Why we don't use textbooks

This article from Edutopia is a great read for those interested in knowing more about why we don't use textbooks as a mainstay of our curriculum.

http://www.edutopia.org/muddle-machine#

Happy reading.

New Year ReCap

Happy New Year from Innovations Academy!

It’s been an amazing journey together in 2009, and thanks to your involvement, commitment, and support, our community is growing every month with new students and families. In January we’ll be welcoming even more new community members. Thank you for spreading the news that you and your child love your school.

Accomplishments of 2009:

1. Student & Family Satisfaction is at an all time high as noted by our low transfer rate (any transfers are predominantly because of relocation), regular feedback that we receive from families about the changes that our community has made in their individual lives, and continued enrollment throughout the year.

2. Securing a facility for the 2009/10 school year on short notice.

3. Enrolling 35 new students and families since September (which is phenomenal considering that enrolling new students during the school year rarely happens. Families love our program and are looking for something different).

4. Getting media coverage through our School Choice Fun Fair to bring the charter community and families together (we’re looking to do another one in March).

5. Finding and implementing programs that embody our school’s philosophy such as Responsive Classroom Techniques and a structure to encourage inquiry based Project Based Learning.

Plans for 2010

As we look forward to 2010 we have 3 main goals: get our classes tech saturated, solidify our M.A.P.S program, and reach full enrollment with a healthy waiting list.

For 2010 we’re increasing our technology component. We have found a vendor who offers extremely good laptop prices that we may be able to offer to our families. We’re looking at acquiring 100 laptops predominantly to be placed in the 4th – 8th grade classrooms. Bringing in this technology will enable these classrooms to get high tech and bring Project Based Learning to a new level.

For our M.A.P.S (Media, the Arts, PE, and Science) program we are excited to have the Junior Achievement Program (teaching hands on fiscal responsibility and entrepreneurship) and Edudance (teaching ballroom dance to our middle schoolers) join us. We are very excited to collaborate with these organizations as well as others to bring sustainable programming every year as well as to make our program standout.

Enrollment is also starting for the 2010/11 school year. Please tell your friends now so that they do not miss out on our program next year.

Your Support

As the year closes you can help support our 2010 plans by making a tax deductible donation to Innovations Academy today through our website at http://innovationsacademy.org/donate.php or you can send us a check to our school address (123 Camino de la Reina, Suite 100 East, San Diego, CA).

We ask that you please consider making a tax deductible donation (though we do not yet have our non-profit status we have a determination letter from our lawyers stating that any donations made today will retroactively be covered when our non-profit status is finalized) as you consider your year end fiscal planning. Please remember that many employers give matching donations.

We’re currently looking to raise the following:

1. $7,000 for Laptop computers (this grants us 100 laptops with a lifetime warranty)

2. $10,000 for our MAPS program from now until the end of school.

When making a donation you can clarify where you would like your contributions to go in the check register or through the Paypal message box. If you’d like to make a donation towards general operations you may do so as well.

We understand that 2009 was a tough year financially for many, and we also appreciate contributions of time through volunteerism, donated materials, outreach by encouraging your friends to enroll, and connecting us with businesses or partnerships that can support us in the future.

Thank you for making 2009 a successful and fulfilling year,

Innovations Academy Staff

Hedge Funds Supporting Charter Schools

Here's an interesting article on how Hedge Funds are supporting Charter Schools.

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/07/hedge-funds-scholarly-investments/

Enjoy,

Danielle

Updates for the week of December 14

All School Updates:

1. This is the last week before Winter Break. Remember, Innovations is closed from December 21 through January 4th.

2. Barnes and Nobles at Hazard Center is supporting IA this week. Please pick up a voucher from school and Barnes and Nobles will donate some of the proceeds to IA. Books make great gifts and you can support your school.

3. Starting this week Coffee Connection, a place to come chat with Danielle & Christine as well as other parents, will take place on Thursday at 9am.

4. Edudance update - Since Friday we have collected $210 for the Edudance program for our 7th & 8th grade students. We have $570 left to go. You can donate directly on our website or write a check to Innovations Academy. If every child brought in $3.50 (the cost of a lunch) we would have enough to support this amazing program that our students really want. We'd like to make Edudance a program that comes year after year as part of our MAPS program. Please help to bring them in now while we look for sponsors and grants to support the program for the future.

5. IA will hold its monthly Board Meeting on Monday at 6pm. All are welcome.

Classroom Specific Updates:

1. On December 14th - DeeDee's class will take a field trip to the Children's museum it is $5 per child. If you'd like to chaperon please speak with DeeDee.

Thanks for reading,

Danielle

CSA at IA

Hello Parents.

Finally !!!!! Fresh local organic produce coming to our school. We are excited!

