Volume 1, Issue 3

Almira News Almira Pre K-8 Academy •3375 West 99th Street • (216) 838 -6150

Please remember! Meet your scholar’s

teacher.

Review discipline policies with your child.

Help your scholar get to school, on time, in uni-form, everyday this se-mester and watch them improve!

Almira Drama Club 2

Meet a Teacher 3

Almira Cheer Squad Wins Competition

4

November Calendar 5

CMSD Scholars at the Special Olympics

6

Spotlight on the Almira Neighborhood

7

Thanksgiving Word Search

8

Inside this issue:

Dear Almira Parents and Caregivers,

On Tuesday, October 27, 2015, Almira had the pleasure of hosting the October Board Meeting. We had an opportunity to share with The Board our gains in aca-demics and social emo-tional learning over the past 3 years. The high-light of the presentation was the two scholars; 5th grader, Andriana Rosa and 8th grader, Terry Harris, who spoke about their positive ex-periences here at Almi-ra. The Board was espe-cially impressed with these well-spoken schol-ars. “Great Job!” We were also comple-mented on how attrac-tive our new building is.

We want to make sure we keep our “home away from home” just as beautiful as it was 3 years ago when it was built. We all must do our part to help make sure our school contin-ues to be a great atmos-phere for learning. I encourage you to speak with your scholar about helping to care for our school. Here are some suggest-ed points of discussion: Throw away your

trash after eating breakfast and lunch in the garbage cans.

Don’t litter in or out-

side the school, and when you see trash on the ground, be a good citizen and pick

it up. If you see something

broken at school, tell an adult.

Be careful with

markers and other art supplies to avoid marking up the walls and floors.

I also want to wish the entire Almira communi-ty a very Happy Thanksgiving. Sincerely, LaVerne Hooks Principal

Message from Principal Hooks

November 1, 2015

SAVE THE DATE! Special Parent Event at Almira Saturday, November 21st, 10am-12pm More details soon...

No theater experience nec-essary.

All 6th, 7th, and 8th graders are welcome to join Drama Club! Almi-ra’s Drama Club meets every Wednesday in the Media Center after-school from 3:45 4:45pm throughout the school year. Drama Club members play fun theater games and learn about drama and acting from Cleveland Play House staff. The Drama Club will participate in a Winter Showcase at Cleveland Play House in February. Other performance opportunities may also be available later in the school year. Contact Ms. Volney for more information or to join Drama Club.

Suggested items: GENTLY USED OR NEW UNIFORM CLOTHES OF ALL SIZES

GENTLY USED OR NEW CHILDREN’S BOOKS FOR PREK-8TH GRADERS

Support Almira schol-ars by donating items you no longer need to our school community.

Drop off boxed or bagged items in main office.

GENTLY USED OR NEW WINTER CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES (COATS, HATS, GLOVES, ETC.)

Almira Drama Club

Opinion Essay– “My Favorite Candy” by Joicelee Quinones, 1st grade

Donations Needed

PAGE 2 ALMIRA NEWS VOLUME 1, ISSUE 3

Where are you from? I grew up on the East Side of Cleveland- Willoughby Hills Where did you go to college? Case Western Reserve University and John Carroll University Why did you decide to become a 3rd grade teacher? I was a chef and taught cooking classes. I really enjoyed it and decided to go back to school for elementary education. What is your favorite subject? Reading What do you want to accom-

plish this year with the Almira 3rd grade Scholars? I want to build their academic skills and teach them to have good learning habits like being well organized and loving reading. What is your favorite color? Blue You are a new teacher here. What is your favorite thing about Almira so far? It’s a really friendly place. What’s your favorite thing to eat on Thanksgiving? Mashed Potatoes

special events

Lead an after-school club or activity (experience required)

Be a classroom assis-tant

Criminal Records Check re-quired for all positions

Join the Student Par-ent Organization

Assist After-school tu-tors

Assist Lunch aides and Recess Coaches

Help plan and execute

To volunteer, please see or con-tact: Jocelyn Prince, Almira’s Site Coordinator, at joc-lyn.prince@clevelandmetroschools.org or (216) 838-6159 or Principal Laverne Hooks at (216) 838-6150.

Almira Wellness Workshop

Meet a Teacher: Ms. McAllister, 3rd grade teacher Interview by Jocelyn Prince, Cleveland Play House Site Coordinator

Volunteer Opportunities at Almira

PAGE 3 ALMIRA NEWS VOLUME 1, ISSUE 3

Thanks so much to all the parents and volunteers you came out to support our Wellness Workshop here at Almi-ra on October 24th!

A special shout-out to Almira Parents Shanda Davis and Greta Walker for helping with the sign-in desk and dis-tributing coats.

Participants enjoyed a yoga class, a healthy snack demonstration, a winter coat giveaway, and more!

PAGE 4 ALMIRA NEWS VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2

On Saturday , Oct 24th, the Almira Gators Cheerleading Team traveled to the CMSD East Professional Development Center for a day of learning cheers, chants, gymnastics, jumps and dances. The 27 strong Gators won the Spirit Banana for being so lively and energetic. A few scholars also received individual recog-nition for standing out among the crowd: Myeasha Robinson, Icis Rivera, Johnna Daw-son, Michael Williams.

