11 Dec 2023

Superintendent's Office

 Dear ACS Community,

I hope you are enjoying the holiday season.  Our celebrations continue this week with our elementary holiday concerts.  In addition, please remember that dismissal will be at noon on Friday to start the break. On behalf of the ACS community, we wish you a wonderful break with family and friends.  

As we prepare to say goodbye to 2023 and usher in 2024, this is the ideal time to tell you a little more about our strategic planning efforts at ACS.  The Steering Committee for Strategic Planning met for the first time last week and began the work to envision a bright future for ACS.  Our strategic planning will have four major steps: understanding our internal and external context, coming to community consensus on purpose and direction, developing actions to enable our vision and monitoring progress.  Some of these steps will take place simultaneously, and there will be numerous places where it is imperative that we have community involvement.  Early next year, we will form teams that will use our new foundation standards from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges to examine our internal context in all functional areas of the school.  We will be looking for student, parent, and teacher volunteers to be a part of this effort.  In addition, the Steering Committee for Strategic Planing has already started working on new statements of direction and purpose for ACS.  They will soon be conducting focus groups with all stakeholders to start the process of building consensus around themes and ideas.  Please be alert for opportunities to join one of these groups early next year.  

It is wonderfully exciting to be crafting a new story for ACS, and I hope you will be involved.

Have a great week and a great break ahead.

Yours,

Andrew


Estimada Comunidad de ACS,

Espero que estén disfrutando de la temporada navideña. Nuestras celebraciones continúan esta semana con nuestros conciertos festivos de Primaria. Además, por favor recuerden que el viernes la salida será al mediodía dando inicio a las vacaciones. A nombre de la comunidad ACS, les deseamos unas maravillosas vacaciones con sus familiares y amigos.

Mientras nos preparamos para despedirnos del 2023 y dar la bienvenida al 2024, este es el momento ideal para hablarles un poco más sobre nuestros esfuerzos de planificación estratégica en ACS.  El Comité Directivo de Planificación Estratégica se reunió por primera vez la semana pasada y comenzó a trabajar para visualizar un futuro brillante para ACS.  Nuestra planificación estratégica tendrá cuatro pasos principales: comprender nuestro contexto interno y externo, llegar a un consenso comunitario sobre el propósito y la dirección, desarrollar acciones que permitan nuestra visión y monitorear el progreso. Algunos de estos pasos se llevarán a cabo simultáneamente y habrá numerosos lugares donde será imperativo que tengamos participación comunitaria. A principios del próximo año, formaremos equipos que utilizarán nuestros nuevos estándares básicos de la Asociación de Colegios y Universidades de la Nueva Inglaterra para examinar nuestro contexto interno en todas las áreas funcionales del colegio.  Estaremos buscando estudiantes, padres y profesores voluntarios para ser parte de este esfuerzo. Además, el Comité Directivo de Planificación Estratégica ya ha comenzado a trabajar en nuevas promulgaciones de dirección y propósito para ACS.  Pronto conducirá grupos focales con todas las partes interesadas para iniciar el proceso de creación de consenso en torno a temas e ideas.  Manténganse atentos a las oportunidades de unirse a uno de estos grupos a principios del próximo año.

Es maravillosamente emocionante crear una nueva historia para ACS y espero que participen.

Que tengan una gran semana y una gran vacación.

Atentamente,

Andrew

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Urgent Action Items

 

  • 5 Dec. tuition was due
  • 13 Dec. ES Holiday Concerts
  • Friday 12:00 pm School-Wide Dismissal for break
  • 15 Dec. End of Semester
  • 11 Jan. First Day Back to School for Students

ACS This Week Newsletter 

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ACS Calendar

  • Mon – Board meeting
  • Tue – ILT meeting
  • Wed – Elementary Holiday Concert
  • Wed – PD
  • Fri – END Q2
  • Mon – WINTER BREAK
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Elementary School

Dear Elementary Parents,

As I sit down to write this week's blog entry, I am filled with gratitude for our wonderful ACS community. Watching your children learn and grow each day, working with wonderful parents to make each child's school experience the best it can be, and passing my days alongside our wonderful faculty make me feel so lucky and honored to have this job. Looking out on 4 more days of school this semester, and in 2023, I am so optimistic for a great second half to this school year. Please read on for a few announcements;

12:00 pm Dismissal on Friday: Just a friendly reminder that this coming Friday is a half-day, with a 12:00 pm dismissal. I would like to give you a wink and a nod that you might enjoy arriving slightly early to be a part of some musical festivities - the fun will start at 11:45 am. 

