Hello Concord Students and Families,

As we near the end of the 2022-2023 school year, we get into the busiest part of our school year!

During this time, we're also assessing our students to see how students are progressing and help to guide us as we meet the needs of our students. Attendance and punctuality are extremely important, there are testing windows that we must follow, and when students are absent, tardy, or leave early getting their tests completed is a difficult task with our school's very busy end-of-the-year calendar. We appreciate you and thank you for your support!

You will find information for all field trips, graduation, and performances on our school calendar which is on our website. *Field Trip Reminder: Students are expected to be in attendance the day before and after a field trip. Please click on the button below to go to our school calendar now.

"Take pride in how far you've come. Have faith in how far you can go. But don't forget to enjoy the journey." ~Michael Josephson

Help us spread the word about Concord Academy Petoskey! We have recently established an enrollment committee which will hold its next meeting Thursday, May 18th at 4:45 p.m. in the band room. Our goals are to increase enrollment at our school while still keeping small class sizes and a community feel, to provide community education about Concord and charter schools, and to help better integrate Concord Petoskey with the community. If you are interested in helping us achieve these goals, please join us at our next meeting!

We are also working on a short video about Concord and will be looking for some parent and student volunteers to share why Concord is their school of choice. Contact Jennifer MacKenzie at jensheldon87@hotmail.com, or Laura Wagner at Lwagner@concordpetoskey.com if you'd like to participate, or if you have any questions about the enrollment committee.

One of our favorite times of the year is right around the corner and we cannot wait! National Charter School's Week will take place the week of May 8th-12th.

The annual Charter Schools Week project brings hundreds of charter school supporters together to stand up for the diversity, innovation, passion, and success that Michigan's charter schools offer students across the state.

What better way to celebrate than participating with us, please send videos to lwagner@concordpetoskey.com.

Changing grade levels can be nerve-wracking! On Tuesday, May 16, we're going to help ease our students' fear about getting a new classroom and teacher with an end-of-year activity that we'll all love! We've planned a time for our students to visit next year's classroom and meet the teacher, our elementary students will spend the morning with their next year's teacher while our 5th will get to spend the whole day as a middle school student. This "in-school" end-of-year field trip will help build excitement about the upcoming school year and hopefully reduce anxiety students might have. Plus this is a great opportunity for older students to practice different leadership skills. Look for more information to follow and be sure to check out our socials for photos!

The Michigan Department of Community Health will be conducting vision screenings at no cost to families for our Developmental Kindergarten, Kindergarten, 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th grade students on Thursday, May 25th. Many children enter school with vision problems. Children usually do not know that they see differently. Early identification of an eye problem is important. Conditions like amblyopia, or lazy eye, can be prevented if detected and treated during pre-school years.

May 26 - Last Day of Classes for Seniors

• Last Class vs Class Activity
• Senior Farewell Parade

June 4 - Graduation at 2 pm

• Where: Bay View's Voorhies Hall
• Mandatory Graduation Rehearsal at 12 pm

As the weather gets warmer it’s always a good time to review the dress code. We ask that parents/caretakers please discuss the dress code with their child(ren). All dress must be school appropriate nor should it disrupt the educational process or present a safety risk. The full dress code policy can be found in the parent and student handbook on our school's website.

Last school year, 2021-2022, Concord received a new resource called The Char-Em Wellness Program. The Program offers school-based behavioral health therapy by a licensed, master-level therapist. Services include offering individual and group therapy to help students with a variety of concerns including anxiety, depression, grief/loss, anger management, social skills, attention, and school performance issues, as well as giving support for difficulties with adjustment to stressors students may be facing. Family support, therapy, and parent education are also available.

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Christine Carpenter, LMSW, is our school-based therapist. Christine has over 25 years of experience working with children, teens, and their families. She will be at Concord on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Students can be referred by their family, teachers, staff, primary care providers, or refer themselves. Parental permission must be given for therapy to be provided, unless the student is 14 years old, then permission is preferred. This service is provided at no cost to families, although insurance companies will be billed.

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Please call Christine at 231-439-6800 with any questions or if you are interested in your student being seen. You can also email Christine at ccarpenter@concordpetoskey.com.

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(The Char-Em Wellness Program is operated by the Health Department of Northwest Michigan in collaboration with the Char-Em Intermediate School District with major contributions from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund, the Michigan Department of Community Health and Education, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration.)