Dear KGA Community,

We simply can't believe how quickly time has flown this quarter! As spring intercession approaches, we thank you again for your continued partnership. The teachers have been working hard to incorporate meaningful lessons that personalize learning for gifted students and are in full preparation for the upcoming state testing window (AASA & AzSCI).

MOVIE NIGHT:

With the recent amounts of rain and cold weather, the decision was made to move our event inside the MPR. Please bring chairs and blankets for extra comfort. In addition, if the west grassy field is muddy, additional parking will be along Orchid or in the neighborhood. We apologize for the inconvenience! We look forward to seeing you tonight!

Chandler Innovation Fair Celebrations:

We'd like to thank you for your support and participation in the Chandler Innovation Fair (CIF) this year. The sponsors of CIF award six schools with $500 for their science innovation based on the booths at the fair. The winners for this year's competition are listed below:

• Arizona College Prep (ACP) High School

• Arizona College Prep (ACP) Middle School

• Basha High: Science is Fun

• Hamilton Art Club

• Hamilton High

• Knox Gifted Academy

Congratulations and thank you! This is reflective of all of our hard work as a school. Not only is this our second year in a row winning this award, but we continue to be the only elementary school to be recognized.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out any time. Thank you for ALL you do to support Knox Gifted Academy!

Mrs. Braaksma, Principal

Mr. Rogers, Dean of Students

To our incredible KGA families,

KGA’s 2022-23 Arts Night will be on April 13th from 5:00–7:30. This is a fun event during which we admire art made by all students in the Art Masterpiece program. We also typically invite local artists to share their work, and we have interactive craft stations for the students to create small art projects. The KGA bands and orchestras also perform.

We were blown away by the creativity displayed by KGA’s families at the recent Celebration of Cultures Night. This got us thinking, would KGA families be interested in sharing their artistic talents at Arts Night??

Families could share art of all kinds:

• Fine art
• Crafting hobbies
• Kids arts and crafts
• Musical performances, including singing or instruments
• Maker projects
• Poetry reading
• Other artistic talents

We’d love to include a range of artistic talents in a casual setting. You do not need to be a professional artist to share your work. Professional artists, hobbyists, crafters, students, parents, and artistic friends or family are all welcome. Perhaps you aren’t artistic, but you have a fun arts and crafts project you’d like to share with students?

For physical art or crafts, we’re looking for members of the KGA community to share their art at a booth. Similar to the Celebration of Cultures Night, we’d like volunteers to prepare and provide supplies and commit to setting up, running, and cleaning up their own booths. You could have the flexibility to decide what you’d like to share, but your booth could possibly include samples of your art and/or an interactive project for students attending Art Night to complete. For example, painters could bring examples of completed paintings and set up a watercolor painting station for the students.

For performers (music, poetry, etc), we would provide a schedule with an allotted time for your performance.

Interested? Please complete this Google Form.

Questions? Feel free to email Amy at aimerette@msn.com.

Thank you so much for your support! We look forward to seeing you on April 13th for Arts Night!

The KGA Art Masterpiece Team

Spring Book Fair is the week of March 6-10! The Library (room B-4) will be open during lunch Monday, March 6 through Thursday, March 9 and from 9:00-1:30 pm on Friday, March 10 to accommodate families during Lunch on the Lawn.

We are working with Literati, a different book fair company this spring in the hopes of having even more great reading options for our students. We encourage you to purchase digital gift cards in advance to allow for cash-free, worry-free purchases at the Fair, but we also accept cash, credit cards, and checks made out to KGA PTO. If you are not able to make it to the Fair, you can shop online. Please visit our Book Fair homepage to learn more and get started with gift cards and online shopping. Thank you for your support and happy reading!

Bring lunch, a comfortable lawn chair or blanket, and meet you child(ren) in the grassy courtyard to have lunch as one big KGA family. Parking will be available in the west field.

As a special treat, Ms. Terri and the kitchen staff will be selling ice cream for $1.25. Yum!

Arizona State testing (AASA and AzSCI) will be here before we know it. Please make sure that you add the following dates to your calendar:

• 3rd Grade Testing Dates: April 3, 5, 6, and 10
• 4th Grade Testing Dates: April 4, 11, and 12
• 5th Grade Testing Dates: March 30, 31, April 4, 11, and 12
• 6th Grade Testing Dates: April 3, 5, and 6

State testing is an exciting time around KGA. More information will come from your grade-level teachers, but please keep these few things in mind:

• Avoid making appointments for your child on their scheduled testing dates.
• Classrooms will be unavailable during all testing sessions, so once a child begins a test, they must finish it. We will not interrupt classrooms while students are testing.
• 100% participation is required by the state, so attendance is critical. We do have a testing window that allows for make-up tests if a child is absent.
• All students will need corded headphones, Bluetooth is not permitted.
• A healthy breakfast and a good night of sleep are important for a child's success.

As we continue to refine our five-year strategic plan, we are seeking your candid opinions through a second short parent survey. Thank you for taking a few minutes to offer your feedback to KGA's Site Council and staff. Your feedback is truly appreciated. We will accept responses until March 10, 2023.

Mrs. Braaksma and Mr. Rogers have also been meeting with student focus groups to seek student feedback. Their voices are important to us and our students are more than eager to share their thoughts about how KGA can be an even better place for children. If you're interested in their thoughts, just click here.