Monday, September 4, 2023

Dear Elementary Parents,

Happy September! It has been a pleasure feeling the nights getting slightly warmer and the days getting a little longer! We have lots to report this week and lots to look forward to in the near future! Please read on:

Parent Coffee on Friday, September 8th: Our first Parent Coffee of the school year is this Friday, in the auditorium from 8:15 to 9:00 AM. This will be an excellent opportunity to meet other parents and share your requests for the topics of Parent Coffees throughout the coming year. Please join us on Friday for coffee, tea, light snacks, and good conversation with me and other ACS parents!

Our Second Monday Morning Meeting: We held our second MMM this morning and I am finding that these are a highlight of my days here at ACS. Seeing our enthusiastic young Cougars coming together is an endless joy and would certainly brighten anyone's Monday morning! In our past 2 meetings, we've talked about the small things we can do to show kindness to others. Your children are filled with marvelous ideas for making someone's day a little happier. Below are some questions and conversation-starters you can have with your child(ren) on this topic:

• Can you tell me about an act of kindness you saw today?
• Did someone do something for you that you appreciated?
• Will you share with me a challenge that you faced today? How did you respond? 
• Was there a moment today when you used your strength of kindness?

MAP Testing for the 2023-24 School Year: ACS has made some careful and deliberate changes to MAP testing this year. A complete letter of who, what, when, where, and why we give MAP tests will go out via email this Wednesday to all elementary parents, however only students in Grades 1 through 5 will be taking the test. The first test will be given next Wednesday, September 13, 2023. 

Extra-Curricular Activities are Off and Running! This week our fantastic ECA program kicked off and it was great to see our students' passions and interests outside the classroom. Today, swimming starts - we thank you for your patience and apologize for the delay in starting these classes. Our pool is newly renovated and ready for our swimmers!

In other news, the playground is getting closer and closer to ready each and every day. We are so pleased with the equipment and I know our students will join me in sharing just how excited they are to enjoy the new facilities. We look forward to sharing the official date for the exhibition of this new equipment to parents just as soon as we can!

Thanks for reading, I wish you a lovely week!

Sincerely,

Eric Crabtree
Elementary Principal