28 May 2024

Superintendent's Office

 Dear ACS Community,

Our end-of-year activities are in full swing here at ACS and students, teachers, and parents are all busy.  This morning I watched students entering the campus with posters, dioramas, and even a Tesla coil.   Clearly, they are busy with final projects and presentations.  

Last week, we had elementary students demonstrating their talent in our theater, while our secondary students exhibited their athletic prowess in the Saint Andrews Lion Cup.  It was exciting to see our volleyball girls and boys finish off with first place wins on Saturday just before the closing ceremonies. 

This week, we say farewell to our Seniors with an emotional ceremony on Wednesday that marks their last school day at ACS.  

I want to close with a few reminders:  

  • Don't forget that there is no school on Thursday in honor of Corpus Cristi.
  • Don't forget to check the lost and found for any items that might belong to your family.  We will donate what remanis after the 6th of June.
  • Don't forget to order a copy of the yearbook.  Today is the last day to pre-order.  
    https://acscougars.com/
Have a great week ahead!

Yours,

Andrew

Estimada Comunidad ACS,

Nuestras actividades de fin de año están en pleno apogeo aquí en ACS y los estudiantes, maestros y padres están todos ocupados. Esta mañana vi a los estudiantes entrando al campus con carteles, dioramas e incluso una bobina de Tesla. Claramente, están ocupados con proyectos y presentaciones finales.

La semana pasada, tuvimos a los estudiantes de primaria demostrando su talento en nuestro teatro, mientras que nuestros estudiantes de secundaria exhibieron su destreza atlética en la Copa del León de Saint Andrews. Fue emocionante ver a nuestros equipos de voleibol femenino y masculino terminar con victorias en primer lugar el sábado justo antes de las ceremonias de clausura.

Esta semana, nos despedimos de nuestros Seniors con una emotiva ceremonia el miércoles que marca su último día de clases en ACS.

Quiero concluir con algunos recordatorios:

No olviden que no hay clases el jueves en honor al Corpus Cristi.
No olviden revisar los objetos perdidos por si hay algún artículo que pueda pertenecer a su familia. Donaremos lo que quede después del 6 de junio.
No olviden ordenar una copia del anuario. Hoy es el último día para preordenarlo. Pueden hacer su pedido en este link: https://acscougars.com/
¡Que tengan una excelente semana!

Atentamente,

Andrew

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Urgent Action Items

 

  • 5 May, tuition was due
  • Wednesday - Senior Farewell
  • Thursday - NO SCHOOL (Corpus Cristi)
  • The lost and found will be donated after 6 June, please check for items.
  • Today is the last day to Pre-order Your Yearbook! https://acscougars.com/
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    ACS Calendar

    • Tue – Board meeting
    • Wed – Senior Farwell
    • Thu – CORPUS CHRISTI (OFFICIAL HOLIDAY)
    • Sat – SAT Exam
    • Tue – Elementary EOY Art & Music Show; Tentative Prom Date
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    Elementary School

    Dear Elementary Parents,

    Happy Monday! It was wonderful to see so many community members at our talent shows on Friday. What a joy it was to see and hear our students sharing their passions with us all! 

    We have 6. more days of school after today and are very much in the thick of all the work to end the year on a good note. Teachers are working tirelessly on report cards and finishing assessments and projects. We have a few notices to share with you below:

    Reminder: No School this Thursday, May 30th (Corpus Christi Day)

    End of Year Art & Music Shows: Tuesday, June 4

                    8:30-9:45 - Upper Elementary Show
                    10:40-11:55 - Lower Elementary Show

    Grade 5 Graduation in the Theater on Wednesday, June 5 from 8:30-10:30 am

    Last Day of School: Wednesday, June 5 - Dismissal at 12:00 pm for all Students

    Report Cards sent home during the afternoon of Wednesday, June 5

    Class Placement Assignments will be sent to parents on Friday, July 26

    Thanks for reading, I wish you a lovely week!

    Sincerely,

    Eric Crabtree
    Elementary Principal

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    Secondary School

    Dear parents,

    Presentations of Learning

    There are now less than two full weeks to go in this school year! Students are busily completing final projects and preparing for presentations for learning, some of which already started last week. We appreciate your efforts to make sure that students are at school every day so that they can finish the year well!

    Course Schedules

    As was shared at last Friday's parent presentation, students' requests for next year's courses are now being used to build schedules. Students will receive their course schedules in late July or early August, and will have an opportunity to meet with our counselor before school starts if changes are needed.

    Summer Reading

    With the exception of some AP classes, students will not be assigned class work to do over the break. However, it is important that students stay engaged in learning, and one of the best ways to do this is to keep reading! Students are welcome to check out books from our library to read over the break. Please encourage them to stop by the library to pick up some interesting titles, or to choose from our e-book platform:

    • Go to this link HS Library
    • Choose the option Secondary Library.
    • Click on Log-in at the upper right corner.
    • Sign in with Google.
    • From the Menu choose Catalog.
    • Click on the Destiny Discover option from the menu on the left.
    • You scroll down to the E-Books ribbon.
    • Choose the E-book you want to read and click on the book cover. An E-book overview will be displayed and the option to check it out.
    • The loan period for E-Books is 14 days. After this time, it will disappear from your account, but then you can check it out again

    Classroom Without Walls

    Classroom Without Walls is scheduled for the week of October 7-11. Trip planning is happening now and will continue over the break. Please watch your email box for information about opportunities as updates will be sent as they become available. 