Garden of Eden Organics CSA is coming to our school starting January 2010.

What is a CSA?

This is a great way for you and your family to work directly with local farmers. By becoming a member you will receive a box of fresh picked local organic fruit and veggies delivered to our school every week.
CSA's are a great way to promote health, support the environment and save time and money. All while supporting your local farmer.

Here's what needs to happen:

We need a minimum of 30 families to pledge to get the program started. Spread the word to your family and friends as well.

This a great gift of health too if you would like a unique holiday present.

Check out their website for more details and sign up today. www.goeorganics.com

Important Dates!

Tonight - 6:30 - 7:30pm - New Student Open house - Curious about IA? Come explore our school and get your questions answered.

Wednesday - NO SCHOOL - Veteran's Day

Thursday - 5pm - 7pm - Family Night - "Me Project Showcase" 5pm dinner, 6pm presentations

Sunday - 10am - 4pm - School Choice Fun Fair - Come play with us at the fair! We'll have a bounce house, arts and crafts, performers, and booths about charter schools in San Diego.

*all events take place at our school site.

School Update for the week of Nov 2

Hello IA Families,

I'm starting a new structure for these write ups: important info, then reminders, then classroom specific info.

Important Info:

1. IA needs 60 new students and we need your help. If we don't get these 60 students by the end of December we will be faced with program and personnel cuts. Have your friends' children shadow any day of the week. 99% of those who shadow, enroll at IA. You can also help by putting fliers out around your community and asking to make an announcement at community events. Grocery stores, coffee shops, and health offices are our friends. Get the word out. If you have a website please put a link to our school.

2. IA is hosting a School Choice Fun Fair. We know that people ask, "What's a charter school? How much does it cost? Isn't that an 'alternative' school?" Charters equal choice. The fair takes place on Sunday, Nov 15 from 10am - 4pm in our parking lot. High Tech High, Keiller Leadership Academy, ourselves, and Pacific American are confirmed for attendance. We'll also have a bounce house, craft booths, performers, and activities. Entrance is free though some booths may be selling items. If you'd like to help with this event contact iaparents@innovationsacademy.org or go to our volunteer page on the website (http://innovationsacademy.org/volunteer.php).

3. Family conferences are this Wednesday. Please schedule a time to meet with your teacher.

Reminders:

1. Coffee Connection is this Thursday from 8:30 - 9:30am. This is a great place to chit chat as well as to bring your friends who have questions about IA.

2. IA Board Meeting is tomorrow at 6pm. We're still looking for members with specialties in special education, law, and facilities.

Classroom Needs:

1. Justin and Karrlie's classes are collecting canned goods and blankets for the homeless. Please drop off items at their rooms.

2. Reading Buddies. Be a buddy and read to a child at IA. Reading to children increases literacy. There are times to read during and after school hours. This is a great way to volunteer and make a big difference with our kids. Contact Danielle if you're interested in being a Reading Buddy.

3. Have you noticed how nice lighting at home affects your mood? It's clear that classrooms that have lamps promote a more calm and focused atmosphere, rather than the intense fluorescent lights. If you have a spare lamp or would like to purchase one for your child's classroom please drop it with your teacher!

4. Do you own or manage a business? IA knows that the fiscal year is almost over and businesses may be looking to donate computers, printers, old furniture, etc. If you're work place is looking to donate, contact us for the tax write off!

Thanks for listening,

Danielle

Songs to inspire

This song, particularly the lyrics below, make me think of our kids. Enjoy!


Upside Down by Jack Johnson

Who's to say
What's impossible
Well they forgot
This world keeps spinning
And with each new day
I can feel a change in everything
And as the surface breaks reflections fade
But in some ways they remain the same
And as my mind begins to spread its wings
There's no stopping curiosity

Our Mission...not just for the kids.

Though there are many other things I could be focusing on right now, I was dropped a ray of sunshine by a couple of our parents today.

I've always told people that our mission, "to powerfully create our lives," is not just for the kids. It's about everyone here, the kids, the moms, the dads, the teachers, ourselves, everyone. I've had some parents taken aback by that, "Oh, I never thought of it that way," they say.

One of our moms wrote to me today to say that she is thrilled that her son has gone from being the type of kid who would never ever talk about school, to the young man who now talks about going to college. He's having breakthroughs right and left this year. I can clearly see him fulfilling on our mission, he's powerfully creating his life...a new one envisioned for him.

Another mom, a prolific blogger, wrote, "While the journey is about my son, and I definitely don't lose sight of that, it is also about a very confused woman who is still finding her way, one delicate step at a time. In the nurturing environment I find at Innovations Academy, I have been given the gift of friendship, acceptance, respect and love. There is no price tag, no expectation, other than to show up and join in. What a miraculous place to be." She too is powerfully creating this year.

