NACA NEWSLETTER 2015-2016 Issue 4

NACA Newsletter

March 2016

March Morning Circle

NACA Wellness Challenge

Each year, NACA promotes health and wellness in the areas of

Intellectual, Physical, Social/Emotional and Community relation-

ships. Staff, students, families and partners within the communi-

ty are asked to join us for activities, demonstrations, discussions

and events to encourage the demonstration of NACA’s wellness

philosophy.

The Wellness Challenge kicked off on March 3rd with a 3on3 Soc-

cer tournament at Graves Park. Students are encouraged to

move around and get fit and have a great time. It’s great to see

so many students excited about wellness.

Here are some other events happening at NACA:

March 4th-March 24th—“Fit Kid” Advisory Challenge. Every time

students meet in their Advisories, students will choose an exer-

cise such as squats, sit-ups, push ups or jumping jacks. After a

certain number of reps, each advisor will keep track for a final

count. The Advisory with the most number of reps will win prizes.

Special event nights will be happening in March to celebrate the

month as well. These events will start at 5:30pm at Main Campus

March 9th—Indigenous Family Food Night , March 14th-Teen

Violence Night, March 16th—LGBTQ Night, March 23rd—Cyber

Safety Night,

There will be a College Fair at the NACA Law Campus on Wednes-

day, March 23rd.

Each Tuesday, teachers will be invited to participate in the

Teacher Lunch Walk.

March 10th—3on3 Basketball Tournament at NACA’s Main Cam-

pus, after school

March 17th—Soccer 3on3 Tourney at Graves Park, after school.

Lastly, in conjunction with the Wellness Challenge, NACA will

also host the Flight Club every Monday and Wednesday begin-

ning March 7th from 4:00-5:30

Where: On the steps outside the main office

Sponsored by the Wings of America and the Nike N7, Flight Club

is an afterschool running/walking program designed to give par-

ticipants the guidance and knowledge they need to improve

their physical stamina and confidence. Join us for warm-up

drills, stretches and run/walk sessions that will help you find a

leaner and meaner you!

Dedicated participants have the opportunity to earn rewards

such as water bottles, athletic apparel and running shoes for

their consistent participation.

Go Eagles! BE WELL!

NACA NEWSLETTER 2015-2016 Issue 4

Dean’s Corner Just a few Reminders and Shout Outs:

Please don’t forget about NACA’s goal for 95% or higher daily attendance. Consistent daily attendance in school is linked to a student’s educational success; please review your child’s student agenda for details. As the PARCC testing is fast approaching, NACA would like to encourage parents to maintain regular attendance to support and maximize their child’s educational experience and increase academic success.

As the weather is warming up, we want to remind parents for the safety of all students attending NACA, we would like to request that all students be picked up within 30 minutes afterschool or OST has ended. Any student who is on campus after 30 minutes, when school lets out at 4:00 p.m. will be directed to Mandatory Afterschool Study Hall (MASH) in room 120 so they are in a safe place until a parent/guardian arrives. Please remind your students, if you are running late they need to report to this area. The purpose for this is due to lim-ited to no supervision after school after this time, many of our staff members attend meetings or leave 30 minutes afterschool is over which leaves the Out of School staff supervising clubs and MASH and limited supervision for students waiting beyond 30 minutes in the front areas. If you have any questions about OST please contact the director Shannon Douma at (505)266-0992 x-1007.

Additionally, Students are not allowed to leave and return to campus, to go to McDonalds, Starbucks or the park before school or after-school. All food and drinks must be within our nutrition policy, as these policies are posted at the front gates and around campus in the hallways. We want our students to make healthy choices for healthy minds and bodies.

