The Plato Periodiko
May - 2022
CEO's Corner - Getting Better Every Day!
Dear Plato Academy Family,
I would like to give a heartfelt congratulations to all of our students on completing another important milestone in your learning journey! I am sure our students agree when I express that education at Plato Academy is like no other. Our safe, supportive and enthusiastic environment requires and nurtures our students to conquer obstacles and become well-rounded individuals.
A special congratulations to our 8th graders moving on to the start of a brand new chapter of your life. Going from Middle school to High School is a great achievement for you and for all the people that supported you along the way. Wherever your path leads you next, I believe that your time at Plato Academy has fully equipped you for the challenges ahead.
As graduates of Plato Academy you can be proud and confident that you are well-prepared to support your ever-changing community. Know that the Plato Academy education you earned has given you everything you need to be successful as students and as citizens.
As a Plato Academy Alumni you are going out in the community already with an excellent reputation. I look forward to hearing how you will continue the important distinction of Plato Academy and everything you set out to attain. Remember you will forever be a part of the Plato Academy family and you are always welcome home.
In the past few months I have met with student leaders from all 9 Plato Academy campuses and have been very impressed by their suggestions on how we can better serve our students and our community. I am eager to share and implement their recommendations in improving the student experience with new and stimulating learning apps and community service projects that older students from all 9 Plato Academy schools will collaborate on.
Plato Academy family, please join me in cheering on and motivating our successful graduates into the next phase of their life. In these last few days of school, I would also encourage our students to thank their parents, friends, and teachers without whose support you would not have reached this significant milestone.
Sincerely,
Matt Gunderson
CEO
Plato Academy Schools Corporation
Chief Academic Officer Update
Plato Academy Schools is dedicated to continuous improvement. Our end of the year surveys provide us with pivotal information our leadership team needs to inform our planning for the new school year. Leadership from schools and the home office will review the survey data, align it with feedback we get from staff and students, and other feedback cycles throughout the year. We look for patterns and critical areas for improvement. Equally important, we look for areas of celebration across our system of Schools.
Please take a moment to complete your school’s parent survey as linked below. Your voice matters.
Sincerely,
Danielle Cicetti
Hellenic Advisory Committee Meeting Luncheon
On May 13th Plato Academy had its first meeting with our new Hellenic Advisory Committee. Many thanks to our Community Engagement Director, Mr. Michael Alexandrou for assembling an inspirational and innovative group of people purposed to come together to plan and discuss the expansion of the Hellenic experience at Plato Academy schools. Special thanks to our CEO Mr. Matt Gunderson for his strong support of the committee, and Mrs. Cicetti, Mr. Aretis, Mrs. Psomas, Mrs. Apostolopoulos, and Mrs. Thomas, who all made the event a true family endeavor, in a typical Plato Academy fashion.
In the inaugural meeting of the Hellenic Advisory Committee the following distinguished guests were present, not in any particular order:
Mrs. Penelope Angelidou-Salmons, Mr. Peter Makris (excused absence), Mrs. Nicki Psaltis (excused absence), Mr. Theodoros Tsafatinos, Mr. Dimitrios Tsafatinos, Mrs. Johanna Gatzoulis, Fr. Theofanis, Mr. Michalis Halikoutakis, Mr. Spiro Komninos, Mr. John Kypriotakis, Mrs. Aristoula Mandelos, Dr. Christos Politis.
Our next meeting is scheduled for August 19, 2022, at the same time 11:30 am. The venue will be announced soon.
Below are a few pictures of this marvelous productive gathering.
🎉 Growth Jamboree at the Trinity Campus 🥳
I am planning a big party for my ESE kiddos that have made growth this year. I feel like they often feel defeated because of FSA scores and I wanted to celebrate how far they truly have come this year even if they are not working on grade level. I have included the email I sent to parents below. It should be a lot of fun. It is scheduled on May 19 from 1-3pm.
Good Afternoon,
As many of you know your children have made incredible strides and growth this year in MAPS testing and/or classroom grades. Unfortunately, because many of my kiddos work below grade level they are not recognized because FSA scores are still below grade level. I want to celebrate our growth this year. I am planning on throwing a big party (THE GROWTH JAMBOREE) for my ESE students on May 19. I would like to make this very special. I want to decorate, serve pizza, desserts, food, have music, a photobooth, soda and water, and have each kiddo get door prizes of Gift Cards that are from $5 to $10. I would love for each student to get 2 door prizes or more if my donors feel generous (I have about 20).
