Dear ACA Community,
It was a joy to welcome everyone back to ACA after the break. Just a few days left in Semester One, then we start the second half of the year. Time is flying, with lots of fun happenings and events filling up the calendar!
January is School Board Appreciation Month and I want to thank our seven volunteer members for the untold hours they spend in support of ACA. Tara McLaughlin, Sarah Reck-Secunda, Lindsey Skones, Robert Bruders, Darla Hall, Lauree Ortman and Ann Heppner are working hard behind the scenes to make ACA the best that it can be. It’s a labor of love!
The ACA Math Department is holding Math Olympics now through the first week of March. This is a fun, school-wide competition where students will work on their three minute multiplication fluency scores either during their ES meetings or with Mr. Toth daily from 8:00-9:00am, 11:00-12:30pm, or 3:30-4:00pm. Students will primarily compete against themselves and growth will be rewarded for incremental improvements. As a finale, the three fastest students in the school will meet for a showdown in Mr. Toth’s room at lunch on March 13. The Math Department is accepting donations of small denomination gift cards as prizes. Study, study, study! This is going to be epic!
If you haven’t had a chance to see and appreciate the beautiful shine on our freshly waxed gym floor, stop in and have a look. Thank you to our district friend Sandy and her crew for working so hard over the break to restore our floor. It was very hard work, and we all appreciate it!
Looking ahead to spring, there are still a few spaces available for students to attend ACA Outdoor Science Camp. All 5th graders are eligible to attend for free, as well as all 6th graders who have never attended Outdoor School. Other 6th, 7th, and 8th graders are welcome to participate for a fee of $350. Students may use up to $225 of their allotment toward this fee, if they have not already used their vendor allotment. We also welcome parents to attend with their students if they would like to. The cost for parents is $285. Ask your ES for the sign-up forms. Thank you, Mrs. Hall, for organizing this unforgettable experience for ACA students!
The Father’s Heart sent a nice ‘Thank You’ note to be shared with all who donate to their meals. “Thank you so much for providing meals to our guests each month. Your kindness and generosity makes a huge difference and we truly appreciate the time and care you put into each meal!”
In case there is any confusion about the calendar for the week of January 20-24, here is a breakdown:
Jan 20th MLK Jr. Day; No school for everyone
Jan 21-22 is No school for K-8; All high school classes and all mixed level classes that include high school will meet as usual.
Jan 23-24 are grading days; No school for K-8. Grades 9-12 Applied Learning and there will be no onsite classes or ES meetings on those days.
Several of you made year-end, tax deductible donations to ACA. Thank you for giving to our little school so generously!
I truly appreciate the time you’ve all spent completing our surveys. We’re collecting super helpful data that will drive our grant budget decisions. The surveys close in nine days so please participate if we haven’t heard from you yet! All parents, students, and interested community members, please fill out this survey Community Engagement Survey If you are an ACA staff member, please complete this survey Staff Community Engagement Survey If you are willing to take a deeper level survey, the Strategic Planning Survey will help ACA’s Board with longer term planning efforts.
Our next Enrollment Information Meeting is next Wednesday, January 15, at 6:00pm. Share the link to register for the meeting with your family and friends whose children would benefit from our unique Homeschooling support model. LINK
And here are the updates and fun events that our stellar PTO has planned for us:
January PTO Events & Happenings
Greetings, ACA Families & Friends,
We are so excited for all of the things we have planned and hope you can join us for as much as you are able to.
Thank you!!
We want to start off by giving a BIG “thank you” to everyone who helped out at the bazaar! Volunteers helped by setting up tables and chairs, making and hanging up decorations, welcoming and helping the vendors set up, welcoming shoppers, cleaning up after the bazaar and everything in between!
It’s a huge event at ACA and we couldn’t do it without the help of others!
National Hat Day 1/15
On Wednesday, January 15th, it's National Hat Day~ we thought it would be fun to celebrate by everyone wearing their favorite hat!
Game Night 1/16
Make sure to mark your calendars- for our 2nd Annual Game Night onJanuary 16th from 3:30- 5pm. We will be playing BUNCO in the cafeteria and Student Government will be providing some kid-friendly games.
Oregon Coalition of Community Charter Schools
The Oregon Coalition of Community Charter Schools, also known as ORC3S have two meetings coming up on January 15th at 6:30pm and February 18th at 6:30pm . They are planning some meetings in Salem to meet with legislators, and we need to get the word out about how amazing our students and school are, as well as what additional resources we are in need of. To register, please click on the date of the meeting you would like to attend.
Pizza Thursday Volunteers
We are looking for pizza volunteers for the remainder of the school year. We need 2 cashiers each week and 2 people who will serve pizza each week. It would be on Thursdays, from about 11:45- 12:30. If you are interested, please sign up HERE.
PTO Officers
We will be looking to fill some officer position starting next school year (2025/2026). We will be looking for a Treasurer, Secretary and Volunteer Coordinator. Please see our website for descriptions of these roles and how to apply.
Thank you for all the ways you support us and ACA- whether it’s donating to our BottleDrop account, Fred Meyer Rewards, volunteering at the food corner or on pizza Thursdays, everyone pitching in is what makes us shine!
Remember to check the calendar on our website often, AllianceCharterAcademy.org and don’t forget to log your Volunteer hours here Volunteer Time Log
Have a wonderful weekend, and thank you for being part of the ACA family!
Go Eagles,
Shelly Smith
24-25 Executive Director
“Our mission is to personalize learning through a collaboration of family, community and school; to nurture the innate curiosity of all our students; to ignite their passion for learning; and to prepare them for lifelong success.”
Volunteer Opportunities:
Governing Board Finance Committee Meeting:
Monday, January 13, 2024
ACA room 220
6:00pm
Enrollment Information Meeting:
Wednesday, January 15, 2024
ACA Gym
6:00pm
National Hat Day:
Wednesday, January 15, 2024
Family Game Night:
Thursday, January 16, 2024
3:30 to 5:00pm
Gym and Cafeteria
Fire Drill with Alarm:
Tuesday, January 21, 2024
2:50pm
Staff and Student K-12 Chess Tournament:
Tuesday, January 21, 2024
Room 220
3:45 - 5:00pm
Martin Luther King Jr. Day:
Monday, January 20, 2025
No School
Grading Week:
Tuesday and Wednesday, January 21-22, 2025
No School K-8, High School and Middle/High Mixed Classes will Meet
Thursday and Friday, January 23-24
K-8 No School, 9-12 Applied Learning, No Onsite Classes or ES Meetings
End of Q2/Semester:
January 22, 2025
Governing Board Staff Work Session:
Wednesday, January 29, 2024
In Person at ACA
5:00-7:00pm
PTO Meeting:
Tuesday, February 4, 2025
ACA Cafeteria
3:30pm