Community Update: November 26, 2017

Sunday, November 26, 2017

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families,

During this time of Thanksgiving, we wish to extend our appreciation to all our ALA families for supporting our school as we approach the end of our sixteenth month and third semester. Thank you for your generosity and commitment to our school, our students, and for sharing the gift of time, ideas, and resources. Over the last three semesters we have launched new traditions, and we have already celebrated the 2nd anniversary of many of those celebrations, such as our Opening Ceremony, Fall Festival, Report Card and Exhibition Nights, and our Thanksgiving Family Luncheon, where we welcomed over 300+ families to our two campuses.

We will continue to give thanks this week as we welcome Kingdom for Kids, the Rotary Club of San Antonio, and City Year to our Euclid campus. Included in the day long build on Saturday, December 2nd is:

• A new play structure in addition to the current playground.
• A new basketball court with professional grade goal and customized striping to reflect school colors.
• A new soccer field with junior sized goals.
• Six new landscaped areas for landscaping, including a new garden entry, fence line gardens, eight new trees, picket fencing,  and lattice screening.
• Decorative murals for fenceline areas.

As a reminder, for this ALA community day, all volunteers must register for the event through City Year using this LINK. While all volunteers must be 14 years or older, younger children in attendance can enjoy the kids fair from 12-3pm. We hope to see you on Saturday!

On Tuesday, November 28th, we are holding a required pre-trip meeting at 6 pm in the theater for the families of our 9th-11th grade students, who will be traveling to H-E-B Foundation Free Camps in Leakey, Texas, from December 6-8. While at the camp, students will participate in outdoor adventure activities such as kayaking, hiking, high ropes, archery, and much more! Our secondary teachers will share an overview of the agenda, review medication procedures, explain the packing list, and answer questions.  If you are unable to attend the meeting, please email me, Kathy Bieser, at ebieser1@saisd.net to set up an alternate time to review the meeting material. We would like to thank H-E-B Foundation Free Camps for hosting us on this annual high school trip.

Wednesday, November 29th, students will have the opportunity to retake school photos during the school day. Families have up to 48 hours to purchase photos online after the retakes.

Before the break, we shared information regarding the application process for the 2017-2018 school year.  The online application for grades Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, and 6th grade will open tomorrow,  Monday, November 27th, 2017, and close on Wednesday, January 31st 2018. The online application will only accept applications for Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, and 6th grade students. The second of two informational sessions for families will take place this Thursday, November 30th at 6pm at both campuses.

ALA will also backfill and accept a limited number of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, or 8th grade students in 2018-2019. However, the admission process is different for these grades as very few seats are available.  For these limited seats, siblings of currently enrolled students will be given priority. In order to access this priority, families of currently enrolled students are invited to add names of siblings to the waitlists for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th or 8th grade.  During the designated window, Monday, November 27th-Friday, December 8th, ALA families may contact the Office of Access and Enrollment Services to add the sibling names to the list. Contact can be done via phone, email, or text on a first-come, first served basis. The waitlists will be opened to the general public after the designated window for ALA families. Looking ahead, there is also a district-wide event Experience SAISD on Saturday, December 16th for families and community members to learn more about the many schooling options available for students.

Boys soccer and girls basketball both begin this week. Boys soccer will begin practice on Tuesday, November 28th for our 7th and 8th graders. The schedule of practices and games can be found here. Uniforms will be issued on the first day of practice. In order to receive a uniform, students must have turned in any previously issued uniforms.  Our 7th & 8th grade girls basketball seasons begins tomorrow, Monday, November 27th. More information and a required sign-up can be found HERE.

Have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Kathy Bieser

Community Update: Sunday, November 12, 2017

Sunday, November 12, 2017

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families,

Last week, our 8th grade humanities students traveled to the Euclid campus to share original children’s books with 1st-3rd grade students about the foundations of our government.  The creation of the children's book was a culminating project of the eighth graders’ study of the elements of plot, tone, voice, and the United States Constitution. Through this project-based learning (PBL) experience, our Euclid students were introduced to the United States Constitution and our 8th graders had to think critically about how to teach constitutional idea through story. Many thanks to all of the teachers who designed the project and worked collaboratively to connect our students from both campuses.

