February Newsletter

 Bear Cub News

             Academy of Tucson Elementary School

February, 2011

Principals Message

As I pondered what to include in my message to families for February, I felt it was appropriate to acknowledge your efforts, as parents, for making it a priority to participate in the educational community at the Academy of Tucson Elementary School. January was another prime example of the school coming together to support the students of the Academy in their quest for an education. We had parents agreeing to drive students on field trips; we had our parent organization support teachers at a luncheon as well as promoting the school at our recent carnival, book fair and open house. Thanks to all of you who attended any of the January events!

Our focus for February is to continue to build on the academic skills of the students within the classroom and to provide educational experiences outside of the classroom through field trips. (second graders will be going on a “Bodyology” field trip, third graders will be attending the Gem and Mineral Show, and fourth graders will be traveling to Agua Caliente Park).

I appreciate everyone adjusting their schedules to accommodate for the cold weather strain on the pipes at the school and for having such a positive outlook on the situation. I know some of you have had to deal with the same dilemmas at your house and I hope everything returns to normal soon!                                                                       

Calendar

February  8^th:   100^th Day of School-In Class

                  Recognition

February 10^th:  Ms. Purdy’s Class Field Trip-Solon

February 11th: Parent Advisory Meeting 8:00 am

                  3^rd Grade Field Trip-TCC

                  4^th Grade Field Trip-Agua Caliente

February 25^th:  Rodeo Round-up Event 

Parents Corner
There will be a parent advisory meeting under the ramada at 8:00 am on Feb. 11th. Please come and join us if you can. At the previous meetings in January, the PAC organization discussed the carnival/book fair along with fundraising.
Bear Cub E-mails Update: Mrs. Garlund has the class e-mail lists completed. She also worked with Mr. Dool who is the school technology coordinator to get a different e-mail account. Please disregard the old e-mail address. The new one is: espac@at.tuccoxmail.com (add to your contact list)
REMEMBER TO CHECK YOUR JUNK MAIL TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY E-MAIL MESSAGES FROM PAC. MAKE SURE TO UNBLOCK THE PAC E-MAIL ADDRESS. 
I’m going to wait one more month before sending out my newsletter via e-mail.


Science Fun Fest:  
This event is quickly approaching and will be on March 11, 2011. You will receive a flyer asking for help either as a volunteer or monetarily with this event sometime in Feb.. For those of you interested in learning more about this event or to volunteer please contact Jaime Lines at jandjlinesfam@hotmail.com, Mindy Seagraves at dnmeseagraves@yahoo.com. or Trish Anthis at trishanthis@hotmail.com.

Open House For Prospective Students/Kindergarten Screenings:
We will be having open house events for prospective students who are new to the Academy of Tucson Elementary School. This is a designated time to tour the school, get questions answered about the school, meet teachers/principal and complete registration forms. The following are the dates and times of the Open House Events through May:
Tuesday-February 8^th 4:00-5:30 pm
Tuesday-March 1^st 5:00-6:30 pm
Tuesday-April 5^th 3:30-5:00 pm
Tuesday-May 3^rd 5:00-7:00 pm
Kindergarten Screenings will be held on March 5^th and then on an as needed basis after March. PARENTS WILL BE MAILED A LETTER DESIGNATING THEIR CHILD’S SCREENING TIME. Note: The screenings are not used for admittance purposes.
Please Note: If new families are unable to attend any of the open house events, call to schedule a tour of the school in order to become familiar with the Academy of Tucson. We accept registration packets year round.

Rodeo Round-Up
This event will take place on February 25, 2011. Students will have the opportunity to purchase a cowboy lunch and then an assembly in the afternoon on the basketball court. More information will follow in Friday/Monday Folders.

