ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL

Pulling Together801 E. Arctic Ave. Palmer, AK 99645Call us at 907-746-2358 or Fax us at 907-746-2368 or visit us at www.matsuk12.us/acc

1. Calendar

2. job Corner

3. Classroom News K-2

4. Classroom News 3 & 4

5. Classroom News 5

6. Notes from K-5 Labs

7. Classroom News 6 & 7

8. Classroom News 8

“On time” Winners for the week ending September 20th are:Kylie Quier, Lila Cabezut, Mason Holler, Rebekah Reyes, Shiloh Titus, Zane Robertson, Aurora Till, Justin Morgan, Hannah VillanuevaClassroom winners will receive a subway meal on the following Wednesday.

Winner of $50 Gas Card: Family of Braden Imperato

September 20, 2013

DRESS for RECESS! Snow is coming down the mountain and rain is still falling. Students need to be ready for all weather.

Date to Mark Time Field Trips and More

OCTOBER 2 8-12n Lifetouch Pictures for all grades

October 4 1:00 PIZZA DAY and Early Release

October 14-18 Intensive Week for 6-8 grades

October 21 & 22 Parent conferences

October 23-25 Professional Development Days/Math Conference for Teaches. NO SCHOOL for students

Academy Sports for 2013-2014We have enough players to field the following teams this year:

6th and 7th/8th Girl’s Volley ball team.6th Boys Basketball team.

All other sports had 2-4 players interested. These players are encourage to go to the nearest school to participate there.

A Thank you goes out to Roy Villanueva, Gabriel Sterner, and Valerie Murphy for coaching/assisting with teams.

Raffle Tickets for $10,000 CASH

Please be sure to:• check out one book per student• sell your tickets• then bring all money and ticket stubs (please keep

stubs stapled in order) into the office as soon as you have sold them

• return all sold stubs and unsold tickets by November 25

ROOM Competition for MOST SOLD raffle tickets, will be tallied on September 27th.Bring in all your sold raffle tickets so we can start counting. There are only a few more booklet to check out. Stop in a get a few more if you have already sold all yours. Remember this is the main fundraiser that is replacing the annual auction.

Job Corner Get your hours now!

1 All teachers put items on the Parent Help Shelf every day. These are things like copying, laminating, sharpening pencils etc. If you are able, just check the shelf to see if there is work. (There is stuff there now.) Thank you.

2 Play ground Maintenance, Lunch Room/Play ground monitor, Office Work, Building Maintenance, Photographers, Door Knob Man, Outdoor Lighting, PLEASE SIGN up on the sheet in the office if any of these jobs are what you would like to do.

3 Join the: Yearbook/ Pam Collier, 841-1247 orLibrary/Melissa Clark (No Library till November due to construction)

4 The small office off the lounge needs to be cleaned and organized!!!

5 Clean up old Alg. 1 books (erase marks, remove sticky notes) See Mrs. Tompkins

Student Teacher News!!! Dear Parents, Hello, my name is Kris Krogstad and I'll be doing my student teaching with Amy Ekelmann. I am also helping in a variety of classrooms across campus. I was born and raised in Alaska and although I left the state to attend college to teach English in Japan, I will always consider it my home. I enjoy the teaching profession and I'm excited to have this opportunity to help your child meet their educational goals! Best regards, Kris Krogstad

The Yearbook Team is in Search of...1.  Photos from the Kindergarten trip to the Apple Orchard2.  Photos from 1st Grade's trip to the zoo

If you are willing to share some of your photos for the yearbook from these events, we would appreciate it.  We are beginning to work on the class pages and want to make sure that we can capture as many field trips as possible for all classes and we can only do this with your help.  Please copy your photos to a CD or a thumb drive and drop off at the office and they will make sure we get them. If you need your CD or thumb drive returned, please indicate that as well and we'll be sure to get it back to you.  Or, if you prefer, you can email them to Marilyn or Pam at the emails listed below. We appreciate all your help with making the 2014 yearbook a great one!

