08 Apr 2024

Superintendent's Office

 Dear ACS Community,

You may have noticed that we had a vaccine clinic on our calendar for today.  Unfortunately, the health authorities were unable to source the vaccine for our clinic.  We intend to reschedule when a supply is available.  

This week, we will be sending our middle and high school teams off to the Friendship Games in Cochabamba.  Today we will have pep rallies to celebrate our athletes and send them off with Cougar spirit.  I look forward to seeing many of you today.  

Toward the end of this month, we will have an important annual event in the life of our school.  That event is our General Assembly and board elections.  In the general assembly, you will hear about progress throughout the year in all areas of the school.  In addition, the board elections are especially critical this year because seven of our ten board positions are up for election.  Please be on the lookout for a ballot and instructions on casting it.  Remember, you must be up-to-date with your financial obligations to ACS through March to be eligible to cast a ballot.  

We wish our Cougars all the best in Cochabamba, and have a great week ahead.

Yours,

Andrew


Estimada Comunidad de ACS,

Probablemente notaron que teníamos una clínica de vacunas en nuestro calendario para hoy. Lamentablemente las autoridades sanitarias no pudieron conseguir la vacuna para nuestra clínica. Tenemos la intención de reprogramar esto cuando haya suministro disponible.

Esta semana enviaremos a nuestros equipos de Secundaria (Middle School y High School) a los Juegos de la Amistad en Cochabamba. Hoy celebraremos a nuestros atletas para brindarles ánimo y despedirlos con el espíritu Cougar. Espero ver a muchos de ustedes hoy.

A finales de este mes, tendremos un evento anual importante en la vida de nuestro colegio. Este evento es nuestra Asamblea General y las elecciones de la junta directiva. En la asamblea general, escucharán sobre el progreso a lo largo de todo el año en todas las áreas de nuestro colegio. Además, las elecciones de la junta directiva son especialmente críticas este año porque siete de nuestros diez puestos en la junta están sujetos a elección. Estén atentos a la papeleta de votación y a las instrucciones para emitirla. Recuerden, deben estar al día con sus obligaciones financieras con ACS hasta marzo para ser elegibles para emitir su voto.

Deseamos a nuestros Cougars todo lo mejor en Cochabamba.  Que tengan una excelente semana.

Atentamente,

Andrew

Open Message

Urgent Action Items

 

  • 5 April, tuition was due
  • Enrollment confirmation for 2024-2025, due April 12th
  • 12 April @ 8:15 — ES Parent Coffee (Literacy Education)
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    ACS Calendar

    • Tue – ILT meeting
    • Wed – MS - HS FSG AISB - CCS (10 to 13 April)
    • Wed – PD
    • Fri – ES Parent Coffee
    • Sat – ACT Exam
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    Elementary School

    Dear Elementary Parents,

    Happy Monday! There is so much going on here at school. It's all so very exciting. The weeks ahead have so many rich opportunities for your children to learn, experience, and grow. I want to just take a moment to encourage all parents to engage with us; every event we have in store has opportunities to parents to take part, observe and get involved in the ways that you can. Please read on for a long list of the events ahead:

    KG3/4 Full Day Information Session - Tuesday, April 9 from 5:00-6:00 pm: Tomorrow evening, we look forward to welcoming new and returning parents to campus to learn about ACS's plan to extend the learning day for KG3 and KG4. If you or someone you know are interested in enrolling your 3- or 4-year-old, please come! We look forward to seeing you there!

    Parent Coffee - Friday, April 12: Literacy Education at ACS: This Friday morning, we look forward to hosting elementary parents to talk all things related to literacy education. You will learn about ACS's innovative workshop approach to teaching reading and writing, and have an opportunity to ask questions and also learn about how you. can support your young readers and writers at home! We hope to see you!

    Earth Day at ACS: On Friday, April 19th, we will host a day of learning about our planet in celebration of Earth Day! In the afternoon, from 2-3pm, we will also host a barefoot concert on the green, which parents are welcome to join!

