11 Sep 2023

Superintendent's Office

 Dear ACS Community,

We are moving into an exciting time of the year.  Next week, we will host the Middle School Cougar Cup.  The week after next will be the High School Cougar Cup.  Later, we will have our Family Day Picnic, followed by the CWW trips.  

I also want to remind parents that our College Counselor is preparing virtual college kick-off meetings at different grade levels throughout the high school.  While intense work on the college admissions process does not really get underway until the 11th grade, we want all of our students and families to know what to expect early.  Please be on the lookout for announcements about these meetings.  

I want to conclude by announcing a change in the excellence award and excellence scholarship process.  In the past, ACS has used a holistic process to make these awards, but the new regulations from the Ministry of Education specify that only grades can be used in the process.  While, as a school, we value viewing students through a holistic lens, we must follow the regulations to stay in compliance with the Ministry of Education.  So, the awards this year will only be based on grades.

I hope you have a great week ahead and enjoy the upcoming school events.

Yours,

Andrew


Estimada Comunidad de ACS,

Estamos entrando en una época emocionante del año. La próxima semana, seremos anfitriones de la Copa Cougar de Middle School. La semana siguiente será la Copa Cougar de High School. Luego tendremos nuestro día de picnic familiar, seguido de los viajes de CWW.

Asimismo, quiero recordar a los padres que nuestra Consejera Universitaria está preparando reuniones virtuales de inicio de las diferentes universidades en diferentes niveles de grado de todo Secundaria. Si bien el intenso trabajo en el proceso de admisión a la universidad no comienza hasta el grado 11, queremos que todos nuestros alumnos y familias sepan qué esperar desde el principio. Esté atento a los anuncios sobre estas reuniones.

Quiero finalizar anunciando un cambio en el proceso de premios y becas de excelencia. En el pasado, ACS ha utilizado un proceso holístico para otorgar estas concesiones, pero las nuevas regulaciones del Ministerio de Educación especifican que solo se pueden utilizar calificaciones en el proceso. Si bien, como colegio, valoramos ver a los estudiantes a través de una lente holística, debemos seguir las regulaciones para cumplir con el Ministerio de Educación. Por lo tanto, los premios de este año sólo se basarán en las calificaciones.

Espero que tengan una gran semana por delante y disfruten de los próximos eventos escolares.

Atentamente,

Andrew

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Urgent Action Items

 

  • 5 Sep. tuition was due
  • 30 Sep. Family Day Picnic
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ACS Calendar

  • Wed – PD (1.5)
  • Thu – G9 - VIRTUAL COLLEGE KICK OFF (8:30 am to 9:30 am)
  • Fri – G11 - VIRTUAL COLLEGE KICK OFF (8:30 am to 9:30 am)
  • Mon – G10 - Virtual College Kick Off (8:30 am to 9:30 am)
  • Mon – Cougar Cup (18 to 21)
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Elementary School

Dear Elementary Parents,

Thank you to those of you who were able to join our first Parent Coffee of the school year this past Friday. We had a great time getting to know one another and collected ideas for future Parent Coffee topics. We'll be in touch soon with more information on our next Parent Coffee, which will be held on Friday, October 20th.

Another big thank you goes out to our fantastic cohort of Parent Representatives who met with us last Wednesday to discuss roles and responsibilities, and we worked together to develop a culture of collaboration amongst our volunteers. If you haven't already, you should be hearing from the class representative from your child's class in the near future. We are so appreciative of this group!

Saturday, September 30th we will be holding our annual Family Fun Day on campus. Unlike previous years, the whole event is being run by our secondary school student council. We look forward to seeing everyone at this traditionally well-attended event. We are also excited to show off the wonderful new playground facilities, which will be finished by then. \

This coming Friday, students and parents from Grades 1, 2, and 3 are invited to attend a fundraising party for MedAlert - a home in La Paz that cares for people with severe medical issues. The fundraiser is being run by a group of compassionate secondary school students who have visited the home and felt compelled to help the home improve their environment and help them pay rent on their space. This is an excellent action being taken by our students, and your support would go a long way! The party will have games, snacks and activities for these students and their parents. See the poster below for more information!

Thanks, as always, for reading. Have a wonderful week!