Almira Gator Cheerleaders:

8th graders: Savannah Payne

Chartise Ford Kaila Adams

Angie Delgado Rosa Delgado

Dymond Morales Nautica McComas Aaliyah Thomas

7th graders: Icis Rivera

Michael Williams Shaniece Lockhart

Maria Dennis Alicia Azap

Daniel Foster-McCloud Precious Trumble

Daila Hughes Marcia Johnson Alexaida Lopez

Zoryve Ortiz

6th graders: Diamond Rivera Johnna Dawson

Myeasha Robinson Linda Azap Marta Reyes

Alexandria Smith Carol Rosa

Nashalie Wilson

Head Coach: Ms. Perez

Almira Gators Cheer Squad represents at the Middle School Cheerleading Clinic

PAGE 5 ALMIRA NEWS VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2 S

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Special Olympians

from CMSD excel at games

More than 100 scholar-athletes from 10 CMSD schools took part Oct. 2 in a Special Olympics cele-bration and competition at Case Western Reserve University. The 2nd annual “Spartans for Special Olympics was organized by a campus group.

The second annual “Spartans for Special Olympics” program was organized by a student club at the university and took place at the Veale Center, an athletic field house on the Cleveland campus that easily hosted a number of simultaneous events, including kickball and soccer. The games were preceded by an opening ceremony and ‘torch’ relay involving a few CMSD students and CWRU volunteers. Student organizer Belle Perez, a senior biology major, said she mod-eled the program after something similar she had done in a St. Louis-area high school. “I just saw a lack here and decided to see who I could partner with to do it, and Cleveland schools were a good fit,” she said. “It’s just as im-portant for us as college students as it is for the athletes, because in the end, it’s really just a matter of hanging out together. That’s why we refer to the CWRU volunteers as buddies. Our three main goals are diversity, inclusion

PAGE 6 ALMIRA NEWS VOLUME 1, ISSUE 3

and community, and we hope this event helps reach those goals.” Nicole Sellman-Penny, who has been a special-education teacher at Max S. Hayes High School for 18 years, said the event is good for everyone – and just plain fun.

“This works hand-in-hand with what we do all year for our stu-dents in helping them to socialize and also to stay active,” she said. “And I think the college students realize a lot about how much our kids have to offer.” Kim Keyser, an intervention spe-cialist at Benjamin Franklin, School agreed. “I’ve got one young lady, Haylie, who has been very shy

‘…In the end, it’s really just a matter of hanging out together.’

around people, but today she has really participated and enjoyed it,” she said. “This is another way for us to work with our stu-dents on how they handle themselves in all sorts of public situations.” Bill Hatfield, assistant field director of Special Olympics Ohio, said the CWRU event, like so many others, celebrates the confluence of athletics and more informal social-izing.

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 3 PAGE 7 ALMIRA NEWS

CMSD Board of Education wins 2015 award for excellence, among three districts nationwide

Spotlight on Almira Neighborhood:

Hoops Neighborhood Basketball Program

Play basketball in the newly re-furbished gymnasium at your local church afterschool!

Wednesdays, 3:30-5:30pm Saturdays, 2-5pm Denison Avenue United Church of Christ- 9900 Denison Avenue For more information contact the church at (216) 631-0904 or visit www.denisonucc.org. Cost: $1 per participant

The CMSD Board of Ed-ucation has won a pres-tigious award for excel-lence from the Council of Urban Boards of Educa-tion. The annual award recognizes excellence in governance, ability to build civic capacity, suc-cess in closing the achievement gap and working for equity in ed-ucation and demonstrat-

ed success in academic excellence. Cleveland's school board has shep-herded the District through execution of The Cleveland Plan, execution of The Cleveland Plan, a sweeping set of reforms for education in the city, backed by voters in 2012 when they passed a 15-mill operating levy. the

District's first operating levy in 16 years.

CMSD “Get To School” drive is part of national movement against absenteeism. CMSD and Chief Executive Officer Eric Gordon are not alone in fighting chronic absenteeism among students – they are part of a cause that spans the country. CEO Gordon is one of 200 school leaders who have joined the Attendance Works organization’s Call to Action for Superintendents. The superintendents have pledged to make attendance a pri-ority and mobilize their communities against chronic ab-senteeism, defined as missing 10 or more days a year. Gordon’s name ap-peared on a state-by-state list of the superintendents in a recent edition of Education Week.

Thank you Almira Volunteers!

3375 West 99th Street Cleveland, OH 44102 MAIN OFFICE: (216) 838-6150

ALMIRA PREK-8 ACADEMY

Special thanks to community organizations for in-kind and service donations to Almira scholars:

Zenworks Yoga Kids in Need Resource Center Little Free Library Cleveland Food Bank Cleveland Play House AARP Experience Corps Aiming Higher United Way of Greater Cleveland Boy Scouts of America Cleveland Housing Network Dancing Classrooms Dancing Wheels Coats for Kids Centers for Families and Children YMCA of Greater Cleveland Ohio City Theatre Project Key Bank

Community Support for Almira scholars

WEBSITE: http://www.clevelandmetroschools.org/almira

FACEBOOK PAGE: Search “Almira Gators” on Facebook and send a friend request!

Visit Almira’s website

Learn more about school policies and procedures

Access Curriculum Review Resources and Prac-tice Tests

View contact information for teachers and staff

http://www.clevelandmetroschools.org/almira

Greta Walker- Assistant Lunch Aide, Almira Parent William Island- Assistant Lunch Aide, Almira Parent Bernice Garrett- Tutoring Assistant, Greater Cleve-

land Volunteers Sheryas Suresh- Tutoring Assistant, Greater Cleve-

land Volunteers Nozomi Ikuta– Tutoring Assistant, Denison Avenue UCC Church Shanda Davis– Special Events Assistant, Almira Parent