Superintendent's Office
Dear ACS Community,
I hope you are staying warm and dry during the cool and rainy weather we have been having. All week this week at ACS, we will be having MAP testing and the Elementary School Cougar Cup. On Friday, the Secondary School Music and Drama event will culminate the week.
Next week will feature the National Honor Society Fashion Show and Middle School Madness.
In addition, yearbooks are now on sale. This year they must be pre-ordered at the site in my message. Don't forget to order yours.
Finally, I want to make all families aware of an opportunity. Each year, the ACS Board of Trustees makes some funds available to help families who are experiencing temporary hardship. You should have recently received all the details about the 2023-2024 financial aid process by email, but you can find a link to the application form in my message. Please be aware that only fully complete applications fulfilling all the requirements received before 19 May 2023 from families who are up-to-date with all payments will be considered for financial aid.
Have a great week ahead.
Yours,
Andrew
Estimada Comunidad de ACS,
Espero que se mantengan abrigados y secos durante este clima frío y lluvioso que estamos teniendo. Durante toda esta semana en ACS, tendremos los exámenes MAP y la Copa Cougar de primaria. El viernes, el evento de Música y Teatro de Secundaria culminará la semana.
La próxima semana se destacan el desfile de modas de la Sociedad Nacional de Honor y la Locura de Intermedio.
Además, los anuarios ya están a la venta. Este año deben reservarse en el sitio que pongo en mi mensaje. No olviden hacer su pedido.
Finalmente, quiero que todas las familias conozcan una oportunidad. Cada año, la Junta Directiva de ACS pone a disposición algunos fondos para ayudar a las familias que están experimentando dificultades temporales. Seguramente ya recibieron todos los detalles sobre el proceso para ayuda financiera 2023-2024 por correo electrónico, pero pueden encontrar un enlace al formulario de solicitud en mi mensaje. Tengan en cuenta que solo se considerarán para ayuda financiera las solicitudes completas que cumplan con todos los requisitos y que se hayan recibido antes del 19 de mayo de 2023, de las familias que estén al día con todos los pagos.
Que tengan una gran semana.
Atentamente,
Andrew
Urgent Action Items
- May's tuition was due on 5 May.
- Financial aid applications due on 18 May.
- MAP testing & ES Cougar Cup this week
- Yearbooks are available here.
- Secondary Music & Drama on Friday
ACS Calendar
- Mon – MAP
- Fri – SS Music and Drama Presentation
- Mon – Transition week G5-G6
Elementary School
Dear Parents,
Summer break is typically a time for kids to kick back, indulge in a little extra screen time, play outside, and embrace the kind of freedom that only comes with being young and having zero responsibilities. However, all of this free time can lead to the summer slide, a regression in academic proficiency due to summer break, and experts warn it is hindering kids’ progress when they head back to school.What Is the Summer Slide? The concept of the summer slide has been on researchers’ radar since at least 1996, when one of the first comprehensive studies on the phenomenon was published. The study showed that kids lose significant knowledge in reading and math over summer break, which tends to have a snowball effect as they experience subsequent skill loss each year. A more recent study of children in 3rd to 5th grades also showed that students lost, on average, about 20 percent of their school-year gains in reading and 27 percent of their school-year gains in math during summer break.Who Is at Risk? Younger children are prone to the most learning loss because they’re at a crucial stage in their development. “In general, kids learn a lot more in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade than kids in middle school or high school, because learning follows a curve where it’s accelerated early in life and then plateaus,” says James Kim, Ed.D., an assistant professor of education at Harvard University. “Things like decoding, letter knowledge, and word reading skills are very susceptible to decay without frequent practice, as are math facts like addition and subtraction.”What Can Parents Do to Help? The good news is that basic skills aren’t hard to maintain over the off-season! There are a number of ways to keep kids engaged in reading and math over the summer:1. Let kids read what they want. Children won’t gain as much from summer reading if they aren’t truly enjoying it. Professor Kim says kids should have access to a wide variety of books that they enjoy reading and are fully able to comprehend. Nearly 60 percent of children ages 6 to 17 say they love or like reading books for fun a lot, and 52 percent think it’s extremely or very important, according to the Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report.2. Make time for smart play. Games and puzzles are a great way for kids to brush up on the basics while having fun at the same time. Whether it’s a game geared specifically toward teaching kids math skills, or a learning activity that helps them brush up on vocabulary, there are plenty of ways to get children engaged and help them flex their brain power without turning it into a tutoring session.3. Get out of the house. Experts have found that novelty stimulates the brain and promotes learning. Visiting a historic site or even simply reading together at the park can help your child get more excited about reading and learning. You can also visit a certain location inspired by the books you read together. This helps reinforce what kids are learning from books in a real-world setting.4. Use your imagination. Kids who use their imagination are also expanding their vocabularies and experimenting with new concepts. Even though it may not seem like they’re directly “learning” when they’re crafting their own superhero capes with a superhero starter kit or dreaming up complex chain reactions with educational LEGO sets, they’re still calling on familiar skills and developing new ones. You could even play "theater" and put on a show inspired by all of the great summer books you’re reading together.Keep your child reading over the summer with book recommendations by your classroom teacher or school Librarian.With Gratitude - Maria InarraSecondary School
Dear Parents,
As another week begins in the Secondary School, I would like to note that we are beginning to receive requests from families regarding time away from school for a variety of reasons, most prominently siblings' university graduations, tennis tournaments, and the like. With final summative assessments and projects already scheduled in our classes for these last few weeks of the school year, I cannot emphasize enough the need for students to be in school on a daily from here on out. Thank you for your cooperation!
Important Upcoming Events:
- Monday, May 8 - Friday, May 12: MAP Testing (Grades 6 - 8) & Week 2 of AP Exams
- Friday, May 12: Music & Drama Performances
- Thursday, May 18: NHS Fashion Show
- Friday, May 19: Middle School Madness (G5-to-G6 Transition)