July 23, 2017 Community Update

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families,

With the month of July coming to a close and our attention turning to the new school year, I am writing today to share a few updates!

Over the last few weeks, we have added information to our newly designed website including Arrival/Dismissal Information, School Supply Lists,  and Uniform Information.  

School Supply Lists
We have set up a donation link for families to donate a full or partial school supply kit for a student who may be in need.  If your family is in need to assistance for school supplies, please fill out this form so that we can get you additional support.

Uniform Information.  
We are asking every student to purchase one logo embroidered uniform shirt that they will be asked to wear for special events and  The attached Uniform Flyer includes details on where and when the shirts may be purchased.  The vendor will also be present at the ALA at Fox Teach Back to School Event on Thursday, August 3rd and the ALA at Euclid on Thursday, August 10th.  In next Sunday’s update we will have more information about these two upcoming events.  If your family needs assistance, Student Uniform Applications will be available in the front office at both ALA campuses beginning on Wednesday, July 26. Families are asked to include all children enrolled in any SAISD school on the one application.

Arrival/Dismissal Information
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 7:30 am.  More details, specific to 4th-11th, can be found on the link above.  Additional information for our Euclid campus will be posted in the next few days as well.

Finally, Laura Sisson and Heather Westerfield, our librarians, are are seeking volunteers to help grow our library program. They  are looking for volunteers that want to help check books in and out, shelve, and keep our libraries open even when they are in classrooms.  If you are interested in becoming a library volunteer, we would love to have you. Please contact Laura Sisson via email (lsisson@saisd.net) or  phone (210.738.9730) for more information.

Please do not hesitate to contact me or any of our faculty or staff members if you have questions or need any assistance as we start the new school year!

A special welcome goes out to our new-to-ALA families.

Sincerely,

Kathy Bieser

Principal

Advanced Learning Academy

Summer Update

Sunday, June 25, 2017

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families,

If you have visited our website recently, you may have noticed that we have launched a newly designed website.  The new website allows for easier editing by ALA faculty and staff.  Today, I want to highlight two communication tools on the website to help us better keep ALA families informed across the two campuses and grades PK-12.  First, there is a Calendar & Events link on the left-hand side under “Quick Links.” After navigating to the calendar page, you can view the ALA Community Calendar by day, week, month, or an agenda view. You may click on any of the events to view more details about the event such as the faculty contact or URL addresses to flyers. Additionally, if you use Google Calendar, you may also add selected events to your personal Google Calendar.  As you scroll through the calendar, you may notice several events labeled as “TENTATIVE.” We will be finalizing many of these events when the entire faculty returns at the end of July along with continually adding events throughout the school year.  

The second tool we want to highlight is Ms. Bieser’s Blog which can be accessed from the “About” tab under “Quick Links” on the left-hand side of the webpage.  Throughout the school year, we will be sending our weekly emails about upcoming events at ALA and posting those emails on the blog.  

Looking ahead, we will be adding a “Daily Student Bulletin” link to the website in the coming weeks that will be viewable to families where will we list announcements and special opportunities.

The school colors did not load correctly on my last email.  I am sending out this LINK with the school colors listed (Lime Green PMS 376 and Royal Blue PMS 7455).

Sincerely,

Kathy Bieser

Principal

Advanced Learning Academy

School Colors!

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families,

We have one short update to share.  Our official school colors are lime green and royal blue (see below).  We are currently designing an embroidered collared shirt with our logo.  We will send our more details about how to purchase the shirt in the coming weeks.

Sincerely,
Kathy Bieser
Principal

 Lime Green

Royal Blue

 

Community Update: May 29, 2017

Monday, May 29, 2017

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families,

Dr. Vargas-Lew continues to meet with our 5th - 10th grade students to complete their choice slips for the 2017-2018 school year.  She is also working on career assessments, as well as four-year high school graduation plans (8th-1oth grade only).  Please not students will be bringing time sensitive forms home for you to review, sign, and return to Mrs. Ibarra in the front office.  Parents are welcome to attend these sessions.  You may click HERE for the schedule.

