COUGAR COURIER
April 12th, 2019
From the desk of Principal Ruiz
Be sure to join our team for dinner on Friday, April 12th at Panera Bread in Mishawaka. A portion of the proceeds from 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. will benefit our scholars. Be sure to mention our school when ordering that evening.
In honor of the Good Friday holiday, there will be NO SCHOOL on Friday, April 19th.
April is Autism Awareness month. Our Kindergarten and LifeSkills classes worked together to create the banner to promote the beauty of each person's differences.
Scholars, are you interested in being a part of the Chess Club ? If so, be sure to pick up your permission slip in the main office.
Parents, please take a moment to participate in the climate survey sponsored by the Indiana Department of Education. Your input matters.
Be sure to check out the free LaCrosse and Soccer clinics and opportunity for free bowling this summer. South Bend has many exciting opportunities for our scholars to stay active after school and throughout the summer. Be sure to see the flyers included in this week's newsletter for more details.
Be sure to check out the Great Day at CIA video performed by our very own Cougar Cast! You will not want to miss this way to "view" CIA. Click the link below...
Have a wonderful weekend - as always, it is a great day to be a Cougar!
Serving with scholars in mind,
Ms. Angela Ruiz, Ph.D. Candidate, Ed.S.
MYP Scholars Earn Free Ice Cream!
Each MYP scholar (6th - 8th grade) needs to bring their computer AND charger to school on Monday, April 15th. We will be testing each computer to ensure they are test ready for the ILEARN assessment that will be given at the end of the month. Each scholar that brings their computer and charger to school on Monday, will receive ice cream during lunch next week.
8th Grade Trip!
We are thrilled to announce our 8th grade field trip to Chicago! The scholars will be leaving Wednesday morning, May 22nd for Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. This event filled day will include a day at the amusement park and the evening at Dave and Busters for dinner and games. The evening concludes at the Chicago O’Hare Marriott Hotel. The following day, the scholars will visit Wrigley Field to watch the Chicago Cubs take on the Philadelphia Phillies. Once the game is over we will make the journey back to Clay International Academy.
Wednesday, May 22nd
Six Flags Great America
Dave and Busters
Overnight Hotel Stay
Thursday, May 23rd
Chicago Cubs Game at Wrigley Field
If you have any questions please email Mr. Summers.
Read Across America Winners!
The month of March was Read Across America was celebrated at CIA. At the beginning of the month, Mrs. Davis explained to the 1st grade scholars they would not be assigned "regular" homework for the month. Each scholar would be reading every night as their homework. The class was invited to borrow any book from the classroom library to read at home. Each day the scholars recorded their time reading; at the end of the month, the minutes/number of books read were tallied. Jose was the top reader for the month, reading 50 books! Dominic read 40 books in 647 minutes! Andrew read 38 books in 587 minutes! Ra'siya read 40 books in 509 minutes! Ethan read 42 books in 329 minutes! We are proud of each 1st grade scholar and their families for their dedication to literacy.
6th Grade Letter to the Principal
Dear Ms. Ruiz,
Dr. Lieberman and Miss Tighe from the University of Notre Dame are doing a study about lead exposure in South Bend. They came into Clay International Academy (CIA) and invited the 6th grade scholars to participate in their study. We collected some samples from around the school and found that the dust and paint in the bleachers, ceiling in the gym, and the paint on the lockers in the locker rooms have high levels of lead. These samples tested over the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limits. If left untouched, the exposure to lead can become a problem.
Click here to read more...
Sincerely,
6th Grade Scholars
Written by: Jocelyn Young, Marisol Taylor, Noah Merry, Keyara Nicholson, Christopher Montano-Cardoso, Nevaeh Ulbricht, Chans Devon, and Aileen Villafuerte
What is happening in 6th grade?
The sixth grade students have been participating with Notre Dame to test places around the school for lead. It is important for us to research lead because we want to make sure our school and students are safe.
Dr. Lieberman and Miss Tighe from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Notre Dame came to Clay International Academy and allowed us to participate in their lead study. We were then put into groups to study the dust, paint, water, and soil around CIA. Miss Tighe taught us how to collect samples of each type and then showed us how to use the X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) Gun to test each sample we found.
For each area we tested, we came up with a hypothesis as to where there are high levels of lead. After collecting and testing samples, we have identified three problem areas as having high levels of lead: the bleachers, the beams above the gym, and the student locker rooms.
On the bleachers, we found high levels of lead in the dust and paint. The hypothesis we came up with for the bleachers is that there is a significant amount of dust behind the bleachers due to this area being a difficult place to clean. The gym is in the oldest part of the building, which would be a possible source of high levels of lead in the dust.
