Community Update: Sunday, August 27, 2017

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families,

All SAISD schools and offices will be open on Monday with normal start times. Our thoughts are with those across the coastal region affected by Hurricane Harvey.  I have reached out to our Student Ambassadors at the ALA at Fox Tech class to research ways that our school can help aide those affected and lead the response.  Please look for more details in next week’s update for how we can all contribute.

Laptop distribution for 6th-11th grade ALA students and families continues this week. 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 28, Tuesday, August 29 or Friday, September 1 from noon to 1pm. We will be scheduling additional after school dates in the near future.

On Tuesday, our combined 7th & 8th grade girls volleyball team opens the season at 5:30pm at Mission Concepcion Sports Complex   In addition to girls volleyball, the Academy Sports League offers 7th & 8th grade Advanced Learning Academy students the opportunity to participate in the following team sports:  boys and girls basketball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls soccer, and boys 7 on 7 flag football. Our ALA teams will compete against other SAISD academies throughout the school year and a complete listing of fall games can be found on the Advanced Learning Academy Community Calendar.  Families may contact Callan Myers, Middle School Athletic Director, at cmyers1@saisd.net .

Each of our ALA at Euclid PK--3 villages will be hosting a Village Orientation Parent & Guardian meeting on Thursday, August 31, from 5:30pm-6:30pm at the Euclid campus.  All families are encouraged to attend to learn more about your child’s village, the school’s approach to teaching and learning, and upcoming events.

Looking ahead, similar meetings will be held ALA at Fox Tech families. Our 4th & 5th grade team will host a Back to School meeting on Thursday, September 7th from 5:30pm-6:30pm while our 6th-11th grade teams will welcome families on Wednesday, September 20 from 6pm-7:30pm.

On Friday, September 1, we will officially and formally open the new school year at our annual Advanced Learning Academy Opening Ceremony. Families are invited to attend our ALA Opening Ceremony beginning at 9:00am in the Fox Tech campus amphitheater. Due to limited parking and ongoing construction, we recommend that you arrive on campus no later than 8:30am to give you plenty of time to find a parking spot, check in at the main office for a visitor’s pass, and settle in the amphitheater in a designated parent seating section (students will assemble from their classrooms and attend as a class). The Opening Ceremony will include remarks from several community partners and a reading of an original poem by Jenny Browne, San Antonio’s Poet Laureate. All of our students, including those from ALA on Euclid, with the exception of our Pre-K students, will be in attendance.

Friday is also the 1st of several free dress Fridays this semester (September 1st, October 6th, November 3rd, December 1st). More information about the school uniform and special dress days can be found HERE.

Thank you to the many students who auditioned for our first ALA musical, Peter and The Starcatcher!   The cast list will be posted in the common area and in the fine arts building.  All actors and crew members are asked to initial by their names to let the stage manager and Ms. Stengel know they have read the list.  Please ask your child to pick up a production calendar and a script from Ms. Stengel in the theatre building.  A whole company rehearsal call will begin on Tuesday at 4:15pm to 5:30pm in the theatre.  

Finally, as a reminder, Monday, September 4th (Labor Day), is a student and staff holiday. We will welcome students back on Tuesday, September 5th.

Sincerely,

Kathy Bieser

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

Community Update: Sunday, August 13, 2017

Sunday, August 13, 2017

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families,

It was wonderful to see so many returning and new ALA families at the back to school events over the last few days at ALA at Euclid and Fox Tech. We will officially open the school year at both campuses tomorrow, Monday, August 14!

Families may drop off students at both campuses as early at 7:30 am.  As a reminder, please do not drop off students earlier than 7:30 am at ALA at Fox Tech or Euclid as there is no morning supervision of students prior to 7:30 am  and the school doors will remain locked until teacher and administrators report for supervision duty at 7:30 am.   

In preparation for the first day of school, we want to share a few reminders and updates.

Magnet and specialized school buses and regular school bus routes will be running tomorrow for the first day of school. Families may access the magnet 2017-2018 bus route information here.

The ALA faculty and staff have created a 17-18 Parent Communication Information document outlining the many ways families can access information and subscribe to village or grade-level specific information from school faculty and staff. The document is also posted to our webpage and will be continually updated as we develop and refine systems.

