COUGAR COURIER
January 18th, 2019
From the desk of Principal Ruiz
On Monday, January 21st, the South Bend schools will be closed in honor of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights activist and champion of human rights, justice and equality. His powerful words continue to inspire, teach and shape individuals in the US and around the world.
South Bend Community School Corporation is seeking parent feedback in regards to the materials for the Reading/Language Arts textbook adoption. Any parent that is interested in having a voice in the choice should attend an open session to review the adoption materials. The open sessions will be held from 4:30 P.M. - 6:00 P.M. on January 22nd - 25th at LaSalle Academy.
Spirit Wear is available! Click the link below to order CIA items that may be worn to school, in lieu of a polo shirt. CIA spirit wear may be worn any day at CIA.
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.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day:
Did you know that one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s advisers had recommended that he leave out the "I have a dream" phrase for his speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963? Luckily, King ignored that recommendation. That speech and quotes from many others have inspired us and given us the courage to act upon our own dreams. In honor of a great man, let us all hold our dreams up for the world to see and our hearts to embrace. Here are a few of Dr. King's pearls of wisdom to help remind you of the power of a vision:
- "Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase."
- "There comes a time when silence is betrayal."
- "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
- "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
- "Only in the darkness can you see the stars."
- "If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward."
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: Only love can do that."
"Let no man pull you so low as to hate him."
- "That old law about 'an eye for an eye' leaves everybody blind. The time is always right to do the right thing."
- "Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education."
- "I have decided to stick to love ... Hate is too great a burden to bear."
- "Everybody can be great ... because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love."
- "No one really knows why they are alive until they know what they'd die for."
- "Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a constant attitude."
- "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
- "People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they have not communicated with each other."
- "No person has the right to rain on your dreams."
Congratulations Mrs. Sommers!
CIA is pleased to announce Mrs. Sommers, our computer science teacher, as the South Bend district nominee for the Armstrong Teacher Educator Award Program!
This award honors exemplary educators to share their expertise with the next generation of teachers at Indiana University, Bloomington. Armstrong teachers must be leaders in the classroom with their scholars and outside their classroom by providing professional development for their colleagues. Selected teachers will spend time in Bloomington collaborating with the School of Education to assist aspiring teachers. Winners will be announced in March, 2019. We are blessed to have Mrs. Sommers on our team. Mrs. Sommers has humbly accepted this nomination and is looking forward to leaving an impact for other educators.
Big Perm
Sean Willey, as known as "Big Perm", from U93, will be reading to our Kindergarten - 4th grade and LifeSkills scholars on Friday, February 1st. The schedule is as follows: Kindergarten - 2nd grade from 9:45 - 10:30 and 3rd - 4th grade from 10:30 - 11:15, Sean will then attend the first lunch at 11:19 for the rolling of the drum and will complete the day with reading to our LifeSkills scholars at 12:00. Any parent with a current background check may join us for this event. Parents that plan to attend should park outside of door #1 and sign in with Ms. Pol in the main office. Our team encourages you to mark your calendar accordingly.
High school registration for 8th grade scholars:
The high school counselors will be coming to CIA on January 31st to schedule our 8th grade scholars for their high school classes. The counselors will be scheduling the scholars in the morning with the first appointments beginning at 9:00 A.M. Parents are invited to attend the scheduling session as assigned to their scholar. Letters will be sent home with the 8th grade scholars indicating their appointment time. The duration of the appointment is 10 minutes.
Beforehand, Mrs. Callahan will be going around to the 8th grade classes to distribute the course selection books, talk about the classes the scholars can register to take and answer any questions the scholars may have.
Parents will be receiving a letter through their scholar with their assigned appointment time. It is not necessary for the parent to be present. A copy of the classes each scholar chooses will be sent home the day of scheduling. If the parent is not content with the schedule they will need to call the high school in order to make a schedule change. A schedule will be assigned to any 8th grade scholar that is absent on January 31st. If a parent has a question or concern, please contact Mrs. Callahan.
Cougar P.R.I.D.E.
We are excited to announce and introduce our Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS) plan. Our staff took the first steps in developing a more positive academic and behavioral environment for everyone at Clay International Academy. As a staff and student body, we have devoted much time over the last several months to collaborating on the details of a School-wide PBIS program, which is now fully implemented. Part of this process included developing and teaching specific behavioral expectations to our scholars. These behaviors will be positively reinforced throughout the school for the remainder of your child’s career at Clay International Academy.
What is Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS)?