It's amazing to watch these changes before my eyes. Continue to shine on, our IA community, shine on.

Danielle

Updates for Innovations

Hello Everyone!

I'm sorry it's been so long since this has been updated. There has been a lot going on with the beginning of the school year.

For all of you blog lovers out there, I introduce to you: http://iahighlightssandiego.blogspot.com/

This is a blog maintained by one of our lovely parents who is on a mission to keep everyone in the loop. Please see her blog for updates as well as some interesting tidbits.

One great purpose for this blog can be to answer parent questions. If you have questions that you think other IAers would be interested in, please email me!

Thanks,

Danielle

IA's First Parent Night of the New School Year

Future Parent Meetings

· Our first parent meeting was held on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009. The meeting area was packed, so next time 1/2 of the parent group will meet with teachers while the other parent group meets with administrators and then the two groups will switch.

Be a Good Neighbor

· Parking in IA or blank spots ONLY! After 6 p.m., and on weekends, you can park anywhere.

Drop-Off and Pick-up

· Drop-off begins 15 minutes before class. If you arrive earlier than that, you will need to pay for before-school care. Pick-up begins at the END of school. If you arrive early, we will ask you to park.

· The only exception includes siblings in upper and lower grades, who need to be in before or after care, until their class starts or gets out..

Lunch

· Bring a bag lunch.

· We have microwave ovens in the classrooms.

· You may purchase lunches Monday-Friday (except Wed.) See Donna in the reception area for details and to place orders.

Needs of Innovations Academy

· More Students! All classes have openings (except kindergarten)! As much as we love the small class size, unless we get a big donor we need more students to bring class sizes to around 20 students.

· Handy parents. There may be work left from the weekend. Check with Donna to see if there are any more projects that need to be completed. at the school.

Info

· Blogging-Teachers blog each week on the IA website. They will let you know which day.

· Tuesday, September 22, is Family Game Night at the school. It will be $1/per person and you will go home with a free game of Bingo. A variety of games are available to play for free or as little as 25 cents a play. If you’d like to help, please email Amy@InnovationsAcademy.org

First Week, Fall 2009

Congrats on a great first week everyone! IA has been full of smiles, fun, and engagement. I've seen students busy at creating fountains, measuring themselves, learning math drills through outdoor games, writing, eating lunch, making new friends, and enjoying their new environment at IA.

I've spoken with many parents this week who are more than happy with their first week at IA and are looking forward to the continued building of our community.

Next week we'll start again on Monday with those happy faces and warm reception. We're all very excited.

Have a great weekend,

Danielle

p.s. DeeDee's (our K teacher) class has set up a Donors Choose Page

Focus for the 2009/10 School Year

Today I got an email from a parent and in it they pointed out an area where we're not fulfilling on our petition. That said, it would be miraculous for us to fulfill on our entire charter in even two years (this is why the district gives 5 years to get everything rolling before the big review). However, that's where you all can support this mission!

To recap a bit of last year, it was all about being a new start up non-profit (learning budgeting, billing, payroll, insurance, legal, etc.), establishing school culture and building relationships. We hit the ground running really really cold and learned a lot about what worked for our community as well as what didn't. We went through a lot of trial and error, and I thank you all (including our staff) for supporting us along the way. There were some great highs in between all the waves.

This year we have zoned in on focuses that involve developing highly vibrant and interesting student and teacher led projects. Our teachers have enriched themselves in more training over the summer in how to address rigorous projects. For me, this article on constructivism says it all:

[T]he more important point, I believe, is the idea that the actions which we develop for our audience engage the mind as well as the hand. Not all experiences are educative, as Dewey pointed out in Experience and Education. This does not mean that they necessarily have to be complex---but they do need to allow the participants to think as they act...Physical involvement is a necessary condition for learning for children, and highly desirable for adults in many situations, but it is not sufficient. All hands-on activities must also pass the test of being minds-on---they must provide something to think about as well as something to touch.

I really enjoy how the author uses "Minds-on"...I'll be looking for that in our classes this year. One way that this will be able to be seen more is through assessment. Last year, overall, we were not successful at implementing the reflection and assessment piece of projects. This year our focus is to develop our students' abilities to set goals and self assess as well as learn effective peer critiquing. We'll do this by modeling critiquing, build rubrics for projects, and guiding our student in assessing themselves.

Another thing that goes hand-in-hand with maintaining these projects is building a class environment that is safe for opinions and sharing. Our social emotional program will use Positive Discipline techniques, such as Morning Meetings, and methods from the book "The First 6 Weeks of School" to make this environment flourish.

