Academy Avenue Elementary School

22-23 Template

March 5, 2023

Academy Avenue Announcements

Dear Academy Families and Friends,

I hope this finds you well. Signs of spring are on their way, but winter still lingers. This past week, the children did a wonderful job with the two-hour delay. While it was a change to their daily routine, they adjusted and made the day a success. While a day like this is rare, a few of questions that came up were in regards to morning programs and procedures like Champions starting at 9am instead of 7am as well as bus routes starting at 10:15 instead of the usual 8:15 start time. Also on a day with a two-hour delay, we do not serve breakfast, instead, we start with lunches. We also were able to adjust the schedule so all students still got to enjoy their specialist periods.

This past week, Academy took some time to recognize our love of reading on Thursday. We celebrated the importance of books and had several special events around the building and in our classes to showcase the gift of literacy. It was also the official kick off day of the Read Across Academy challenge. For the next four weeks, we strongly encourage our students to READ, READ, READ at home as much as they can. Read alone, or snuggle up with a parent, grandparent or loved one and share the gift of reading. Not only is it a great way to create some fun and together time, it is a great way to improve those reading skills. As part of the challenge, families can log on and enter their reading pages and chapters into the contest and receive multiple entries into the gift certificate raffles. It's free, it's fun, and the more we read, the stronger our students will be. In case you missed the flyer, please click here for a digital copy.

Also kicking off this past week in the district wide ST Math, March MATHness Challenge. This is the largest Math competition of the year where elementary schools pair up and challenge each other every week in March until the top schools compete in a playoff type format at the end of the month. Last year, Academy won the challenge and we're hopeful with your help at home, we can do it again this year. We talked about this at our PBIS rally this past Friday and the kids are very excited to defend the title. Please make some time nightly and even on the weekend to have students log on and complete puzzles to help our school succeed. Again it's fun for the kids and will support the growth of their math skills. Completed puzzles still count towards our school's progress up through Sunday night each week!

For the families of our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students, MCAS exams will be starting shortly. Below you will find a list of dates by grade level for the assessments students will take in English Language Arts, Mathematics, & Science (grade 5 only). On those days it is important students come to school well-rested and ready to "show what they know" in those different subject areas. We will provide the students with several practice questions and sessions to help get ready for the exams. More information will be coming home to families later in the month.

Last but not least, I am happy to announce that our Outdoor Classroom Subcommittee met this past week to begin planning an outdoor classroom at Academy for our students. A few years ago, the idea began and it's our hope to create an official space for students to take the learning outside. We look towards your support in seeing this vision become a reality here for our students.

All the best,

Mr. Higgins

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Upcoming Events - December

Read Across America Challenge & ST March Mathness are on all month.
March 8-Grade 5 Field Trip to the WHS Planetarium
March 9-School Council Meeting 3:45PM
March 9-AAPC 6PM
March 14: Half Day of School. Professional Development
March 16-Grade 5 Field trip to the New England WIldlife Center
March 23: Grade 4 Field Trip to Waterworks Museum in Boston
March 24: End of Term 2 for Grades 1-5
March 29-April 13 ELA MCAS exams for Grades 3-5 (see below)
April 4: Parent Teacher Conferences (Evening)
April 5: Parent Teacher Conferences (Afternoon) Half Day for Students.
April 7: No School-Good Friday Observance

School Links:

Please click the gray buttons below to learn more about each topic!

Academy Social Media Links

Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

Academy Avenue Parent Council

FREE Parent/Guardian Workshop on Affordable Housing Resources with NeighborWorks

When: Tuesday, March 7th, 2023, from 7-8 pm

Virtual via GoogleMeet

You can find more information here.

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AAPC News

AAPC is selling bricks to add to our existing brick walkway by the playground! All money raised will go into Phase 2 of the playground, which includes shade, seating, etc! Bricks are on sale through 3/14. Please visit our website at https://4everbricks.com/donors/aap/ to order.

Don't forget- Jumping for Dollars is Wednesday 3/14 ALL DAY at Altitude Trampoline Park! Just mention Academy Ave and they'll donate 20% back to us!

SAVE THE DATE! Book Bingo is back! Join us Wednesday 3/22 at 6:15 in the cafeteria for Book Bingo!

Join us Thursday 3/9 at 7PM in the cafeteria for our next meeting and to hear all about activities we have coming up for the rest of the year!

The Academy Avenue Parent Council has a new S'more Account.

https://www.smore.com/1edm7