Dear ACS Families and Friends,

Last Friday our teachers attended an in-service in Colorado Springs about Core Knowledge. The ACS staff was able to attend many classes and meet other teachers from Core Knowledge schools. This network of teachers stretched from New York, Boston, Florida, and Colorado to name a few places. This team-building experience enabled our teachers to hone their teaching abilities and share their expertise with other educators. We want to thank PTO and the Governing Board for allowing us the opportunity to attend this conference!

All of our students in grades 1st through 8th are writing essays in their classrooms for a CCIRA writing contest. These papers will be turned in tomorrow. Members from our SAC will be judging these essays and choosing 3 from every grade level. As a school, we can only submit one paper to CCIRA from 1st-2nd grade, 3rd-4th grade, 5th-6th grade, and 7th-8th grade. We will be submitting 4 papers by December 1st. I will announce our winners at an assembly and will put their essays on our website. In February 2008, winners will be chosen and asked to read their essays during the CCIRA conference in Denver.

Research shows that students with parents who are involved in their education have higher achievement. You can get involved in your child’s education by reading with your child each night. Regular reading improves many skills such as comprehension, voice and fluency. Also try to attend school activities. Be your child’s number one fan!

The ACS staff and I would like to wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving Break. We are thankful for the wonderful students and parents we have at ACS!

Sincerely,

Yvette Brown
Academy Charter School Dean
browny@academycharter.org

Important Dates

• November 21-23 Thanksgiving Break!
• November 26 Governing Board Meeting
• November 28 SAC meeting
• November 30 Orchestra Program
• December 4 Middle School Prospective Parents School Tour
• December 7 Band Program

Fun Fact
In 1910, the most common names for boys were John, William, James, George, and Charles. The most common names for girls were Mary, Helen, Margaret, Dorothy, and Ruth. The most common names for today are Jacob, Michael, Joshua, Matthew, Ethan, Emily, Emma, Madison, Abigail, and Olivia!

Fun Website
Native American Language
Many modern words have Native American origins.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/features/immig/na_voc.html

CSAP
Below you will find the link to the released CSAP items from 2004!
http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeassess/documents/csap/released_items/2004CSAPRelItems-AnchorsWeb.pdf

5th Grade Released Math Question
The table below shows the amounts of money Vince receives for selling bunches of flowers at the farmers’ market.

Part A Complete the table to show the amount of money Vince receives for selling 35 bunches of flowers.

Part B Explain the rule used in the pattern.

Core Knowledge Information
What is Core Knowledge?
The "Core Knowledge" movement is an educational reform based on the premise that a grade-by-grade core of common learning is necessary to ensure a sound and fair elementary education. The movement was started by Professor E. D. Hirsch, Jr., author of Cultural Literacy and The Schools We Need, and is based on a large body of research in cognitive psychology, as well as a careful examination of several of the world's fairest and most effective school systems. Professor Hirsch has argued that, for the sake of academic excellence, greater fairness, and higher literacy, early schooling should provide a solid, specific, shared core curriculum in order to help children establish strong foundations of knowledge. After wide consultation, the content of this core curriculum has been outlined in two books — the Core Knowledge Preschool Sequence and the Core Knowledge Sequence, K–8 — that state explicitly what students should learn at each grade level. Currently, hundreds of schools and thousands of dedicated educators are participating in this school reform movement throughout the United States.

Dear Families and Friends of ACS,

We’d like to thank PTO for helping our teachers with the registration fee in order to attend the Core Knowledge Conference last Friday. We all had a great time and our teachers networked with many teachers from Colorado as well as other states to share their ideas for Core Knowledge units.

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

• Our 2nd Bully Assembly originally scheduled for this Friday, November 16th, has been postponed until Monday, November 19th. The times will remain the same as before.
• Our next Virtue Assembly will be held on Friday, November 30th, 8:50 in the cafeteria for elementary students and at 2:55 in the cafeteria for Middle school students. Please join us as we celebrate our Core Virtues!
• This Friday, November 17th, please look for progress reports for students in grades 3-5 in your student’s Friday folder. Please remember that middle school students will not receive a hard copy as the parent portal is now open. Only those families who do not have internet at home will receive a hard copy.
• The first orchestra program of the year will be held on Friday, 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 Band program will be held on Friday, December 7th, at 6:30 p.m. in the gym. The students have been working on their selections and are ready to “show off” their skills! Please join us for this event!

Reminder to Eighth grade Parents and Students:
We have the information packets regarding the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at Douglas County High School for incoming freshman. If you think that your student might be interested in the IB program, please stop by the office to get a packet. If you have further questions, please call the IB number at Douglas County High School at (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

Our Lost and Found closet is overflowing! Please check or have your student check for items they may be missing. Diane Bodiford will be taking all items left in the Lost and Found next week when we have Thanksgiving Break. Thanks for checking this out!

Schedule Items

• November 30 – Teacher Breakfast

Social

The next teacher breakfast will be November 30th. Look for sign up sheets on the PTO board or contact Allyson- allyson4d@hotmail.com or Gina- momofboyzzz@comcast.net

Special Messages

TEE SHIRT ORDERS - Tee shirt orders are anticipated to be received from the distributor late next week, or early the week of November 12-16.

I am so thankful for all of the wonderful parent volunteers we have at ACS! I have updated our Volunteer Bulletin Board to display those wonderful volunteers who have already logged 20 hours of volunteer time--29 families so far! We also have three families who have logged over 50 hours and three families who have logged over 100 hours!

100 Hours or More
Colander Family
Hardison Family
Knight Family

50 Hours or More
Eakin Family
Eggebrecht Family
Warnke Family

20 Hours or More
Allen Family
Arnell Family
Bodiford Family
Bottin Family
Brady Family
Dan Brown Family
Buckley Family
Burgos Family
Bushlack Family
Doug Davis Family
Ellis Family
Gray Family
Guns Family
Harkin Family
Hazlehurst Family
McNeill Family
O'Leary Family
Ordunez Family
Osgood Family
Parks Family
Poellot Family
Ragan Family
Scheibe Family
Schanuel Family
Sidney Family
Scott Smith Family
Solomon Family
Stucky Family
Van Sicklin Family

Congratulations to all of these families who are making a difference at ACS!

I need volunteers to help with the Vision and Hearing Screening on Thursday, December 13th and Friday, December 14th. I need quite a few volunteers to help with these screenings. There is a morning shift and an afternoon shift on Thursday and one morning shift on Friday. The times are as follows: Morning: 8:25 to 11:40, Afternoon: 12:15 to 3:30. Please email me or call if you can help out with this important screening for our students.

Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends!

Anne Belfrage
Volunteer Coordinator
belfragea@academycharter.org

Take Care of your yard winterization needs and help Academy Charter School 8th Graders raise money for their trip to Washington D.C.

Aerate (Front and Back) $30.00 ($5.00 of each job towards trip)

Winter Fertilization $20.00 ($5.00 of each job towards trip)

Sprinkler Blow-out $30.00 ($10.00 of each job towards trip)

Special Package Deal Save $5.00: All 3 services for $75.00 ($20.00 still will go to trip fund)

Jobs done by Dennis and Katelyn Caldwell

303 660-3815