Update and Facilities Meeting

Good Evening, Innovations Families!

Facilities 2011-12 Meeting: Final facilities information will be given in a meeting to be held this Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. I will be available again at 5:15 for parents that can’t come until later. Please come with any questions and comments and to get information. The meeting will be held upstairs in the 3,4,5 space.

Thank you! A huge thank you to everyone that supported the 8th grade fundraisers. They left for Sacramento on Saturday morning and will be gone all week. Due to their absence, there will be no PIZZA sales this Friday.

Book Fair: Our Scholastic Book Fair is coming soon and will transform the commons room in the K-2 space into our very own book store. There you will find hundreds of books from new and favorite authors, popular series, cool posters, school supplies, and fun for everyone! The Scholastic Book Fair will be here from May 23rd through May 27th during the Student Conferences.
We need Parent and Student volunteers to organize, setup and pack up the book fair in the coming weeks. We will need organizers who can work as a liaison between the chairperson ‘Stacy Pairish’ 3rd grade parent and the students/teachers. We need a few artistic parents who can help the students create some of the artwork for the ‘Circus/Carnival’ themed event. Also, we will use the Explorations Graphic Arts class to create some of the unique pieces for the ‘big top’ A big turnout at this event will make it successful and we can only get the turnout we need if you each choose to participate. If you can , please volunteer to help Stacy on the parent and student crews.. You can contact Stacy through Donna at the front desk.

Reminder: Student Conferences and long weekend: Student Lead Conferences will be held during the week of May 23 and there will be half days every day that week. Please schedule a conference with your child’s teacher. On Friday, May 27th there is no school due to a Staff Collaboration Day.

Have a wonderful week!

Weekly Update

Good Evening, Innovations Families!

- Help the 8^th graders pay for their trip to Sacramento. They are currently selling $3 tickets for their Ipod raffle. Buy a chance to win an Ipod. Purchase tickets in the class, from an 8^th grader or at the front desk.

-Speaking of Sacramento, there has been a last minute issue and we are in urgent need of a chaperone who is willing to drive the trip. You would need to take next week off, drive a mini-van and enjoy a week long vacation. If you know of any responsible, flexible, fun adult that would like to discuss this possibility, please have them contact Lisa Moncrief : Lisa@innovationsacademy.org

-This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. Please check the flier that went home this week for what to do. Monday is for food, Tuesday is a flower, Wednesday is school supply, Thursday is a personal card, Friday is a sweet treat or small gift.

- UPS has asked that we not block the curbside areas during pick up times. It's getting to be a safety issue again. We are asking that parents please park and come in for a visit. While you are there see some of your child’s recent work. If for some reason you can’t come in please arrange with your older child to meet you behind the building or in the side lot. But please be safe.

-Students in PE & cross country fitness need to dress appropriately for these classes on Monday. Sneakers and comfy clothes are the requested dress.

-Need Art class parent helpers for May 2nd, 9th, and 16th for the morning: 9:30 - noon and the afternoon 1 -3 pm. Please email michelle@innovationsacademy.org if you can help on any of these days.

Remember how fun field trips were? Well they are not just for school. What field trip could you plan for your family?

Have a great week!!

Positive Discipline Conference in July

This is a great conference for both educators and parents!

Update

Good Evening, Innovations Families!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend. To all those who celebrate Easter , I hope you enjoyed the holiday. Tonight we have 6 messages.
-If your students have cooking for an Explorations class, please be sure to check with them early in the week for items needed the following Monday.
-Don't forget to wear appropriate shoes and clothing for those students in PE and Cross Country Fitness classes on Mondays.
-Final week for Yearbook sales. The cost is $15. Please bring money to Donna.
-While you are out shopping, if you are able, please pick up an extra roll of paper towels for the school. It can be left at Donna’s desk. Thank you for your support.
-We have begun the state testing and all is going well. The California Department of Education (CDE) created a website to help parents gain a clearer understanding of the STAR Program. The website is located at http://www.starsamplequestions.org/ .
-May 2nd - 6th is Teacher Appreciation Week. Students will be bringing home important information about the activities planned and how families can help celebrate the special teachers we have at Innovations. If you are interested in helping organize this week's activities, please contact Michelle@innovationsacademy.org. A committee has been formed and more help is needed.
What is your child’s absolute most favorite activity? Have you participated in this activity with them lately? Take some time this week to do whatever you can to show your child that they inspire you with their interests and skills.
Have a great week!!

Spring Break Update

Good Evening and Welcome Back from Spring Break!

The reason for this call on a Saturday instead of Sunday is that we have a special need to have some foods brought to school on Monday for the cooking class. Getting the message out today will help you understand the need and respond if you can. A special email and call went out to the families of the students in those classes, too . If you can provide any of these ingredients, please email Michelle@innovationsacademy.org to tell her what you can bring. Here is the list:

* Tomatoes ( Vine ripe or roma or from the garden ~ 6 nice size)
* Tomatoe juice (2 small cans)
* eggplants ( 2 nice size or 4 small)
* Zucchinis ( 2 bags of 5 each)
* Yellow Squash (2 bags of 5 each)
* Onions ( 2 nice size or 4 small one)
* Garlic ( 1 clove)
* Kalamata Olives (1 jar)
* Chicken broth ( 4 cans or 1 plastic container)
* Skinless Chicken tender strips (2 packets of 8 to 10 small chicken tender)
* herbs from Provence 1 jar (mixed herbs of rosemary, thyme, oregano, etc..)
* Olive Oil
* Rainbow Peppercorns (mixed peppercorns)
* Cooked Baby potatoes

Thank you for your help.

