05 Dec 2023

Superintendent's Office

 Dear ACS Community,

With last week's concerts our holiday events have begun.  The holiday time is always a busy time at school.  We are happy to have already had some opportunities to share it with you, and we look forward to others.  

Tonight is a special night because it will be the first meeting of our Steering Committee for Strategic Planning.  This group includes representation from students, teachers, administrators, parents, and board members.  Tonight they begin their work guiding a process of transforming ACS.  In their guiding role, it will be critical to get input from all groups of stakeholders.  So, there will be many opportunities for others to be involved.  Please be on the lookout for those.

This past week, I happened to come across a video in Spanish that highlights why this work is so important.  You can view it below.  It suggests that schools have been especially slow to change in light of radical changes around them.  She suggests that both the physical and mental infrastructure of schools has stayed much the same over the past one hundred years, but other areas are changing rapidly.  This is especially poignant when you consider that the video predates the pandemic.  Consider as a data point the fact that at least five of our board members over the past two years have conducted a significant fraction of their work remotely.  This would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.  

So, it is urgent that we rethink how ACS currently adds value to our community and how it could do so in the future.  I am eager for the Steering Committees to take up this exciting work tonight.

Have a great week ahead.

Yours,

Andrew


Estimada comunidad de ACS,

Con los conciertos de la semana pasada han comenzado nuestros eventos navideños. La época navideña es siempre un momento muy ocupado en el colegio. Estamos felices de haber tenido ya algunas oportunidades de compartirlo con ustedes, y esperamos otras más.

Esta noche es una noche especial porque será la primera reunión de nuestro Comité Directivo para la Planificación Estratégica. Este grupo incluye representación de estudiantes, profesores, administradores, padres y miembros de la junta. Esta noche empiezan su trabajo guiando un proceso de transformación de ACS. En su papel de guía, será fundamental obtener la opinión de todos los grupos de interesados. Así que habrá muchas oportunidades para que otros participen. Por favor, estén atentos a ellas.

La semana pasada, me encontré con un video en español que destaca por qué este trabajo es tan importante. Pueden verlo a continuación. Sugiere que las escuelas han sido especialmente lentas en cambiar a la luz de los cambios radicales que las rodean. Sugiere que tanto la infraestructura física como la mental de las escuelas se ha mantenido más o menos igual durante los últimos cien años, pero otras áreas están cambiando rápidamente. Esto es especialmente significativo si se tiene en cuenta que el video es anterior a la pandemia. Considere como un dato el hecho de que al menos cinco de nuestros miembros de la junta durante los últimos dos años han realizado una fracción significativa de su trabajo de forma remota. Esto habría sido impensable hace unos años.

Por lo tanto, es urgente que repensemos cómo ACS actualmente agrega valor a nuestra comunidad y cómo podría hacerlo en el futuro. Estoy ansioso por que los Comités Directivos asuman este emocionante trabajo esta noche.

Que tengan una gran semana.

Atentamente,

Andrew
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Urgent Action Items

 

  • 5 Dec. (tomorrow)  tuition is due
  • Open House for Prospective Families - Thursday at 8:30 am
  • ES Parent Coffee on Math - (Postponed to 19 Jan)

ACS This Week Newsletter 

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ACS Calendar

  • Wed – PD (1.5)
  • Fri – STAFF PARTY AT SUPERINTENDENT'S HOME
  • Sat – ACT Exam
  • Mon – Board meeting
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Elementary School

Dear Elementary Parents,
I hope your first few days of December have been joyous. It certainly has been interesting for my family, new to La Paz, to see the weather patterns changing as summer arrives. My first few weeks here in July, I thought clouds didn't exist in La Paz! 

I have a few important announcements to share, below, and in keeping with last week, a calendar of the coming days, at the very bottom of this blog post, to help you keep the many upcoming school events squared in your own calendars. 

Parent Coffee this Friday POSTPONED: Our Parent Coffees over the past month have been on hot parenting topics, but have had low attendance. We are learning that the "holiday season" is not ideal for these types of events. We are also working to create a better system for getting the word out and reminding parents. For now, we've postponed Nicole Fedio's presentation, titled "Different Ways to Think About Math" until Friday, January 19th. Then, Nicole will help us explore a variety of sample math problems that help to develop mathematical fluency in new ways. No registration is required, we hope to see you there!


Positive Elementary Parent Partners (PEPP) Invitation: We are actively seeking parents to join a small group to share feedback, generate ideas and help ACS Elementary fulfill its mission and vision. For more information, and to indicate your interest, please scan the QR code below. 

Open House for Prospective Families on Thursday: This Thursday, we will host prospective parents who may be interested in joining the ACS community beginning in January. If you know families who have their children in other schools, please share the poster below. Thank you!

Holiday Concert Information & Invitation: On Wednesday, December 12th, we will host our Holiday Concerts for KG3 through G1 at 10:45am, and G2 through G5 at 8:30am. We look forward to seeing you at this special event!

Thank you so much for reading, I wish you a calm and mindful week. 

Sincerely,

Eric Crabtree
Elementary Principal

End of Semester Calendar
SundayMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturday
34567
• 8:30-10a: ACS Open House
• 830-230p: G5 Field Trip		8
• 815-915a Parent Cofee: Different Ways to Think about Math
• 1230-3p G5 PBL Event		9
10111213
• Elementary Holiday Concerts
8:30-9:30am - G2-5
10:45-11:45am - KG3-G1		1415
• 1045-1145 - Class Parties
• 12p Dismissal
• ~3p Report Cards Sent Home
• December Break Begins		16
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Secondary School

Dear parents,

Only two weeks of school remain before the holiday break. Please keep in mind that these last two weeks are very important for learning, and it is critical that all students are in school every day during this time. This is the time when students are working to pull together and solidify their learning from the semester, in some cases preparing group presentations during which they will demonstrate that learning. Students who leave early miss this essential opportunity. Please ensure that your child attends school every day until the break.

One of the best ways to develop and maintain a habit of continuous learning, particularly when school is out for a holiday, is to read. Reading for pleasure supports critical and analytical thinking, language development, creativity, and overall brain development, and reduces stress and anxiety. The ACS libraries are stocked with a wide variety of books available for check-out, and we have revamped our library page (ACS Libraries) to make it easy to explore our catalog. Be sure to pick up some books to keep everyone reading over the holiday break.


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Learning & Teaching


A huge thank you to our Mathematique Consultant, Nicole Fedio, for her outstanding workshop last week! If you were not able to join us, please be sure to take a look at the slide deck here. It is well worth your time and suitable for parents with children in any grade level. 

“Nicole is a former high school math teacher with decades of experience teaching AP and IB math in Ghana, Guatemala, Seattle, India, China, and Saudi Arabia. She has a BS in Mathematics from Penn State University and an M.Ed. in Teaching & Curriculum from Harvard University. She is passionate about making mathematics come alive for both teachers and students. Her vision is to live in a world where she never hears, ”But I can’t do math,” ever again. 



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