Saturday school is happening every other week until the end of the semester, March 5 & 19, 2016 are the next scheduled Saturday schools for the month of March. Contact Ms. Carroll for details, carroll@nacaschool.org or (505)266-0992

Lastly, I would like to recognize our Rockstar students and parents:

January Winners

‘ February Winners

Grade Student Referred By Purpose

6th Savannah Harris Siow Responsibility

7th David Newton Caldwell Perseverance

7th Brianna Fast-Horse Hinson Community

9th Othon Rivas Edmondson Respect

10th Aaron Wood Edmondson Respect

10th ReShawn Edison Carroll Culture

Parent Corletta Moore DeShawn Moore $50 Grocery Gift Card

Parent Stephanie Chavez Skylour Chavez $50 Grocery Gift Card

6th Emery Jimenez Carroll 1st place- $50

7th Treven Romero Carroll 2nd place- $30

8th Andrew Hollow Horn Carroll 3rd place- $20

Grade Student Referred By Purpose

7th Jaimin Armijo Sando Responsibility

7th Isaiah Pouncil Caldwell Perseverance

7th Jaharius Zuni-Campbell Caldwell Responsibility

8th Xavier Enote Lesley Respect

8th Abigail Barber Lesley Responsibility

8th Jaiden Loretto Edmondson Respect

10th Martin Alirez Tirzah Community

10th John Henry Cummins Carroll Responsibility

Parent Shannon Osborne Devan Benally $100 Grocery Gift card

7th Isaiah Pouncil Carroll 1st place-$50

8th Chris Sandoval Carroll 2nd place-$30

7th Kylie Jasper Carroll 3rd place-$20

NACA Elementary News

NACA Elementary is set to open this fall

with Kindergarten and 1st Grade. We

are currently accepting lottery applica-

tions for students in these grade levels.

Lottery applications can be picked up at

our main office or on our website,

www.nacaschool.org . Applications are

due April 4th, 2016 in order to be eligi-

ble for our first lottery drawing on April

5th, 2016. If we do not fill the available

spots on April 5, we will hold a lottery

drawing once a month until we reach

our target enrollment.

The NACA Elementary is also actively

recruiting great teachers for Kindergar-

ten and 1st Grade. Job descriptions can

be found on the school website or inter-

ested individuals can contact the Ele-

mentary Head of School, Zane Rosette,

at 505-266-0992 or

rosette@nacaschool.org .

NACA NEWSLETTER 2015-2016 Issue 4

SchoolMessenger News

Happy March NACA Parents!

As most of you are aware, NACA began to implement the use of a

messaging system called SchoolMessenger after the first Student

Led Conference. Since it’s implementation, the system has been

utilizing the text and email function to send information to parents.

Now, we have added another feature…absence calls.

Starting the first week of March, SchoolMessenger will begin to call

parents for absences reported during first period Although you

may have already called to excuse your student, please be aware

that you may still receive a call from the automated system. You

may disregard the call at that point.

The automated messages and delivery system are a way to connect

NACA parents/guardians to the school. Please let the front office

know of any phone number changes or email changes to ensure

timely delivery.

Please feel free to call NACA at 505-266-0992. Thank you!

Athletic News I would like to thank all the student athletes who made our

basketball season so successful and fun! We had 6 teams

finish the season, and all the teams did very well. A special

shout out to Summer Olguin for being named to the Strik-

ing Eagle All-Tourney team, Aliyah Saiz for being named

tourney MVP; Marcus Tahe for being named to the Striking

Eagle All-Tourney team; Aaron Lee and Clinton Marmon

for being named 2nd team 6AAA All District; and Naaniya

Eddie for being named to the Striking Eagle All-Tourney

team and 6AAA All District. Thank you to all the coaches

and families for you time and support for our athletes. You

are what makes us great!

Congratulations to

our Seniors—Aaron

Lee, Danzel Edaakie,

and Aiyana Sandia.

NACA athletics is now getting ready for the spring sports!

Practice has already begun for our track, baseball, and soft-

ball teams. The baseball and softball teams start off the

season in the middle of the month, with the boys’ team’s

first game on Saturday, March 19 vs. To’hajiilee at the San-

ta Ana Pueblo fields, and the softball team competing in

the SFIS tourney in Santa Fe on March 17-19. Go Eagles!!