Additionally, our Math and Language Arts skills programs are moving away from textbooks and incorporating more real world problem solving and hands on learning. By the end of the year many of our teachers were seeing that our students needed more of these skills that the Direct Instruction program was not incorporating.

Lastly, we're focusing on Parent Involvement. We know that to make a community really strong it takes dedicated individuals to lend a hand, or two, or three, or however many you've got! We'll be starting out with our Monthly Parent meetings as well as asking parents to volunteer their time or expertise to our community. Already we've had parents coming forward to help with the move, I've gotten one contact for a grant volunteer, and another parent interested in keeping up with a school newsletter. Please write to me with your contributions, I'd love to showcase them here.

I'm very excited for all these evolutions.

Danielle

Looking for a volunteer!

I've got a great opportunity for anyone who would like to uphold their Parent Pledge to volunteer but doesn't have the flexibility to come into school, grant volunteers.

When Christine and I were writing the charter petition we wrote a few grants to support the process over the course of 2 years. Luckily we had people to point us to grants that were applicable to us.

Now, as directors of the school it has become increasingly difficult to sift for grants. There are so many out there that it's actually overwhelming. Comparative with going to a restaurant and having too much on the menu. What we need is a go getter who is ready to jump in and find us some grants that are applicable to our programs.

Ideas to get you started would be to look for:
K- 8 grants
Social Emotional Curriculum grants
Reading program/therapy grants
Project Based Learning Grants
Service Learning Grants

I have a few resources that would be helpful to any grant volunteers including a newsletter with biweekly grant opportunities.

Grants are extremely important to schools, not only as additional capital and financial support for programs, they also often encourage partnership and collaboration with other organizations.

If you're looking for a creative way to really support IA, you're web savvy (effectively searching on Google is easy for you), and are interested in working closely with the admin team, this is it!

Please contact me when you'd like to get started, we can certainly have a team on this.

Danielle

New Homeschool Program

Are you interested in a new independent study program just for homeschoolers in grades 3-8? IA has created a new community for homeschool families who want to engage in project based learning in a self contained classroom two days per week. Amy Mulert, a credentialed teacher, and Roekmini Pullom, IA homeschool mom extroardinaire, work with homeschool learners to design their own learning plans, coordinate fieldtrips, and create fun group-learning activities. This program is perfect for self motivated & independent learners with parents who want to explore project based learning as a community as well as at home. Amy and Roekmini will be available to speak with you at all the registration sessions starting tomorrow (see our calendar). Additionally on Monday at 4pm they are holding an informational session to all interested families at the school site.

Parent Questions

Parent Question: I wanted to double check on the teacher/student ratio for next year. It's my understanding that IA is not expanding the class sizes and the ratio will remain at 20:1. Is that correct?

Answer: The student teacher ratio for next year will be approximately the same at 20:1. We've had a couple classes where, just due to how we had combo classes and two kinders last year, there may be a couple extra kids. This may go back down because of families that are not able to come to Mission Valley.

Parent Question: Also, I wanted to know if there will still be aides in the classroom or if you've have to let go of the aides due to budget constraints.

Answer: We're still working on aides for the classrooms. What we'd really like to see here is more parent participation for those who can make it in during the day. We have a few thoughts about having some rotating aides so that if a classroom needs assistance then someone would be available. What we found last year was that not all the classes needed an aide every day.

Parent Question: One more thing, it would be nice if we could have a meeting to discuss how the new location and budget constraints will affects the programs at IA. For example, how will PE be provided now, what type of partnership programs will be available, etc. I'm curious to know if Playwell Technologies and Mad Science will be returning. If not, what programs will be put in their place? These are some of the things I'm wondering about for next year and I think some of the other families might benefit from knowing as well.

Answer: As for budget, we're still waiting to hear from our back office manager about that. Like all public schools our numbers will be lower for next year but we're still waiting to hear exactly how much we're being cut. At worst it's looking like a cut of $700 per student.

As for the site, there are a lot of community resources in the area that we'll be tapping into. There's a YMCA, a golf course, and walking trails that we know of around the area. Additionally, we're in the same building as Cloud 9 shuttles, so we're looking into partnering with them for transportation.

We do have some outside space, it's not a ton but it's certainly workable. As for PE, Michelle is securing PE partnerships that can work both indoors and outdoors. Some of these include yoga/stretching, conditioning, hiking, obstacle course, and PE games. Possibly golf for older kids. Legos with Playwell tek and Mad Science are too expensive. If you know of any companies that might like to sponsor these programs let us know. Michelle is trying to have a Legos employee do some outside consulting for us. Mad Science we may contract with during Project time and share it between different classes once a quarter. The enrichment that Michelle is most excited by right now is puppetry, singing, photography, film, art, and computer technology.

If you have more questions, send them our way!

