ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL
Pulling Together
801 E. Arctic Ave. Palmer, AK 99645
Call us at 907-746-2358 or Fax us at 907-746-2368
or visit us at www.matsuk12.us/acc
March 22, 2013
1. Calendar
2. job Corner
3. Classroom News K-2
4. Classroom News 3 & 4
5. Classroom News 5
6. Notes from K-5 Labs
7. Classroom News 6 & 7
8. Classroom News 8
Date
Time
Field Trips and More
Mar 29
Ski day at Alyeska
April
2,3,4
SBA Testing
April 5
Early Release
“On time” Winners
for the week
ending March 22 are: John Bennett, Grace
James, Forrest Potteiger, Maddy Langford, Alex
Shepperd, Jovanna Ippolito, Linnaea Alverts,
Austin Huseby, Eva Venema
$50 Gas Card winner is:
the parents of Bobby
Thomas
Dear Families,
Thank you!
Thank you to Gerald Standeford for
spending a full day carrying off old skirting,
pipes and etc. that remained after the
portables were pulled away!
FACEBOOK
SBA Testing will be on April 2, 3, and
4.
!
The District is providing breakfast to all of
our students on all three days.
We need about 4 parents to pick up, bag, and
deliver them to the classrooms each morning.
!
They will be available for pick up by 6:30
am and need to be into the classrooms by 7:45
am. This job can be divided up so a couple of
parents pick up the items, and others do the
bagging and delivery to the rooms. Please call or
email the office if you are able to help with this.
Parents…please remain vigilant! Please
check in on your child’s Facebook account. Recently it has come to our attention that
cyber bullying is occurring. Students are
impersonating other student’s and setting up
fraudulent Facebook accounts. This is
identity theft, it is cyber bullying and it is a
crime. Parent Math Night
Would you like an opportunity to learn more
about Academy’s math instruction? Do you
have questions about math concepts or skills
that your child is learning? If so, please
email us the math topics that you’d like for
our staff to present during a Math Night at
Academy. We’d love to share.
Job Corner
Get your hours now!
1
Pick up SBA breakfasts and deliver
2
Deep clean main bathrooms one a month
Yearbook Order Forms
"
Yearbooks are $15 if ordered by March 22.
They are $20 if ordered after that.
"
We need a final order count for the publisher
by March 30. Please turn in order forms to your
teacher or into the office. You can also pay with
debit/credit card.
"
It’s very important to have all orders turned in
by the March 22 date. Thank you.
Second Grade News
C la ssR oo m N ew s K - 2
Kindergarten Notes
This week we talked about several of
Aesop’s fables. The students enjoyed acting
some of them out on Friday. We also learned
some Easter songs and chants. This was our
week of assessing. I am proud to see some
progress being made on remembering the
phonogram sounds and what to write when I
say the sounds. We will take the Spalding
spelling test next week. There is nothing to
study. This test helps me see if we are
making progress an what concepts to revisit.
In math we continue to add pages to
our individual math books. This week was
mostly teen numbers and on Monday we
added measurement. Next week we will add
addition. It is a great review time of place
value, measurement and computation.
Our class is in need of paper plates for
heating up lunch items. Please help us
replenish if you can.
Have a great weekend!
Ronni Berg
"
We had a World Fair meeting on Thursday. Thank you to all of the parents who came. Our theme
is Insects and Arachnids of Alaska. On Monday, your
child will bring home a packet that needs to be filled
out together with parent help. It needs to be brought
back to the school by Thursday March 28th. This
information will help the computer and art teacher
with the creation and ideas for their insect or
arachnid. Also next week, the permission slip for the
Sealife Center will be coming home.
"
Please make sure your child has all his/her
winter gear still. Recesses are very cold with the
wind. Please check to see if your child is prepared. Thanks!
"
More information will be coming in the next few
weeks about World Fair. If you know anyone who can
come into class as a guest speaker on our theme,
please let me know. I will be calling the Forestry
Dept. and a bee keeper.
"
Have a great weekend! Mrs. Booth
First Grade Facts
The class woke-up on Tuesday (was a little worried
Monday, haha) and have jumped in everything
reading . . . I love this time of year!! We have a new task
this week called “Speed Reader” and most are getting
multiple stamps for “Topic Writing” for indenting the first
line, spelling word-wall words correctly and starting/
ending sentences well. I am hoping their plant cinquain
poems turn out well enough on Friday to display in our
hallway . . . keep a look out!