January 2011 Newsletter

 Bear Cub News

          Academy of Tucson Elementary School

January, 2011

Principals Message

Happy 2011! We have had a great start to the New Year and hope you have as well.  As I have walked through the classrooms, the teachers continue to develop lessons that are thought provoking and actively engaging to students. Once again, we have many activities that students will be participating in this month. Please keep updated on these events by reviewing the various modes of communication that we have established for families. (Newsletters, PASS, Blogs, Marquee, Bear Cub E-Mails)  The Academy of Tucson schools are in the beginning phases of establishing their school communities for the 2011-2012. We have asked families to please return their Declaration Forms to us, as soon as possible, to let us know if their child will be returning to one of the Academy schools for next year. We have also scheduled open houses throughout the remainder of the school year for prospective families. Please spread the word if you know of anyone who is looking to make a change in their child’s academic environment.

In closing, I would like to let you know that we acknowledged the events of the weekend at our morning flag ceremony on Monday. We accomplished this by talking with students as to why the flag was being flown at half staff and discussing what constitutes being a good citizen through peaceful means. Our student council chose to send an outreach letter to the school community of Mesa Verde Elementary School. This letter was heartfelt and expressed the thoughts of the wonderful students at the Academy of Tucson Elementary School. 

                                                                       

Calendar

January 14th: Parent Advisory Meeting 8:00 am

                3^rd/4^th Grade Field Trip-TCC

January 17th: No School Martin Luther King

January 18th: Jump Rope for Heart Presentation

                Start of the Bookman’s Reading

                Challenge

January 21st: 3^rd Grade Field Trip-Agua Caliente

                Champ Dance Assembly

January 25th: Middle School Open House for 4^th

                Graders-6:30-8:00 pm

January 27^th: 4^th Grade Field Trip-Old Tucson

January 28^th: Book Fair Begins/Spirit Day

January 29^th: Carnival/Book Fair/Open House at

                Elementary School-10:00 am-1:00 pm

Physical Education Update:

A note from Mrs. Mitchell: Thank you so much for taking the time to volunteer for the Winter Field Day. It was truly appreciated and all the kids had such a great time. I could not have done it without you!

Students are also gearing up to participate in the Jump for Heart event in the next week or so.

Fun Events: Carnival/Book Fair/Open House:

Come and join us for the festivities of this one event on January 29, 2011 from 10:00-1:00. Books will be for sale to help support our school library. There will also be food booths, games, and an inflatable obstacle course. Proceeds from the carnival will go towards deferring the cost of the Grand Canyon Trip for the 4^th Graders. The campus will also be open for prospective families to take a tour of the campus and to learn more about our school.

 

Parents Corner
There will be a parent advisory meeting under the ramada at 8:00 am on Jan. 14. The February meeting is scheduled for Feb. 11 at 8:00 am. Please come and join us if you can. Sorry for the late notice for the Jan. meeting.
Bear Cub E-mails Update: Mrs. Garlund has the class e-mail lists completed. We sent out the first round of messages and discovered a minor glitch which we are working on to correct. I am planning to have the February newsletter sent via e-mail to those families who are participants in the e-mail program.
REMEMBER TO CHECK YOUR JUNK MAIL TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY E-MAIL MESSAGES FROM PAC. MAKE SURE TO UNBLOCK THE PAC E-MAIL ADDRESS. pac@ateschool.net 
The Science Fun Fest event will be on March 11, 2011. More information will follow in later e-mails and newsletters. For those of you interested in learning more about this event or to volunteer please contact Jaime Lines at jandjlinesfam@hotmail.com, Mindy Seagraves at dnmeseagraves@yahoo.com. or Trish Anthis at trishanthis@hotmail.com.



