe's, Renae Grouts, Mr. and Mrs.
Bushlack, Mr. and Mrs. Cullingsworth, Kirk Van Tamelen, Nicki
Shearer, and the countless others that stepped in at the
last moment to make this event a success!
We would like to
extend our gratitude Erik Pears for donating
his time to our Winter Festival. And last but not
least a BIG thank you to our sponsors:
- Hardy Financial
- REA
- Wells Fargo Bank
- Little Caesar's Pizza
- Loan Arranger Show/Banker's First Mortgage
Enrichment Corner
Keep an eye out – Taekwando, as well
as Hip-Hop Dance, are expected to be coming in February!!! To learn more about Enrichment opportunities, contact Sherry
Hill at s.hill@beef.org or 303-814-2115.
Social Corner
PTO Social Committee coordinates Teacher Breakfasts
on a monthly basis. To learn more about helping, contact
Allyson Ford
at allyson4d@hotmail.com. Next Breakfast January the 26th.
Teacher Breakfasts are 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.
… and Don’t Forget!…
Restaurant Nights
December’s Chick-Fil-A Restaurant Night
(12/21) will be for the benefit of our Eighth Grade classes.
Everyone is
welcome to participate and, Eighth Grade Families, this is
a great chance to show your school spirit by literally putting
your money where your mouth is! 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 fun-alicious
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
teacher's jobs easier and more creative, and ultimately make
our students learning experience even more fun.
Visit the Children's Museum of Denver during December!
The Children’s Museum of Denver has great holiday
events, plus they’re open during winter break for fun
family outings. Join them Saturdays Dec. 9 and 16 for Snack
with Santa for a relaxed visit with the man in the red suit.
Ring in the New Year at the Museum and get the kids to bed
on time! The Museum will celebrate from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
with a countdown and ball drop at 11 a.m., noon, 1 and 2
p.m. so you won’t miss the fun. Please click here for
a flyer.
The Children’s Museum of Denver is closed Christmas
Eve Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, but they’re
open every other day of winter break. With nine interactive
Playscapes and daily educational programs, the Children's
Museum can be a great place for a family outing. They’re
open Monday –Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday and
Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $7 for everyone ages
one to 59; $5 for seniors age 60 and older; children under
age one are free.
The Children's Museum of Denver is located at 2121 Children’s
Museum Drive, just off Exit 211 on I-25. For more information,
call 303-433-7444 or visit www.mychildsmuseum.org.
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Unsafe situations at carpool
An increasing number of ACS parents have been observed dropping
their children off in the parking lot during morning carpool,
which leaves the children to maneuver through parked and
moving cars on their
own to get to the school. Dropping them
off in this manner creates a very UNSAFE situation for our
students, and violates our established carpool policy. This
behavior is putting our children at a serious safety risk!
As we have noted many times before, parents may drop off their
children from their car only in the
carpool line near the building.
They may also park in the parking lot, and walk their children
(using the crosswalk) into the school. All other methods are
unacceptable.
Please take the time to follow these rules so that none of
our children are in danger. This is
of utmost importance for all ACS parents.
Bulletin board
Have you checked out the Governing Board’s bulletin board,
located near the cafeteria doors in the front lobby? Current
meeting notice times and locations are posted, and we have
recently added interviews that focus on former ACS middle school
alumni. It makes for great reading while you are waiting around
at carpool, or anytime!
Next GB meeting
The next general meeting of the Governing Board will be held
this coming Monday evening, December 11, at 6 p.m. at the
school. A working session will be held at 5 p.m. in the conference
room. These meetings are open to all ACS parents, and we
welcome and invite your participation.
Did you know that we have a portion of the meeting set aside
just for “parent comment?” Attending a meeting
fulfills part of your volunteer requirement at ACS and counts
toward volunteer hours. And since we are a parent-governed
school, you are encouraged to be part of the process by coming
to a meeting or joining a GB committee. Hope to see you there!
This is the second in a series of interviews with former ACS
middle school students now currently attending high school.