On Tuesday, May 30,  New York University-Abu Dhabi is coming to ALA!  A current NYUAD student, and former student from my time at the International School of the Americas, will join us to share her story in hope ALA  students will consider NYUAD as one of their college choices. All 9th and 10th grade students and their parents are invited to join us to hear this collegian’s personal academic journey. Click HERE for details.

Also, 4th and 5th grade students will participate in a mini field day Tuesday during their combined elective time from 2:20-4:00.  Athletic attire is encouraged, as there will be several activities involving water!

As the end of the school year quickly approaches, we want share a few updates and reminders with families. First, students recently selected green as an additional school color as part of our new campus logo, which will be shared on our new webpage in the coming weeks. Second, we will be holding orientation meetings over the summer  for new to ALA students to select courses and learn more about the school.

Finally, looking ahead to next school year, the first day of classes will be Monday, August 14.  For your planning, you may review the entire 2017-2018 school calendar HERE. Likewise, also for your planning, please be aware  the school start and stop times are changing slightly for our PK through 5th students:

PK-3rd Grades: 8:10AM-3:25PM

4th-5th Grades:  8:15AM-3:50PM

6th-11th Grades: 8:30AM-4:00PM  (no change from 2016-2017)

While this is my last weekly community update of the year, we will be sending updates every few weeks throughout the summer. Thank you for a wonderful first year and being a pioneer ALA family!

Sincerely,

Kathy Bieser

Community Update: May 21, 2017

Sunday, May 21, 2017

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families,

Tomorrow, our current third grade students (rising 4th grade) will be visiting ALA at Fox Tech to meet teachers, tour the campus during each lunch with current 4th graders,  and learn more about what to expect next year as they transition to their new campus, ahead of the first day of school on Monday, August 14th.  

After a week full of celebrations and exhibitions last week, we have a few more special events this week as well, as we head into the final nine days of the school year.  Our 6th and 7th graders will be looking back on the year and sharing a key learning experience during student-led conferences on Wednesday and Thursday. We encourage you to ask students to share their learning and reflection with family members as well!

We would like to invite all 4th and 5th grade families to a Community Conversation and Feedback Meeting on Thursday, May 25th from 6:30-7:30 pm in the cafeteria.  Families are invited to bring light refreshments to share. A short pre-meeting feedback form will be sent out tomorrow.

On Friday evening, the theatre students will be showcasing their final projects to a live audience of parents and friends.  This will be a very special evening with concessions for sale, the International Thespian Induction, slide show of student work, and student performances.  Included in the evening will be the unveiling of next year’s season and production calendar, which will include the opportunity to travel to the Texas Theatre Conference and New York City (information for these travel experiences will be handed out this evening as well).   Please look for the announcement paper work that went home with your students, and an email from Ms. Stengel.

Dr. Vargas-Lew is looking forward to the Tuesday, May 23rd, college road trip with the Class of 2020 freshmen students and their parents as they travel to Texas Lutheran University and Cafe College from 8:30-4:00 PM (Click HERE for details and permission slip). Two days later, on Thursday, May 25th, the Class of 2019 sophomore students and their parents will travel to Southwestern University and Cafe College from 8:30-4:30 PM (Click HERE for details and permission slip).  

Dr. Vargas will also be wrapping up the year school year and meeting with our 6th - 10th grade students to complete their 2017-18 choice slips, Naviance career assessments, and four year high school graduation plans (8th-1oth grade only).  Students will be bringing time sensitive forms home for parents to review, sign and return to Mrs. Ibarra in the front office.  Parents are welcome to attend these sessions.  Click HERE for schedule.

