Apr 287 min read

ACS Weekly Newsletter 4/28/24

MESSAGE FROM THE MANAGING DIRECTOR

Dear ACS Families,

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.

Thank you to everyone that completed the Interest Survey. We had over 245 participants and your responses are helping us plan for the event.

Over 70% of you want to meet and greet our new staff for the 2024-2025 school year. Other top choices included:

Middle School Electives, Athletics, Clubs, Arts, & Music at 57%
Summer Resources to Support Learning, Literacy & Math Interventions, & Transitioning to Kindergarten at 43%
Elementary and Middle School Curriculum at 39% &
Responsive Classroom, Counseling, Social Work, & Social-Emotional Learning at 20%

We are working on creative ways to cover the topics that did not have as much interest with informational tables and “self-service” computer stations with important information for those that may be interested.

To ensure that we adequately plan for what rooms/spaces to utilize for the event and so the PTO can plan for the amount of pizza to purchase, please complete the RSVP form below and submit by 12:00 PM on Friday, May 3.

2ND ANNUAL COYOTE CONNECTIONS RSVP FORM

There will be something for everyone, so we hope you will attend!

Best,

Leslie

Leslie Paynter, M.Ed.

ACS Managing Director

NEURODIVERSITY AWARENESS WEEK

This week is Neurodiversity Awareness Week at ACS! Neurodiversity is the range of differences in the brain and at ACS, we believe that awareness and acceptance of these differences are important. Some of these brain differences have a name, such as ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia, Epilepsy, Apraxia, and Tourette’s. The symbol used to represent neurodiversity is the rainbow infinity symbol. This week, students will be learning about neurodiversity in the classroom and learning ways we can be accepting, empathetic, and supportive to members of our “pack” who are neurodivergent.

REMINDERS and UPDATES

Don't forget to complete & submit the 2024 - 2025 ACS Middle School Elective Sign Up form for your rising 5th, 6th, & 7th Grade students to indicate their Electives preferences for next school year. 24 - 25 ACS Middle School Elective Sign Up Form The Middle School Elective Form is due by Tuesday, April 30.

The Elective Courses listed on the Elective Registration Form are based on the Student Interest Form that was completed and submitted by April 14. You can find the course descriptions on the

2024 - 2025 ACS Middle School Elective Course Descriptions

Elective courses will be offered based on the number of student registrations for the course. Therefore, some electives may not be offered, if there are not enough students to register for a specific elective. We will do their best to honor students' requests, but please know that not all class requests can be honored.

The Middle School Elective Form is due by Tuesday, April 30.

PTO NEWS

This Monday, April 29th will be our final Skate Night of the school year, at RollABout Skating Center from 6:00-8:00pm. Entry is only $5 per person and includes regular skate rental. Come out and boogie under the disco ball with us to raise money for ACS PTO!

This week we will also be recognizing our ACS Administrative Team, Ms. Paynter, Mr. Miller, and Ms. DuBois, on School Principals' Day Wednesday, May 1st! Thank you for all that you do behind the scenes to keep our school growing and moving forward! If you would like to drop off anything to help celebrate the team, please leave it in the office, marked: "School Principals' Day."

LOST and FOUND

To avoid having so many lost items, please label your child's belongings (particularly coats, jackets, sweatshirts, lunchboxes, books, and water bottles as these are the items that are typically left behind).

FIELD DAY and ATHLETICS

Save the date! We will have Field Day on Thursday, May 23. It will be a scaled down version due to the construction, however, we want to continue the tradition for students and families. Look for an email Monday evening with details about times, volunteer opportunities, and needed donations.

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.

STUDENT SERVICES (Mr. Tribotte and Mrs. Gittens)

Carline Reminder - For AM carline the number of staff and students can fluctuate, if you feel comfortable please allow your student to begin getting out of the car on their own. If your younger student needs help you are welcome to wait for assistance and older students can hop out.

Clothing Needed - We have given out much of our back up clothing, particularly boys. If anyone can donate new underwear and/or gently used shorts as backups in case of accidents, that would be greatly appreciated! Please make sure if you have a younger child to send back ups with them everyday, just in case.

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.

SAVE THE DATE!

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 will go on sale at the end of April, so keep your eye out for that information! You won't want to miss out!

IMPORTANT DATES:

April 29: 4th Grade Field Trip

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

May 16: 1st Grade Field Trip

May 23: Field Day

TESTING DATES:

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

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

GENESIS (Evelyn Kreiley)

Kindergarten Prep Camp Registration is Now Open!

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