Sep 10, 20237 min read

ACS Weekly Newsletter 9/10/23

MESSAGE FROM THE MANAGING DIRECTOR

Dear ACS Families and Staff,

On Wednesday, the State Board of Education released the accountability report for the 2022-23 school year that features all components of the state’s accountability framework, including the calculation of A-F School Performance Grades and growth designations.

I am pleased to report that we have earned a C for our overall school grade and we have exceeded overall growth for the past two years! Our student’s growth and improved school report card grade is a testament to the dedication and perseverance of our ACS educators, students, and families. Every ACS employee from teachers, support staff, and administrators are working tirelessly each and every day to meet the needs of all our students. As State Superintendent Truitt so eloquently stated in her press release this week, “teachers across North Carolina are working harder than ever to help students recover, and more importantly, advance in their learning. We owe them our gratitude for meeting this challenge to improve outcomes for students.”

All students across North Carolina are continuing to recover ground lost to the COVID pandemic, and all schools, including ACS, continue to experience the impacts and learning losses from this. Therefore, it is still important to recognize that we should not compare our data to data prior to 2018-19, before Covid.

While we are thrilled by our growth and our improved school grade, we still have a lot of work to do, and we truly need your help! As parents, guardians, and caregivers, only you can ensure:

your students come ready to learn
your students are respectful and follow the school rules
your students are at school every day unless they are sick and
your students arrive on time to school and are not picked up early

Teachers are providing instruction right up until dismissal, so each and every minute of our school day is essential. Also, it is important that all of the adults, staff and parents/caregivers, are modeling respectful and kind behavior for our students by how and what we say to each other, even when we may disagree or are frustrated. All of us, educators and caregivers, want the very best for our children and when we support and work together, as a team, academic and social-emotional growth and success is attainable for our students.

Volunteerism is another way to not only support your student, but many students. One of the ways we work to meet the needs of all our students is through our small reading and math groups and work stations that target specific skills and concepts that students are working on mastering. If you are interested in volunteering to help with reading buddies, small groups, work stations, etc., please reach out to your child’s teacher. Remember, you do not have to be an educator to volunteer.

I know that all of us are busy and often finding the time to volunteer can be challenging. However, when my two sons were in elementary and middle school, making time to volunteer in their classrooms (and other classes) was incredibly rewarding. Even 30 minutes per week can make a huge impact. To this day, my time spent volunteering at their school is where I created some of my fondest memories and developed treasured long lasting friendships with other parents.

We, ACS administrators, teachers, and support staff, remain dedicated to decreasing achievement gaps and growing our students, both academically and socially-emotionally. I hope that our community is very proud of all our hard work, dedication, perseverance, and resilience. I know that I am!

Best,

Leslie

Leslie Hall Paynter, M. Ed.

Managing Director

Alamance Community School

IMPORTANT DATES:

Monday, September 11: Cross Country Meet at Discovery Charter School
Thursday, October 5: PICTURE DAY!
October 9-13: Fall Break - No School for Staff or Students
Thursday, October 19: NC Check-In - Reading for Grades 3 & 4
Friday, October 20: NC Check-In - Math for Grades 3 & 4
Monday, October 23: NC Check-In - Reading for Grades 5 & 6
Tuesday, October 24: NC Check-In - Math for Grades 5 & 6
Wednesday, October 25: Fall RtA
Thursday, October 26: NC Check-In - Science for Grade 5

STUDENT SERVICES

Say Something Anonymous Reporting System (SS-ARS) We are happy to announce the district-wide launch of the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System (SS-ARS). This program teaches students, teachers, and administrators how to recognize warning signals and threats, on social media, in school, or in their community, of individuals who may be a threat to themselves or others, and to Say Something to a trusted adult OR use its anonymous reporting system. All fifth and sixth grade students will be trained on the reporting system on Monday, September 18th. Please see the documents below for additional information. If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to our school social worker, Cindy Gittens (cgittens@alamancecommunityschool.net) and/or our school counselor, Scott Tribotte (stribotte@alamancecommunityschool.net). ACS Parent Letter.docx.pdf Say Something Brochure.pdf

ATHLETICS

Our Attractions fundraiser has ended. Thank you for all of your support! Please be sure to turn in unsold books or orders tomorrow if you haven't done so already.