Have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Kathy Bieser

Community Udpate: May 14, 2017

Sunday, May 14, 2017

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families,

On Friday, the SAISD Foundation made surprise visits to ALA at Euclid and Fox Tech to award six Innovative Grants to several ALA teachers.  Congratulations to Annette Cortez, Jeremiah Birmingham, Nathaniel DuPont, Daniel Mallette, Callan Myers, Deanna Schattel, and Sarah Hudson. We applaud their entrepreneurial spirit and creativity, and we send our thanks to the SAISD Foundation for the wonderful work they do to support our students and schools.  

Yesterday, a group of 6th and 7th grade students along with the English and Let’s Build It  teacher, Dan Mallette, traveled to the Austin Makerfaire where they saw laser cutters, drone races and robotics.  They made circuits, slimes and hammered metal jewelry and discussed “making” with the many professionals at the event.  We are looking forward to formally launching makerspaces on both campuses next year to give our young makers a space to explore, learn, and invent!

ALA at Euclid is sponsoring a food drive in conjunction with the San Antonio Food Bank Monday, May 15th, thru Friday, May 19th. Families can join the Five Days of Food Fun (details linked) or monetary donations (every dollar provides 7 meals) will also be accepted.

On Tuesday, May 16th, our K-3 Euclid students travel to Trinity University from 9:00-2:00. Students will tour the university and Center for the Sciences and Innovation (CSI) building, which will serve as the space for Wednesday night’s science exhibition. On Wednesday, May 17th, family and friends are invited to Trinity University’s CSI building for a Night at the Science Museum, ALA’s K-3’s first museum showcase. The exhibition is designed around how students can create a museum to teach the community about science. The event begins at 5:30pm and ends at 7:00pm. The most convenient parking area for families is at Alamo Stadium, with the presentation rooms just a short walk across the street and campus (campus map linked).

There are several fine arts events at our Fox Tech campus this week beginning with a Dance Spring Show Recital in the outdoor amphitheater from 6-8:00pm on Tuesday, May 16th. On Wednesday, May 17th, we celebrate with our band students from 6-7:30pm in the music building as they perform their last concern of the year.  The mariachi students take center stage on Thursday, May 18th, from 6-8:00pm in the music building. Finally, we will end the week listening to our ALA choir perform from 6-7:30pm on the 1st floor mall of the campus. All ALA families are invited to attend as we celebrate and honor our talented students!

If you have not returned your student’s registration packet to the school, please return it as soon as possible. If you need another copy, the forms may be picked up in the front office.

Finally, we want to highlight a unique paid summer internship open to our high school students.  The Institute of Texan Cultures is recruiting high school aged students to work on a project that will culminate in an online and physical exhibit. Applications are due by Friday, May 26th, and families can read more HERE.

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Kathy Bieser

Community Update: May 7

Sunday, May 7, 2017

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families

Last Friday, we held the 1st annual Father-Daughter Dance for 4th - 12th grade girls and their family members.  Special thanks to our coordinators and chaperones, NHI, Mr. Bland, Mrs. Ortiz, Mr. Loredo, Mrs. Cedillo, Mrs. Ibarra, Ms. Stengel, Mrs. Casanova, Mr. Debolt, Mr. Morgan, Ms. DeLaCerda and Dr. Vargas-Lew. Click HERE to enjoy our pictures!

The STAAR test will be given Monday thru Wednesday this week at the Euclid and Fox Tech campuses.

Monday, May 8: 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th grade math and 5th and 8th math retest

Tuesday, May 9: 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th grade reading and 5th and 8th reading retest

Wednesday, May 10: 5th and 8th science

Once again, 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 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 at home and/or school, so all are ready to put forth best efforts each morning!

Last Thursday evening,  The Tobin Foundation invited theatre students from each of the SAISD theatre programs to attend the dress rehearsal of The Barber of Seville, San Antonio’s own opera.   Each theatre company brought four students interested in performance and/or performance technology.   These four students had the opportunity to tour backstage and have dinner in the founder’s dining room.  Please click here  to see our pictures.

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Kathy Bieser