Yearbooks are on sale now. Cost is $15 each. Please buy early. Absolute last day to purchase a yearbook is April 29th.

At Parent Night a FACILITIES survey was distributed. I only received 44 surveys so I decided to make an online survey. Please follow this link to respond to our facility survey.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NNKLXYD

The last session of the year of B.B.I.A.(Lego Builders Club) will start on April 20th and end on May 25. It will be a 6 week session and will cost $30 per student. It will continue to run from 12:30 to 2:30 on Wednesdays. The website again is www.bbia.shutterfly.com.

A Science EDUCATION EcoFair will be held on Saturday, April 16th. 10 am - 3 pm, at NU's Spectrum Campus, 9393 Lightwave Ave, SD 92123 (near intersection of Clairemont Mesa Blvd & Ruffin Road). This is an effort by National University to educate and demonstrate concepts about environmental and economic sustainability and stewardship. This year's theme is Save Green by Going Green, which promotes household solutions that are earth-friendly and ultimately wallet-friendly. The Fair will have informational booths and demonstrations from companies, government agencies, NGOs, plus activities for kids and families.
More info: http://www.nu.edu/Calendar/Eco-Fair-2011.html

And finally, I have some thoughts on how to help your children love reading. The most wonderful thing about these ideas are that they are easy. Helping your child be a self motivated learner does not have to be complicated. First you can read to them throughout their lives(even teenagers). Read any and everything: comics, poems, magazine articles, picture books, the news, signs on the road, biographies of people that fascinate you. Second, you can read with them. Take turns reading to each other. And lastly, you can read. If you are reading and excitedly share about the material you have chosen, that excitement and enthusiasm will model for them the benefits of reading.
Thank you for listening. Have a wonderful night.

Update

Hello, Innovations Community! I hope you had a beautiful weekend.

1. Enrichment Classes:
Fencing: First session of fencing is ending but another will begin. Mondays 3:30-4:30, Students in grades 3 and up who would like to join are welcome. Cost $120 for 10 classes from March 28-June 13.
Spanish: After school classes are starting a new session. If interested, see the flier at the front desk. Cost $125 for 8 one hour classes. Tuesdays for K-2 and Thursdays for 3-8.

2. There are two excellent web based resources that Innovations Academy will be using to improve the quality of our program. Both require the use of a FREE gmail account by the student. This message serves as a notice that I have given direction to our teachers to establish gmail accounts with the students in grades 3-8. We will manage these accounts carefully and have access to them for safety. Students will be using the gmail accounts only to access google documents for written work and the Khan Academy for Math/Science skills development. This is a requirement. If you have problems with this, please contact Christine Kuglen Christine@innovationsacademy.org

3. Patty from Canela Photography will be here on Thursday, March 24th to photograph new/absent students. Pictures will be available for review/purchase at the Canela website and Patty will provide the login information after the pictures are uploaded.

4. 7th and 8th graders remember to bring lunch and be warm for your Tuesday fieldtrip to see the Hovercraft. The group is leaving at 9:30 sharp, so please be on time and drivers arrive at 9:00.

5. And finally…some ideas about how you can help your child as they continue on their journey as a life long learner: Help them set one goal at the beginning of the week to be met by Friday. It can be the goal of doing something new: learning something new, saying hi to one new person, finding a new book to read, asking a question aloud or it can be a goal of not doing something; refraining from complaining, hanging up their jacket every day…. Let them choose the goal and follow through on Friday.

Another idea is to find something to do in the car. Those minutes add up and can be fun and productive. How about looking for names of states on license plates? Listening to an audiobook? Learning the lyrics to a song? Finding the alphabet in order on the signs along the road? Most important is to have fun with it.

And for yourself. Look up the movie Race To Nowhere on the internet. You might want to see it.
Enjoy your week! Spring break is coming…

Update

Hello, Innovations Community! I hope you had a beautiful weekend.

1. Spanish After school classes are starting a new session:
Spanish Kids Beginning A (K-2) Tuesdays 3:15-4:15pm
March 22,29 April 12,19,28 May 3,10,17
$124.80 (minimum 5 students)
Spanish Kids Beginning A (3-8) Thursdays 3:45-4:45
March 22,29 April 12,19,28 May 3,10,17
$124.80 (minimum 5 students)

2. Panda Express will be offered for lunch next Friday instead of Pizza The cost will be approximately $4.50.
3. 4th, 5th and HLC students need to be at school early this Thursday to attend Biztown. Those classes will be leaving campus at 8:45 a.m.
4. Negotiations for a new facility resume this week. I will keep you posted.
5. Our new Explorations classes will be starting next Monday. We will spend this week addressing the concept of treating our guest teachers as we do guests in our home. Please support this conversation by helping your child understand that when they are with guest teachers they are representing themselves and our school.
Thank you for listening and have a great week.