Danielle

On the 2009/10 School Year

Christine, our Staff Director, posts about developments for next year. She's currently in Costa Rica getting in some good reflection time on last year. She wrote the following to a parent.

~~~

Dear [IA parent],

This year is going to be quite different, in my opinion. We are a much more solidified team this year. We also have an awareness of where we were struggling with our mission. We are also streamlining our program. Our program has essentially three components.

The first is our Social Emotional program. Last year we succeeded in showing kids that we are serious about empowering them. But we were not effective in producing a cohesive program and we seemed to stumble a bit through the year with pendulum swings of freedom and frustration. By February we had realized that we were going to use Positive Discipline. Then by May we found a comprehensive school program called the Responsive Classroom, that guides teachers in the organization of a classroom in alignment with Positive Discipline and our mission. This guidance is for organization and interaction. I believe this year will be different in that our interactions with the kids will be more empowering, loving and firm.

The second component is Project Based Learning. All of our teachers have now received extra training in creating projects that are not just fun but rigorous and bring with them a rubric for assessment that students can help create and use to measure their success. This will give our projects the sometimes missing component of rigor. It will also help us teach our students how to create a real project. I am hoping they will be able to implement this when they want to learn about anything.

The third component is the change in our skills program. We will be using literature to support our projects and doing more incorporation of the various styles of writing. Our teachers will be actively using high quality children's literature to model the skills. We will be working on goal setting and self evaluation much throughout the year.. Math will still be skills based but we are using more manipulatives and problem solving approaches. Children will be encouraged to master basic skills based on an understanding about how they learn best.

Many of our teachers are partnering. All of our grades are single grades so we will be actively seeking ways to integrate children in multiage learning activities.

Michelle is securing out Partner teachers. We are trying to keep our focus on Art, Music and Technology/Science.

Still no homework, though the kids may be asked to look up something on the Internet, interview a parent or grandparent or neighbor about something occasionally. The students will be compiling portfolios that parents can see anytime as well as using an online project software called Project Foundry that helps them develop their projects. The projects will be different, the structure more firm than last year with measurable components and rubrics for measurement. We are working on improving our report cards which were difficult for teachers and too subjective. The start times are still up for debate. We will be having staggered start times... the older kids will start later than the younger kids...8:30, 8:45 or 9:00? I hope this information helps.

Hope your summer is going well. I am feeling rejuvenated.

Respectfully,

Christine Kuglen

IA Summer Reading

Hello IA Community!

I wanted to share some of our summer reading with you as I know a lot of parents are interested in our philosophy and style. Here are some great reads that we're focusing on this year!

Must have reads! These books largely guide our principles:

• Positive Discipline in the Classroom by Nelsen, Lott and Glenn - How to encourage a loving yet firm environment for groups.
  
• The First Six Weeks of School by Denton and Kriete - How to structure the first six weeks to gain the best environment.
  
• The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life by Zander - How to open one's mind to multiple perspectives and support people.
  
• The Ethic of Excellence by Ron Berger - Perfecting project based learning.
  

In addition, these have been recommended to us and various staff are reading them:

• The Power of Our Words by Denton
  
• Teaching Children to Care by Ruth Charney
  
• Rules in School by Brady, Forton, Porter and Wood
  
• The Morning Meeting Book by Kriete
  
• Parents and Teachers Working Together by Davis and Yang
  
• Solving Thorny Behavior Problems by Crowe
  

These are bonus books that some of our staff have read and are reading this year. You may find them fascinating too!

Communications Program:

• 99 Activities and Greetings for Morning Meetings by Correa-Connelly
  
• Classroom Spaces that Work by Clayton and Forton
• 7 Strategies for Developing Capable Students by Glenn and Brock
• The Schools Our Children Deserve by Kohn
• The Homework Myth by Kohn
• "I Won't Learn from You": And Other Thoughts on Creative Maladjustment by Kohl
• The Compassionate Classroom by Hart & Kindle Hodson
• Life Enriching Education by Rosenberg
• "Yardsticks: Children in the Classroom Ages 4 - 14" by Chip Wood

Project Based Learning:

• Disrupting Class by Christensen
  
• "Passion for Learning: How a Project-Based System Meets the Needs of High School Students in the 21st Century "
  By Ronald J. Newell
  
• Insights and Inspirations from Reggio Emilia by Gandini, Etheridge and Hill
  
• The Lively Kindergarten by Jones
• Learning Together with Young Children: A Curriculum Framework for Reflective Teachers by Curtis and Carter
  

About Charter Schools:

• Democratic Learning and Leading: Creating Collaborative School Governance By Ronald J. Newell and Irving H Buchen