As our 8th graders finish one PBL (project-based learning) lesson, the Euclid campus is in the middle of another. The focus of the current PBL at the Euclid campus centers around the idea of character traits.  On Thursday, students are invited to wear jeans and superhero shirts (no costumes). We will talk about how superheros display positive character traits that can be used to help and build a community.  During the day, students will create their own symbol that represents a personal character trait and explain why that character trait fits them.  They will also have an opportunity to make their own cape and wear it. Teachers will also post this information on Seesaw for families to view.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, November 12th-13th, we will welcome educators from the Texas Education Agency who are visiting to identify promising practices from schools across the state who received grant funding. Along with visiting classrooms, the educators will conduct several interviews and focus groups with faculty to better understand the impact of innovative programs on student outcomes and the recruitment and retention of highly-qualified instructors.

On Wednesday morning,  40 of our ALA theatre students will attend the Texas International Theatre Conference in Grapevine, Texas, outside of Dallas.  They will join over 7,000 theatre students from across the state.  Students are leaving campus at 4:30am on Wednesday morning.  Middle school students will return Wednesday evening, and high school students will return Saturday evening.  During the conference they will attend plays, writing workshops, design showcases, professional design presentations and practicals, led by designers and artists from Broadway to LA and successful theatre artists from our own state in both the university and the high school setting.  For more information, please peruse the opportunity at this link:  http://www.texasthespians.org/festival.html.

We are hosting two family Thanksgivings luncheons this week.  The ALA at Fox Tech lunch will take place on Thursday, November 16th, and on our Euclid campus on Friday, November 17th.  Please sign up no later than Monday, November 13th, using these links: ALA @ FT Thanksgiving Lunch & ALA @ Euclid Thanksgiving Lunch. To keep the lines moving, it would be helpful for families to have exact change ($3.75) when paying for meals. The links above have lunch times listed for your reference.

Our Thanksgiving celebrations continue on Friday, November 17th, as all students are invited to dress up for Turkey Day. HERE  is additional Turkey Day information and what students may wear to school.

As the end of November approaches, our recruiting efforts for the 2018-2019 school year are beginning. On Tuesday, November 14th, ALA at Euclid and ALA at Fox Tech will both be hosting simultaneous informational sessions at 6pm for prospective families.  The ALA at Fox Tech session, for rising 4th-8th grade students, will take place in the theater and the ALA at Euclid session will be in the gymnasium.  The online application for grades Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, and 6th grade will open on Monday, November 27th, 2017, and close on Wednesday, January 31st, 2018. The online application will only accept applications for Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, and 6th grade students.

ALA will also backfill and accept a limited number of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, or 8th grade students in 2018-2019. However, the admission process is different for these grades as very few seats are available.  For these limited seats, siblings of currently enrolled students will be given priority. In order to access this priority, families of currently enrolled students are invited to add names of siblings to the waitlists for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th or 8th grade.  During the designated window, Monday, November 27th-Friday, December 8th, ALA families may contact the Office of Access and Enrollment Services to add the sibling names to the list. Contact can be done via phone, email, or text on a first-come, first served basis. The waitlists will be opened to the general public after the designated window for ALA families. Looking ahead, there is also a district-wide event Experience SAISD on Saturday, December 16th for families and community members to learn more about the many schooling options available for students.

Coach Rachel McDonald asked to publicize that our 7th & 8th grade girls basketball season is just around the corner, beginning Monday, November 27th. More information and a required sign-up can be found HERE.

