Jan 76 min read

ACS Weekly Newsletter 1/7/24

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear ACS Families & Staff,

Happy New Year! We hope you had a wonderful break and are excited for 2024! It was wonderful to see students and staff back at ACS this week and with additional space to move around with the opening of our new cottage! This newsletter is a bit longer since we haven't had one in a few weeks. Please be sure to read through the entire newsletter for updates and reminders and enjoy the highlights from the week below.

This week, our 5th and 6th graders moved into the cottage and our Special's teachers moved back into their classrooms! Mrs. Lane (Global Connections teacher) also moved over to the cottage which means that all of our students will have the opportunity to utilize the new building. We are so grateful for how patient, resilient, and helpful our community members have been during this expansion project.

As students returned from break, teachers took time this week to incorporate a Responsive Classroom reboot. This means they spent time reviewing hopes and dreams, classroom and school rules and expectations, and routines and procedures. Having these practices and structures in place creates a safe and positive learning environment for everyone and this directly impacts how students make social and emotional and academic progress.
5th and 6th grade launched a Coyote Carline Fast Pass Raffle! This is open to all families. Here are the details:

As always, your support and engagement are invaluable to our school community. If you have any questions or need further information, feel free to reach out.

Best,

Jamie Miller, Principal

IMPORTANT DATES:

January 8: MOY benchmarking begins

January 12: Progress Reports will be emailed

January 12: 5th/6th Grade Winter Dance 5:30-7:30 (Details below)

January 10: ACS Tour for Prospective Families 5:30-6:30 pm

January 15: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (No school)

January 16: Yearbook Photo RETAKES

February 8: ACS Cheer Showcase 5:30-6:00pm

February 15: Family Conference Day (NO SCHOOL for students)

February 16: Teacher Workday (NO SCHOOL for students)

February 16: ACS Tour for Prospective Families 12:00-1:00 pm

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

REMINDERS

Please check Lost and Found for your child's belongings. There are a LOT of unclaimed items. All unclaimed items will be put in our donation clothes bin on Thursday, January 11.
Please have your child at school on time. Arriving by 8:10 is ideal so that you can go through carline. After that, they need to be walked in. At 8:15, they must be walked in, AND signed in, and are marked as tardy.

POWERSCHOOL PARENT PORTAL

Attention 5th and 6th grade Families! We are excited to share that this week you will be receiving information about how to access your student's grades in PowerSchool. We hope this will help you stay informed and involved regarding your child's work habits, performance, and progress as they learn to adjust to the expectations and grading system that begins in 5th grade.

5th/6th Grade WINTER DANCE

This dance is for ACS 5th and 6th grade STUDENTS ONLY.
Tickets to attend are $5.00 (cash only) at the door.
Snacks (Popcorn/Cotton Candy/Drinks) will be available for purchase. Cost is $1.00 per item (cash only).
Adult supervision will be provided by ACS staff and administration. Chaperones are not needed for this event; but thank you for your support!
Arrival & Dismissal procedures will run similarly to our normal carline procedures. Pick up & drop off will be in the carline lanes behind the school. Cars will be directed by personnel and cones will be in place. Tags should be placed in the front passenger side window and those needing to show I.D. have it ready. Students should be dropped off no earlier than 5:30PM and picked up no later than 7:30PM. For the safety of staff and students PROMPT PICK UP IS MANDATORY.
Please complete the GoogleForm which is required for students to attend. This form is due no later than WEDNESDAY, January 10 to properly prepare for supplies and supervision requirements.

We look forward to celebrating with your students!! Go Coyotes!!

ATHLETICS

Cheer has been working extremely hard to prepare for their showcase event. Students will have the opportunity to see the showcase during the school day. Families are welcome to come February 8 from 5:30-6:00.

We are excited to begin our first year of Middle School Golf this Spring. Coach Paynter & Coach Barringer are looking forward to working with our middle school athletes! More information about Parent Golf Interest meeting will be shared soon. Let's go Coyotes!

THE GIVING TREE

Our Giving Tree was a huge success again this year thanks to the amazing generosity of our ACS Community. It was wonderful to see our front office filled with packages. Everyone who contributed made a huge impact on the lives of our deserving students. Below are some messages of appreciation from the families that benefited from your kindness.

Thank you so much,

Ms. Kellie

“My wife and I are so grateful for the generous gifts we received for our children. We can not thank ACS enough for the outpouring of love during this holiday season. Their faces lit up to see the gifts under the tree! They are so exited to open them Christmas morning. And we are excited to see their delight as they enjoy what they have been blessed to receive. We believe this is an extraordinary program for the school. It has been so well organized. Picking up everything went smoothly and orderly. The help to the car with the gifts was greatly appreciated as well. We wish the entire ACS team a very Merry Christmas. May bountiful blessings follow you all into the new year.”

“Thanks Alamance Community School for giving gifts. It means a lot just when I thought I couldn't get my babies anything you guys stepped in, thanks so much.”

“I truly want to thank the ACS community for everything that y'all have done to help my kids have a good Christmas. I have been in and out of the hospital with doctors appointments and surgeries, and I have surgeries coming up and we really appreciate the gifts during this difficult time, thank you so much.”

“Thank you, from my family, for the generous gifts to help during this Christmas holiday. It meant more than you could ever imagine. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from us to you!”

“I want to express my sincere thanks for the gifts my son received from the giving tree. Everything was perfect for him and he was so excited to receive it. Thank you! “

“Happy New Year blessings to you and the staff at ACS. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the ACS community for their generosity. It was truly a blessing for my family to be blessed on in this holiday season. I hope and pray yours was likewise.

We thank you wholeheartedly! :)”

“I want to thank anyone that donated towards the giving tree this year. As a single parent it can be very overwhelming finding the time, resources, and finances to provide the gifts I would like to give my family. With the help of ACS’s giving tree it helped relieve that burden and made it an enjoyable holiday for me and my family. Thank you ACS family!”

“I just want to say Thank you so much for the wonderful gifts that my 2 grandkids received. The clothes were needed as they are growing so fast. Your generous thought that was put into the gifts were truly appreciated. I pray that God blesses you for kindness shown to others in need.”

"I want to thank the families that helped make my daughter's Christmas a little brighter this year! It's so great knowing how awesome our ACS community is at coming together to support each other. I have been on the receiving end of this generosity and hope to get to the point where we will be able to be on the giving end as well. We love ACS and the feeling of family that seems to be alive and well always. Thank you again from this very grateful momma!"

PTO NEWS

Have you already used those Texas Roadhouse gift cards? If not, you can fundraise with them all over again by joining us this Tuesday, January 9th at the Burlington Texas Roadhouse between 3:30 & 9:00pm! Have your dinner dine-in or takeout! Just drop your receipt in the bucket, or ask your car hop to put your to-go receipt in the bucket for you, to make your purchase count.

JANUARY EVENTS

01/09: Texas Roadhouse Night

01/16: Zaxby's Night--Third Grade Competition

01/30: RollABout Skate Night

GENESIS

4-H and Enrichment Programs begin this week.

Enrichment Programs for 2024 are now available REGISTER HERE

NOW HIRING FOR THE 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR AND 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 Jamie Miller at jmiller@alamancecommunityschool.net

LINK TO APPLICATION