Measurement is always fun . . . The class explored
items with counting cubes, inches, feet and centimeters.
The finale was making their own whales and then
measuring the body parts of them . . . fun, fun!!
Mrs. Mayer
News from Mrs. Liebing’s Room
"
Spring is here, and we have had some
sunshine even if not much warmth. In reading
this week we read a very well known children’s
story, “The Hole in the Dike,” and practiced
summarizing it and other readings from the week
including our next tall tale, “John Henry.” We are
working to summarize using complete sentences.
"
In math we are working on place value,
and recognizing and using different forms of three
digit numbers (pictures, models, standard and
expanded notation). This chapter will go quickly
because we already did this work earlier, with
smaller numbers. For most students it is a bit of
a review and stretch of earlier knowledge.
Notes for next week:
1. We will have a shortened homework packet
and it will be due on Thursday due to the ski
trip.
2. No spelling test next week
3. Poem Recitation on Wednesday
4. If I do not have Book Notes turned in by
Monday I will be calling home. Students
"
should have chosen their chapter books
and be reading them at home. I sent a
"
second copy home with students who
needed them on Thursday.
"
Enjoy your weekend, Mrs. Liebing
C la ssR oo m N ew s 3 & 4
Fourth Grade
Factoids
Third Grade News
!
Welcome back from spring break. I hope everyone
had a wonderful week off. The kids jumped right in with a
Spalding list. We will not have a spelling list next week
because of the ski day on Friday. We will take the time to
wrap up some of our Core Knowledge sayings and stories
as well as SBA practice.
"
During math we began some prep and test taking
skills for the SBA. We are practicing a few problems
everyday. We also began chapter 6 this week;
multiplication with factors of 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8. "
"
Please be on the look out for an email about our
animal shelter community service project. We will be
asking for classroom donations, hosting a bake sale and
attending the local Mat-Su Animal Shelter. Our field trip is
scheduled for Wednesday, April 10th at 10:00. Dates for the
bake sale and classroom collection have yet to be
determined. ""
Mrs. Weetman
Benbow Buzz
"
Language Arts – In preparation for the upcoming SBA
tests, we focused on answering questions accurately with
details that demonstrate understanding, making sure that
written answers remain on topic and that they are
grammatically correct. We also found the time to complete
the summaries of the book and movie Because of Winn
Dixie. There will not be a Spelling Packet next week.
"
Math- We began working on Geometry this week, and
discovered that a line is a series of points that follow the
same path and continue on and on, that a line segment is a
part of a line that has specific endpoints, that a line with one
endpoint is a ray, and that two rays that share the same
endpoint create an angle. We measured and drew angles
and began identifying plane shapes Timed tests for
multiplication and division facts continue to be part of our
daily routine, so please ensure that your child has time every
night to practice these important facts. Remember, a great
way to practice is by going to the website
www.gregtangmath.com and playing a game called
“Kakooma.”
"
Have a great weekend and, as always, feel free to
contact me with any comments or concerns!
[email protected]
We worked on preparing for the
reading section of the SBA’s and
reminded the students about the
strategies we have been working on all
year.
In math, we continued doing
multiplication, working on 2-digit by 2digit multiplication as well as 3-digit by
2-digit. We also started preparing for the
math section of the SBAs.
Parents, we are down to one
package of paper plates, as well as
getting quite low on the forks and
spoons. Could you help with restocking
our supplies? We have actually gone
pretty far into the year before I had to
ask. That is good!
C la ssR oo m N ew s f r o m 5 t h
The Real Report
5th Grade Core-The field trip was
wonderful- Thank you, wonderful
parents, for driving and chaperoning!
"
LA: This week was very full. I took
both classes through a practice of the
writing SBA ’s. It was challenging, but
enlightening. Students were able to see
what to expect and what is expected of
them. Next week, we will work on the
reading SBA’ s, begin our Japan research
project, and join a book group.
P.S. Students did a terrific job with their
Book Response projects!
"
MATH: This was the final week of
fantastic fractions. The students have
learned a lot and I am proud of them for
mastering so many difficult ideas. Next
week we will delve into geometry and get
ready for the SBA’ s. *PS: be sure to always
check my website!