We came up with some fixes to help reduce lead from the bleachers. The custodians can wet mop the gym floor with a mopping machine daily. It would also be important to clean with a mop under the bleachers weekly. Since there is a lot of dust on the top of the braces of the bleachers, the custodial staff needs go through with a wet rag, wiping away all of the dust. They could use a HEPA filter vacuum as as an additional tool to remove the dust.
This machine is called the Battery Operated Floor Scrubber. The custodians will use this to mop the gym floor to help reduce some of the dust off the ground.
Written by: Alexis Lewis, Janiya Howard, Payten Shebell, Noah Trost
Assistant Principal Week!
Battle Club News:
Free Bowling all Summer Long!
ILEARN Assessment for 3rd - 8th Grade Scholars
Frequently asked questions:
Is ILEARN different from ISTEP+, or will it be the same test with a new name?
ILEARN is fundamentally different from ISTEP+. ILEARN is being developed to align to new blueprints and new item specifications. Educator committees will also recommend new proficiency levels and cut scores that will inform how student results are reported.
What standards will ILEARN measure?
ILEARN measures all Indiana Academic Standards, including content literacy and media literacy standards on the English/Language Arts assessments, process standards on the Mathematics assessments, and the new computer science standards on the Science assessment.
How will ILEARN be delivered?
ILEARN is a computer-adaptive test (CAT) for Mathematics and English/Language Arts. CATs individualize the test for students based on their responses to previous questions or sets of questions. This allows for a unique assessment experience for students at their level of mastery, resulting in more precise data outcomes. Science assessments will be an online fixed form assessment for Spring 2019, transitioning to computer adaptive as the item bank increases. Social Studies is an online fixed form assessment.
Spring Sports:
MYP Sports that are available in the Spring:
Grades 6, 7 & 8 Girls and Boys Track, Softball (girls) and Baseball (boys)
Can you dance?
Honor Roll (3rd quarter)
Perfect Attendance (February 19th - March 8th)
21st Century Scholar
NO suspensions or Rally Room discipline (January - March 8th)
The tickets will be sold in the main office each morning BEFORE school and during lunch ONLY.
Attendance at school, the day of the dance, is mandatory for entrance to the dance, no exceptions!
All Things Student Council (STCO) - Aspiring to Inspire
This summer one of my students, Kyler Misiewicz, has the opportunity to attend the NubAbility summer camp for other youth who are just like him. In order to help he and his family raise the needed funds to attend, Student Council (STCO) will be supporting Kyler and his family. We plan on holding a special “NUT” day in his honor on Thursday, April 18th. Each student who donates a $1.00 will receive a piece of candy. The family is quite excited and stated, “We hope C.I.A. can help us help kids missing limbs to," get out of the stands, off the bench, and into the game." We hope you will join us in supporting Kyler and his family!
Parent Teacher Student Committee News:
We look forward to seeing you there!
Gather your Box Tops to raise money for CIA
BoxTops, BoxTops, BoxTops! Keep clipping those BoxTops! Better yet, download the app! Thank you for showing your Cougar Pride and sending them in because the result was $75.00 raised for CIA so far this year!
NUT day, Thursday, April 18th
All funds raised will help our CIA scholar, Kyler, attend NubAbility Camp.
Swoop & Stu’s Reading Club Tickets
Attention to all scholar’s who earned their free ticket to the SB Cubs game: You must be accompanied by an adult to the game. Luckily, we are collecting the money for those tickets. Please let your teachers know if you will be attending the game, and who will be going with you by no later than Monday, April 15th. ALSO, make sure you bring in $10.00 cash for each person attending with you, as that is the price for the discounted tickets.
CIA is signed up for a reserved group of tickets on the date of Friday, May 24th @ 7:35. In case you were wondering, yes, there will be fireworks!
Ronald McDonald House:
STCO is now collecting pop tabs to donate to the Ronald McDonald House of Michiana. Please send in tabs from cans and send them in to CIA with your student. Student Council students will collect and then donate them to this very worthy charity each year in May.
Principal Ruiz
Email: aruiz@sbcsc.k12.in.us
Website: http://clayintermediate.sb.school/home
Location: 52900 Lily Road, South Bend, IN, USA
Phone: 574-393-4300
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClayInternationalAcademy/?hc_ref=ARSPi9IBwtzl5EJdceUcqxSSyItIHbU4cIAKX3ZtMeCZAoKpGJMFSGRmc0FRNLyfIJ0&fref=tag
Twitter: @cia_cougars