Tardiness 
Timely arrival to school and class is essential for student learning.  Since tardy students interfere with the learning of those who come on time, late arrivals are considered discipline violations. 
The first bell rings at 7:45 AM. This is the signal for students to line up with their classes.  The second bell rings at 7:55 AM. All students arriving after the second bell must be signed in by an adult.
Open House For Prospective Students/Kindergarten Screenings:
We will be having open house events for prospective students who are new to the Academy of Tucson Elementary School. This is a designated time to tour the school, get questions answered about the school, meet teachers/principal and complete registration forms. The following are the dates and times of the Open House Events through May:
Tuesday-February 8^th 4:00-5:30 pm
Tuesday-March 1^st 5:00-6:30 pm
Tuesday-April 5^th 3:30-5:00 pm
Tuesday-May 3^rd 5:00-7:00 pm
Kindergarten Screenings will be held on March 5^th and then on an as needed basis after March. PARENTS WILL BE MAILED A LETTER DESIGNATING THEIR CHILD’S SCREENING TIME. Note: The screenings are not used for admittance purposes.
Please Note: If new families are unable to attend any of the open house events, call to schedule a tour of the school in order to become familiar with the Academy of Tucson. We accept registration packets year round.

Wonderful Day!

Hello To All,

I just wanted to let you know that we had a wonderful day at the Academy of Tucson Elementary School on December 9, 2010. The day was terrific because of the efforts of our teachers, students, parents, and the community. Students experienced an abundance of fun and activity at our "Winter Field Day" thanks to Mrs. Mitchell our P.E. Teacher and to many parent volunteers. Then Mrs. Teitelbaum our Librarian/Art Teacher  arranged for an author visit by Dow Kump, a novelist of children's books, to present his book "Project-OO" and to teach students how to become Star Writers.

Best Wishes,
Michelle Poppen

December Bear Cub Newsletter

Academy of Tucson Elementary School                                      

Principals Message

The festivities at this point in the year have officially started with the passing of Thanksgiving and the coming of the holiday season. We appreciate the cultural and spiritual diversity of our school community and hope that whatever traditions your family celebrates brings forth a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2011!

November Recap: Once again, I am fortunate to boast about the wonderful learning experiences that The Academy Teachers have shared with your child throughout November and are diligently preparing for new adventures in December. November proved to be an exciting month because field trips were taken to Patagonia, Catalina State Park, the Desert Museum and Sabino Canyon in order to enrich our Science Curriculum. Students went to the De Grazia Studio as an extension of our Art Curriculum and the first grade classes sang patriotic songs at one of the Naturalization Ceremonies to promote citizenship as a part of our Social Studies Curriculum. We were also privileged to have a Korean War Veteran from the Joe Foss Foundation speak to our second and third grade classes in order to reinforce why we have certain holidays including Veterans Day. As with any of our field trips, we are appreciative of all the parents who volunteered to drive. The Star Gazing and Movie Night was a success due to the collaborative efforts of our fourth grade team and Mrs. Carlson along with Mr. Allardice from the middle school. I would also like to thank all of you who took the time out of your busy schedule to attend the parent teacher conferences. A special note of “thanks” goes out to all of you who were able to donate to our food drive and to Mrs. Thompson who organized this worthwhile event. Last but not least, the Thanksgiving Celebration hosted by the Kindergarten team and students was a terrific start to the Thanksgiving break due to the hard work by the teachers and the participation of the families who were able to attend.

December Information and Events: As you can see, November was an exciting month and December is shaping up to be just as exciting. First and foremost we will be having our Winter Field Day on December 9^th which Mrs. Mitchell, our P.E. teacher, is hard at work organizing. We are happy that so many of you have agreed to volunteer for this event.The student council is sponsoring Spirit Days in conjunction with the Winter Field Day.  We will also be having holiday celebrations within each of the grade levels for families to participate in. Please make sure to read the newsletters from your child’s teacher in order to have the latest information of when these celebrations will take place. Since Mrs. Flory, our music teacher, is now officially on maternity leave we are looking to have our music concert second semester instead of first semester. Stay tuned for more information. Also, it is important to note that the classroom teachers will be incorporating music into their instructional time to ensure that students receive music enrichments until Mrs. Flory returns to school in late February. During the holiday break we encourage students to practice their reading, writing, and math skills through various activities such as reading books, writing letters to family and friends, playing games that encourage counting and getting outside to play.

