IA Newsletter: The Scorpion
August 2021
Principal News
Welcome and/or Welcome Back!
For those of you who do not know me, my name is Michael McConnell and I am honored and blessed to be the Principal at Innovation Academy. I am beginning my 27th year in public education, all in the Amphitheater School District. I started my career as a Kindergarten teacher (11 years). In 2007, I began my administrative career. I spent three years at Prince Elementary School as an Assistant Principal, followed by three years as an Assistant Principal at Coronado K-8. My first principalship was at Lulu Walker Elementary School where I spent five years. In my time at Lulu Walker, I introduced and encouraged teachers to use Integrated Thematic Units and Project Based Learning instruction models. These are similar to what we use here at Innovation Academy, but not quite as rigorous or STEM based. The change in instructional model and the success we had caught the eye of our district leadership. I was encouraged to apply for the principalship at the new STEM school. I spent the 2016-2017 school year at the district office where I served as a project manager, hired staff, purchased all furniture and worked on the instructional model. During this year, I earned a STEM Leadership certificate from the Teachers College of Columbia University in conjunction with NASA.
As we begin our fifth year at Innovation Academy, I am so excited to welcome everyone back to what I hope and pray is a return to a better normal. My staff and I took some time off this summer, but everyone has been working diligently for weeks to prepare for what is going to be the best school year yet! In year five, we are going to thrive like never before!
I am here to serve, our students, staff and families. I pride myself on being available, approachable and helpful. Please never hesitate to reach out with questions, concerns or ideas.
If you have not completed the transportation survey, please do so ASAP. https://www.amphi.com//cms/module/selectsurvey/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=174
Thank you and welcome to the 2021-2022 school year!
Michael P. McConnell
Mark your calendars!
August 3rd
August 4th
August 5th
Boo-hoo or Ya-hoo
August 5th 9:00 AM in the IA Library & Cafeteria
Back to School Fundraiser Night
Peachwave of Tucson Frozen Yogurt shop in the Oro Valley Marketplace
12125 N Oracle Rd #121, Oro Valley, AZ 85737
Ice-Cream Social
6:00 - 8:00 PM IA Campus
Schedule
9:00 am - 3:30 pm
Wednesday *early dismissal
9:00 am - 1:30 pm
Gates open daily at 8:30 am
Amphitheater Public Schools Reopening Protocols and Mitigation Plan
Library Update
Welcome Back to the Library! We have so many exciting programs and activities planned for the library this year- including book fairs, Storybook Character Parade, Love of Reading week, and so much more! Here is a brief reminder for our IA families as our students begin to check out books:
K/1st Grade students may check out one book.
2nd - 5th Grade students may check out two books.
All books can be checked out for one week but may be renewed each week if the student would like to keep a book longer and the book has not been reserved.
Students may not check out books if they have overdue books or if they have unpaid fines for lost or damaged books.
To search the Innovation Academy Library catalogue, you can go to the library page found here: https://www.amphi.com/Page/22828 and click on the “Search” icon. Please make sure to select Innovation Academy from the menu.
When in doubt, give a shout! If you have questions about the books your student has checked out, library information, etc., please don’t hesitate to contact me at dspruce@amphi.com. I’m looking forward to another amazing year at Innovation Academy!
PTO
President: Kathryn Koenig
President Elect: Jeremy Spruce
VP Communications: Sarah Branski (Tara Barrera co-chair)
VP Fundraising: Asha O'Shea (Leslie Alameda co-chair)
VP Volunteers: Lacey Peebles (Kathy Lokale co-chair)
Secretary: Jennifer Eager (Ekna Jared co-chair)
Treasurer: Jesse Shattuck
Members at Large: Anne Zimmerman and Shannon Matlock
Sign up for updates at: innovationacademypto@gmail.com
Email: innovationacademypto@gmail.com
Website: https://innovationacademypto.org/
Facebook: facebook.com/ptoinnovationacademy