Sincerely,

Eric Crabtree
Elementary Principal






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Secondary School

 Dear Parents,

This week all Middle School students will be taking the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP). This important assessment, which students take 2-3 times each year, is linked to our curriculum and provides valuable information about learning and growth in the areas of English language arts and mathematics. Teachers use this assessment data to make adjustments to their instruction and tailor their teaching to students' needs. We also use the results to measure our students' learning against that of students in other similar schools in our region, and subsequently make adjustments to our curricula. Parents will receive individualized reports of student learning growth, and will be able to observe their child's growth over time. Please direct any questions about the MAP assessment to your child's teachers.

In just a few short weeks students will venture off for Classroom Without Walls, our annual experiential learning opportunity. By now all parents should have received detailed trip information and been asked to confirm their child's participation. We are fortunate to have an experienced educational travel consultant working with us this year to organize each of the trips and who can answer any questions. Informational meetings are being planned, and dates and times will be shared soon. Students who are unable to travel may join our local, daytime CWW experience during that week. Classroom Without Walls is an important part of our educational program and we look forward to having all students participate.

To provide an opportunity for parents to hear directly from teachers, we will postpone September Student Led Conferences until later in the year and instead host Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences in mid-October. This will allow for critical conversations about academic progress early in the school year and the chance to address any concerns and develop specific plans to support learning. Please watch for an invitation to attend.

Thank you for entrusting your teens to our educational program. We enjoy seeing and supporting their growth every day, and welcome your involvement in their learning.


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Learning & Teaching

Dear ACS Community ~ 

It has been an absolute pleasure joining this community and experiencing a warm Cougar welcome from students, parents, and colleagues alike. The past several weeks have afforded me the opportunity to gain an understanding of key elements of ACS's past, the present state of its programs, and to identify our areas for continued growth and improvement. With my position being a new one for our school, it is understandable that there may be some wondering around what my role entails. This document may be helpful for those who would like to get a better understanding of my areas of responsibility. A few highlights of my endeavors to date include observing several elementary and secondary class and speaking with students about their learning, leading elementary teams in the backward planning process and introducing the PLC at Work framework, and collaborating with the Senior Academic Leadership Team to develop our school-wide Professional Learning model. My overriding sentiment at this point is that this is a time of reflection and renewal for ACS. We are poised to honor our past and also forge ahead in creating an improved version of ourselves. We will soon embark on creating a new Strategic Plan for 2024-2029 that will be founded on shared understanding of sound learning principles and our vision of being an innovative international school that is always seeking to improve. I am very grateful and excited to be here and look forward to leading a continuous quest for providing all of our learners with an optimal educational experience. 

Estimada comunidad ACS ~

Ha sido un placer absoluto unirme a esta comunidad y sentir una cálida bienvenida Cougar por parte de estudiantes, padres, y colegas. Las últimas semanas me han brindado la oportunidad de comprender elementos esenciales del pasado de ACS, el estado actual de nuestros programas e identificar nuestras áreas de crecimiento y mejora continuos. Dado que mi puesto es nuevo para la escuela, es comprensible que algunos se pregunten qué implica mi función. Este documento puede resulta útil para quienes deseen comprender mejor mis áreas de responsabilidad. Algunos aspectos destacados de mis esfuerzos hasta la fecha incluyen observar varias clases de primaria y secundaria y hablar con estudiantes sobre su aprendizaje, liderar equipos de primaria en el proceso de planificación retrospectiva e introducir el protocol PLC at Work, y colaborar con el equipo de liderazgo académico para desarrollar nuestro model de aprendizaje profesional a nivel escolar. Mi sentimiento predominante en este momento es que éste es un momento de reflexión y renovación para ACS. Estamos preparados para honrar nuestro pasado y también seguir adelante en la creación de una versión mejorada de nosotros mismos. Pronto nos embarcaremos en la creación de un nuevo Plan Estratégico para 2024-2029 que se basará en una comprensión compartida de sólidos principios de aprendizaje y nuestra visión de ser una escuela internacional innovadora que siempre busca mejorar. Estoy muy agradecida y emocionada de estar aquí y espero liderar una búsqueda continua para proveer a todos nuestros estudiantes una experiencia educativa óptima.

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