One of the reasons why we encourage the continuum of learning during vacations and/or half days is to make sure that students do not forget what has already been taught. We are also mindful of the fact that since we had a late start to the school year, we do not want students to be behind in what is expected of them for our testing schedule in April. Contact your child’s teacher if you have any questions on how you can help your child over break. I apologize for being so long winded in this newsletter but there have been many things to get you updated on. Please contact me if you have any questions about what was presented in this newsletter and have a HAPPY HOLIDAY!

Calendar

Dec. 1st: Early Release Day

              Release Times:

                       Kinder 11:15

                       1^st/2^nd 11:30

                       3^rd/4^th 11:40

Dec. 7^th: Spirit Day-Crazy Hair Day

Dec. 8^th: Spirit Day-Twin Day-Can Wear Jeans If

           Dressing Up

Dec. 9^th: Winter Field Day/Spirit Day-Favorite Sports Team-Can Wear Jeans If Dressing Up

Dec. 22nd: Early Release Day-End of Second Quarter

Dec. 23^rd-Jan. 3^rd: Winter Break

Please note that only those students who are in the OTT Y aftercare program are allowed to stay after school on early release days.

Parents Corner
The Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) met on December 2^nd to review the bylaws and to continue the organizational process for the year. The PAC agreed to have their meetings the 2^nd Friday of the month at 8:00 am. Pleases plan on attending. An additional meeting will be held on December 10th at 8:00 am in the office to work on the calendar for this year. You have already started to see the efforts of the PAC through the e-mail directory that is being organized thanks to Mrs Garlund. You will also be receiving a testimonial form in your Friday folders to complete in order to include in our future brochure thanks to Mrs. English. Your PAC representatives are the following: Co-Chairs-Margie Laube & Jan Gardlund, Secretary-Susan Forrer, Treasurer-Maya Hendrickson. We have coordinators for other committees which will be shared in our next newsletter. We are finalizing what those coordinators will be responsible for.

Tax Credits A quick reminder that your school fees can be paid through tax credit donations made out to The Academy of Tucson. If you would like your tax credit donations to go on this years tax return, they must be received by December 31, 2010. Also, any friends or relatives can donate to The Academy. $200 can be claimed on your federal tax return for a single parent family and $400 for a two parent family. Contact Mrs. Fite at 886-6076 for more information.
                                                                                                      Community Outreach
The Brownie Troop will be holding a toy drive on campus from Dec. 6^th-Dec. 21^st. This project will help to support the “Marine Toys for Tots Program.” If you wish to donate to this worthy cause, you can bring a new unwrapped toy to your child’s classroom. The presentation of the donated toys will be on Dec. 21^st.

If you are out shopping on Sunday Dec. 5^th or Dec. 12^th at Park Mall, stop by Macy’s from 12:00-3:00 to hear The Academy of Tucson High School’s Advanced Choir perform. They are terrific!

November Event Update

Hello Academy of Tucson Elementary School Families,

The Star Gazing and Movie Night was a tentative event on our schedule and we received confirmation yesterday (11/1/10) that it will take place. The date of the event is on 11/10/10 at the Academy of Tucson Elementary School from 6:00-8:00 pm. Telescopes will be stationed on the soccer field and a family friendly movie will be playing on the basketball court. There will be snacks and pizza available for purchase. You may want to bring a blanket or a lawn chair to watch the movie. Please come and join us for a night of fun!

Have a wonderful day!
Ms. Poppen

General Updates

October 25, 2010

Dear Academy of Tucson Elementary School Families,

I just wanted to give you some quick updates for October and November: 1^_Picture Retakes are on Wed. October 27^th, 2^_Spirit Day is on Friday October 29^th and it is an early release day, 3-Please turn in any outstanding general permission forms, school team agreements or emergency packet forms to Mrs. Fite or your child’s classroom teacher, 4-Parent teacher conferences are from Nov. 1^st-Nov. 5^th and all of those days are early release days, 5-We are off for Veterans day on Nov. 11^th and we are off for Thanksgiving on Nov. 25-26.