R ep ort s f r o m ou r L a b s
Wor ld o f W ri t i n g
By Mrs. Weetman
"
This is the final rotation
for the 3rd, 4th and 5th
grades. We are working on
story planning 3 different
types of writing; compare and
contrast, how to, and sensory
writing. Since this is the last
rotation for these grade levels
the classes will only have 5
more graded assignments.
This is also the last chance to
make up any grades. Please
contact me with any
questions."
Fr o m Aroun d
t h e World
By Mrs. Booth
Congratulations to Lev
Robertson! He made it to
the state level Geography
Bee in Anchorage! Way to
go Lev!!! He will compete
against 100 other students
from 4th-8th grade on April
5th.
"
The third grade class
learned about rivers in South
America and Canada. We
have 2 more sections to go! The fourth graders are
preparing to make their Alaska
Relief maps. The recipe was
sent home Wednesday. The
dough needs to be brought to
school by March 28th. It can
be brought starting Monday
the 25th so nobody
forgets. :O) A big thank you
goes out to Grant's mom for
helping with the pizza boxes. Also, thank you to the Great
Alaska Pizza Company for
donating the boxes, You
guys are great!! The fifth
graders learned about time
zones. We played a game
and everyone seemed to get
the understanding down. We
will be also working on the
geography of the U.S.
"
E x p e ri m e nt s
By Mrs. Tompkins
"
This is the last rotation
for K-2 so we are wrapping up
some loose ends. All labs
looked at finding facts about
the Sun in non-fiction reading.
I’m so impressed with the
reading ability at these grade
levels!
E
spañol.
Spanish News
by Miss Agoff
"
Kindergartners are
learning their colors. On
Monday they helped me read
“Oso Pardo, Oso Pardo - Que
Ves Ahi?”. First graders are
preparing for their Seward
SeaLife trip by learning Sea
Animal Vocabulary. Second
graders are starting to learn
the letters and sounds of the
Spanish Alphabet. We will be
doing several culminating
alphabet projects and hope to
create an alphabet line for our
new Spanish portable.
Art
By Mrs. Holler
N ew s fr o m th e T o p,
6th a n d 7 th g r a d e s
6th Grade News
"
Juneau is fast approaching and the
excitement is building. Please remember to
send in your child's $40 for our van rentals. Parents that still want to come along should talk
to Donna Button at Travel Services if they
haven't done so already. Students are
encouraged to wear uniform (or nicer) clothes
during our morning sessions at the capitol.
"
History time this week has been spent
reviewing various forms of government as well
as looking at Ben Franklins views on exchanging
liberty for safety. This has also tied in well with
both LA groups and our current book, The Giver,
which looks at a society that has given up almost
all freedom in exchange for safety and
"sameness".
"
Math groups are working through
geometry, circumference and diameter
equations, and other goodies as we head into
the final week before SBA testing.
"
Feel free to stop by whenever if you have
any questions.""
Mr. T and Mr. S
News@7
"
L.A. has found us busy preparing for SBA’s. We
have been focusing on our reading and comprehension. Also, we don't use the bubble format in our regular testing. Therefore, students are familiarizing themselves with that
process, so that it is no surprise when they take the SBA’s
in a week and a half. We are reviewing both reading and
writing skills and discussing the reasons why one answer
is better than another. Math is advancing and we are
hopefully ready for the SBA's. "
In Math, we have focused on geometry and
culminated with the Pythagorean Theorem. Science is
always interesting! This week we did an experiment on
obtaining hydrogen gas from drano and aluminum foil. We
collected the gas in a balloon and ignited it with a loud
bang! That was exciting! We also did an iodine lab
experiment in which we discussed numerous reasons why
reactions happen at different rates. It was a great week in
the 7th grade. "
Parents, if you have an interest in traveling with us
to Seldovia for our field trip the first week of May, please
contact us as soon as possible.
"
Have a great weekend with your families!
"
Mr. Reilly & Mr. Bergey Español Siempre!
Senorita Caterina
"
Sixth graders wrote some well crafted essays on
the Incas. I noticed a bit of homework return slowdown
after a break. Our Spanish class continues to work and
learn. In order for us to progress in our understanding,
homework that helps review and expand on topics
introduced in class is essential.
