HERITAGE ACADEMY NEWSLETTER
September 2022
About US
Email: HeritageAdmintm@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Website: https://www.atlantapublicschools.us/Heritage%20Academy
Location: 3500 Villa Circle Southeast, Atlanta, GA, USA
Phone: 404-802-8650
Facebook: facebook.com/heritageacademyAPS
Twitter: @APSheritage
MISSION:
To provide all students with a differentiated, impactful, and rigorous curriculum in a safe, clean, and supportive environment that promotes self-discipline, motivation, and excellence in learning.
South Atlanta Cluster
STEM-Certified School by Cognia
School Uniform & Dress Code Policy
APS 5 Strategic Plan
- Data
- Curriculum and Instruction
- Whole Child Intervention
- Personalized Learning
- Signature Programming
Message from the Principal
Dear Parents,
Thank you for assisting us in having a successful first two months of school. With your support, we were able to get the 2022-2023 school year off to an awesome start. As we move into the next few months, I want parents, guardians, and students to be aware of all policies and procedures that will govern us at Heritage Academy throughout the school year. Please see the links below to access a copy of the 2022-2023 Heritage Academy and Atlanta Public Schools Student Handbooks which have a great deal of important information for parents as well as students. Please pay close attention to the bulleted points below:
- We need all students present at school on time each and every day. The school day begins at 7:45 a.m. and ends at 2:45 p.m.
- Students can be dropped off in the morning starting at 7:20 a.m. All students must be picked up in the afternoon by 3:00 p.m.
- Heritage Academy is a uniform school Monday – Friday. There will be several out of uniform days throughout the school year that will be communicated ahead of time. Please pay attention to the school dress code policy in the handbook- (Note…students are not allowed to wear clothes to school that have holes).
- Please pay attention to the cell phone policy below.
Once again, thank you for your continued support as we look forward to a successful school year. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask any staff member or me.
Heritage Academy Cell Phone Policy
The possession of mobile telephones and other personal electronic devices (PEDs) is a privilege extended to students with the expressed, written consent of their parents/guardians. The use of mobile telephones or other PEDs for any reason is forbidden for all students at all times during the instructional day. The instructional day includes, but is not limited to, lunch periods, class changes, study halls and any other structured or non-structured instructional activity that occurs during the normal school day. Devices must be out of sight and turned off. This prohibition includes all emergency situations unless the student is directed to use a mobile telephone or PED by an APS employee or other official, or unless an extreme threat to the health or safety of a student arises and no APS employee or other official is present. Please keep the following in mind:
First Infraction - Any device that is seen or heard by a staff member will be taken from the child and the student’s guardian must come to the school to retrieve the device- (The device will not be given back to the student).
Second Infraction - Any device that has to be taken from a student a second time, will be held at the office. A guardian must come to the school to retrieve the device- (The device will not be given back to the student).
Third Infraction - Any device that has to be taken from a student a third time will be held by the school until Friday, May 26, 2023. At that time, arrangements can be made with the office for a guardian to pick the phone up.
The school will exercise reasonable care of items taken from students, however, no compensation to parents or students will be made if items become lost or stolen before being claimed by a parent.
Upcoming Events
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER
9/6 Accelerated Reader (AR) Competitions Begin
9/7 Wednesday Tutorial Begins
9/7 PTA Meeting at 6:30pm
- 9/9 CEP Field Trip for PreK to Center for Puppetry Arts
- 9/12 CEP Field Trip for 4th Grade to Alliance Theater
- 9/15 National Hispanic Heritage Month Begins
- 9/19 BASC-3/BESS screener administration window
- 10/7 Screen on the Green (PTA sponsored Family Event)
- 10/20 Picture Day
- 10/20 CEP Field Trip 5th Gr. to Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
- 10/20 Literacy Carnival-APTT Meeting #1
- 10/21 Debate Tournament
- 10/24-28 Pajama Program Field trip (KDG)
- 10/31-11/4 Pajama Program Field trip (1st)
Around the Nest!
- Screen on the Green has been changed to Friday, October 7 due to the possible inclement weather (on Sept. 30).
- Our first A.P.T.T. Literacy Carnival is approaching soon. Please plan to join us on Thursday, October 20 at 5:00pm. Come out and learn engaging ways on how you can best support your child's learning at home. We will provide you with activities, materials and snacks!
- Picture Day is October 20. Please be sure that your child is present for school and dressed approriately. Say Cheese!
- Please encourage your child to read and participate in our Accelerated Reader (AR) program. AR affords students an opportunity to read independently on their level and earn points. These points are utilized to promote competition between grade levels, students, and individual classes. They are also utilized to earn student incentives throughout the school year. Please find innovative ways to excite students about independent reading outside of the classroom which will increase participation in AR.
- Wednesday Tutorial is held each Wednesday until 3:45pm. Transportation is NOT provided and you must pick your child up no later than 3:45pm to participate. We encourage you to take advantage of this additional instructional support.
STEM-tastic News!
Heritage Academy is STEM Certified (through Cognia)!!!
Girls Who Code Comes to Heritage Academy!
Girls Who Code is an international nonprofit working to close the gender gap in technology. The free and flexible program empowers the leaders to spark computer science interest among 3rd- 5th grade girls. Students will learn the basics of coding and gain confidence through a book-club style program model and optional Scratch activities. The sponsors for Heritage Academy are Dr. Barber and Ms. Ware. Details are forthcoming!
Nutrition
- Breakfast and Lunch Menus can be found here and are subject to change. https://atlantapublicschoolsnutrition.us/?page=menus
SEL Competency of the Month: Self-Awareness
SEL Book of the Month
Congratulations to Our Students of the Month for August and September!
Weekly COVID Testing at Heritage Academy
Parent Portal
Need help with accessing the parent portal, please see the link below: https://sites.google.com/apsk12.org/student-information-system-app/infinite-campus/parent-portal
Shout Out to our Staff Member of the Month
Thank you for going above and beyond! You Rock!!
IN THE COMMUNITY
- Thanks to our partner, Gas South, for a generous donation that will support academic and social emotional needs at Heritage Academy.
- We are look forward to working with RedefinED for a grant we received that focuses on family engagement. We are excited to introduce Parent University at Heritage Academy. The goal of Parent U is to provide equitable family engagement that focuses on meaningful experiences between schools and families, and to provide the tools needed to support children in achieving success. For the 2022-2023 school year, Parent U at Heritage Academy will employ several actions steps to support families with academics, social-emotional learning/ wellness, and personal development. Join us for our first APTT Literacy Carnival on October 20.
- We extend much gratitute to the Toys for Tots Literacy Program for providing books to our students during the month of September. These books were at various reading levels to accommodate all students and provided opportunities for entertainment and enrichment.