End-of-Semester Parties on Friday: From 10:45 to 11:45 am on Friday, each class will have a party to conclude the semester. Watch for announcements and opportunities to help from classroom parents!

Peace for the Season - Holiday Concerts: Just a friendly reminder that on Wednesday, December 13th, we will have our elementary holiday concerts. From 8:30-9:30 am Grades 2-5 will be performing, and from 10:45-11:45 am, our KG3-G1 students will perform. 

Siblings, as usual, are permitted to attend concerts - if the class is going they will arrive at the theater and can sit with their class or with parents. If the class is not going, these siblings will be permitted to come to the theater, meet their parents in the foyer, and sit with their parents during showtime. 

Following the first concert, G2-5 students will return to their classes for normal programming until dismissal at 12:40 pm. With our second concert, parents are invited, if you wish, to pick up your KG3-G1 performers from the classroom after they depart from the theater. Your help in maintaining order and safety for our students is critical during moments like these - we appreciate your help!

Positive Elementary Parent Partners (PEPP) Invitation: We are still actively seeking parents to join a small group to share feedback, generate ideas and help ACS Elementary fulfill its mission and vision. I have received several applications and hope for a few more! I will be getting back to everyone who applied upon our return in January. For more information, and to indicate your interest, please scan the QR code below. 

Return to School: It feels lightyears away, but just a friendly reminder that Semester 2 of the 2023-24 school year starts on Thursday, January 11th. We look forward to seeing everyone back, then!

Thank you so much for reading. All of us here at ACS wish you and your families and peaceful and restorative holiday season and a healthy and happy 2024!

Sincerely,

Eric Crabtree
Elementary Principal


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Secondary School

Dear parents,

It has been great to see so many culminating projects and presentations from our students these past few days. This work is an important part of the learning process as students draw meaningful conclusions from a semester's efforts. Integrating and sharing learning through projects and presentations helps build connections and expands the depth of thinking.

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.

I hope that all of our families have a restful holiday break and enjoy time together celebrating the season and the midway point of the school year. We look forward to seeing everyone next year!


 

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Learning & Teaching

 Dear ACS Community,

I am reaching out to inform you of an important change in our approach to standardized testing, specifically regarding the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) tests.

After careful consideration the school has decided to transition from administering the MAP test three times per year to administering it twice, in October and in April or May. Past practice meant that students would also be testing in January. Moving forward only select students will test in January. This may include students who arrived subsequent to our first MAP testing session of the year, students who were not able to complete their testing during our first session, or others who have been identified as benefitting from testing during the January session.

This decision was not made lightly, and we believe it will contribute positively to our students' overall academic experience.

The foremost objective of standardized testing, including the MAP assessments, is to measure student growth over time accurately. By conducting these assessments twice a year, we aim to strike a balance that allows us to gather valuable data while minimizing the potential for testing fatigue and disruptions to the regular instructional schedule.

It is important to note that the decision to transition to two MAP tests per year is rooted in our commitment to continuous improvement and the holistic development of our students. We believe that this adjustment will enhance the overall testing experience, continue to provide the necessary insights into student growth, and contribute to a more positive and effective learning environment.

We appreciate your understanding and support as we navigate this change. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me, Ann Peterson (ann.peterson@acslp.org), or to our division Principals, Eric Crabtree (eric.crabtree@acslp.org) or Tim Warren (tim.warren@acslp.org) - we are all happy to provide further clarification.

Thank you for your ongoing partnership in the education of our students.

Sincerely,

Ann

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