We will not be having any after school enrichments on Oct. 29^th and Nov. 1^st-Nov. 5^th. The only students that may stay after school on those days are the students who are in aftercare with the OTT Y program.

Best Wishes,

Michelle Poppen

Principal

October Newsletter

Bear Cub News

           Academy of Tucson Elementary School

October 8, 2010

Principals Message

It is hard to believe that we are already a week into October. We just completed the Book Fair and it was a success because of the efforts of Mrs. Teitelbaum, the volunteer support and family participation. We also had a wonderful turn out for our chili dinner that was sponsored by our 4^th grade team and students. There are a few more important dates in October to consider, which I have made reference to in the calendar section of this newsletter. Also, please take the time to schedule your parent conference with your child’s teacher for the first week in November. In respect for the diversity of our school community, the Academy of Tucson Elementary School does not celebrate Halloween. Individual classrooms may have their own celebrations in relation to Fall or the harvest time of the year. Have a terrific October!                                                                     

Calendar

October 12th: Mad Science Presentation

October 14^th: Parent Advisory Meeting 8:15 am

October 27th: a. Picture Retakes

                 b. End of First Quarter

October 29^th:a. Early Release Day

                     Kinder dismissal @ 11:15

                     1^st-2^nd dismissal @ 11:30

                    3^rd-4^th dismissal @ 11:40

                b. Skate Country Fundraiser 5-7 pm

                   at Skate Country on 22nd

                c. Spirit Day-Jeans are allowed

                   only if the student wears an

                   Academy of Tucson polo or

   T-shirt.

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Communication between home and school is an essential part for providing proper conditions for student success and achievement.  Discussion of a child’s accomplishments and learning style supports the mutual understanding that exists between parent and teacher.  In order to discuss your child’s progress, please make sure to schedule a conference time with your child’s teacher. Conferences are mandatory for all students.

Dress Code

Please take the time to review the dress code with your child.  Shorts and pants are to be Docker Style solid colors of navy, black, khaki. Skirts are to be of the same colors as listed above. Shorts and skirts are to be fingertip length when arms are hanging down straight at their side.  Girls may wear leggings under a dress code skirt.  Shirts need to be a solid color or a print (strips, polka dots, etc.) Beginning second quarter, October 28^th, students will need to

wear polo shirts. (T-shirts except for Academy of Tucson T-shirts will no longer be considered in dress code after October 28^th) The staff of the Academy of Tucson Elementary School will closely be monitoring and enforcing the dress code policy.

Academy of Tucson Shirts           Each student is required to have an Academy of Tucson Elementary School polo shirt to wear on field trips.  If a child does not have a polo shirt, they will not be permitted to travel on the trip with their class. 
Spirit Day is the last Friday of each month. In order to wear jeans on that day, students must be in an Academy of Tucson shirt.  Please note that jeans can only be worn on Spirit Days and designated field trips. 

 
Tardiness 
Timely arrival to school and class is essential for student learning.  Since tardy students interfere with the learning of those who come on time, late arrivals are considered discipline violations. 
The first bell rings at 7:45 AM. This is the signal for students to line up with their classes.  The second bell rings at 7:55 AM. All students arriving after the second bell must be signed in by an adult.
Parents Corner
There will be a parent advisory meeting under the ramada at 8:15 am on Oct. 14. Please come and join us if you can. We will be discussing this year events and opportunities.
The first Science Fun Fest meeting took place on 8/30/10 at the school. For those of you interested in learning more about this event or to volunteer please contact Jaime Lines at jandjlinesfam@hotmail.com, Mindy Seagraves at dnmeseagraves@yahoo.com. or Trish Anthis at trishanthis@hotmail.com.


 Communication
    Our PASS (Parental Access Support System) system is up and running!  You may go on-line to see your children’s grades.  Teachers will update information at least once a week. You can also access calendar updates from the PASS system. Additional ways in which we will be communicating with parents  from the Academy of Tucson include our website, blogs, student folders, and school marquee. Make sure to check the message section on PASS for classroom information and other important school messages.