Sunday, August 28, 2016
Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families,
After beginning the first day of school with a little rain in the morning, we had a great first week of school filled with laughter and learning as our community gathered together for the very first time. At all levels from Kindergarten through 10th grade, building community was the focus of the week. Students toured the buildings, began learning each other’s names, and experienced a first glance of how learning will work at the Advanced Learning Academy.
Our K-3 students at ALA on Euclid participated in a school-wide Opening Day Celebration where they sang and danced as a school community and introduced staff members. Many of our 3rd grade students served in leadership roles in the morning by helping to return breakfast carts to the cafeteria. We feel confident in saying that students ended their week loving their teachers, new friends and looking forward to a great week two. In the upcoming week, K-3 teachers will be launching a new Project Based Learning unit with students. Students can expect to work in integrated learning blocks as well as in workshops times where the focus will be on ELAR, math skills and enrichment.
This was also an exciting week for our fourth and fifth graders. On Friday, our 4th and 5th graders took the very first Advanced Learning Academy field trip to the San Antonio Museum of Art as part of their first curriculum unit. I watched our students pose questions and discuss the art with their partners as they moved through several galleries. The students were fantastic ambassadors for our school and community. At the end of the field trip, all of the 4th and 5th graders were given a free pass for themselves and one for a family member for a return visit to the San Antonio Museum of Art!
Lastly, we welcomed our students to 6th-10th grade with intentional community building in each of the classes including electives, Systems (integrated math and science), Humanities (integrated English language arts and social studies), and home groups. Home groups are an important structure in ALA. Students start the day and end the day with their home group of a small community of 6th-10th grade students and their home group advisor. This home group is an important feature we learned about when researching innovative schools across the country. It allows teachers to play an important advisory role for students and for students to also get to know and help each other academically and socio-emotionally. This week we also introduced Humanities using lenses of analysis to look at the current event of the Olympics. As an introduction to Systems, students explored the three forms of heat transfer by making popcorn three ways. On Friday we had our first "Magic Friday" in the afternoon block when students created the first-ever ALA time capsule, considered the idea of legacy and personal contribution, and closed out the day with a surprise paleta party with their peers, teachers, David Nungaray, Assistant Principal, and me. We know the transition to a new school is a big one for students so we really worked on building students' confidence and enthusiasm as they were getting to know the teachers, the campus, and important things such as how to get lunch.
Finally, we have a few additional we have several logistics updates and reminders to share that I am posting below for your reference.
Have a wonderful week!
Sincerely,
Kathy Bieser & the ALA Faculty/Staff
Advanced Learning Academy: Parent Meetings*
Looking ahead, each of our K-3 villages will be hosting a Village Orientation Parent Meetings the week of September 5th. Here are the dates/times for each village:
Village A: Tuesday, September 6th from 5:30-6:30 pm
Village B: Wednesday, September 7th from 5:30-6:30 pm
Village C: Thursday, September 8th from 5:30-6:30 pm
*The 4th/5th and 6th-10th times are forthcoming
After School Care
- The YMCA After School program (4th-8th) and the The Greater San Antonio After School All-Stars program (K-3) will start tomorrow, August 29th.
- ALA at Fox Tech (4th-8th) after school care is located in the library. A phone number for you to call will be posted outside the library door when you arrive for pick-up.
- ALA on Euclid (K-3) after school care is located in the cafeteria.
Arrival/Dismissal Review
We appreciate your patience as we tune the procedures for arrival and dismissal. Here are a few key points:
Arrival (Fox Tech Campus)
- Student may be dropped off as early as 7:30 am. There is no supervision prior to that so please adhere to that time.
- Student can be dropped off on Buffalo Run.
- If you have a 4th or 5th grader and it’s after 8:30 am, please come inside the main office to drop them off.
Dismissal (Fox Tech Campus)
- 4th and 5th grade dismissal is off of Buffalo Run.
- You can either do a car pick up or a walk up.
- Please have your yellow sign ready.
Contacting Our Assistant Principals
Eating Lunch With Your Students
We welcome and invite you to eat lunch with your student(s) during lunch. Simply check into our main office and you’ll get a tag to join them at lunch.
Important Communication Items
- If you’re changing how your student is going home, please email the following people in one email:
- ALA at Fox Tech:
- Their homegroup/homeroom teacher
- David Nungaray: dnungaray1@saisd.net
- Gloria Flores: GFLORES7@saisd.net
- ALA at Euclid:
- Their teacher
- Melissa Rodriguez: MMARTINEZ30@saisd.net
- Mari Aleman: MALEMAN3@saisd.net
- If you know you are picking up your student in advance, please bring a note in the morning to get a pass so that you don’t have to wait for your student.
- There is no student pick up from 3:30 pm-4:00 pm. Please plan accordingly.
Medications
Please drop off any medications that need to be dispensed to your child daily with the nurse. Students are not allowed to self carry medications unless there is paperwork on file for an EpiPen or Asthma Inhaler.
Schedule Changes (ALA at Fox Tech)
- The first week, we have primarily focused on ensuring students are in the right courses, ranging from PE (depending on credits) to Spanish (depending on credits and proficiency) as well as core content classes.
- On Thursday, we shared with students that we will go to them during their classes to ask about any critical changes that need to happen with electives (ex: your student did not get any of their top 6 choices).
- It’s been exciting to have conversations with students one-on-one about their schedules and we look forward to ensuring they get the most out of their academic
Spanish Translation
- We are looking for bilingual parents/guardians to help us in communications with our Spanish speaking families. Please contact David Nungaray if you are interested.
Snacks/birthdays/etc.
We have been getting questions about what snacks and birthday treats you can bring for your student. We will have guidelines regarding this by our next update.
Volunteer Orientation
There will be two opportunities this coming Wednesday, August 31 to go through our volunteer orientation. All families are welcome and encouraged to attend. Please bring your driver's’ license to the orientation. This orientation is open to families from both ALA campuses. Please contact Maria Ortiz, mortiz8@saisd.net, for more information.
- 9:00 AM: Fox Tech Campus Library
- 6 PM: Fox Tech MPR/Theater
