As we transition into the last month of this year, I am grateful for all of the shared Rise community experiences. From STEM Night, our PTA-sponsored Book Fair, Quarter 1 Presentation of Learning night, and most recently our school-wide focus on belonging with our Veteran’s Gratitude Breakfast and our Dia De Los Muertos Celebration. Together we are creating moments that are rooted in compassion, persistence, and access. At Rise, this year and always, we choose to seek and see abundance, and continue to find new ways to celebrate our incredible scholars and the countless strengths and interests they possess.

Rise STEM Academy First Annual Science Fair will be held at Rise on January 20, 2023. Over 30 4th grade scholars have decided on a science fair project and are working hard on their experimental design so they can soon conduct their testing. 10 scholar projects will be chosen to enter the FCPS Kentucky American Water district science fair on Saturday, Feb. 4, at Frederick Douglass High School. For more information visit https://www.fcps.net/science

For those participating, the timeline is below. We cannot wait to see what our scholars come up with!

Here is the timeline:

proposal 11/18

experiment design 12/2

data, results, conclusion 1/6

questionnaire 1/13

completed project and board to be presented 1/20

Student Technology Leadership Projects (STLP)

4 STLP Level 1 projects were submitted and presented at the STLP Regional competition held online on November 16, 2022. We are proud to announce that all 4 projects advanced to the state competition to be held on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at Rupp Arena. All scholars that are a part of these groups will be invited to attend the event. Congratulations to all the teams!!

These projects include:

1. Let’s Repower Greenpower by the Rise 4th grade Green Team

2. Rise and Shine by the 3rd grade morning show team

3. Our Rise Story will Charm You by the 4th grade 3D printing Friday Flex Club

4. It’s Time to Rise Up by the 4th grade video production Friday Flex Club

The following photos were taken of our presenters on the day of regionals. These presenters did an amazing job representing the whole groups that are working on the projects.

Congratulations to our Rise Minecraft Challenge winners. 21 1st - 4th grade scholars submitted their Minecraft Landscape challenge on Flipgrid and the top ten were chosen by a group of judges to submit to the FCPS district challenge. These scholars are:

1st grade: Kathryn Campbell and Glenna Johnson

2nd grade: Marley Murray

3rd grade: Abigale Stivers, Tilley Daniels,, Nureen Nasser, and Bailey Pierce

4th grade: Alice Koyagi, Grace Gallagher, and Prestyn Nagel

In November, our scholars worked on the Minecraft Challenge to produce a design for the new park at Cardinal Run North in cooperation with LFUCG. Dr Witt led this activity within our Makerspace special. We will be putting forth our school nominees as chosen by a panel of our teachers. The winner of the event will have the opportunity to participate in the design of the park with LFUCG and other partners.

FCPS District Required Assessments:

12/6/22 Winter MAP Reading - All Grades

12/7/22 Winter MAP Math - All Grades

12/8/22-12/9/22- Makeup MAP Testing

Please refer to the Scholar and Family Handbook linked below for information about Dress Code and Birthday treats. We will begin Dress Code checks when we return to school after winter break.

Planting with the principal was a huge success! We've added a lovely new sapling to our outdoor campus. In Outdoor STEM we finished our focus on agriculture and life cycles. The standards we will focus on next include heredity, erosion/landforms, and force/motion.

Rise Up Wellness:

November was a busy month for our school community. The 1st Annual Veteran's Day breakfast was such a special event and the scholars really enjoyed learning more about our Armed Forces and the role they play. Our scholars made thank you cards that were then delivered to the Lexington VA Hospital. We also learned about chemical reactions and baking during our Thankfulness Party. I'm so glad that so many scholars enjoyed the bread and contributing to their family meal. Big thanks to Weisenburger Mill for helping us with the flour and yeast! Looking forward to showing more love during our upcoming season of giving!

Thank you to our amazing PTA, our families who participated, and our friends at Casa de la Cultura KY for making this event one to remember!

If you would like to donate to Casa de la Cultura Ky you can do so at the link below.

Congratulations to the scholar, Mia Spires and our registrar, Ms. Carmical for being nominated and selected to represent Rise for our November Equity champions. Thank you for showing kindness and inclusion! Their names have been sent to the District's DEIB team to represent FCPS for November! Scholars selected by the district will receive a DEIB t-shirt and FCPS Equity champion certificate.

This new initiative for DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) has begun at all schools! Rise had their first DEIB Team meeting this week and we are excited to recognize all scholars and staff that demonstrate kindness, goes above and beyond, or encourages DEIB.

December Equity champion nomination link: https://forms.gle/LD88TMeBCTa7b1J9A

Soccer Shots finished up their first season this week and our scholars had a great time! Stay tuned for future classes in the spring!