Email your photos to:Pam at PJKIKO@AOL.COMMarilyn at bmgoodman@hotmail.com

Chess Club Begins September 25.Coached by Maria Shepard, All grades welcome, WEDNESDAY’s, 3:00-4:00.Meet in Mrs. Liebing’s room

After school art with Mrs. Holler:4th grade only - Wednesday, September 25th

3rd grade only - Wednesday, October 2nd

STUDENT NAME: ___________________________ GRADE:______________

Please contact Felicia Brusatto with questions at bluebell918@gci.net or 357-0415

Academy Charter School Water Bottle Order FormHelp Raise Funds for American Red Cross ✚

32 oz. water bottle with tethered lid, BPA free, recycled #1Pete, Made in the USAPRICE $6.00 each

quantity Total $

I would like to make a donation to American Red Cross

amount Total $

Subtotal:

September is National Preparedness Month. The American Red Cross is the largest world wide organization dedicated to preparing individuals and communities for disasters and providing aid when disasters happen. Academy Charter School will donate all proceeds from water bottle sales to our local chapter of American Red Cross. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR ORDERS AND DONATIONS BY OCTOBER 1ST.

Available Early October!

Fundraiser for Lego’s

Pizza Day will be every Early Release Day

Pizza day/October 4thOrder slips will be due the Wednesday of that week(Cut out and/or send in following info with money attached)

Pizza Friday $2.00 per slice: GRADE________

Full Name___________________________________

_____Pepperoni _____Cheese ______Sausage (put a #)

Circle Date: 10/4, 11/1, 12/6, 1/10, 2/7, 3/6, 4/4, 5/2

ClassRoom News K-2

Kindergarten NotesThank you for all the wonderful support for our field trip. We

had a great time at the Dearborn farm. We were able to sample different kinds of apples in the orchard, walk through the green house to see fresh tomatoes and real Alaska grown corn. Then we trekked over to the barn to see the curly haired goats. The students really enjoyed tasting those fresh apples. In reading we read several apple stories. We also learned about the informational type text that is used to teach us something. This week we also added the letter sounds for S, H and B. During small group time we reassessed the student’s ready recollection of the sounds to see where we need more practice. I am impressed with their progress!

In math we graphed apples, reviewed patterns and added the numbers 7 and 8 to our number books. If your child writes numbers at home, encourage proper formation—especially that no numbers start at the bottom.

Next week we will be talking about different kinds of trees.Please watch for a revised snack calendar next week.

Picture day has been moved and I left some people off the calendar so we will be juggling the order a bit.

Have a wonderful weekend. Ronni Berg

Mayer Minutes We have gone over all the parts of our Daily Five this week . . . 1) Read to Self 2) Listen to Reading 3) Word Work 4) Work on Writing and 5) Read to Someone! And that someone will be parents coming into the class next week . . . yay!! Our current reading strategy has been becoming a voracious reader . . . The more we read the more fluent we become . . . Perhaps stop by our library this weekend!! Our ten-game task is new also, ask your child what that is. Chapter three of math ended with a test on Friday. The class has become masterful at finding different combinations of numbers. The biggest concept has been recognizing that we can switch the order of addends in addition and still have the same answer. We will be incorporating “Dessert Tubs” next week. See if your child remembers what those are. Contact me anytime! Mrs. Mayer

News from Mrs. Liebing’s Class

! Another week has gone zooming by. This week in reading we wrapped up our story about Tomas and “Beauty and the Beast.” One group started reading a biographical story about Seqouyah and the other group is writing a paragraph about one of the stories they’ve read so far this fall. We have now gone over all four basic sentence types and practiced recognizing and writing them. ! In math we are now working on strategies for subtraction problems. The class did well with the addition strategies. Ask your child what some of the different ways to add two or three numbers together are, or have them show you. (Counting up, Doubles, or Making 10) Thanks to helpful parents each child now has a set of addition flipcards in their desk to practice addition facts with. It would be helpful to also work on math facts at home with flashcards, etc. To do well later in math, students need to be able to rattle off these facts very quickly, so they must be memorized.! I have adjusted the non-Spalding group’s spelling list to be shorter. Both groups are probably finding their lists more challenging than what they did last year so practicing every night at home is going to be an important piece of learning the words.! Enjoy your weekend,! Mrs. Liebing! ! ! ! !