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    Learning & Teaching


    Monday, May 27, 2024


    Professional and Program Development

    Our curriculum review process has yielded positive results and it is a pleasure to share some of the highlights of curricular and program changes taking place for the 2024-2025 school year:


    Secondary School

    • Inaugural year of AP Capstone (a two-year diploma program): AP Seminar - open to rising 10th and 11th graders

    • Partnering with the University of Delaware: LeadX Course incorporated into GIN: newly renamed and restructured to Global Citizenship in Action; open to rising 12th graders with an option for students to earn university credit

    • Addition of AP courses: AP Micro/Macro Economics combined; AP Pre-Calculus

    • Adoption of Second Step for Middle School in grades 6-8 and for High School in grade 9 as a part of Freshman Seminar

    • Early release for Professional Development on Wednesdays

    Elementary School

    • Adoption of CCSS Technology Standards K-G5

    • New Social Studies and Science Units

    • New Second Step Social-Emotional Learning program implementation 

    • New Early Childhood program that includes:

      • Full-day options for KG3 and KG4; dismissal at 1:00 pm for shortened day KG3 and KG4

      • GOLD Continuum for supporting documentation and reporting of child development

      • ECE Consultant Kathryn Murray working with ECE program on play-based learning, and with elementary at large on the importance of environment

      • New grade indicators - B/D/P/E (beginning, developing, practicing, and extending)

    • 6-day schedule rotation with Wednesdays built for intervention, projects, and experiential learning


    Classroom Visits

    Last week was the final week of formally scheduled classroom visits. It was delightful to see Grade 11 students participating in job interviews with invited guest experts in the field; grade 12 students grappling with problems in Calculus B/C, being prompted to think critically by the carefully thought out questioning provided by the teacher; grade 7 students speaking with me about their book club selections and what they learned from the material they read that varied from science fiction to realistic fiction to historical non-fiction. Later in the week I was able to revisit the class and see their impressive book fair full of props, games, and illustrations to demonstrate what they had learned and to convince others that their book is worth reading. 


    Finishing the week with the Upper Elementary Talent Show was icing on the cake! It was a highly impressive and enjoyable evening.


    Have a joyful week ahead,

    ~Ann


    lunes, 27 de mayo de 2024


    Desarrollo profesional y de programas

    Nuestro proceso de revisión del plan de estudios ha arrojado resultados positivos y es un placer compartir algunos de los aspectos más destacados de los cambios curriculares y de programas que se llevarán a cabo para el año escolar 2024-2025:


    Escuela secundaria

    • Año inaugural de AP Capstone (un programa de diploma de dos años): Seminario AP: abierto a estudiantes de 10.º y 11.º grado

    • Asociación con la Universidad de Delaware: Curso LeadX incorporado a GIN: recientemente renombrado y reestructurado a Ciudadanía Global en Acción; abierto a estudiantes de 12.º grado con una opción para que los estudiantes obtengan créditos universitarios

    • Adición de cursos AP: Micro/Macro Economía AP combinados; Precálculo AP

    • Adopción de Second Step para la escuela intermedia en los grados 6 a 8 y para la escuela secundaria en el grado 9 como parte del seminario para estudiantes de primer año

    • Salida temprana para desarrollo profesional los miércoles


    Escuela primaria

    • Adopción de Estándares Tecnológicos CCSS K-G5

    • Nuevas Unidades de Ciencias y Estudios Sociales

    • Implementación del nuevo programa Second Step Social-Emotional Learning 

    • Nuevo programa de Primera Infancia que incluye:

    • Opciones de día completo para KG3 y KG4; salida a las 13:00 horas para jornada reducida KG3 y KG4

    • GOLD Continuum para documentación de respaldo e informes del desarrollo infantil

    • La consultora de ECE, Kathryn Murray, trabaja con el programa de ECE sobre aprendizaje basado en el juego y con la escuela primaria en general sobre la importancia del medio ambiente.

    • Nuevos indicadores de grado - A/D/P/E (acercarse, desarrollarse, practicarse y ampliarse)

    • Rotación de horarios de 6 días con los miércoles diseñados para intervención, proyectos y aprendizaje experiencial.


    Visitas al aula

    La semana pasada fue la última semana de visitas a los salones de clases programadas formalmente. Fue un placer ver a los estudiantes del grado 11 participar en entrevistas de trabajo con invitados expertos en el campo; estudiantes de 12º grado lidiando con problemas de Cálculo B/C, siendo impulsados ​​a pensar críticamente por las preguntas cuidadosamente pensadas proporcionadas por el maestro; Estudiantes de séptimo grado hablaron conmigo sobre sus selecciones del club de lectura y lo que aprendieron del material que leyeron, que variaba desde ciencia ficción hasta ficción realista y no ficción histórica. Más tarde esa semana pude volver a visitar la clase y ver su impresionante feria del libro llena de accesorios, juegos e ilustraciones para demostrar lo que habían aprendido y convencer a otros de que vale la pena leer su libro. 


    ¡Terminar la semana con el Show de Talentos de Upper Elementary fue la guinda del pastel! Fue una velada muy impresionante y agradable.


    Que tengas una feliz semana por delante,

    ~ Ana


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