Community Update: April 30, 2017

Sunday, April 30, 2017

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families

A few weeks ago, the ALA faculty at Fox Tech and Euclid gathered to select the 2017 ALA Teacher of the Year.  It is my pleasure to announce, in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week (May 1-5) and National Teacher Day (May 3), Angel Curry as our Euclid campus and Lisa Murphy as our Fox Tech campus Teachers of the Year. To celebrate National Teacher Appreciation Week, I invited you to send words of congratulations and thanks to Angel, Lisa, or any other teacher you would like to acknowledge, ALA or beyond. More details about how to send a note and other ways to recognize teachers can be found on this Teacher Appreciation Week flyer.

The STAAR United States History end-of-course exam will be given tomorrow, Monday, May 1.   All of our 8th, 9th and 10th grade students will take the United States History test. The STAAR Algebra I end-of-course exam will be given on Wednesday, May 3. Only those 8th graders and freshmen currently enrolled in Algebra I will take the exam.

Testing regulations require us to collect all electronic devices (cell phones and other personal media devices) from students prior to testing. Students will not be able to use those during or after they finish testing while in their testing room.  However, they do have access to a landline in the ALA office. Please help by making sure your son or daughter gets a good night’s sleep and eats breakfast, so all are ready to put forth best efforts each morning!

On Friday, we will end the week with a community coffee at our Fox Tech campus at 9 am. Friday evening, we will host the 1st Annual Father-Daughter Dance for 4th - 12th grade girls and their family members.  The dance is FREE, and dance lessons will be provided.  Click HERE to RSVP and receive more information.

Have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Kathy Bieser

Community Update: April 23, 2017

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families,

We want to send our congratulations to our middle school track and UIL teams for their great performances this weekend!  Families can view photos from these two UIL events on the ALA Facebook page and to view other real time updates about the many great things happening at ALA!

Our ALA Fiesta Medals have arrived!  To celebrate Fiesta in San Antonio and our new school, students will be selling an Advanced Learning Academy Fiesta Medal.  The funds raised will support summer leadership programs for students at college campuses throughout the United States and other and pre-college campus events.  Click HERE to get yours. This week is also Fiesta Spirit Week at ALA. All of our students, K-10th, are invited to dress up in celebration!

Looking ahead, please mark your calendars and join us for an unforgettable evening together on Friday, May 5, 2017, when we celebrate our Father-Daughter Dance for 4th - 12th grade girls and their family members.  The dance is FREE, and dance lessons will be provided.  Click HERE to RSVP and receive more information.

Lastly, Dr. Linda Vargas, ALA at Fox Tech counselor, asked me to highlight their April counseling and college planning resources for our 6th-10th families. Utilizing SAISD’s Naviance and the Google documents, she is able to communicate and publicize various pre-college opportunities.  Every week, she updates the links below. Please click on your  student’s designated grade level to see all that is available:

• 6th-8th Graders: Class of 2021, 2022, 2023
• Freshman: Class of 2020
• Sophomores: Class of 2019

As a reminder, Friday, April 28th is a student and faculty holiday.

Sincerely,

Kathy Bieser

Community Update: April 16

Sunday, April 16, 2017

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families,

It was wonderful to see so many students and families at Thursday’s exhibition of student work, a unique feature of an ALA education.  The exhibitions not only give parents and families the opportunity to view their own student’s work, but we invite you to visit and give feedback to our students across the three grade levels.

On Tuesday, April 18th we will be hosting a special Spring College Fair at ALA at Fox Tech.  All freshmen, sophomores, and their family members are invited to attend. Over 50+ college representatives from throughout the United States will be attending the event.  Students are asked wear professional dress and  review the College Fair 101 document for tips and strategies to maximize their time and make a great first impression.  

On Thursday, April 20th our 8th-10th grade students will be taking a field trip to Austin to visit the LBJ Presidential Library . Students will be conducting an exploration of the history of Civil Rights in the United States and examining the long term impacts of LBJ's Great Society on modern society. Upon their return, students will connect their learning on the historical impacts of civil rights progress to modern social movements. If you have any questions about the field trip, please contact your student's United States history teacher.

Please remember, we would like to invite the ALA and SAISD community to our ALA MS and HS theatre company production showcases.  On Thursday and Friday evenings, our middle school play, The Tempest, will be showcased on May 18th and 19th at 7pm in the ALA Theatre.  Tickets for these show dates will be $5.00 each.  These tickets will be sold at the door only.  Our high school play will be showcased on May 25th and 26th at 7pm at the Instituto Cultural de Mexico theatre.  On Friday evening, following the performance of The Fifth Sun, we will hold an International Thespian Induction (honor society for the arts).  Advanced tickets for a light dinner on Friday evening only will be sold from April 18th to May 17th.  Tickets are $10.00 each, and will be sold during lunches by our high school theatre students and Ms. Stengel. Please save these dates on your calendars!

Looking ahead, please mark your calendars for Saturday, April 29, 2017 as ALA 8th-10th and Fox Tech magnet band students perform in the Fiesta Flambeau Parade. Also, National Teacher Appreciation Week is May 1-5, 2017. Families are invited to honor teachers with a personal note. More details can be found HERE.

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Kathy Bieser

Community Update: April 9, 2017

Sunday, April 9, 2017

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families,

Last Friday, our 3rd grade students took a field trip to Fox Tech, where they engaged in a Math Day of Play with the 4th and 5th grade students. The 4th and 5th grade students developed engaging math games for the 3rd graders as part of their most recent project. The field trip was a great way to introduce the 3rd graders to the Fox Tech campus, students and staff. On Friday evening, ALA on Euclid hosted their first Family Movie Night. Families brought blankets, pillows, and snacks, and spread out across the gym. “Night at the Museum” was shown in honor of K-3’s current project, which will end with students curating their own museum for the community. This Wednesday, K-3 students will participate in our schools first Bike Rodeo. Students will learn about bike safety and have the opportunity to compete across several courses. Good luck to all participants.