This week we focus on Aaron. Below are his thoughts, in his
own words.
What grade are you in and where do you currently attend high
school?
I’m a freshman at Douglas County High School.
What was the biggest adjustment in your transition from ACS
Middle School to high school?
The biggest adjustment at DCHS was finding my way around, but
I got that cleared up within the first week. Getting from the
Foreign Language Department, in the south building, to my Advisement
class in the Science Department of the north building, within
10 minutes and with over 2,000 students moving through the
halls is sometimes hard to manage.
Being in freshman football helped me make many new friends.
This helped with the adjustment to high school. I would recommend
getting involved in extracurricular activities in high school.
How well did ACS prepare you academically? Are you
more advanced in any subjects, behind in any, or seem to
be even with everyone
else?
I’m taking all Honors Classes and doing well. I was a
little unprepared for the amount of papers and projects that
I get assigned from English, Biology and Ancient History. High
school definitely takes more effort than middle school did.
It’s difficult to miss a day of school because of all
the work you have to make up. Advisement period (study hall)
helps remove some of the burden.
Does anyone or anything in particular stand out from your
years at ACS (teachers, classes, activities), and why?
I really enjoyed the basketball program at ACS. My coaches
were always encouraging and I really improved by 8th grade.
I also enjoyed the drama program in 6th grade. We put on major,
well-organized productions that year. I would like to see ACS
bring back that level of Drama program.
I formed many strong friendships at ACS and we are all still
close. Eighth grade Graduation was very memorable. Another
of my favorite memories is the eight-grade trip to Washington,
DC.
Were you involved in any extracurricular activities while
at ACS?
I played Basketball and acted in the Drama Program. Although
ACS did not have a hockey program, I was still able to play
on the Castle Rock Middle School hockey team.
Do you feel like you missed out on anything because you did
not attend a different middle school?
Not really…. maybe having free dress days for three years
(The dress code was a little too nitpicky at times).
My parents felt that ACS was a more wholesome environment.
I was better prepared to handle some of the things I see and
hear by ninth grade than I would have been in seventh grade.
Were you prepared for high school because of what you learned
at ACS?
Yes, for the most part. I wish I had gotten more out
of Science and Math, though. That would have made this first
semester
easier.
I was most prepared for History and Spanish II from my experience
at ACS.
Do you have any final comments?
Middle school was harder because of all the teaching changes,
especially those in the middle of my 6th grade year. My friends
and I really liked a lot of those teachers. I hope the new
teachers stick around and that they can relate with the students
because my little brother and sister attend ACS.
Overall, I enjoyed my time at ACS and by the end of 8th grade,
I was prepared and ready to move on to Douglas County High
School.
We are looking for an ATV to help with snow removal for
the school. If you have one of these vehicles, or know of
someone who does, please contact our Facilities Manager,
Morgan Pears here at the school. Thank you.
We can all help the Denver Soup Kitchen.
CAMPBELL SOUP HAS
A PROMOTION FOR EACH CITY WITH AN NFL FRANCHISE. GO TO
THEIR WEB SITE AND VOTE FOR THE BRONCOS. FOR EACH VOTE
THEY WILL DONATE A CAN OF SOUP TO A DENVER SOUP KITCHEN.
The Broncos
are way down on the list and need our help. The team with
the
most votes will get a donation to the food bank of their
choice totaling the total weight
of the players on the team!
Vote for the Broncos in order to support
Denver!!!!!! You can support the soup kitchen ONCE a day.
MAKE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
We are sponsoring Christmas for the Castle Rock Care Center
here in Castle Rock again this year. This is a great way
to reach out to our senior citizens and teach your children
the true spirit of giving. Please come in and “pick” an
ornament with a personal request for a present. Please purchase
the gift and bring it back to the school office with the
name tag on top of it. We plan to deliver the gifts on Friday,
December 15th.
Thank you for helping to make Christmas special for these
older folks!
ACS Office Staff
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Dear
Family and Friends of ACS,
The
deadline to advertise in our 
Dear
Families and Friends of ACS,