The Academy Weekly Memo: April 17-21, 2023

 

I. Praise and Thanks:

• Thanks to Joy Hickman and Darron Daniels for proactive and restorative efforts above and beyond the call of duty in order to support a student in crisis!
• Thanks to Cindy Hall for celebrating student growth and inviting others to join in the happiness!

II. This Week's Events: 

The Week of the Young Child is this week! Kindergarten will be celebrating with some fun and creative events this week! 

Monday, April 17:

• 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.-5th Grade Trip to App State
• 8:00 a.m.-Schoolwide Morning Meeting
• 3:00 p.m.-Curriculum Listening Session via Zoom with Elkin

Tuesday, April 18:

• Office of Diversity Read Aloud Visit-Main Lobby
• 9:00-9:30 a.m.-Kindergarten & 1st
• 9:40-10:10 a.m.-2nd & 3rd
• 10:20-10:50 a.m.-4th & 5th
• 8:15-9:30 a.m.-5th Grade Data Meeting
• 10:20-11:35 a.m.-2nd Grade Data Meeting
• 12:05-1:20 p.m.-1st Grade Data Meeting
• 3:00 p.m.-Faculty/Staff Meeting-Media Center
• 5:00-6:30 p.m.-Truist Financial Literacy Night

Wednesday, April 19:

• 9:00-11:30 a.m.-PBS NC Visit to The Academy
• 10:00 a.m.-Care Team Meeting
• 1:00 p.m.-School Tour for Prospective Academy Families
• 3:00-4:00 p.m.-Individual Grief Counseling Sessions with Rising HOPE-Room 300
• 3:30-4:00-Grief Circle-Media Center

Thursday, April 20

• 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.-2nd Grade Trip to App State
• 8:00 a.m.-Schoolwide Morning Meeting via Zoom
• 9:25 a.m.-10:10 a.m.-4th Grade PLT
• 10:00-11:00 a.m.-3-5 Appalachian Young People's Theatre Performance-Gym
• 11:20 a.m.-12:05 p.m.-3rd Grade PLT
• 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.-Winston-Salem State University Visit to The Academy
• 12:00-1:00 p.m.-K-1 Appalachian Young People's Theatre Performance-Gym
• 1:30-2:15 p.m.-Kindergarten PLT
• 3:00-3:15 p.m.-Instant PD
• 3:00-4:15 p.m.-4H Club-Media Center

Friday, April 21

• 8:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m.-EDU Students Visit The Academy

(Please disregard previous post on Literary Leaders which has been deleted. The next one is scheduled for May 5.)

III. Reminders and Updates

A. Steele Family Updates:

• We are working on ways to express our support for the family. 
• Plans are underway to partner with Forsyth Academy on sharing grief support together. The Steele children were also students at Forsyth Academy. Please stay tuned for details on that. 
• Also, please consult Jazz Brown's email regarding grief support with Rising HOPE this week. 
• We are here to support everyone during this difficult time. 

B. Morning Meeting

• Please continue efforts to build a positive and restorative classroom culture. Thanks for your efforts to greet each child as they enter your classroom in the morning. 
• Remember to ensure student attention and engagement during Schoolwide Morning Meetings. 
• Darron Daniels is modeling Restorative Circles for all classrooms. He is reaching out to teachers to schedule times to engage in Restorative Circles with students. 

C. Curriculum Listening Session

• Amie Snow is facilitating another Curriculum Listening Session this Monday at 3:00 p.m.
• This session will be held via Zoom. The link was in the email that Dr. Snow sent and it is also on the Academy calendar. 
• Last week's session was rich and productive due to all of the proactive communication, sharing, and dialogue. 
• This is another opportunity for anyone to share thoughts and ideas as we explore possibilities with our curriculum at The Academy for the upcoming school year. 

D. Faculty/Staff Meeting

• We will have a Faculty/Staff Meeting at 3:00 p.m. in the Media Center
• Our agenda will include the following items: 
• Summer School Overview 
• Earth Day Update
• Code of Conduct Matrix Update
• Review Remaining School Events & Dates
• Summer Co-Teaching Professional Development

E. Truist Financial Literacy Night This Tuesday

• We are hosting an event in partnership with Truist Bank this Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
• Fliers have been sent home and information has been shared on Class Dojo
• This is financial literacy information night for all of our Academy families! 
• Please encourage families to attend. The classroom with the highest attendance gets a Pizza Party!

F. Visitors This Week

• We have many visitors coming this week to see the great and innovative things happening for our mini-Mountaineers.
• Jamie Parson of the App State Office of Diversity returns on Tuesday for her monthly read aloud visits.
• School Tours for prospective families take place on Wednesday. We continue to generate much interest in our Academy Community! 
• A team from PBS NC is coming this Wednesday to learn more about lab schools and our work with literacy and innovation.
• Representatives form Winston-Salem State University visit on Thursday to learn more about the Academy.
• EDU 2000 App State Students return this Friday. Amie Snow has emailed the schedule and details. 

G. Leave Forms and Absence Notifications

• If you know of any tardiness to work or absence from school, then please notify (call or text at 336-745-5249) me as soon as possible. Once I am aware I can support however I can and notify Heather Wham and Melanie Hicks-Lane to secure a sub. 
• Remember to document all of your absences on the Leave Form.
• Also, please remember to complete correctly and in a timely fashion any App State Leave Forms and Timesheets. If you need any support in completing those forms, then please see Melanie Hicks-Lane. 

H. For Your Toolbox

• Design Thinking Curated Resources from "Edutopia"-A list of resources, videos, and articles on applying Design Thinking in the classroom. A great resource to take a deeper dive on Innovation! 
• AMF Makerspace Presentation-This is the slide deck from Ben Owens' optional Makerspace PD he facilitated last week. In case you missed it, here's the content of his presentation.