May 57 min read

ACS Weekly Newsletter 5/05/24

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear ACS Families,

May is always one of the busiest months for schools and families. Buckle up because these last 15 days of school will be packed and will go by quickly!

This week we are looking forward to Staff Appreciation Week, Coyote Connections, The Lion King Kids performances, Project Celebrations, and more! Please be sure to read through the newsletter so you are well informed of all of the things happening at ACS this week and the weeks ahead.

Jamie Miller

IMPORTANT DATES:

May 6-10: Staff Appreciation Week

May 8: Wear blue for TAR Syndrome Awareness Day (more information below)

May 8: Coyote Connections (5:30-7:30)

May 9 and 10 : Lion King Kids performance (7:30)

May 16: 1st Grade Field Trip

May 23: Field Day

PROJECT CELEBRATION DATES:

May 8: 1st grade at 11:00
May 10: 3rd grade at 11:00 and 2nd grade at 1:00
May 20: 6th grade at 1:00
May 21: 4th grade at 1:00
May 22: Kindergarten at 10:00 and 5th grade at 11:00

TESTING DATES:

EOGs (scroll down for full EOG information)
- Tues. May 14: 3rd - 6th Grade Reading
- Wed. May 15: 5th Grade Science
- Thurs. May 16: 3rd - 6th Grade Math

COYOTE CONNECTIONS

You are invited to attend our 2nd Annual ACS Coyote Connections Event on Wednesday, May 8 from 5:30 - 7:30 PM where you will have the opportunity to meet and greet our new Principal, Mr. J. Marquice Miller (Mr. Miller will officially begin July 1) and our new and current staff and teachers for the 2024-2025 school year. You can also choose to attend two information sessions based on your interests from a variety of topics, such as middle school electives and athletics, elementary curriculum, responsive classroom, and social-emotional learning. Also, the PTO will be selling pizza and drinks to the families that responded on the RSVP form.

We hope to see you on Wednesday, May 8 from 5:30 - 7:30! for our 2nd Annual Coyote Connections!

PTO NEWS

This Tuesday, May 7th will be our final Zaxby's Night of the year. There is no grade-level competition this month, so there's no more for you to do besides join us at Zaxby's in Graham for dinner! Order on the app, at the window, or inside, and 10% of all purchases made between the hours of 5:00 and 8:00 will be donated to the ACS PTO. Thank you all for your support of our dinner fundraisers and grade-level competitions, earning us $2,500 so far this year!

May 6th through the 10th is Teacher Appreciation Week! Our theme this year is SUMMER PARTY! The PTO will treat all teachers and staff to a little treat each day this week; see our Appreciation Spirit Week flyer for complimentary ideas that students can do for free to join in the fun. We are so excited to celebrate our outstanding Coyote teachers! Gifts and goodies can be labeled and dropped off at the front office, or sent in with students to be given to their teachers directly. Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

THE LION KING KIDS

This is the week!

Thursday, May 9th & Friday, May 10th, 2024 at 7:30 PM

Alamance Community School Musical Theater presents: THE LION KING KIDS! Join our wonderful cast and crew for a night of singing, dancing, and laughter. Tickets are on sale now!

TAR SYNDROME AWARENESS DAY - Wednesday, May 8

Meet Grayson Moss, a member of our Coyote Pack. Grayson, a kindergartener in Ms. Dawn's class, has a rare disorder called TAR syndrome. This Wednesday, we want to help bring awareness to TAR syndrome and show our support for Grayson by wearing blue!

FIELD DAY

Field day will take place on Thursday, May 23. Times for grade levels are listed below. Volunteers and donations are needed to make this day a success. Check out the Signup Genius link for ways you can help.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904044BA4A723A6FE3-49350570-volunteers#/

K - 8:45-9:30

1- 9:40-10:25

2 - 10:35-11:20

3 - 11:30-12:15

4- 12:25-1:10

5th and 6th - 1:20-2:05

STUDENT SERVICES (Mr. Tribotte and Mrs. Gittens)

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

“Mental health is wealth, especially during Mental Health Awareness Month, which is celebrated in May. The stigma around mental health and treatment has long existed, even though this has started to change. Still, people hesitate to seek help or even talk about it with their loved ones for fear of being judged and facing unnecessary backlash. Simple logic dictates that if we are hurt anywhere, we must seek treatment to get better. This applies to both our mental- and physical well-being.” -National Today

Please read the May is Mental Health Awareness Month document to learn ways that you & your family can take part in ending mental health bias and discrimination, and help build a healthy nation that celebrates children's strengths.