ClassRoom News 3 & 4

Third Grade News This was a week of firsts for the third grade class. We held our first spelling test on Friday, as well as the first reading folder due. We also had our first math homework assignment and started the Aleks program for math. Aleks is an online individually based math program. I am asking each third grader in my group do an hour of Aleks at home per week. I sent a letter home about the program on Thursday. If you have further questions please do not hesitate to call me.! Next week for reading we will have another spelling test as well as begin our Spalding books. We will have another section for our reading folder due. Remember that reading folders are due every Friday. ! Enjoy your weekend. Mrs. Weetman

Fourth Grade Factoids 4th/5th Math Olympiad team started this Monday. It is not too late to join. We had a lot of fun solving various problems and discussing strategies. Really, that can be fun!!! This week our spelling words also had suffixes that we have been working on. We have been working on words that drop the silent e when adding a suffix that begins with a vowel. We also worked on syllabication, and using what they know to read and spell words.

At math time, we continued working on tenths and hundredths. We also got into money, counting it, and making change. We will be wrapping up the place value unit and have a test next week.! Mrs. Ambrosius

BenBow Buzz! Language Arts – We were very busy in class this week! We continued to practice handwriting, spelling, and quality sentence writing, learned why words are broken in to syllables where they are, and began a study of Homophones. This week we focused on there, their and they’re, and here and hear. Gaining a better understanding of the correct use of these words will prevent future errors in writing. We are still reading The War with Grandpa, and using it as a discussion starter for topics such as writing skills, character qualities and expression.! Math- We wrapped up Chapter One this week! Monday and Tuesday were spent counting money and making change, then we reviewed the chapter Wednesday and took the test on Thursday. Friday was a short day due to a mandatory meeting, so we had just enough time to do the timed test and break out some dice for place value review. Please help your child find time every day to practice multiplication facts, as we will continue to do timed tests every day. ! LAX- We continued our study of quality sentence writing by reviewing the four types of sentences and the appropriate punctuation for each.! Have a great weekend and, as always, feel free to contact me with any comments or concerns! cherie.benbow@matsuk12.us

Second Grade News! We had another great week!  We added 5 new phonograms this week during reading.  We added au, aw, ea, ed, and oa.The kids have been focusing on specific things about their handwriting.  They love to please.  Great job practicing the poem at home.  The kids were very proud to stand up and read their poem.  Keep the reading minutes coming in.  We are averaging 84% of the kids returning minutes!  Great job!! In math, the kids have been working on 2 digit addition with no regrouping.  They did great!  Next week I will introduce some regrouping.  We continue to work on addition math facts.  If your child brought home some flashcards, please practice at home.  Thanks!  We just finished Chapter 1 and I can't wait to see their test scores.  The next chapter is on Fact strategies for Addition and Subtraction.  There will be a test next week on their double facts.  Be looking for the paper to study on Monday.! Have a great weekend.  Mrs. Booth

ClassRoom News from 5th

The Real Report! Thank you again for all of the wonderful Denali support- we have enjoyed snacking on extra cookies all week long!BIG NEWS: We have a classroom PET!!! Thanks to the Shepard family, we have a bearded dragon- Max. He is very cool!!!! LA:This week we began a new book, Hatchet, which the kids are thoroughly enjoying. We also began exploring vocabulary and our Alaskan animal research project. For language mechanics, we had to take a step back to the basics of grammar and sentence structure. I look forward to leaping into paragraphs and essays soon.! Math:This week we ventured into decimal land, students learned all about the meaning of decimals (part of a whole), how to say and write them in standard, expanded, and word form. On Thursday, Mr. Olson’s class became our teachers and we tackled equivalent decimals. It was a blast! ! *PS: be sure to check my website for pictures! !! Mrs. Real

Mr. Olson’s PackLanguage Arts- This week we have been plowing through our book and starting our first writing project. The class also completed their comic strips for chapter four and had a blast retelling the funny chapter. Next week we should finish our book and get into the meat of our research project.