• Teachers As Owners: A Key to Revitalizing Public Education
  Edited by Edward J. Dirkswager with a foreword by Ted Kolderie
• The Coolest School in America: How Small Learning Communities Are Changing Everything Edited by Doug Thomas, Walter Enloe, and Ron Newell
• A Different Kind of Teacher by John Taylor Gatto
  

Enjoy!

Danielle

IA has a New Home

"For every mountain there is a miracle." ~ Robert H. Schuller


Today, I'm excited to announce that we have secured a wonderful site for Innovations Academy starting in the 2009 school year. We are locating at 123 Camino de la Reina, San Diego, CA 92108 in Mission Valley (right off the 8).

I cannot think of an address more suited to us, 123 like ABC. Camino de la Reina translates to "Path of the Queens" which seems perfect for our royal team. The classroom space is bigger, brighter, and cleaner, with space for communal rooms . The campus is beautiful with its lined trees and grassy knolls. The interior is ours to decorate and create. We're close to many community resources. Best of all, there is enough space for us all with room to grow.

We hope that you'll be joining us this Fall at our new site to kick off the new year. At this time we are securing a before and after school program for families who would like to attend. We'll be working hard over the summer to bring people together through carpools using an online ride share program (stay tuned, I should have it out in a week or less).

If you are not continuing with us to the new site, please call or email right away. Email is best.

Danielle - 858-337-1977
Email: Danielle AT InnovationsAcademy.org


Thank you again for an amazing year,

Danielle, Christine, and all IA staff

New Site for 2009/10 Year

"The strongest oak of the forest is not the one that is protected from the storm and hidden from the sun. It's the one that stands in the open where it is compelled to struggle for existence against the winds and rains and the scorching sun." ~Napoleon Hill


Over the last month Innovations Academy has faced and and is soon to complete a new challenge, facilities. We were notified by the Kroc Center that they would like us to vacate the space by June 30th which meant that we had to find a new school site fast. In a short amount of time our community bound together to find and secure a new site. We are in negotiations for a new site in Mission Valley right off the Auto Circle Pkwy exit and should have a lease signed next week.

In just over a month we have done this amazing feet, proving our strength once again. We're sorry that we didn't notify our new enrollments sooner and wished to get all our information clear before informing our new community. Our apologies as we know this will come as an inconvenience to some families.

Though I can't disclose the new site yet, I can give some details. The classroom space is bigger, brighter, and cleaner. The campus is beautiful with its lined trees and grassy knolls. The interior is ours to decorate and create. We're close to many community resources. Best of all, there is enough space for us all with room to grow.

We hope that you'll be joining us this Fall at our new site to kick off the new year. At this time we are securing a before and after school program for families who would like to attend as we know that it is a need in our community. In addition, because of the new space and popular demand we will be starting our day earlier, most likely 8am. Stay tuned! We'll be working hard over the summer to bring people together through carpools as well.

If you know that you will not be following us to Mission Valley or have questions, please contact me at Danielle (at) InnovationsAcademy.org or call my cell phone 858-337-1977. If you are on our wait list and would like to be removed due to location, please notify us as well.

Charters Under Siege

Case for innovative schools stronger than ever, but foes don't care

2:00 a.m. May 26, 2009

At a time when government revenue is plunging because of the recession, public schools around the nation are under intense pressure to make do with less. If only there were some sort of innovative, less costly way of educating kids, America's schools might be able to keep this major problem from becoming a dire crisis.

Fun in Our Community!

This picture is from Pi Day! We celebrated a little late on Wednesday. At our All School Meeting we had a Pi contest where students competed to see who could memorize the most digits. Jovan, one of our 8th graders, won! (sorry I don't have a picture of him!) Later, Christine handed out pie to all of our students, they definitely enjoyed it!

That same afternoon we had our first school dance. It was more like a balloon fight, but the kids did sure have fun. I got to see the kids playing, dancing , and just having a good time. We look forward to holding more community events.

Speaking of community events, we have a very important meeting coming up for parents (and students if they'd like to attend). This is a mandatory meeting about next year and enrollment. All families must have one person in attendance. The meeting is April 14th in the Community Room at 6pm - 7pm.

Making a Difference

Hi IA Community,

I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you. We had our second Parent Information Session last night for our 2009/10 school year. At that meeting one of our middle school students was there and asked if he could come up and say something about our school. He proceeded to say how much he enjoys it here and how much it has changed his life. It was a really touching moment and I was left feeling gratitude for everything that it has taken for IA to become and all that we'll be doing to improve in the future. It's in these moments, when I hear from our students, that I know we are on a great journey and that we are sojourning together.