—Howard Humetewa-Athletic Director

Miss Indian World Visits NACA

USDA Food and Nutrition Service—National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs

As of February 1, 2016, the Native American Community Academy (NACA) began serving all meals (Breakfast/Lunch) to all NACA

students FREE OF CHARGE for the remainder of the 2015/2016, and the school year 2016/2017. This provision allows schools to

serve all meals at no charge for a 2 year period. During the first year, or base year, the school makes eligibility determinations and

takes meal counts by type. During the next 2 years, the school makes no new eligibility determinations and counts only the total

number of reimbursable meals served each day. Reimbursement during these years is determined by applying the percentages of

free, reduced price and paid meals served during the corresponding month of the base year to the total meal count for the claiming

month. The base year is included as part of the 2 years. At the end of each 2 year period, the State agency may approve 2 year ex-

tensions if the income level of the school’s population remains stable. Schools electing this alternative must pay the difference be-

tween Federal reimbursement and the cost of providing all meals at no charge. The money to pay for this difference must be from

sources other than Federal funds. Provision 2 has been an option for schools since publication of regulations in 1980.

Thank you to our NACA

Royalty for hosting Miss

Indian World in Febru-

ary. She enjoyed her

visit and praised our

school for it’s unique

indigenous perspective

and friendly students.

NACA NEWSLETTER 2015-2016 Issue 4

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March

4th-24th—Fit Kid-Wellness Challenge

7th—Morning Circle

7th—Parent Group Meeting 6pm

Every Tuesday of the March—Teacher Lunch Walk

9th—Indigenous Family Food Night 5:30pm—Main Campus

10th—3on3 Basketball Tournament after school.

11th—End of 3rd Quarter

14th—Teen Dating Violence Night @5:30pm—Main Campus

16th—LGBTQ Night @5:30pm—Main Campus

17th—3on3 Soccer Tournament after school

17th—Senior Parent Night @5:30pm—Law School—Rm 2402

23rd—College Fair at Law School, Cyber Safety Night @5:30pm

25th-April 1st—Spring Break

Honoring Tradition

As you walk up and down the hallways of NACA , many young

men and a few staff members are honoring the traditional

practice of keeping their hair long. Many tribes have their own

reasoning why this is important in their communities. One of

our Navajo language instructors, Mr. Charleston gave his rea-

soning by saying, “Like Bob Marley said, it’s an expression of

my heart. A representation of my connection to my culture.”

He continued to express his happiness at not being the only

one with long hair at the school. He also made a connection

with NACA’s mission by saying, “NACA set forth goals for stu-

dents to become aware of their identity and who they are, by

saying it’s okay to wear their hair long.” The core values of

culture and respect are taken into consideration as our young

men are encouraged to practice their traditions. It is not un-

common to have several young men wearing their hair long in

each class at NACA on any given day. Senior Danzel Edaakie

explained, “When I started school in Albuquerque, I kept my

hair tucked in my shirt in 6th grade at another school. When I

started at NACA, I felt free to take out my hair.” NACA contin-

ues to embrace all of our student’s traditions, cultures and lan-

guages. Go Eagles!

Empowering Native Youth To Build Their Financial Futures by Opening A Bank Account Building on its “First Kids 1st “initiative and its work advancing the Generous Indigenous (Gen-I) initiative, the National Congress of American Indians has joined forces with the Native Financial Education Coalition to launch NAT$VE in the BANK because they un-derstand that Native youth developing relationships with financial institutions by opening a bank accounts, a proven difference-maker in them making smart financial decisions over the course of their lives. The NAT$VE in the BANK initiative runs through March 31, 2016, so there is plenty of time to get the Native youth that you know to answer the NAT$VE in the BANK call! What Youth Can Do: Native youth ages 12 to 25 can ANSWER the CALL by completing four easy steps and LEAD the WAY by getting others to partici-pate! Go to www.nfec.us to get detailed information. When youth complete the "answer the call" and "lead the way" challenge, they become eligible for some nifty prizes including a free trip to attend the next NCAI gathering in Spokane, WA!