Looking ahead, on December 2nd, 2017, families are invited to volunteer as we build an additional playground at ALA at Euclid. The day will include the installation of new learning playgrounds, the painting of murals, landscaping work, and a kids activity fair centered on college and career readiness. Our high school and middle school ALA tech theatre students are designing and building an outdoor kitchen unit for play.  For this ALA community day, all volunteers must register for the event through City Year using this LINK. While all volunteers must be 14 years or older, younger children in attendance can enjoy the kids fair from 12-3pm. We are thankful for this wonderful gift provided by Kingdom for Kids, a partnership with the Rotary Club of San Antonio and City Year.

The SAISD Counseling Department at SAISD is seeking feedback from families through the short needs assessment surveys linked below. Your comments and unique perspectives are appreciated as we continually strive to better meet the needs of our families.

Elementary Families: English & Spanish

Middle school Families English & Spanish
High school Families English & Spanish

We will end the week with a 10th/11th grade Saturday School on November 17th from 9am to 12pm in room 318.   

Finally, the Euclid campus has a lost and found rack located outside of the cafeteria, that we encourage families to visit before the Thanksgiving Break. We are also asking that families write their child’s name inside their sweaters and jackets. It will help us to know who to return it to should it be left somewhere.

We return from Thanksgiving Break on Monday, November 28th. We wish all our ALA families a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Kathy Bieser

Community Update: Sunday, November 5, 2017

Sunday, November 5, 2017

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families,

Last Friday, I traveled with our 8th grade students and teachers to Enchanted Rock State Park where we hiked and learned about topographic maps as part of the 8th grade science curriculum.  The teachers and students did a wonderful job supporting each other on the hike to the top, where they were rewarded with a wonderful view of the Texas Hill Country.  

Beginning on Tuesday of this week, our 7th/8th grade boys basketball and 7th/8th girls soccer teams have one or two regular games remaining before heading into tournament play to finish up their seasons.   We wish the team good luck in their final games of the year this week and next, and congratulate the teams for how well they have competed and represented ALA!

On Tuesday and Wednesday, our 7th grade students will be attending a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) event at Freeman Coliseum where they will engage in science activities designed to inspire and deepen student interest in the fields. We encourage 7th grade families to ask students about their learning. While our 7th grade is at Freeman Coliseum, our 8th-11th grade current events students will be visiting the Trinity University Tiger TV production studio to get a first hand understanding of how the news reported.

The PTSA asked me to remind families that this Wednesday, November 8, 2017, they will hold a meeting on the Euclid campus beginning at 6:30 pm.  Families will be able to order the “Rise, Shine & Repeat” spirit shirt for the last time at the meeting.

On Thursday, November 9th, ALA at Fox Tech will host a ceremony honoring veterans in our community with a ceremony beginning at 3:30pm in the amphitheater.  Families are welcome to attend, and encouraged to arrive no later than 3:15pm. to give ample time to park, check-in, and get settled in the gymnasium.

This week is homecoming on the Fox Tech campus. Students at ALA at Fox Tech may dress up following these Homecoming week themes on Monday and Friday. We will end the week with a campus Homecoming dance in the 1st Floor Mall for 9th-12th grade students on Friday, November 11 from 7-11 pm. Tickets will be sold this week during lunches and at the door ($10/$15).  The same evening, Trinity University is sponsoring an Advanced Learning Academy Middle School Dance in the theater for 6th-8th grade students from 6-8 pm.  Admission is free, and families are welcome to donate refreshments. More details can be found HERE.

On Saturday, November 11, our choir students will be participating in UIL All Region Choir. Best of luck to our talented fine arts students! The 4th/5th, 9th and 10th/11th grade teams will also  be up at school hosting a  Saturday School that same day.   Please see the ALA Community Calendar for times.

Looking ahead, we will host a family Thanksgivings Luncheon on our Fox Tech campus on Thursday, November 16th, and on our Euclid campus on Friday, November 17th.  More information about times and how to order a lunch will be sent out soon.

Have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Kathy Bieser