Math- For math this week we went in depth on chapter 1 and finished our review for our test that will be early next week. Expect a study guide to be sent home and then the test to be on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Reports from our LabsWorld of WritingBy Mrs. Weetman! This week we wrapped up the Write Trait of Ideas. All 3 grades worked on using details in their writing. We read Lunchtime for a Purple Snake and the wrote about our own animals and what they like to eat. This marks the end of this rotation so I won’t see this group for another three weeks. When they come back we will be doing some Halloween writing.!

From Around the WorldBy Mrs. Booth!The Kindergarten class finished the week with Cardinal directions.  Thank you to Bodie for being our human compass!  We also did some globe work.  The first grade class learned the difference between the north and south pole.    We used  KWL chart to see what they learned.  They were very surprised to find out polar bears do not live in Antarctica.  :O)  The second graders learned about the 4 oceans.  They each made a fantastic map that we have put in their portfolios.!

ExperimentsBy Mrs. Tompkins! All labs have been learning about our immune system and how to prevent catching the common cold or other pathogens. A short video demonstrated how germs are spread and it seemed to really get the ‘Wash your hands!’ message across! Fifth graders should also start thinking about their science fair projects. Although the fair is not held until the end of the year, advanced research is highly recommended and each experimental project will need to have prior approval from Mrs. T.

E spañol.

Spanish Newsby Miss Agoff Third, Fourth and Fifth graders did their cultural project relating to the country we are studying this week. We learned simple finger weaving and took our projects home upon completion. Students who want to learn some different techniques are welcome to visit Spanish class at break to try some different methods. Vocabulary Quiz Study Guides were sent home this week to help students

prepare themselves for their end of rotation test.

!ComputerBy Mr. Olson For lab this week we completed the finishing touches on our projects. 3rd grade finished their website exploration. 4th and 5th completed their expression document with sentences, graphics, and colors.!

ArtBy Mrs. Holler! Hello Families,This week in the art room the K,1, and 2 students continued to study line, shape, and color. They created portraits, and self portraits using watercolor crayons. The 2nd grade class built sculptures out of cups and recycled paper. Look for them to be displayed in the glass case by the office.I hope you have a great weekend!

News from the Top, 6th and 7th grades

6th Grade News! Sixth grade got back in the groove this week.  Students elected a class treasure. Congratulations to Carter Huston!  Additional elections will be conducted in November.  History class included a discussion on democracy and pot painting project in relation to Ancient Greece.  A food web poster will wrap-up our ecology unit in science class.   Decimals and mixed operations dominated Mr. Schumacher's math class.  Round 2 bridges are due October 1.  Mr. Titus taught mean, median, and mode in the context of a student-conducted survey.  Decimal addition was also included.  We're still enjoying The Land I Lost in reading class.  Writing students are completing a rough draft of a fictional Corps of Discovery (2.0).  The author describes travel and adventure on a world of their own creation.  ! Have a great weekend! Mr. Schumacher & Mr. Titus

News@7 ! We continue on our book, Call of the Wild.  Students have been divided into a literature circle with other students reading at their same rate, in small groups.  After we finish reading  team captains ask questions about what they just read and discuss bigger ideas.! In History we have begun to learn about the the political boundaries of Europe which will help us immensely in our studies this year of WWI and WWII.  Students will have a working knowledge of all of the countries of Europe and have a mental map of where and how they are situated.! Students are positive and great to work with!! Have a great weekend with your families!! Mr. Reilly

BenBow Buzz 6th ! Language Arts – This week was all about describing specific things in detail. We began with a paragraph about a person, then moved on to a multi-paragraph essay about a place that addressed the five senses. ! Have a great weekend and, as always, feel free to contact me with any comments or concerns! cherie.benbow@matsuk12.us

