Director's Letter March 14, 2025
- Shelly Smith
- Mar 14
- 5 min read
Dear ACA Community,
One week from the end of the third quarter and Spring Break! As they say, ‘Time flies when you’re having fun!’ Yesterday was the last day on campus for K-8 grade until March 31st (we will see our high school students next week). There was a festive atmosphere as Mr. Toth’s Math Olympics and Ice Cream party were held. Congratulations to all the competitors who booked very impressive times! First place winner for elementary level was Asher and his brother Zachary won the middle school race. Thank you to all the parent’s and ESes who helped their students practice, the ice cream party volunteers, and those who donated snacks and prizes. Overall, students showed a tremendous amount of growth in their math facts! Thank you, Mr. Toth, for hosting a great event!
Although there are no classes next week for younger students, there will be an open gym play time from 1:00 to 3:00pm on Monday, March 17 for k-5 students and their siblings. Parent’s must stay…no drop offs. Come enjoy unstructured play with ACA friends! See the flyer below for more information!
Don’t forget…ACA’s Oaks Park Day is booked for June 3 this year. Unlimited ride bracelets are $18 per person prepaid in the office. More details are on the flyer below. When bracelets run out, we will start a ‘wait list’ and try to get more bracelets so hopefully, everyone who would like to come will be able to.
Our very dynamic Test Coordinators, Erika Lute and Meagan Kimball, are doing a great job getting ACA prepped for state testing in April. As I’ve said before, it’s important to ACA’s future that we get as many participants as possible as the results help us justify our existence and help us analyze our program. We ask that each family check their testing schedule and rsvp through the form provided. If you need to change your child’s scheduled sessions, you may choose a different time by answering ‘No’ to the question ‘My student is able to attend the assigned testing times’ then submitting alternate times. We just have 70 more students to schedule…so close!
The ACA Garden Collective is planning a ‘Let’s Plant Flowers’ event on Friday, April 4th at 10:00am. Families are invited to bring a few flowers of their choice to brighten up our garden and create a cheerful flower bed. It will be so fun to watch our Collective garden grow! Do you have surplus cardboard? Please collect it and drop it off in the open garden shed to be used for new planting beds.
Leadership Club’s highly anticipated fundraiser, Pie-A-Teacher, is off and running! This was definitely a high point of last spring! Here’s how it works…there are 12 staff member volunteers, each with a ‘price’ at which they will become a pie victim. Student’s can buy raffle tickets in the office and assign them to a particular staff member. When the ticket sales reach the level of each victim’s ‘price’ a raffle ticket will be drawn to determine who gets to toss the pie at lunchtime.Tickets are $1 for one, $3 for four, or $5 for eight. It’s so much fun! Tickets are on sale through April 3rd and the pies will be tossed the week of April 7-10. Did I already mention that it’s so much fun? It is!
Science Fair is April 10, and we have several volunteer opportunities!
We need 2-3 people to help set up tables and chairs between 2:30-3:15 and 1-2 people willing to run a table potentially selling raffle tickets or monitoring a hands-on activity for younger kids. Judges - if you have a science or teaching background especially - we would love to have volunteers to help judge entries. Please email amandacastellano@aca.k12.or.us if you're interested in one of these great chances to help support STEM activities at ACA!
For everyone’s consideration, we have ACA members with latex allergies. Please do not bring balloons or latex gloves on campus, and this includes using balloons and gloves in Science Fair experiments.
Special thanks to our wonderful PTO President Kate Hansen for driving down to Salem on Wednesday to advocate for House Bill 3444 and equitable funding for charter schools. Kate, along with many other charter school advocates, testified on behalf of ACA’s kids. If you are interested in getting involved in this very important legislative effort, please register at this LINK for Charter Schools Lobby Day on March 18th in Salem. Let’s make our voices heard!
Also, a final reminder that next Tuesday is the information meeting about a cooperative trip for Sheridan AllPrep and ACA students to Washington, D.C., and New York City next spring. This journey offers a fantastic chance for students to explore our nation’s history, step out of their comfort zone, and build valuable skills for the future. The meeting will cover sites, activities, logistics, payment options, and earning high school credit. If you have any questions, feel free to email Mr. Kim at jkim@sheridanallprep.org.
When: Tuesday, March 18th at 5:00 PMWhere: Zoom – Click HERE to join the session.RSVP: Let us know if you’ll be attending by clicking HERE to RSVP.
And from the PTO: Please note that the Food Corner will be closed next week and the next pizza Thursday will be 4/3.
PTO is looking to fill some officer positions for the next school year (2025/2026). Open positions are: Treasurer, Secretary, Volunteer Coordinator, and VP of Fundraising. Please see the PTO website for descriptions of these roles and how to apply.
Another very important way to serve ACA is by joining our School Board. Please consider applying for a two year term. Here is the link to the APPLICATION. The deadline to apply is May 14th.
Gentle Rule Reminder: Tardies are the topic today. On-site classes are a privilege at ACA. It’s the stated policy at ACA that if a student receives three unexcused tardies, they can be dropped from their class. Please get your students to school on time, and encourage them to move efficiently between classes and come in from the playground after lunch, as there are written consequences.
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:
No School K-8
Regular Schedule for 9-12
Monday, March 17 - Friday, March 21
Lockdown and Evacuation Drill - No Alarm
Monday, March 17, 2025
10:45am
Open Gym Play Time
Monday, March 17, 2025
1:00-3:00
Volleyball Tournament
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
ACA Gym
3:45pm - 5:15pm
ACA Enrollment Information Meeting
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
ACA Gym
6:00pm
End of Quarter 3
Friday, March 21, 2025
Spring Break
Monday, March 24 - Friday, March 28, 2025
ACA Enrollment Information Meeting
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
ACA Gym
6:00pm
Senior Pictures Due
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
April Garden Work Party
Friday, April 4, 2025
In the Garden
10:00am
Senior Bingo Party
Monday, April 7, 2025
3:45-5:15pm
Pie A Teacher Fundraiser
Week of April 7 - 10
12:00pm Daily
ACA’s Fabulous Music Assemblies
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
First Concert at 11:15am
Second Concert at 1:45pm
ACA Governing Board Meeting
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
Virtual
6:00pm
Science Fair
Thursday, April 10, 2025
ACA Gym
Setup 3:30-4:00pm
Open 4:00-5:30pm