Students will be invited based on Growth on their MAPS testing or honor roll/ Principal's list in class. They only have to show growth in one of these ways. I want to celebrate their awesomeness.
Amy McBride
ESE Specialist
NJHS at Plato Academy Pinellas Park
The Plato Academy Pinellas Park National Junior Honor Society has been very busy over the last few weeks. On April 26th, they participated in a beach cleanup at John’s Pass Park in association with the local non-profit, Keep Pinellas Beautiful. Over the course of a few hours, members collected over 20 lbs of trash!
Our PAPP NJHS scholars have also been conducting a school-wide drive in association with another non-profit, Support Our Troops – America’s Military Charity. Students across all grades brought in boxes and boxes of supplies. These donations are used to create care packages. Support Our Troops care packages enhance the morale and well-being of the deployed troops worldwide as these are items specifically requested by them. On May 16th our NJHS members delivered the supplies from our drive to the office in Tampa. Afterward, they traveled to the University of South Florida Tampa, did a campus tour and had lunch in the Marshall Student Center.
In total, our 11 NJHS members have amassed 150+ hours of community service over the past few months!
Huge shout out to Mrs. Frawley and Mrs. Wodnick for sponsoring the NJHS at Plato Academy Pinellas Park!
❔WHY DO YOU CHOOSE PLATO ACADEMY❔ 🤔
We want to hear, from everyone in the Plato Family. What would you say if someone asked you why do you choose to send your child, work, or go to school at Plato Academy?
Thank you for your response and partnership.
PARENT RESOURCES: SUMMER
USF provides various summer camps/programs for K-8 students. Programs include:
- K- 3rd - Phonics, Fluency, Comp, Love of Reading
- 4th & 5th - Com, Writing, Textbook Skills, Voc and Reading Speed
- K-12: USF Summer K-8 Math Camp
- 3rd-5th - C.A.G.E. Virtual CyberCamp
- USF Middle School CyberCamp
🏆 The 2022 Read-A-Thon Champions
It's official. The results are in. After all 9 schools competed in our annual read a thon challenge that inspired our students to read more and read often a winner has been selected:
PLATO ACADEMY CLEARWATER with over 27,000 minutes read! Congratulations on a stupendous win by over 16,000 minutes!! The schools were judged by the total minutes read by their top 5 readers.
Now, who will take the prize from Clearwater next year? Or will they be unbeatable??
Girls on the Run Shout Out 📢
If you see any Girls on the Run students, please congratulate them on the 5K! Ms. Ames and I are so proud of them for meeting their goal and all the social and emotional skills they learned this season! As part of the community impact project, the girls worked hard on learning to compromise and come up with a project for our community. The girls even wrote the script and had the idea for what to put in the video.
⭐ S.T.A.R. - Student Talent and Aptitude Recognition ⭐
🔦Plato+ Academic Enrichment Spotlight
Plato+ has math, science, literacy and history each day, as well as a rotating theme each week. There is also a social and emotional learning component where children learn how to better understand and help themselves as well as others.
Plato+ is structured around engaging weekly themes to help kids build authentic, multi-disciplinary connections between skills and the world around them! Below is a snapshot of all the exciting and engaging activities your kids will experience at Plato+ Academic Enrichment!
PLATO ALUMNI UPDATE
Morgan Culpepper studied at Plato Academy Clearwater and Tarpon Springs and graduated from Clay High School (Green Cove Springs, Florida) in 2020. She is currently working as a Lot Attendant. She is currently working towards getting her AA at St. John’s River State College.
A message from Morgan: My family is doing well! I currently work at a dealership in St. Augustine, I love my job and my co-workers. A big accomplishment for me is recently, a group of friends and I got a house together that we are renting.
Internet Safety - Social Media Awareness
21st Century skills and technology use are not specific to the educational environment! It is a great idea to have a knowledge base of what technology use might look like outside of the classroom. Many of our students use technology to view videos or browse on social media. With our students on these sites, it is important for our kiddos to be the best digital citizens they can be! Being a great digital citizen means using technology in a positive, safe, legal, and ethical way. Making sure that personal information stays confidential and not falling victim to phishing.
🏆ARETE AWARDS🏆
SAMARRA VOSWINKEL - STUDENT, PLATO ACADEMY ST. PETERSBURG
Samarra Voswinkel joined Plato Academy St. Petersburg about a month into the 2021-2022 school year. Samarra is an 8th grader who came to us not really knowing what to expect. Samara quickly became a star student who is respected by her teachers and peers. Samara has many talents, one of them being an incredible gift for art, specifically sketching, painting and drawing to name a few. We only wish that Samarra would have joined our family sooner. In Samarra’s own words, this school is the BEST and she promises to come back and visit.