Mrs. Wright's 7th LA class: This week we worked diligently on putting together our class project, a Kennecott newspaper. Most students were reporters with assignments they completed while on our trip, and now they're writing based on their notes and research. Once we've achieved our revision goals, we'll be designing our document in Google Docs. We also have two photographers, who'll be providing art for each story and creating a photo essay about Root Glacier, and a videographer who'll be creating a musical montage of the whole trip. It's a lot more work than the students expected but we'll have a quality product at the end. Have a great weekend! Mrs. Wright

Mrs. Wright's 7th math class: This week, students finished up Chapter One and took the test Wednesday. We completed the week with a lab on mean, median, mode and discovered how standard deviation works in making sense of real-life problems. Each Friday, we'll work in teams on the Stock Market Game, hoping to grow our virtual $100,000 into a bigger amount than any other team in the nation. Next week, we'll dive into Chapter Two. Have a great weekend! Mrs. Wright

Vamos con Senor Reilley

In Spanish we are continuing to grow in our vocabulary, dialogue and numbers!Students are positive and great to work with! Have a great weekend with your families! Mr. Reilly

Adventures in History with Mrs. ASeventh Grade ! Students learned about the “Gilded Age”, the 1880’s, where the big names in business seemed to flaunt their wealth while the immigrants who came here to become rich ended up working for these gentlemen. We also discussed how the various inventions of the times was changing society.Eighth Grade: ! We continued learning about our first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, and why it failed. We also started looking at why they choose our current government lay-out and the particulars of our Congress. Mrs. Ambrosius

E spañol.

! Sixth graders are still getting organized. I am still waiting for several students to bring back the syllabus that they have showed their parents and signed and returned. Sixth graders are also working on coming prepared and ready to work to Spanish Class. ! Seventh graders have been focusing on the difference between Ser and Estar this week. All students are now signed in to Study Spanish.com and should have completed their first online homework this week. ! Eighth grade is reviewing the irregular verb Tener and regular ER and IR verbs. Students are working with Study Spanish.com verb drills and working on being comfortable answering questions orally as well as on their whiteboards.

Art by Vanessa Madruga

Making news with Mrs. Molina! This has been a very busy week in 8th grade and the students have been really working hard at “stepping up their game.” Eighth grade is a big transition and so far they’ve been trying hard to meet that challenge. ! In 8th grade Math, we have been working with the concepts for Chapter 1, including the Order of Operations, translating mathematical phrases into algebraic expressions, and working with integers. The students are also plugging away at ALEKS and I am incredibly proud of their progress. ! The students in my social studies class are over halfway through their Student Choice Research projects. From here until the new deadline (October 3rd), they will be finishing this project as homework. We have also just started our unit on the U.S. Constitution. This will most likely be our most fast paced unit of the year, as the students all have a basic understanding of our United States government.! In Language Arts, we are finishing up Three Cups of Tea. This text has lead to some fabulous discussion and the students have really enjoyed the storyline. We also introduced our Greek Mythology project. Each student has chosen a Greek god, goddess, or mythological character to focus on for this project. Please ask your child about his/her project & their plan to make it awesome!! Have a wonderful weekend!! Mrs. Molina

The last year

Real’s English 1 The narrative poems were wonderful- I am impressed with their insight and depth.! On Monday, I introduced the Mythology Cards Project. Students will be creating a “trading card”, presenting a 1st person account, and dressing up as their character- DUE SEPT 30th.We also began reading the Odyssey on-line. I taught a lesson on note taking and summarizing, so students will be able to do both for each chapter (in preparation for the final test) and on Thursday, students had a test on poetic devices.! Have a great weekend!! *PS: Be sure to always check my website! Have a great weekend!! ! Mrs. Real

8th Science with Mrs. T.The class completed Chapter 1 and took the end of chapter assessment. Next week we will begin exploring the various tools, mathematics and common language of science.

8th Math with Mrs. T.This group has quickly settled into a new setting and a new textbook. They worked in Chapter 1 with a review of basic computational skills.

Algebra 1 with Mrs. T.Algebra 1 has completed Chapter 1 and is now reviewing for their chapter test on Monday. The JET group has completed the chapter assessment and is now moving into Chapter 2.