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CONSTRUCTION & SCHOOL PLANNING UPDATE
Dear Families,
First, Happy Belated July 4th!! I hope everyone has had a fun and relaxing holiday!
The construction team was working on the siding in the south east corner of the building and insulating on the first and second floors. They were hanging the drywall on the first floor and should have all the drywall hung on the first & second floor next week. On a fun note, we we were able to choose the interior of the elevator and we chose something that would showcase our school spirit - purple!
FALL OPENING UPDATE
I know that all of us were disappointed and somewhat frustrated when Governor Cooper did not make a decision on July 1st about the re-opening of schools for the fall. Therefore, we are continuing to plan for all 3 scenarios.
The majority of families (68.6%) say they would send their children to school if Plan B (50% capacity-hybrid model of in person & remote learning) is chosen compared to 43.8% of families if we operate at full capacity, all in person instruction and 61% if learning is completely remote. The majority of our staff at 66.7% also think Plan B (50% capacity-hybrid model of in person & remote learning) is the best option to open school in the fall. Thank you to the families that completed the ACS Family School Entry Survey. Your input is helping us make decisions that will be in the best interest of our children!
If you haven’t completed the ACS Family Technology Survey, please do so. This survey is providing us with important information regarding your technology resources and needs for potential remote/virtual learning.
We are hoping that at the very least, the Plan B - the hybrid model at 50% capacity, will be chosen by the Governor. We know that some in person instruction is more effective than all remote. However, as I stated last week, if the Governor chooses Plan A or Plan B, the State has given us the ability to provide an all remote option for the families that do not feel safe sending their children back to school in the fall. We would provide the remote instruction to those students while also providing the in person instruction for the students that choose to return to school.
If the Governor chooses Plan B for reopening schools, the schedule that most favor, provides the most consistency, and seems to be the best for young children is a Monday/Tuesday schedule for one group (half the class) and a Thursday/Friday for the other group (the other
half of the class) with Wednesday as a deep cleaning day in between the two groups.
Please know that we are putting a lot of time, energy, and planning in developing plans that are best for our students, are realistic for our staff to implement, and doable for parents. Some large school districts have released their preliminary plans. We will release the details of our plans on July 21 and will host a virtual parent meeting to explain & answer questions on July 22 or 23. We do not want to “publish” a plan that may need to be changed, because we did not think through each detail. To develop a comprehensive plan for each scenario, there are multiple factors involving safety and learning to consider - it’s a giant puzzle!
As a charter school, we do have an advantage and the ability to operate in a smaller, safer, more controlled environment. Right now, the safety and instruction for our ACS students and staff are my top priorities!
VIRTUAL MORNING MEETINGS
Because, our virtual “Morning” Meetings have been such a huge success, we will begin to host additional “Morning” Meetings from July 9th - July 21st. More information and the sign up links will be coming soon. Also, stay tuned for more information about our Team “chats” where you can meet members of the grade level, EC, specials, and administrative teams during the week of July 27th.
REGISTRATION UPDATE
Make sure you have started the Registration Process if your child has been offered a position. Also, tell your friends and family that they can still apply to attend ACS for the 2020-2021 school year. Here is the link to apply: ACS Application
Best,
Leslie Paynter, M.Ed.
Managing Director
ACS FAMILY SURVEY LINKS
SCHOOLMINT & REGISTRATION
If you have questions about your SchoolMint account or questions about uploading records,etc., please email Jen Adler at jennifera+acs@chartersuccesspartners.com or call 919-479-1442 extension 707.
Jen manages our SchoolMint account and is able to assist with your questions on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
If you have been offered a spot for your child to attend, I strongly encourage you to accept the offer and begin the registration process ASAP.
Also, make sure that you are contacting your child’s doctor and school offices to access their records for the registration process. If your child’s doctor’s appointment isn’t until the summer, upload all the other documents and in that spot, upload a picture of the doctor appointment date.
As long as status is "Registration in Progress," you will not lose your spot. We understand that it is still difficult to get certain documents and appointments and that many students will not receive a final report card until mid-June.
MY FAVORITE BOOK FOR THE WEEK:
I thought in honor of July 4th, it would be fitting to highlight Jean Fritz, the children’s author of many books about American history. Jean Fritz, was born in China to American missionaries in 1915. She wrote forty-five books for children. She received many awards for her writing, including the Newberry Honor Award, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award. She was almost 102 years old when she passed away in 2017.
Can’t You Make Them Behave King George? by Jean Fritz with illustrations by Tomie dePaola is a terrific book about King George III written for children. All King George III ever wanted was for everyone to be as conscientious as he was about obeying the rules! After all, he followed the rules for being a good king, so why were those pesky Americans causing so much trouble?
BEFORE & AFTER CARE
The Before and After School information provided by Genesis Athletics is on our website at: Before & After School Care. There is a Registration Form that you can complete. If you have any questions,
or if you would like more information, please contact Evelyn Kreiley at
evelyn.kreiley@gmail.com or at 585-738-7360
Be sure to tell your friends and family that they can still apply to attend ACS for the 2020-2021 school year. Here is the link to apply: ACS Application
CALL FOR EXTRA LEGOs, BLOCKS, BUILDING TOYS & BOOKS
If you are doing “spring cleaning”, we would love to have any extra Puzzles, LEGOS, blocks, and building materials for our LEGO/Engineering class and classrooms. Also, if you have children’s books (all levels) that you are no longer using, please set those aside for us too!
ADDITIONAL ONLINE RESOURCES
HOW TO TALK TO CHILDREN ABOUT COVID-19
The National Association of School Psychologists has developed this resource for parents regarding how to talk to children about COVID-19. National Association of School Psychologists
LARRY FERLAZZO - NY TIMES BLOGGER - TEACHING K-12 ONLINE RESOURCES
HIGH QUALITY FREE WEBSITES & APPS - High Quality Educational Resources and Apps
FREE BOOSTERTHON RESOURCES - Boosterthon Access Code: AtHome Boosterthon on Facebook
GUIDANCE FROM NCDHHS on SCHOOL REOPENING SAFETY - StrongSchoolsNC Public Health Toolkit (K-12)
NC Kids - NC Kids is a digital library with online books available in ebook, video, and audio formats. The library collection ranges from beginning reader to young adult. You can also access these books on the go with the Libby App from NC Kids. A library card is required in order to borrow books from this digital library.
STORYLINE - Storyline, streams videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations.
Don’t forget to check our website and Facebook page for previous messages & more school information! www.alamancecommunityschool.net and