On Wednesday, all ALA at Fox Tech students (4th-1oth) will gather together for a panoramic picture at 8:45 am.  Flyers are attached and will be sent home on Monday with more information.

We will end the week on Thursday, April 13th with several events on our Fox Tech campus.  First, we are hosting a special gathering for our Spanish speaking families from 5:00-6:00 p.m in the cafeteria.  Second, several of our 6th-10th grade elective classes will be exhibiting their most recent work. All ALA families are invited to stop by the third floor mall area anytime between 6-7:00 pm to visit with students and view their work. Students from our Film and Documentary, Student Ambassadors, Superfoods, History of Video Games, Spanish, and Let’s Build It classes will also be displaying their work. Third, the ALA PTSA is meeting on Thursday as well at 6:30 pm in the cafeteria.

This past Saturday, our middle school ALA Theatre Company performed, The Tempest, at Burbank High School as a part of the SAISD UIL Theatre Festival.  We are happy to share that our play won the award of “Excellent” and three students won medals for areas including All Star Cast, Honorable Mention Cast, and Excellence in Technical Theatre work. See pictures of the UIL events here.  Almost a month ago, our high school ALA Theatre Company competed in the SAISD UIL One Act Play Contest.  Three students won awards in this contest for All Star Cast, Honorable Mention Cast, and Excellence in Technical Theatre.   

We would like to invite the ALA and SAISD community to our ALA MS and HS theatre company production showcases.  On Thursday and Friday evenings, our middle school play, The Tempest, will be showcased on May 18th and 19th at 7pm in the ALA Theatre.  Tickets for these show dates will be $5.00 each.  These tickets will be sold at the door only.  Our high school play will be showcased on May 25th and 26th at 7pm at the Instituto Cultural de Mexico theatre.  On Friday evening, following the performance of The Fifth Sun, we will hold an International Thespian Induction (honor society for the arts).  Advanced tickets for a light dinner on Friday evening only will be sold from April 17th to May 17th.  Tickets are $10.00 each. Please save these dates on your calendars!

As a reminder, Friday, April 14th is a student and faculty holiday.

Have a great week

Sincerely,

Kathy Bieser

Community Update: April 2, 2017

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families,

It was wonderful to see so many families and community members during last Friday’s Night In Old Tech. Along with great food, games, and mariachi music, the event let us reconnect and celebrate with one another.   We want to send a huge thanks to Lindsey Buff, the Night In Old Tech teacher sponsor, for organizing the events and to all the teachers and parents who volunteered their time.

Last Friday, the entire ALA at Euclid campus took a field trip to the Witte Museum to kick-off a new project, and this week our 6th and 7th grade students will analyze art at the San Antonio Museum of Art as part of a unit about how people and places interact and impact each other.  We would like to extend a thank you to all the volunteers who help to make these grade-level field trips and small field trips like Friday’s field trip to the Texas Agricultural Center and Saturday’s Student Leadership class’ field trip to Austin possible.

On Thursday, April 6th, students from our Team Up Challenge group, the Downtown Doers, and our “Serving in the Community” class will be hosting our inaugural “Paws for a Cause” event. The event will take place from 6:30-7:30 pm at the Brick at Blue Star and it will benefit Haven for Hope and the Animal Defense League. Student art as well as mariachi performances by Fox Tech and ALA will be showcased. You may secure your ticket here for a $15 suggested donation, and donations of any amount are appreciated. Even if you can’t attend, please consider supporting our students by donating to their cause.

Our ALA at Euclid students are invited to attend a Family Movie Night: “Night at the Museum” Friday, April 7th from 5:30pm to 7:15pm. As a reminder, parents must attend with their children. There is no cost for the movie; however, the campus PTSA is requesting donations and volunteers. Please email the PTSA at admin@alaptsa.org for more details on how to help!

As a reminder, this Saturday, April 8th is the 5th Annual San Antonio Book Festival at the Central Library from 10 am-5 pm Central Library.  Free parking will be available to ALA and all SAISD families at the Fox Tech Campus.  We hope to see many of you there as we build and strengthen a reading culture at our school and throughout our city!

Parents of our ALA middle school theatre company, the schedule for The Tempest cast and crew rehearsals can be found here.   Please make sure that your child attends each rehearsal; our UIL competition is on April 8th!  If your family has a conflict with a scheduled date; please email or text me as soon as possible, so that the best plan can be made for the students in attendance.

Looking ahead, on Tuesday, April 18th, we are hosting a high school college fair from 11:30 AM -12:45 PM.  Families may access more information HERE. Students and family members are encouraged to attend! The same evening there is also a citywide High School College Fair at UTSA from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM.  Over 130 colleges throughout the United States will attend.  Students may click HERE to register for either fair.

Lastly, Dr. Linda Vargas, ALA at Fox Tech counselor, asked me to highlight several new college planning resources for our 6th-10th families. Utilizing SAISD’s Naviance and the Google Documents she is able to communicate and publicize various pre-college opportunities.  Every week, she updates the links below. Please click on your  student’s designated grade level to see all that is available:

• Freshman: Class of 2020
• Sophomores: Class of 2019
• 6th-8th Graders: Class of 2021, 2022, 2023

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Kathy Bieser