RENEE KOUTRAS - STAFF, PLATO ACADEMY TAMPA
Plato Tampa would like to highlight Plato Guidance Counselor, Renee Koutras.
Renee is a Greek American who lived in Athens for a total of 12 years. She graduated from the American Community School of Athens, Greece, and this became the first school she taught at. She loves to travel - She's been all over the US, to Mexico, England, France, Italy and Germany.
Renee is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who is passionate about working with children, adolescents and families. She obtained her Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling from Walden University, as well as a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of South Florida. In addition, she holds a BA in psychology and family studies from the Pennsylvania State University, and has completed graduate level training in Exceptional Student Services from George Mason University. She currently has her own practice, Wholehearted Counseling, located in Oldsmar, FL, where she sees people of all ages.
Renee has extensive experience working with children, adolescents and families in both private practice, as well as in a school setting. She is also a certified ESE teacher and School Counselor. She is currently working towards her certification as a play therapist, ADHD clinical service provider and becoming a Qualified Supervisor for registered counseling interns.
Renee believes trust, communication and collaboration are essential components in working with families and their children. She also loves to incorporate animals in her work, as she has seen the benefits first hand from when Harley, her dog, has accompanied her to schools and her office. She also owns 2 cats and spent over 20 years horseback riding. She hopes to own a therapeutic farm someday to further facilitate healing in both animals and children.
Renee is also a proud Plato parent of a first grader (who was born in Greece)!
We are proud to have Ms. Renee Koutras as a member of our Plato Academy Tampa family!
MRS. LUCADANO - PARENT VOLUNTEER, PLATO ACADEMY TRINITY
Mrs. Liza Lucadano, has served proudly as our PTO Treasurer for the last 4 years at Plato Academy Trinity. Her daughter, Adriana, is in the 4th grade and her adult son is an active duty member of the Marine Corps. Mrs. Lucadano loves the education and family involvement here at Plato Trinity and she works hard with the other members of our PTO Board to plan exciting events for the school such as Trunk or Treat, Book Fair, Holiday Shoppe, and Color Run! Outside of writing checks and balancing bank accounts, Mrs. Lucadano enjoys spending time with her family, working out, and cooking. She has an Instagram where she posts recipies she makes @ButterandSpices_ She has worked as a bookkeeper for over 15 years for small to large businesses and is self-employed since 2008. She also proudly served in the US Air Force. We are so thankful to have her serve our school and our students! Thank you for all you do, Mrs. Lucadano.
HELP PLATO ACADEMY RISE UP IN THE RANKINGS BY GIVING AN HONEST AND SUPPORTIVE REVIEW OF YOUR SCHOOL.
Send your rating to your principal and receive a volunteer hour!
Click the picture links below, find your school & leave a review on these platforms:
Contact our Board Members:
Louis Kokkinakos - Chairman of the Board: lkokkinakos@platoacademy.net
John Petalas - Vice Chairman: jpetalas@platoacademy.net
Yale Walker - Treasurer: walkery@platoacademy.net
George Antonaklas - Secretary: antonaklasg@platoacademy.net
The mission of Plato Academy Charter Schools is to assist students in achieving their full potential by requiring and nurturing high academic and behavioral standards in a safe, supporting, challenging, and enthusiastic environment, providing a well-rounded K-8 education fortified by a study of the Greek language and culture, and fostered by a commitment and cooperative effort among the school, students, parents, and community: our family.
Η αποστολή των σχολείων της Ακαδημίας του Πλάτωνα είναι να βοηθήσει τους μαθητές της να αξιοποιήσουν πλήρως τις δυνατότητές τους καλλιεργώντας υψηλά ακαδημαϊκά πρότυπα και υψηλά πρότυπα συμπεριφοράς σε ένα ασφαλές, υποστηρικτικό, ενθουσιώδες και συγχρόνως απαιτητικό περιβάλλον, παρέχοντας μια ολοκληρωμένη εκπαίδευση από το νηπιαγωγείο έως και την ογδόη τάξη ενισχυμένη από τη διδασκαλία της ελληνικής γλώσσας και του ελληνικού πολιτισμού, και υποστηριζόμενη από τη δέσμευση και την προσπάθεια συνεργασίας μεταξύ των σχολείων, των μαθητών, των γονέων και της κοινότητας που συλλογικά απαρτίζουν την οικογένειά μας.