Pioneer Weekly Express 6
A Publication From the Principal's Desk
Principal's Message
I also need your help. Effective Monday, masks become optional in all Johnston County Schools. I am aware that this is a potentially polarizing issue in our school-- our community-- our nation. I shared with students and staff on Friday that we will have a zero tolerance policy for shaming anyone for the choice that they choose to make for themselves or their families. I will also share with you, as I did with them, that we have many staff and students who plan to continue to mask and maintain a social distance from unmasked individuals as many members of our staff, immediate families, and students are medically fragile. We have many others who are excited about not wearing masks and plan to not do so. I will ask that you speak with your pioneer and remind them of the core values that we live by in our school community. Together-- make the best choice for your family.
Remember Monday is an early dismissal day. Students will be dismissed at 1:45pm.
Make it a great week!
--Mrs. Gregory
Fully Staffed!!!!
IA PTA Spirit Night at Culver's in Clayton
This week we will have a PTA Spirit Night at Culver's in Clayton! The Spirit Night will be from 5pm-8pm this coming Wednesday, February 23 at the Culver's in Clayton. Ten percent of all sales between 5pm and 8pm will go to IA PTA. If parents have questions, they can contact the PTA at innovationacademypta@gmail.com.
Wednesday, Feb 23, 2022, 05:00 PM
Culver's, Bus W, US Hwy 70 E, Clayton, NC, USA
Saturday Academy- THIS SATURDAY
Weekly Tutorials! Happening Now!
We are so excited about our new Tutorial options for students called Pioneer Power Hour. Tutorial and academic support sessions are held every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday both before and after school. Transportation MUST be provided in order for students to stay after school. You can register at any time...and then just show up!
You can complete registration online at: https://bit.ly/PioneerPH. For more information, Please contact Crystal Gregory, Principal, at CrystalGregory@johnston.k12.nc.us.
We are really connecting in Connect!
Yoga!
Mixed Media Art
Spanish!
Bullet Journaling
Chess Tournament
Uno
Guest Speaker
Poerty with...Snoop?
Air Dry Clay
Line Dancing
Rock, Paper, Scissiors---Spilt?
4H Rocks
Tutorial
Drawing....and coloring
Crochet for beginners
Intramurals
Bass Fishing
Star Wars Trivia
8th Grade: Presentation of Learning
Presentation of Learning (2/17, 2/18 & 2/21, 2/22)
This week, our 3rd Year Pioneers will be showcasing their body of work over the past three years at Innovation Academy! We are excited to welcome families and community members to campus to support the hard work of our 3rd Year Pioneers as they work towards the next steps in their educational journey. Families of our Third Year Pioneers should refer to Talking Points for specific information about this event!
This weeks happenings around campus
The Blue Core Group working on mapping out the plot of their text and identifying the key events driving the story.
First year Pioneers put their writing skills to the test as they worked on Responses to Literature this week. They worked incredibly hard to incorporate feedback and align with the rubric. We are seeing a ton of progress to 3s and 4s this quarter!
Pioneer ambassadors describe their experiences at IA and answer questions from JoCo Teach Cadet 2 students during their lab school visit.
Some of our Pioneers traveled to SSS to register for high school! It was a fun day!
Emily Braswell is a former Pioneer. She is excited to share and invite our current Pioneers to participate in the Pi Day 5k in memory of her sister Taylor and her battle with CF. There was a great turn out from IA the last time the run took place. Details are included below. See Mrs. Ham in the 8th grade hall for more information.
Event Flyer HERE
Registration Form HERE
Did Some One Say SHOUT OUT???
- Jordan Nixon
- Jade Young
- Ryan Oliver
- Karson Howard
- DominuqueBarret
- Ethan Brooks
- Mrs. Amy Kelly
- Brianna Holt
- Contant Levesque
- Dalton Massengil
- Jada Smith
- Mrs. Crocker
- Mrs. Thompson
- Owen Stone
- Miles Moser
- Caroline Rexrode
- Joel Franks
- Carver Pepler
Please Join PTA
Our PTA has some great things planned for the rest of the year!
Stay informed and find out how you can help with upcoming events like dances, spirit nights, and appreciation weeks by becoming a member today!
Membership is only $8 per person. We accept payment through Memberhub, PayPal or with cash/check.
Memberhub: https://innovationacademy.memberhub.com/store
Paypal: paypal.me/iapta
Cash or Check payable to Innovation Academy PTA in our office mailbox
Be sure to note your name, your student's name, and name of your student's advisor. Also, let us know if there's something specific you'd like to help with.
Grade Level Updates
Year 1 / 6th Grade
Olympics: On Friday, February 25th, all sixth grade students will compete in the 6th grade Olympics. Each content area will host a content-related event to challenge students academically, creatively, and physically. Please sign up to support the Olympics as a judge or with a donation of refreshments. Snacks and drinks were determined by student votes in both direct and representative democracy simulations to connect our learning about Greece. SIGN UP GENIUS HERE.
ELA: As the culmination of our Mythology unit, each group is preparing for participation in a Mock Trial. They will complete a thorough analysis of a text and work to justify their claim that their main character is either a hero or deserving of punishment for their actions. This project will push students to find strong evidence, support inferences, and work on speaking/writing skills. Students will be selected to represent Defense, Prosecution, or the Jurors with each student assigned to a specific team.
Social Studies: We are entering our last week in ancient Greece! This will include time to complete Must Do, Should Do, and Aspire to Do assignments. Our Olympic Odyssey will come to an end with the Olympics being held on Thursday and Friday!
Science: In Science, students are working through a self-paced unit on 6.E.1.1 and they will be completing an assessment Monday and Tuesday. Students will begin their next standard which will be about what makes Earth so unique that it can sustain life.