Seventh graders are progressing nicely in their textbook.
The treasure chests they built for our Conquistador
projects are truly amazing and their first person journal
pages from the explorer’s point of view become better
written as they go on. I am proud of Seventh Grade!
Eighth grade’s new chapter deals with traveling. It
contains a ton of useful vocabulary and sentence
structures that will help communication in future
vacations. We are working on making extemporaneous
speaking in Spanish as pain free as writing. We are
enjoying conducting portions of our class in Spanish only
and feeling more comfortable communicating.
*Note about Quizlet - even if homework on Quizlet is not
assigned, students are always welcome to log in to my
classes and create appropriate vocabulary sets on this
useful website.
News from Wright 7th
grade math: We are working on
introductory geometry this week, as well as
beginning our test prep for SBA’s. Students
have NOT been utilizing ALEKS as well as I'd
like to see - please ask your student if they've
logged in recently. They can earn 10 points of
extra credit for every 20 minutes spent on
ALEKS online. Extra practice means better
math skills!! Have a great weekend - Mrs.
Wright
News from Wright 7th
grade ALA: Earlier this week we
enjoyed a visit from best selling author/local
resident Eowyn Ivey, who discussed her book,
The Snow Child. After a visit to the
Frontiersman to inspire us, we are working on
our news stories with our deadline next
Thursday. Don't be surprised if a student
contacts you - or someone you know - for
articles. Our stories are all about Academy and
will be edited by students as well as
professional writer, Zaz Hollander. Our
newspaper will accompany the newsletter next
Friday! Have a great weekend - Mrs. Wright
Adventures in History with Mrs. A
REAL English 1
Seventh Grade
!
This week I tested student’s
ability to identify narrative elements,
and label theme and main idea. I also
had students identify key details from a
passage and write a short comparison
essay. Additionally, we began a new
book, Warriors Don’t Cry (a
biographical account of one of the
“Arkansas nine”), shared our Book
Response projects, and uploaded our
“Hero Projects”- it has been another full
and very busy week. Next week we will
be getting ready to take the SBA’ s and
responding to our new book by
completing an autobiographical essay.
!
*PS: be sure to always check my
website!
*****Have a Happy Week!*****
!
Mrs. Real
"
This week students finished with the Russian
Revolution and Stalin. We are wrapping up our WWI
unit.
Eighth Grade:
"
This week, we continued with the Cold War unit,
with students learning about the Truman Doctrine and
the Marshall Plan. They also learned about NATO and
the Warsaw Pact.
T h e l a s t ye ar ,
Making news with Mrs. Molina
"
We have an incredibly busy week but the students
have done a great job getting back in the swing of things after
Spring Break. Many students have interviews at Mat-Su
Career and Technical High School week. It’s an exciting time
& I am so proud of the hard work that the 8th great have put
toward this endeavor.
"
My Math class has continued our unit on Geometry, in
addition to working on test taking skills and SBA practice test.
It’s hard to believe that it is “that time of year” already! I have
really enjoyed some of the “ah ha” moments we’ve had this
week, as students have started to make critical connections
in Math!
"
In Social Studies we finished watching the video
series The British Empire in Colour. The students have really
been surprised at how the British Empire shaped the current
world. This is truly a fascinating topic! I encourage you, as
parents, to ask you child about what they found most
interesting in our study this far.
"
This week my Language Arts students have been
writing their own autobiographies after reading Jerry Spinelli’s
Knots in My Yoyo String. I am really excited to read their final
products. We also have been reading the short story The
Open Boat in class. I have been impressed at how willing the
students have been to read this difficult story aloud in class.
They have become much more confident in their abilities and
in themselves.
"
Next week will be a short academic week with the
Academy ski day being Friday, March 29. We hope to see
you there!
"
A quick note: We are running low on paper plates in
the classroom. If you are able to donate any additional plates,
it would be greatly appreciated.
8Science with Tompkins
"
The class completed their sugar
cube houses. We then tested them for
resiliency in earthquake events. The
collapse of the roof is the number one
reason for structural failure in their models.
Algebra
"
Chapter 8 has been wrapped up and
we will review and complete the chapter
test next week. Next up, polynomials!