Phone Check/Safety Reminder - Please check your student’s(s’) phones. It's a good idea to check deleted items in photos/videos and to look through their social media accounts. Make sure they know everyone they are chatting with and that they are using kind words to reduce cyberbullying and protect student social/emotional health! Student safety is our priority.

ATHLETICS

ACS Golf closed out their season on 4/29/24. Coyotes traveled down to Creedmoor, NC to compete against a pool of 6 schools and 34 golfers. South Granville Country Club course is one of many challenging courses for young golfers in NC, with so many hills, slopes and pounds. All ACS golfers gave it their best swing on a warm and breezy spring day. In the words of LJ the day after the match, "Coach the course wore me out." The host team will be submitting final scores in the upcoming week. Coach Sam & Coach McKenzie were thrilled at the growth of all ACS golfers in this inaugural season and are looking forward to an exciting sophomore golf campaign in the Spring of 2025!

Families, if you have a rising 6th or 7th grader that wishes to participate in ACS athletics for the 24-25 school year, a physical examination form is required for tryouts and participation. Exams can be scheduled with your primary care physician, or local minute clinics.

GENESIS (Evelyn Kreiley)

Kindergarten Prep Camp Registration is Now Open!

END OF GRADE TESTING (EOG) INFORMATION (GRADES 3 - 6)

Dear 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Grade Coyote Caregivers - As part of federal and state legislation, each school year North Carolina students are required to take state tests, including EOGs. The North Carolina End-of-Grade Tests are designed to measure student performance on the goals, objectives, and grade-level competencies specified in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. We are excited to see the growth our students have made during the 2023-2024 school year.

We are sharing this information now, so that you can plan accordingly. Students need to arrive on time each day and even a few minutes early, so your child can get settled and not be hurried or stressed upon arriving at school on the morning of assessment. Assessments will begin promptly at 8:30 a.m. each day! Please note: If testing has begun for the day and if we do not have any extra test administrators to administer the EOG to late students, we may request that the parent take the student home for the day and they will need to take the test on the make-up day.

These are additional ways for you to help your child do their best:

Please make sure your child gets a solid night of rest the night before an assessment.
Please make sure your child eats a nutritious breakfast before coming to school.
Students should bring a snack and a filled water bottle to school on assessment days, in addition to their lunch and other items needed for school.
Remind your child they are ready for this, to do their best, and they will do an amazing job!

Our 3rd - 6th grade students will participate in End of Grade Testing at the end of May, according to the following schedule.

Date	Grade Levels	Assessment
Tuesday, May 14	3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th	Reading EOG
Wednesday, May 15	5th	Science EOG
Thursday, May 16	3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th	Math EOG

Attendance for EOGs is extremely important. However, we will have make-up EOGs for those students who were not at school on their designated EOG testing day. Designated Make up dates are:

Wednesday, May 15 for 3rd, 4th & 6th grade Reading makeups
Friday, May 17 for 3rd - 6th grade Math makeups
Monday, May 20 for 5th grade Science makeups
Tuesday, May 21 for 5th grade Reading makeups

If you have questions or concerns about the EOGs, you may reach out to your child’s teacher or please contact Catherine Quick, K-5 Curriculum Director, at cquick@alamancecommunityschool.net or Leslie Jewell, Student Information and Testing Coordinator, at ljewell@alamancecommunityschool.net.

*The Board approved the 2024-2025 calendar in November. It can be found on our website and is included here as well.

Rising 7th Graders: Required Immunizations

Students entering 7th grade are required to have one dose of Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccine and one dose of meningococcal conjugate vaccine for individuals who have not already received those vaccines. Please contact your student’s health care provider or the local health department if your child needs those vaccines.

Parents/guardians of students enrolled in 7th grade will be required to provide an updated current proof of vaccination (i.e., Certificate of Immunization from the NC Immunization registry) on or before the first day of school, August 13, 2024.

If proof of vaccination is not provided within 30 calendar days of the first day of school, your child will be excluded from school until a current shot record is provided, as required by law.

Please DO NOT send your immunization certificate to school at this time. You will be asked to provide this later this spring, during our re-enrollment process for current students.

For more information on required immunizations in NC, please visit: https://immunization.dph.ncdhhs.gov/family/nc_immnz_requirements.htm

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR 2024-2025

If you or someone you know would be a good fit for ACS, please apply through our website under the ‘Employment’ tab (see link below) and email a resume to Leslie Paynter: lpaynter@alamancecommunityschool.net

LINK TO APPLICATION