I sincerely apologize that it has been several weeks since my last post.  The holidays and close of the fall semester have gotten the best of me.  I have tried to add extra information to this post.  Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions.

Shout-outs:

• Welcoming Latrice Woods, who will be joining the SA faculty as our new ninth grade Physics teacher in January and who has been teaching sixth grade science in JA (A full letter explaining the transition and how grades will be calculated is available here)
• To Brooke Turpeau and Christian Alexander for making it to the next round of the Governor’s Honors Program application process
• To Mr. McCullough and Ms. Allen for organizing the Spanish field trip to the Carlos Museum and a Columbia restaurant
• To Mr. Colbert for organizing Drew’s Got Talent
• To Ms. Harris for a really excellent Dance be-Cause Concert for which her students prepared dance performances related to issues that they are concerned about
• To Ms. Wynn and Mr. Copeland for their student performances for the medieval unit, particularly for the students who videotaped and edited their performances
• To Ms. Knight, Ms. Herman, Ms. Kaney and the 10^th grade advisors for planning and chaperoning the college trips to Oglethorpe University
• To Ms. Colbert for an educational and entertaining orchestra concert and to Mr. Cruz for coming to the concert, while on “daddy duty”
• To Ms. White and Ms. Bryant for planning the STEAM Career Day
• To Ms. Ferenczy for The Power of Narratives project, which engages students in disrupting erroneous historical narratives and, in one instance, may result in a change to the Georgia social studies standards regarding African American art
• To Mr. O’Neill for his students’ work planning the January 14^th PBL Showcase and for their presentation at the staff meeting on Monday
• To Ms. Kaney for all of her hard work and a great presentation to the Board of Directors, which led to approval for our Early College program to move forward (We’ll be presenting about this at the Principal’s Coffee on Wednesday, Dec. 16^th)
• To Mr. Cruz for the quality of his students’ presentations about their survey data from the Drew community
• To Mrs. Munford for a great harp concert that was filmed in the Center for the Arts on Tuesday
• To Ms. Hoadley, Mrs. Colbert and Mrs. Munford for a very enjoyable Holiday Concert on Thursday
• To Ms. Harris for the process and quality of her students’ end-of-semester reflections

Calendar:

• Monday, December 14^th
  • A-Day
  • Flex Time – Extended-Learning
• Tuesday, December 15^th
  • B-Day
  • Flex Time – Advisory
  • 6:00 – EA Band, Drama, General Music and Orchestra Concert [Center for the Arts]
• Wednesday, December 16^th
  • A-Day
  • 8:15-9:30 – SA Principal’s Coffee: Early College Program [A301]
  • Flex Time – Extended-Learning
  • 5:30 – JV Basketball vs. KIPP [Home]
• Thursday, December 17^th
  • B-Day
  • Final Exams for B-Day Classes (as needed)
  • Flex Time – Extended-Learning Study Hall
• Friday, December 18^th
  • A-Day
  • Final Exams for A-Day Classes (as needed)
  • Flex Time – Extended-Learning Study Hall
  • 6:00 – Varsity Basketball vs. Eagles Landing Christian [Away]

Upcoming Events  

• December 21-January 1^st – Winter Break
• January 4-5^th – Professional Learning and Planning Days [No School]
• Wednesday, January 6^th – Start of Semester 2 – This will be a B-Day
• Thursday, January 14^th, 4:00-6:00 – JA/SA PBL Showcase

Announcements:

• Reminder: Early Dismissals – In order to avoid disrupting instruction, early dismissals end at 3:15pm for both the Elementary and Junior/Senior Academy.  Early dismissals should be limited to medical appointments and family emergencies.  To assist the staff, on the morning of planned early dismissals, please send a note to school with your child for your child’s teacher, as well as the front office. Once the cut-off time has passed, the student will be released during regular dismissal time at 4:00 pm. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding!
• Reminder: Messages and Packages – Messages and packages for students will be posted via the Message Board. Instruction time cannot be interrupted to deliver messages or packages to students. Students may pick up posted packages or messages during transition times or just prior to dismissal. Please refrain from leaving messages or packages after 1:30pm, as well as on half-days.
• Bank of America Student Leaders® Program – “The Bank of America Charitable Foundation’s Student Leaders® Program is accepting applications for the 2016 Student Leaders® program.  Since its inception in 2005, the Bank of America Student Leaders Program has recognized more than 2,200 exemplary high school juniors and seniors who have a passion for improving their communities.  The program helps students gain a greater understanding of how nonprofits create impact in the community and helps develop them as the next generation of community leaders through two components:
  • A summer eight-week paid internship with a nonprofit organization selected by the bank. This internship is designed to provide opportunities for the students to develop and apply leadership skills through hands-on work experience, while raising their awareness of community issues addressed by their Host Organization.
  • The week-long, all-expense paid Student Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C. from July 10-15, 2016. Conducted in partnership with the Close Up Foundation, the Summit introduces students to aspects of civic, social and business leadership and provides them with knowledge and skills they will use throughout their life to create positive community change.
  • Students can apply for the program by going to www.bankofamerica.com/studentleaders . Please note the application opens on November 2, 2015 with a deadline of January 29, 2016.”
• Perry Outreach Program – “We’re very excited to announce an upcoming Perry Outreach Program on Saturday, March 19, 2016 at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. The Perry Outreach Program is a free, one-day, hands-on experience for high school and college-aged women who are interested in pursuing careers in medicine and engineering. Students will hear from women leaders in these fields and try it for themselves by performing mock orthopaedic surgeries and biomechanics experiments.  We are now seeking applicants for our Atlanta, GA program. Participants should be women in grades 10 and up with an expressed interest in science, medicine and/or engineering.  We would very much appreciate if you could pass this information along to any high school principals, high school science teachers or high school students you may know.  Applicants should be directed to fill out our online application in advance of the February 18, 2016 application deadline.”
  • The application may be accessed directly using the following link: http://perryinitiative.org/programs/student-online-application/
  • More information and a printable flyer for this event can be found here.
• Odyssey – “Do you know a motivated young person in Atlanta Public Schools grades K-11 that could benefit from an intense summer program like Odyssey?”
  • Odyssey is a free six-week summer academic enrichment program targeting “middle third” students who want to experience a fun, creative, summer learning environment
  • Held on the campus of Westminster Schools
  • Free transportation provided
  • Free meals provided
  • Experiential learning with field trips, overnight camping, college road trips & projects
  • Thematic curriculum at each grade level
  • Over the summer, Odyssey students show marked improvement in their core subjects and on college placement standardized tests
  • Flyer available here
• Reminder: Columbia Trip – Mr. McCullough, Ms. Allen and Mr. Colbert are organizing a very exciting trip to Columbia at the end of the school year.  More information is available here.
• Reminder: Gifted Team Lead – Following Dr. Spearman’s departure, Mr. Bill Harris has agreed to take over as Gifted Team Lead.  Please reach out to him if you have any questions regarding the Gifted Program.  william.harris@drewcharterschool.org
• Reminder: Uniform Store – The Charter School Uniforms has posted new hours and are holding a sale.
• Reminder: APS Gifted International Trip – “The Office of Gifted and Talented Education is excited to extend to your child the opportunity to participate in an international, “Outside the walls of the classroom” experience in London, England and Paris France. This 7-day, 6-night experience allows students to participate in authentic learning experiences which focus on issues affecting our world. Tours include Tower of London and Notre Dame Cathedral and more. The trip is open to Kindergarten through 12th and students will participate in grade appropriate tours. The cost of the trip includes transportation, food (breakfast and dinner only), and lodging. This international experience is in compliance with the time-on-task ruling and students will not be considered absent on these days.”  More information here
• Recent Events – November 18^th – Principal’s Coffee: Student Achievement Data
  • Presentation
  • Video

• Reminder: Drew College and Career Website and Naviance – Those parents who attended our recent parent nights have had the opportunity to see our new College and Career Website at www.DrewCCR.com.  This site contains a wealth of information about the college and career process, scholarships and enrichment opportunities.  Junior parents also now have access to Naviance, our comprehensive college and career readiness platform.  The link to Naviance is included here and will always be included below.  Please check it out.
• Reminder: After-School Tutorial in Math and Science (including ACT/SAT) – Mr. Domingo Uceda, one of our AmeriCorps members from Georgia Tech is offering after-school tutorial in math and science.  Details are available on this flyer.
• Reminder: Sophomore and Junior Dues –
  • Sophomore dues are $30, which will help supplement funding from the PTA for events like Midnight Madness, Homecoming, College and Career Week and the SGA Day of Play.  A flyer about the dues is available here.
  • A schedule of payment for Junior dues is now available and outlined in the flyer available here.

Links:

• Echo – https://echo.newtechnetwork.org/
  • Echo Access Request Form (Please submit these to Ms. Mills, the registrar, in the main office)
  • Echo Parent Guide
  • E-mail Address to Reset Echo Passwords – tech.support@drewcharterschool.org
• Drew Senior Academy College and Career Website – www.DrewCCR.com
• Naviance – http://connection.naviance.com/charlesdcs

• Link to Sign up for Constant Contact Emails

• Remind (text message and email alerts) Enrollment Instructions:
  • Ninth Grade
  • Tenth Grade
  • Eleventh Grade
• MyGivingPoint – http://www.mygivingpoint.org/
  • All students should have accounts to this site in order to log community service hours.  Please direct questions about community services to Ms. Kaney [rachel.kaney@drewcharterschool.org].
• Hands-on-Atlanta Volunteer Opportunity Calendar
• Eagle Nation Booster Club – http://www.dreweaglenation.org/
  • Great information about our athletic teams, including their schedules and records.