Dear ACS Families and Friends,
We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Break!
The ACS staff and students seem well rested and
ready to learn! We will be having a busy December
and the end of 2007 is right around the corner.
The SAC committee met on Wednesday evening and
discussed many interesting topics. The most noted
topic was our Core Knowledge curriculum, what our
staff learned at the conference, and how we are
implementing some changes learned from the conference.
Our next SAC meeting will be January 16 at 5pm
in the library. We will be discussing our new Language
Arts program at this meeting!
Our SAC committee members have chosen our CCIRA
winners! I will be announcing these winners during
our Virtues Assembly on Friday, November 30. Our
judges chose 1st-3rd place winners in every grade
level. I will submit one 1st place winner from
each category to CCIRA. In February 2008, winners
will be chosen and asked to read their essays during
the CCIRA conference in Denver.
The ACS staff and I would like to thank the PTO
for their support in helping us achieve of our
Core Knowledge SIP goal. They have agreed to purchase
for K-5 a Core Knowledge Teacher Handbook, Reference
Packet, and Planners. These items will help our
staff stay true to the Core!
The Governing Board made the following decisions
regarding the new sweatshirts and t-shirts:
1. Allowing the blue hoodies to be worn during
the school day.
2. Allowing the blue t-shirts to be worn only on
Friday Spirit Days.
3. Allowing the pink hoodies to be worn only as
coats with their removal mandatory during the school
day and only to be worn in the mornings to class,
at recess and outdoor PE and to the cars at afternoon
carpool. They are to be treated as coats and if
someone is wearing it during the day in the building
they will be asked to remove it, similar to a coat
or any other sweatshirt that is being worn.
4. Allowing the pink t-shirts to be worn only on
Friday Spirit Days
As always we want to thank you for your support
of ACS. With your support we can make ACS the best
school it can be!
“It is not so much what is poured into the
student, but what is planted that really counts.”
Author
Unknown
Sincerely,
Yvette Brown
Academy Charter School Dean
browny@academycharter.org
Important Dates
- November
30 Orchestra Program
- December 4 Middle School
Prospective Parents School Tour
- December 7 Band
Program
- December 10 Governing Board Meeting
- December 12
Winter Program K-2nd grade
- December 13 Vision/Hearing
Screening
- December 13 PTO Meeting
- December 19 Winter Program
3rd-5th grade
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 Science Question
A student put the same amount of water into two
bowls. He covered one bowl with plastic wrap
and left the other bowl uncovered. The bowls
were left in the sun for several hours.
What most likely happened to the amount of water
in the covered bowl? Explain your answer.
What most likely happened to the amount of water
in the uncovered bowl? Explain your answer.
Core Knowledge
Information
Is the specific academic
content in the Core Knowledge Curriculum developmentally
appropriate for young
children?
There are certainly some topics that are too difficult
for most young children to grasp: for instance,
nobody would teach astrophysics in first grade.
But there is no reason why first-graders cannot
begin to learn basic information about electricity
and the human body, or about ancient civilizations
like Egypt and Mesopotamia.
Too often, unexamined ideas about what is developmentally
appropriate and inappropriate are used to keep
youngsters from acquiring important and exciting
knowledge at a time when they are eager to learn.
One state's social studies curriculum framework
states that it is "developmentally appropriate" for
second graders to "learn about the community
and its components—stores, recreational facilities,
protective and educational services," and
to "explore components of the community such
as shopping centers or community services.” Instead
of bounding the horizons of second graders by the
local mall, why not give them the opportunity to
learn about China and India, ancient Greece, and
the Civil War?
Using specific content guidelines, teachers can
deliver such content in developmentally appropriate
ways: for example, instead of lecturing to kindergartners
about the seven continents, they might sing songs,
make paper-maché globes, cut out continent-shaped
patterns, or make charts with animals that inhabit
each continent.
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