Math: On Monday we will be taking our Topic 3 Test. Tuesday we will be starting Topic 4. Topic 4 is focused on representing and solving equations and inequalities. Our essential question for this topic is, what procedures can be used to write and solve equations and inequalities. Our focus standards for the week are 6.EE.4, 6.EE.5, and 6.EE.6.
Year 2 / 7th Grade
Social Studies:
This week we continue to highlight success stories for Black History Month, From Rebecca Lee Crumpler, to Josephine Baker. After focusing on African geography and art, we are wrapping up our Exploration of Africa with a focus on Colonization through the 1800’s
ELA:
Students have written in their journal a reflection of their assessment data on the 5 Standards they were assessed on a couple of weeks ago. This week, students will begin individually reviewing the standards they need to reassess to be prepared for their retake.
As a class, students will complete a preassessment focused on Literature Standards within our upcoming Dystopian PBL.
Students will also be starting an individual project centered around their independent reading. This will also help them focus and prepare them to analyze Literature in our upcoming PBL.
In the platform www.NoRedInk.com, students should have completed growth quizzes in a total of 4 Units. Students can show you their scores, and assignments not completed yet, themselves. Next week, our 5th unit will be posted. Each unit has a Diagnostic (preassessment), Practice, and a Growth Quiz. If students do not reach mastery within the Growth Quiz, it is reset so they can review and retake the quiz.
Students have their journals with my feedback within them. Each week, students should be completing 3 pages with one entry being their Reading Response. These are another great way to show mastery of being able to analyze their reading as well as mastery within their writing standards.
MATH:
We have begun our EOG Review as bellwork each day. I have helped them create a section in their notebooks for these problems. Also, if there are any parents skilled at making a game board for me to hang on the wall (36 in by 48 in) please let me know:
tonyacrocker@johnston.k12.nc.us. Thanks in advance!
SCIENCE:
Ms. Bradshaw is joining us Monday! We are excited to have her back at IA! Mrs. Bradshaw will be working with Ms. Taylor in starting a PBL within the next couple of weeks.
Year 3 / 8th Grade
ELA 8
Unit 1 is a wrap! Progress reports went home earlier this week containing an overview of their standard focus and where they were in that moment within the standard. We are not rolling into Unit 2 with a focus on THEME, and reading a really weird story about an operation that can make our main character more intelligent, but comes with a few consequences. Stay tuned!
ENGLISH 1
THE BASIC ESSAY IS DONE! Well, it’s about to be done. This was the MOST boring unit your student will have this semester, but as the final mastery checks come rolling in, I can tell there isn’t a “2” in sight! Well done! We pick back up Monday with Unit 2, where we write a literary analysis essay centered around the novel, “Night.” Thanks for all you do!
MATH 8
Students have finished 8.EE.7 on solving equations with variables on both sides. We have begun exploring the connections between unit rates and constants of proportionality with slopes of lines. Next week we will dive into this further as we learn more about linear equations and their graphs.
Science:
We will begin to focus on a new standard this week: Biotechnology! There are so many career opportunities out there!! I hope this unit sparks our Pioneers’ interests and encourages them to dig deeper!
Enhancements
Theatre Arts: Next week students will continue to learn about the design process! Additionally, students will have the opportunity to create a prop from a musical of their choice!
From The Enhancement Team:
Flex Week for Q3 will be from 2/28/22- 3/4/22. Students must have no missing assignments in their current enhancement in order to participate in flex week.
Clubs
BOOKS! The IA Library Foundation:
We are painting our Free Little Libraries that will be placed within the Smithfield Community for any age range to enjoy. Please donate any books ranging from children’s books to adult novels, for us to place inside. Students can bring donated books for our Free Little Library to Ms. Taylor on the 7th grade hallway.
Bullet/Dot Journaling:
Students are learning how to organize and design their bullet journals to create their own. If you would like to donate any bullet journals or journaling tools for students who cannot purchase their own, please send them to Ms. Taylor on the 7th grade hallway.
Drama Club: The performers next after school rehearsal for Alice In Wonderland will be on 3/18 from 4PM-6PM.
Chess & Games:
Students have enjoyed playing chess and board games. They are welcome to bring their own card and board games too!
School of Rock: Music is a passion for Mrs. Lane so she created a “School of Rock” time during Connect once per week. If you have any instruments that you would like to donate, please contact Hannah Lane at hannahlane@johnston.k12.nc.us
Drawing Club: Mr. Comerford leads a cadre of young artists with a focus on pencil and ink sketching.
Mixed Media Art Club:
This week we worked on creating our own artwork while watching new techniques.
We would love any donations of appropriate magazines, canvases, paint, stamps, buttons, etc. to continue our creations!
Movie Appreciation:
We started our focus on special effects by looking for examples in one of Mrs. Kelly’s favorite movies: Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope! This week we will begin a movie that won an Oscar for its effects. What could it be???
Upcoming Events
Feb 18, 2022 - Feb 22, 2022
Presentation of Learning (8th Grade)
Feb 21, 2022
JCPS Choice Programs Application deadline
Feb 23, 2022
Culver's(Clayton) Sprit Night
Feb 28, 2022
PTA Meeting
March 03, 2022
Spring Picture Day
March 14, 2022
Report Card Day
March 25, 2022
PTA Sponsored GLOW dance
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The Innovation Academy at South Campus
Crystal Gregory
Principal / Lead Learner
Email: CrystalGregory@johnston.k12.nc.us
Website: https://www.johnston.k12.nc.us/iasc
Location: 521 Martin Luther King Jr Dr, Smithfield, NC 27577, USA
Phone: 919-934-6481
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jocoia