Community Update: August 20, 2017

Sunday, August 20, 2017

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families,

We had a great first week of school filled with friendship, laughter, and learning as our community gathered together after the summer break.  At all levels, from Pre-K through 11th grade, strengthening community was the focus of the week.  For instance, students and teachers created village, grade-level or classrooms charters, defining classroom agreements and norms that will be revisited throughout the school year.  

While most of the community building took place on campus, our 4th and 5th grade students once again took the very first field trip of the year to the Pearl Complex, solving human knot puzzles and cooling off on the splash pad. Many thanks to the teachers for organizing the field trip and to the many families who were able to join us.

We are pleased to announce 6th-11th grade ALA Students are invited to check-out a Dell Chromebook for use at school and home. Laura Sisson, our school librarian, is coordinating laptop check-out for students and families.  Families are invited to attend a short laptop orientation this week Monday, August 21, Tuesday, August 22, or Friday, August 25 in the library (Sessions are hosted at 9am; 10am; 11am; 1pm; and 2pm each day).  More dates are also available the following week and can be viewed on the ALA Community Calendar.

Tomorrow, many of our students will be participating in various activities relating to the solar eclipse, including watching a livestream of the event in the classroom and/or viewing the eclipse outside using pinhole viewers or solar glasses.  A permission slip was sent home with 4th-11th grade and select Euclid campus students whose teachers plan to view the eclipse outside.  Please return the permission slip, linked and attached, to the school tomorrow with your child.

We have a few updates and requests for our ALA at Fox Tech families.  As a reminder, please do not park along Buffalo Run during morning arrival (7:30-8:30am) and dismissal (3:30-4:30pm) to allow traffic to flow more easily. For those families picking up students from the YMCA after school care program, please park in the large parking lot and walk to the library to pick-up your student if you arrive prior to 4:30pm as we need to maintain an open bus lane.  After 4:30pm, families may park outside the library for pick-up since  buses will have departed by that time. Lastly, if you need to pick-up your son or daughter from school early, please send him/her with a note to the ALA office in the morning indicating the time you need your student in the office.  Our office staff can provide students passes so families are not waiting for an extended period of time as we call for students from the far end of campus.

Friday, August 25, Euclid campus families are invited to view the movie, "Inside Out" from 6:30-8:00pm in the gymnasium.  The event is a kick-off for the first Project-Based Learning (PBL) work of the year focusing on social emotional learning. Families are encouraged to bring blankets and chairs. The ALA PTSA will be on site at the event to sell snacks and drinks and sign up any families wanting to join.

Finally, individual student 2016-2017 STAAR results for current 4th-11th grade students will be sent home on Monday.  The same results can also be accessed on the Texas Assessment Management System.

Sincerely,

Kathy Bieser

Principal

Advanced Learning Academy