Thanks for adventuring,

Danielle

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• Improve your credit
• Manage Debt

Every Tuesday from March 17-May 12
6:00-8:00 pm in the Kroc Center Library

Reservation Required
Please call: (619)269-1521 or e-mail Cara.Franke@usw.salvationarmy.org

Childcare and refreshments available!
Course completion (perfect attendance) graduates will receive grocery store gift cards
and $25 cash!

San Diego Science Festival!

We thought that this would be fun for families!

http://www.sdsciencefestival.org/

Enjoy,

Danielle

Kroc Center Aladdin Auditions

ALADDIN JR AUDITIONS

AUDITIONS: Aladdin Jr, The Salvation Army Kroc Center
DATE: Tuesday March 3rd from 4:30 - 8 pm or Thursday March 5th from 4 -8 pm
LOCATION: Joan B. Kroc Theatre
PERFORMANCES: May 20 -24, 2009
Please prepare a 1 minute audition song with cd or taped accompaniment.



Call 619-269-1540 to schedule your audition appointment or register at the Kroc Center Education Desk (next to the library)


Drop- ins are welcome and will be seen as time permits. Please register at the EDUCATION Desk prior to your audition.

Update!

On Monday, Jeremy and Lisa's Afternoon Project Classes are going to Scripps Aquarium. Please bring a bag lunch. Remember, the Kinder class is doing a recycling drive on Friday. Bring your bottles and cans. Kim's class is still collecting books for their school store, they have quite the library started! On Monday, March 2nd at 7pm, we have another Parent Meeting Scheduled where students will be showing off their skills from the partnership programs. Come along to see what they're up to on Fridays! On Tuesday, March 3rd, Marcelline Brogli will be giving a Parent Introduction to Compassionate Communication from 6:30 - 8pm in the fireside room. The admin staff is looking for parent volunteers to help with organization. Please contact Michelle at 619-269-1558 to get involved. Thanks, Danielle

We need your garbage!

Kindergarten needs your garbage!! We will be attending a field trip to Legoland on Thursday, March 26th. To cover the cost of a portion of the trip we will be hosting a recycling drive. We want your glass bottles, water bottles, and aluminum cans!!

The following are collection days:

• Thursday, February 12
  
• Friday, February 20
  
• Friday, February 27
  
• Friday, March 6
  
• Friday, March 13
  
• Friday, March 20
  

Please bring your recycling (our treasure) to the Kindergarten room on the above mornings/afternoons and we will do the rest. We will keep you update on our progress!! Drink up!!

Teen Girl Workshop

http://jdfleadership.org/calendar/teen-truth-live-bully/

Blogged!

We've been blogged about, at least Jeremy's class. Looks like they had a great time!

Kicking it with Innovations Academy

Golf for Kids

A parent brought this to my attention and I thought to pass it on:

ProKids Golf - It is off University and 52^nd street, the great thing is that they offer FREE golf lessons for kids, as well as a learning center! There are no strings attached and I was very impressed by what they are doing for and with kids to help them be successful in life. They focus on much more than golf, but use that as a hook to help kids get motivated in other areas of life. Their website is: http://www.prokidsonline.org and it is worth checking out. There are many families who may enjoy these resources. Their phone number is 583-6106 or 582-7884.

Happy Golfing!

Danielle

Spend the Summer with High Tech High!

New in summer 2009 - The Summer Academies at High Tech High

In summer 2009, the High Tech High charter schools in Point Loma will introduce three separate summer day programs at the elementary, middle and high school levels, open to families throughout San Diego County.

One-week sessions for elementary school students and two-week sessions at the middle and high school levels, offer project-based learning activities in the mornings complemented by exploratory electives in the afternoon. The middle and high school programs are modeled after many of High Tech High's most successful and popular team projects in subjects as varied as robotics, art, online game design, film making, theater, animation, engineering and creative writing. The afternoon program also includes an eclectic mix of options that include photography, painting, fitness courses, music and SAT prep.

Three two-week sessions will run between the dates of June 29 – August 7, and discounted fees are available for active military families, early enrollment, students enrolled in multiple sessions and families enrolling more than one child. Weekly fees start at $290.00, and financial aid is available for qualified families.

Detailed information and online enrollment is available online at www.hightechhigh.org/summer or requests for printed information can be addressed to summer@hightechhigh.org.

THE VILLAGE ACADEMY - For students entering grades 1-6

Session I June 29 - July 3

Session II July 6 - 10

Session III July 13 - 17

Session IV July 20 - 24

Session V July 27 - 31

HIGH TECH MIDDLE & HIGH TECH HIGH SUMMER ACADEMIES - For students entering grades 6-12

Session I June 29 - July 10

Session II July 13 - 24

Session III July 27 - August 7

Report Cards!

Hello Eager Parents!

Report cards are coming soon. We hope that you will like them. Christine put in a lot of time and effort to ensure that parents' needs would be met through them. Tina then put them into a very nice format that is easy to read.

