04 Sep 2023

Superintendent's Office

Dear ACS Community,

I hope you had a great weekend with your families, and that you took advantage of the beautiful ambiance of the city yesterday without the presence of cars.

Today, I would like to focus on an extremely important topic that represents one of our most important duties as educators.  That topic is child protection or child safeguarding.  Many of you are aware that there were some very grave incidents that occurred recently in Santa Cruz that caused all schools to reflect on the safeguards that we have in place.  Here at ACS, we will soon begin a comprehensive child protection audit based on resources and best practices as articulated by the Global Safeguarding Collaborative.  That will result in a prioritized action plan and possibly changes to our child protection handbook.  In addition, we will be taking the immediate and concrete step of altering our bathroom doors so that they cannot be closed and locked from the inside.  Please note that we have inspected all bathrooms and determined that this step can be accomplished while preserving privacy.  Working to create a safer environment for all children is a continuous process which we at ACS take very seriously.


On a lighter note, our extracurricular activities are now in full swing, and I'm delighted to share with you a few images of some of our younger students enjoying them.  

To close, I want to update you on our final construction project that began in the summer.  That project is our playground.  The equipment for the playground has almost all been installed.  In addition, the concrete pad is near completion.  The final step will be to install flooring that is capable of cushioning falls from the equipment.  These final steps will take a few weeks more due to the curing time required for the materials involved.  We have tentatively scheduled our Family Day Picnic on the 30th of September to coincide with the completion of the new playground.   We can't wait to welcome you to the campus to open this new facility.  It is made possible by both the generosity of those who attended last year's gala and by families who diligently pay their tuition and fees every year.  

Have a great week ahead.

Yours,

Andrew


Estimada Comunidad de ACS,

Espero que hayan tenido un gran fin de semana con sus familias y que ayer hayan aprovechado el hermoso ambiente de la ciudad sin la presencia de automóviles.

Hoy me gustaría centrarme en un tema sumamente importante que representa uno de nuestros deberes más importantes como educadores. Ese tema es la protección infantil o la salvaguarda de los niños. Muchos de ustedes saben que recientemente ocurrieron algunos incidentes muy graves en Santa Cruz que hicieron que todos los colegios reflexionaran sobre las salvaguardas que tenemos implementadas. Aquí en ACS, pronto comenzaremos una auditoría integral de protección infantil basada en los recursos y las mejores prácticas según lo articula el Global Safeguarding Collaborative. Eso dará como resultado un plan de acción priorizado y posiblemente cambios en nuestro manual de protección infantil.  Además, tomaremos la medida inmediata y concreta de modificar las puertas de nuestros baños para que no puedan cerrarse y bloquearse desde adentro. Tengan en cuenta que hemos inspeccionado todos los baños y determinado que este paso se puede realizar preservando la privacidad. Trabajar para crear un entorno más seguro para todos los niños es un proceso continuo que en ACS nos tomamos muy en serio.

En una nota más leve, nuestras actividades extracurriculares ahora están en pleno apogeo y estoy encantado de compartir con ustedes algunas imágenes de algunos de nuestros estudiantes más jóvenes disfrutándolas.

Para terminar, quiero informarles sobre nuestro proyecto de construcción final que comenzó en el verano. Ese proyecto es nuestro patio de recreo. Casi todo el equipamiento del parque infantil está instalado. Además, la plataforma de hormigón está casi terminada. El último paso será instalar un pavimento que sea capaz de amortiguar las caídas del equipo. Estos pasos finales llevarán algunas semanas más debido al tiempo de curado requerido por los materiales involucrados.  Hemos programado tentativamente nuestro día de picnic familiar para el 30 de septiembre para que coincida con la finalización del nuevo patio de recreo. Estamos ansiosos de darles la bienvenida al campus para abrir estas nuevas instalaciones. Esto solo es posible gracias a la generosidad de quienes asistieron a la gala del año pasado y a las familias que pagan diligentemente sus matrículas y cuotas cada año.

Que tengan una gran semana.

Atentamente,

Andrew

Open Message

Urgent Action Items

 

  • 4 Sep. ES Swimming ECA starts
  • 5 Sep. tuition is due
  • 30 Sep. Family Day Picnic
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ACS Calendar

  • Tue – ILT Meeting 3:30
  • Wed – Parent Rep. Orientation
  • Wed – PD
  • Fri – NEW FACULTY AND LEADERSHIP AT SUPERINTENDENT'S HOME
  • Sat – ACT Exam
  • Mon – MAP Test (11-15 Sep.)
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Elementary School

Dear Elementary Parents,

Happy September! It has been a pleasure feeling the nights getting slightly warmer and the days getting a little longer! We have lots to report this week and lots to look forward to in the near future! Please read on:

Parent Coffee on Friday, September 8th: Our first Parent Coffee of the school year is this Friday, in the auditorium from 8:15 to 9:00 AM. This will be an excellent opportunity to meet other parents and share your requests for the topics of Parent Coffees throughout the coming year. Please join us on Friday for coffee, tea, light snacks, and good conversation with me and other ACS parents!

Our Second Monday Morning Meeting: We held our second MMM this morning and I am finding that these are a highlight of my days here at ACS. Seeing our enthusiastic young Cougars coming together is an endless joy and would certainly brighten anyone's Monday morning! In our past 2 meetings, we've talked about the small things we can do to show kindness to others. Your children are filled with marvelous ideas for making someone's day a little happier. Below are some questions and conversation-starters you can have with your child(ren) on this topic:

    • Can you tell me about an act of kindness you saw today?
    • Did someone do something for you that you appreciated?
    • Will you share with me a challenge that you faced today? How did you respond? 
    • Was there a moment today when you used your strength of kindness?
MAP Testing for the 2023-24 School Year: ACS has made some careful and deliberate changes to MAP testing this year. A complete letter of who, what, when, where, and why we give MAP tests will go out via email this Wednesday to all elementary parents, however only students in Grades 1 through 5 will be taking the test. The first test will be given next Wednesday, September 13, 2023. 

Extra-Curricular Activities are Off and Running! This week our fantastic ECA program kicked off and it was great to see our students' passions and interests outside the classroom. Today, swimming starts - we thank you for your patience and apologize for the delay in starting these classes. Our pool is newly renovated and ready for our swimmers!




In other news, the playground is getting closer and closer to ready each and every day. We are so pleased with the equipment and I know our students will join me in sharing just how excited they are to enjoy the new facilities. We look forward to sharing the official date for the exhibition of this new equipment to parents just as soon as we can!

Thanks for reading, I wish you a lovely week!

Sincerely,

Eric Crabtree
Elementary Principal

 



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Secondary School

Dear Parents,

I'm sure that many of you know that last Thursday was Mariel Ballesteros' last day at ACS. She has decided to focus in another direction, and she will be missed by all of us. We wish her the best in the next chapter of her life. We are in the process of searching for a new Secondary Assistant, but in the meantime please address any requests to Martha Asebey in the main office.

If you haven't done so already, please check your email and respond to the Classroom Without Walls survey. Your response is only to help us with planning; no commitment is expected until you have the full trip details. Dates and times for informational meetings are coming soon. Grade 6-11 trips will be scheduled during Monday-Friday, 2-6 October. Only the grade 12 trip extends to 7 October.

During the week of 11-15 September, all students in grades 6-8 will take the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) exams. The results of these exams do not impact class grades, but they do provide important learning growth information that teachers use to help design instruction. It is not necessary to study or prepare for MAP, but students need to sleep well, eat breakfast, and arrive at school on time so that they can do their best. Results will also be shared with parents.

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