Acacia Middle Charter School
Home of the Jaguars
Principal's Message
I am excited to bring you are first weekly newsletter! It is my intention to update our newsletter weekly to keep you informed.
Attendance counts and we have many of our scholars coming in 5-10 minutes late daily. If a child misses the first 10 minutes of instruction, not only is it a disruption to teaching and learning for others when they come in, it is difficult for them to get caught up and they miss the morning announcements. If a student misses the first 10 minutes of class daily, they will miss a total of 50 minutes of instruction per week, 200 minutes per month, and 1,800 minutes per year. That is 30 hours of instruction!
In mid-April, our scholars will be taking the the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP). This assessment is important to both your child and our school. The results of the CAASPP are used as part of multiple measures to make instructional decisions for your child. In addition, the results are used to measure how well students are learning at AMCS which will give us a school ranking. Being to school on time, every day creates the optimal conditions for teaching and learning.
We have hosted two Test Prep Saturdays, and the scholars in attendance has been minimal. These days are designed to give students the opportunity to practice the online sample assessments in both Math and ELA. We will be having a Test Prep Session during Spring Break on March 21-24 from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Please contact Becky Little in the office to sign up your child.
We have many upcoming positive professional development plans for our AMCS staff in the near future. I want to praise the AMCS staff for taking on leadership roles as we strive to improve our instructional practices on campus!
Mrs. Teixeira will be out from March 1-4 to the Cradle to College Conference in Sacramento. This conference is focused on creating a culturally responsive school and classrooms for African-American and minority students. Mrs. Teixeira will be bringing her learnings back to the AMCS Campus to share and train the rest of the AMCS staff.
Mrs. Song is our AVID lead teacher and has worked diligently this year to get our AVID program in compliance and functionally appropriately for our scholars. This week, Miss Song will be meeting with each teacher to discuss how each AVID student is performing in their classes. This is in preparation for the upcoming Parent Teacher Conference beginning March 28th. As well, Mrs. Song, Mrs. Teixeira and myself will be observing each classroom to provide teacher feedback on improving the AVID infused instruction daily.
Miss Teixeira is our Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) lead and has been working diligently to understand and improve our instructional practices at AMCS. In addition, we just created a partnership with the San Joaquin Office of Education's Teaching Opportunities for Partners in Science (TOPS). A robotics program will be joining our Afterschool Scholars' Program in the near future. Our goal is to create a team that will compete.
Mrs. Yoakum-Gurley's Yearbook class is working diligently to pull together our yearbook which we are currently selling, so please see Becky Little in the office. The cost is $12. In addition, I have asked Mrs. Gurley's Photography class to research and persuade me to provide them with the materials to build their own green screen!
Mrs. Freitas and Mrs. Delgado came out of the gate with a strong Read 180 classroom after our professional development in January. Our scholars' reading scores are already showing an increase, and we will be hosting an upcoming professional development for the other Stockton and Tracy Schools.
Miss McLaughlin and Miss Teixeira started implementing the Math 180 program in their classrooms this last week, and we will have the Math 180 coaches on campus on March 14.
Mr. Watson, Mr. Davis and Mr. Daumer are visiting one of my colleagues schools, DeVargas, from my time in Cupertino Union School District on February 29th. I have asked this team to go and observe their Think Tank and Maker Space to help bring that vision to life at AMCS.
San Joaquin Office of Education started their Problem/Project Based Learning (PBL) coaching with our teachers in January. They will be back on March 2 and 9. We are looking forward to building a strong PBL school.
Recently, I have downloaded Harvard's Artful Thinking which focuses on Art Integration into our core curriculum. Artful Thinking will be an area of focus for this summer's Professional Development.
Finally, I will be attending the 23rd Annual California Charter School Conference March 14-17 with the other TVLC principals. It will be great time to learn what is happening in Charter Schools. I look forward to bringing back the information that I learn to create an even stronger AMCS.
Best Regards,
TJ
Spirit Week
Crazy Day
Twin Day
Chloe had some crazy hair!
2014-15 After School Program Basketball Team finally honored!
Acacia Middle Charter School
Email: tfinley@acaciamiddle.org
Website: https://acaciamiddle.org/
Location: 1605 East March Lane, Stockton, CA, United States
Phone: (209) 477-7014
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acaciamiddlecharterstockton
Black History Month Celebration
Monday, Feb 29, 2016, 01:15 PM
AMCS Jag Gym
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Elementary School Parent Graduation
Saturday, Mar 12, 2016, 01:00 PM
Acacia Middle Charter School, East March Lane, Stockton, CA, United States
Principal's Coffee
Friday, Mar 18, 2016, 09:00 AM
AMCS Jag Den
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School Site Council Meeting-Open to the Public
Thursday, Mar 10, 2016, 05:00 PM
AMCS Jag Den
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Tri Valley Learning Corporation Board Meeting-Remote Viewing
Thursday, Mar 10, 2016, 05:00 PM
AMCS Jag Den
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