We also have some reminders for the specific campuses below:

ALA at Euclid

• The official school day at ALA at Euclid is 8:10 am-3:25 pm.
• At 8:10 am, the cafeteria doors will be locked.  If you’re running late, families should enter through the front door on Euclid, outside of the cafeteria (buzzed-in) because school will have begun.
• Please review this link for complete information: Arrival/Dismissal Information.

ALA at Fox Tech

• Please follow this 17-18 Traffic Plan during arrival and dismissal.
• If your child, in grades 4-11, is interested in auditioning for the fall musical, Peter and The Starcatcher, please see this link for audition details.  

4th & 5th Families

• The official school day at for 4th & 5th grade students is 8:10 am-3:50 pm.
• Students should arrive no later than 8:00 am to give ample time to eat breakfast and transition to class.
• There will be school faculty and staff ready to direct students to the amphitheater where they will gather for breakfast.
• At 8:oo am, drop-off supervision on Buffalo Lane ends. If you’re running late, families should walk students into the administrative building to check-in.
• Please review this link for complete information: Arrival/Dismissal Information.

6th-11th Families

• The official school day at for 6th-11th grade students is 8:30 am-4:00 pm.
• Students should arrive no later than 8:15 am to give ample time to eat breakfast and transition to class.
• 6th and 7th grade students participating in Passion Pursuits should arrive no later than 7:40 am.
• Please review this link for complete information: Arrival/Dismissal Information.
• On Monday morning, students will report to the following areas to receive a new and/or an updated copy of their schedule. Over the weekend, counselors and administrators adjusted some schedules based on student requests or to balance teachers’ class sizes.
• All this week, faculty and staff will be meeting with 8th-11th students who wish to change their schedule. On the first day of school, our priority is making sure we meet with any student who is missing a core class (math, science, English, social studies, and world language) before meeting with students who wish to change elective classes. Please know that we are working as quickly as possible to get students into the correct classes, so they do not miss valuable instruction. ALA teachers anticipate schedule changes during the first week of school and will assist students who may join the class on the second or third day of school. Please reassure your student that we are committed to crafting the very best schedule possible for each student, and all students wishing to change their schedule will have the opportunity to meet with us to discuss their course options.

We are looking forward to a great first day of school!

Sincerely,

Kathy Bieser

Principal

Advanced Learning Academy

Community Update: Monday, August 7, 2017

Monday, August 7, 2017

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families,

It was wonderful to see so many families at last week’s ALA at Fox Tech Back to School Event. If you were unable to attend, the grade-level presentations are linked below for your review, along with teacher contact information.

LINK to 4th/5th

LINK to 6th/7th Presentation

LINK to 8th Presentation

LINK to 9th Presentation

LINK to 10th /11th Presentation

We also want to remind all families that you may sign-up to volunteer by completing the new online volunteer registration form. When a need for volunteers arises, you will receive an email detailing the assistance requested.

For those families that will be using the district’s magnet buses, this LINK  lists the middle schools that will serve as a pick-up and drop-off point during the school year. Please note that Pre-K and Kinder families are required to complete paperwork in order for students to ride the bus. The paperwork will be available at this week’s ALA at Euclid Back to School Event. Please look for more information about the high school magnet buses and arrival/drop off details in next week’s update.

On Thursday, August 10, 2017,  ALA at Euclid (PK-3) will host Meet the Teacher  from 5:30-7:00 pm. Families are invited to stop by the school anytime between 5:30-7:00 pm to meet your child's teacher and receive information about arrival, dismissal, lunch, transportation and daily schedule information.

For the ALA at Fox Tech campus, if your child, in grades 4-11, is interested in auditioning for the fall musical, Peter and The Starcatcher, please see this link for audition details.  Parents can sign up to help with committees on the information night.  Best of luck to all students participating in the auditions for our very first whole campus musical!

Finally, after school care will begin on the first day of school for families who have signed up with the YMCA (ALA at Fox Tech) or Greater San Antonio All -Stars (ALA at Euclid).

Sincerely,

Kathy Bieser