Our initial hope was that they would come out the last week in January. That said, we didn't finalize them until yesterday and we want to make sure that teachers have time to put in thoughtful feedback and comments, so we've extended the date to February 2nd.

Report Cards will be available for pick up by parents/guardians the week of February 2nd in our main office (with Donna, the new Administrative Coordinator). Those reports not picked up by the end of the week will be mailed home.

Here is some additional important information:

IA Phone Home - On Sundays, Innovations Academy will be sending phone messages with any important information for the week. We will be setting these calls between 6:30 - 7pm so that you can be ready with your calendar to write down any important dates or notes. We look forward to touching base with you weekly!

Friday Next Year Committee - On Fridays from 11:30am - 12:30pm IA staff meet to talk about ideas and plans for next year. All parents are invited to attend and we'd love to have your support. This is a great way to stay in the loop of future progress and planning. Some items that we are discussing right now are scheduling, facilities, school calendar, and Friday Partnerships. If you can't attend these meetings but would like to give input, please email us!

Facilities - To best serve our student population IA does have the option to stay at the Kroc Center next year and has the option to find something locally that will work even better for our program. We are currently looking at new sites in the area so that we know what is out there. If anyone has any ideas or recommendations please let us know.

Parent Meeting - Stay Tuned for our next Parent Meeting! The topic will be Direct Instruction. We have one meeting scheduled in the MPR on February 9th. Another meeting will be scheduled shortly for later in February. Parent participation is crucial to student success! Mark your calendar!

Thank you all for your support!

Danielle

IA Reminders!

Thank you to all who came and contributed at the Potluck! It was a great time. You all are great with food!

Below are some reminders and information:

All School Meeting:

It was great to have an all school meeting last week. One thing the kids discovered was how much of a difference making eye contact and fully interacting (such as saying a greeting) with each other is to social interaction. In the mornings and afternoons I'm encouraging the kids to make eye contact and say a greeting when coming and going from school. Please continue this practice at home to build on citizenship!

Kroc Mural Skateboard Art Contest

The Kroc Center is inviting children, ages 5-19, to create a drawing depicting why skateboarding is so awesome. A mural will be installed at the Skatepark and your child's design could be featured. Please see the education desk at the Kroc for more details!

Also, next week:

Holiday on Monday for MLK Day. We'll see you on Tuesday, January 20th.

Classics4Kids 'Picture-Perfect' Concert
Thursday, January 22nd – 11:30am, Kroc Theater, $6/seat (including adults)

A picture can tell a thousand words, but did you know that a picture can also tell a thousand musical notes? The classics philharmonic is joined by members of San Diego Pantomime Theatre to perform an original portrayal of the story and pictures of Modest Mussorgsky's famous "Pictures at an Exhibition". Focusing on visual arts and music, this concert is sure to stir your students' imaginations.

More info: http://www.classics4kids.com

Less homework revolution

At IA we have a no homework policy. We're heard great responses from the parents about the extra family time they get at home.

Enjoy!

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/28624181/?GT1=43001

Divas Direct for Teen Girls

Divas Direct is a program coordinated by the San Diego Women Film Foundation. It is an opportunity for teen girls to create films. The sessions are so inexpensive because the program is funded by a grant program.

Divas Direct
Tuesdays from 5-7 pm
Starting Tuesday, January 13 (8 week session)
$5 session fee
Room B219 in the Education Building.

Innovations 2009

Hello Innovations Families!

Welcome to 2009 at Innovations Academy. I hope everyone had a great break.

I'd like to start off this blogging year with a note about punctuality as I noticed many students arriving late to school today. William Shakespeare said, "Better to be three hours too soon than one minute too late."

When students arrive on time (or early) to school it sets the pace for the day. When arriving late it disrupts the flow of the class as well as the ease in which students enter campus.

Starting on Monday, students arriving after 8:15am will need to sign in at the front office with a parent. This will ensure that we have their attendance. We feel that it is important for both parties to be present so that they can create a commitment to being punctual in the future.

Other IA Notes and Dates:

Ice skating will take place on the last Wednesday of every month

The All School Meeting will take place on the second Wednesday of every month from 12:15 - 12:45pm.

Report Cards will be available for pick up on January 28th - January 30th. All report cards not picked up by a parent/guardian will be mailed home.

January 19th, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, no school.

About Direct Instruction (DI) - Starting today, students are having more time for Direct Instruction in the mornings. We have adjusted our Social Emotional time so that we do some in the morning and some in the afternoon so that we can get in more morning minutes for DI.

Welcome Back Potluck! - Tuesday, January 13th from 5:30 - 8pm in the MPR - Bring your favorite dish to share!