PBIS is a process for creating safer and more effective schools. It is a systems approach to enhancing the capacity of schools to educate all children by developing research-based, school-wide, and classroom behavior intervention support systems. The process focuses on improving a school’s ability to teach and support positive behavior for all scholars. Rather than a prescribed program, PBIS provides systems for schools to design, implement, and evaluate effective school-wide, classroom, non-classroom, and scholar specific plans. PBIS includes school-wide procedures and processes intended for all scholars and all staff in all settings. PBS is not a program or a curriculum. It is a team-based process for systemic problem solving, planning, and evaluation. It is an approach to creating a safe and productive learning environment where teachers can teach and all scholars can learn.
What is PBIS at our school?
We will be using five consistent school expectations:
Prepared - Luck is what happens when being prepared meets opportunity.
Respect - Respect other people’s feelings. Even if it doesn’t mean anything to you, it means everything to them.
Integrity - Integrity is a choice. It is consistently choosing truth over popularity.
Dedicated - Be yourself, but be your best self!
Excellence - It is not a skill. It is an everyday attitude.
You will see these expectations posted throughout the building. We will begin the month of January using “Prepared” and follow the remaining expectations each month for the remainder of the school year. Teachers will be using lesson plans to explicitly teach these five expectations to our scholars for all areas of the school (cafeteria, playground, classroom, etc.). To reinforce these expectations, your child’s teacher will be expected to choose one scholar each month from the class of whom consistently demonstrates the word of the month. The chosen scholars will be rewarded by receiving certificates, small prizes, and special recognition.
How can you be a partner in this effort?
We want you to be a partner in helping us make our school a more positive place for our children to learn. To ensure that you as parents and your scholar(s) are aware of the school expectations; we ask that you review the expectations in its entirety with your child. Additional ways to be involved are: using the expectations in your home, making sure your scholar is dressed in their uniforms, reminding your scholar each day before they leave of the expectations, making sure that your scholar come to school on time every day, as well as asking them if they followed the rules that day.
Thank you in advance for your support in our PBIS program and we look forward to working with you in creating our school to be the best learning environment possible for your scholar.
MYP Spelling Bee!
Twelve scholars from each grade (6th - 8th) will be selected to compete in the CIA Spelling Bee. The words that will be used for the competition can be accessed in this link. The winner from each grade level will then go on to represent CIA in the district Spelling Bee that will be held on February 7th.
This is for the BIRDS...
Clay International Academy is participating in Project FeederWatch! Project FeederWatch is operated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Studies Canada.
Project FeederWatch turns a love of feeding birds into scientific discoveries. FeederWatch is a winter-long (November-April) survey of birds that visit feeders at backyards, nature centers, schools, community areas, and other locales in North America. Clay International Academy students will count the birds they see at their feeders and send their counts to Project FeederWatch. Our bird counts help us keep track of what is happening in our own courtyard and help scientists track long-term trends in bird distribution and abundance. With FeederWatch, our observations become part of something bigger.
For more information, click here.
All Things Student Council (STCO) - Aspiring to Inspire
Together WE CAN change cancer!
The CIA STCO is going to be helping out the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society by working to raise funds for their organization, which makes a member of their Hero Squad.
Beginning Tuesday, January 22nd, until Tuesday, Feb. 19th, the student council will be holding the “Pennies for Patients” charity campaign. Each classroom will be in a race to raise the most money for this very worthy cause. And, guess what? The winning classroom will win a Dunkin Donut Hole party! So, clean out your pockets, search the sofa cushions, and scrounge around in the car to find and bring in all your change!
Online donation page: CIA LLS Hero Squad!
Cougarette Dance Club News:
Practice Schedule:
Until further notice, the CIA Dance team will practice each Monday and Thursday after school in the small gymnasium from 4:15 - 5:50 P.M. All dancers should be picked up at door 18 (in front of the gym) no later than 6:00 p.m. Activity buses are available to transport dancers home if the scholars do not have a ride.
Who Can Dance
Grade 5 - 8 scholars are encouraged to participate as long as they are in good standing in the following areas:
• Attendance (scholars must have 95% attendance or better)
• Behavior
• Academic Performance (“C” average or better to participate with passing grades in all core classes)
Gather your Box Tops to raise money for CIA
CIA families, every time you use a General Mills product, cut off the BoxTop label and send it to school with your scholar. This is a fantastic opportunity because there is no need to purchase anything special. We encourage each family to search for the Box Top label! A collection box is located in the main office; please send all labels to school with your scholar.
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