The X-Country meet @ River Mill Academy scheduled for last week was canceled due to dangerous heat conditions.

Athletics Ahead:

9/11 X-Country @ Discovery Charter

Location: 501 Orange Factory Rd, Bahama, NC 27503

Walk Thru: 4:00 pm

Girls Race:4:30 pm

Boys Race:5:00 pm

PTO NEWS

Zaxby's Night this Tuesday, September 12, at the Graham location on 501 S Main Street! All purchases made between 5:00-8:00 p.m. in the restaurant, at the drive-thru, or in the app will earn the ACS PTO 10% cash back; no need to even mention the school when you order! How easy is that!?

This month's Zaxby's Night will also be our first

grade-level competition! We invite Coyotes in all grades to come out for the dinner fundraiser, but the competition will be between the SIXTH-GRADE classes! To participate: Get your order however you'd like, then come inside of the restaurant to pick up a blank slip of paper from the competition table. Write your sixth grader's name on the slip, drop the slip into the corresponding teacher's cup, and the PTO will take care of the rest!

The winning class will earn themselves and their teacher a catered lunch from Zaxby's delivered right to the school. Who will have a higher turnout, Ms. Herman or Ms. Mayle? Don't worry; every grade will have their chance to compete! Good luck to both classes!

GENESIS ATHLETICS NEWS

Enrichment programs are off to a great start! We have postponed the start of volleyball until the end of September. We are still looking for 5-10 more students for the program. We would love to have you.
All pick ups for 4-H, Enrichment, and After School should be at the back of the building. Please do not go to the front of the building or use the side door.
Gardening club will be starting a compost and looking for a few donations- Keep an eye out for our list.
Fall Break is right around the corner- we have 2 camp options for the week. Camp at the Farm, and Camp on Campus. Registration will close a week prior to program start.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT (Cottage Update from Mrs. Paynter)

August 30, 2023

Dear ACS Families & Staff,

First, I will begin with the good information. Even though we are a bit tight in the building, all of our 5th and 6th grade classes are learning and growing, both academically and socially-emotionally. The ability to “make lemonade out of lemons” by our students and staff demonstrates flexibility, resilience, and creativity which are important life skills. How we choose to cope with inconvenient and/or difficult situations says a lot about our character. I am encouraged by how our staff, students, and families have come together to support each other and work as a team.

Now for the not so good news. As I am sure that many of you have noticed, there have been many days where nothing has seemed to be taking place with the cottage construction. Unfortunately, as they began to dig the foundation, the workers hit rock which then led to additional grading and another required inspection before they could return to resume digging the foundation. While the additional grading was being done, the foundation workers were sent to another job site to work and they did not return until several days after the site had been graded and inspected. We have also had some rainy weather which has also contributed to our delayed timeline. As you know, these issues are out of our control, but are incredibly frustrating and at times, are quite discouraging.

I met with Boxx (the cottage vendor) and our contractor, Hubrich Contracting, last week and again today to get a new timeline for the cottage completion. If the weather cooperates, they anticipate that the cottage will be completed and we can move in by late October.

Once we receive the Certificate of Occupancy from the City and can move into the cottage, there will be a great deal to coordinate and move into the cottage, such as the new furniture, classroom materials, and more. This will most likely require us to use a couple of our inclement weather days to accomplish this endeavor. We will be strategic and use a Friday and a Monday so that we could potentially have 3 - 4 days for moving and setting up classrooms. However, we will need to get closer to the cottage being completed before setting those dates. Rest assured that we will give as much notice as possible to our families and staff.

Thank you for your continued support as we continue to grow.

Best,

Leslie

Leslie Paynter, M.Ed.

ACS Managing Director

NOW HIRING FOR THE 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR

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 Jamie Miller at jmiller@alamancecommunityschool.net

LINK TO APPLICATION