    Book Swap Fair - April 18 & 19: Next Thursday and Friday, April 18trh and 19th, we will host a Book Swap Fair for parents and kiods. Starting on Tuesday, April 16, you can bring any books you are "done with" and exchange them for tickets. These tickets can be exchanged for "new to you" books on Thursday and Friday. Any of your own books that are not swapped can be taken home, or donated to our libraries.

    STEAM Family Afternoon - May 3 from 3:30 to 5:30 pm: On the first Friday in May, we will host a Family Fun Afternoon with visiting guests, unique STEAM-oriented challenges, food, drinks, and lots of fun! Save the date, this will be an opportunity not to be missed!

    International Day at ACS - May 10, 2024: International Day is back, with the theme, “Our Planet, Our Home: Taking Care of Each Other." We will have a "World Expo" with countries from around the world represented by our families. If you would like to sign up to bring an activity or traditional food from your country, please visit <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-u0unGQQl2-XoV1IEWFJy1d3m2-E0mfS0p1J0qmrksU/edit?usp=sharing> Thanks - we are looking forward to celebrating International Day with you!

    A lot is coming - so please know that you are cordially invited to engage with us. Your presence at events like those above means so much not just to your own kids, but to our entire community!

    Thanks, I wish you a warm and windy week!

    Sincerely,

    Eric Crabtree
    Elementary Principal








    Open Message

    Learning & Teaching

    Curriculum Review:

    Earlier this year we established a school-wide Curriculum Review process that continues to forge ahead. The first stage involves the review of the content we teach in all courses and its documentation. Last week ES Social Studies,  SS Social Studies, and World Languages teachers met in their respective teams to continue the review of the written curriculum.

    Social Studies: Using the AERO and C3 Social Studies frameworks, we are redeveloping Social Studies units of study in the ES, and course content and/or offerings in the SS for the 2024-2025 school year. The unit and/or course descriptions will be shared with the community prior to the beginning of the next  school year. 

    World Languages (WL):  Using frameworks from the MOE, ACTFL, CCSS, and national standards from Colombia, the WL department is developing learning outcome expectations for our K-12 Spanish program. We will continue to use Santillana as a primary resource and have partnered with Ficción Express (an online platform), for use with our MS students. Data collected thus far regarding this resource indicates increased interest in Spanish reading and we will continue to monitor its use and impact. 


    Professional Development

    Several staff members recently attended off-site professional development (PD) events and several staff applied for and were granted professional development funds for specific learning objectives. Over the past month, these experiences include: 

    • AMISA (regional international conference)

    • Invigorating High School Math

    • Developing AI Literacy Guidelines

    • Science of Reading, and

    • our University Counselor being invited to Spain to gain greater understanding of European University opportunities for our students.


    Instructional Leadership Team (ILT)

    The ILT meets every two weeks with our primary objective being to learn how to become, and how to lead others in becoming, high-functioning teams. During last week’s meeting, AMISA and Math conference  attendees shared key takeaways and the intended impact of these takeaways on our programs and/or instructional practices. Some highlights include: 

    • Using phenomena in science to launch units of study

    • Fostering engagement in mathematics by using relevant and relatable real-world content

    • Dignity as the basis for improving all interactions on campus

    • Creating succinct guiding documents for ACS that capture our mission and values and serve as our touchstone for continuous improvement 

    • European universities as viable and noteworthy options for our graduates


    Math Restructuring

    The math restructuring team met on Tuesday to hear conference highlights and to continue developing understanding of how math pathways will evolve over the next several years. In addition, the math team explored a bank of resources aimed at increasing student engagement and critical thinking in mathematics. 


    AI Literacy Committee

    An AI Literacy Committee has been formed, whose members include high school students, secondary teachers, and elementary teachers. This committee’s work focuses on gathering usage data and establishing AI Literacy Guidelines for our school aimed at ensuring AI literate students and practitioners, supported through responsible use. We foresee recommendations from this committee that include providing professional development for our staff in this area.


    Language Policy
    The first draft of the ACS Language Policy has been created and is under review by our language and student support departments. We aim to have a final version prior to the end of the school year.
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