Important Dates

11/10/2017– Veterans Day

Observed, No School

11/11/2017– Larry Gra-

ham’s Concert at 2:00pm

11/13/2017 through

11/16/2017– STAR

Testing

11/23/2017 & 11/24/2017–

Thanksgiving, No School

School and Learning Center

Hours

Monday - Thursday

9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Friday

9:30 a.m. - 2:15 p.m.

Accelerated Schools

2160 S. Cook Street

Denver, Colorado 80210

Principal’s Corner-John Klieforth Member BBB

If you have been following this series, you will remember that we are certified through the North Central Association, the accrediting arm of AdvancEd. We are in the midst of preparing for their on-site visit this coming spring. As a part of this process, we are assessing ourselves on a scale of 1-4, not unlike a GPA for students. There are some 30 indica-tors for which we need to do this assessment. Indicator 2.11 deals with formative and summative assessment. Everyone mentioned our MAP/STAR/CTBS/ACT/PSAT and TOEFL testing as evidence of achieving this goal. Other answers with multiple responses included interven-tions, mastery tests, Individual Success Plans, student portfolios and records/information from parents. The composite “GPA” for this indicator was 3.90. Indicator 2.12 covers continuous assessment of programs. Those with multiple responses included Saturday retreat days, in-service days, teacher growth plans and classroom observations. The composite “GPA” was 3.54. Indicator 3.1 concerns professional development. Two-week training for all staff before school started garnered the most responses. Other multiple comments included the Accelerated Way binder, the five Saturday retreat and in-service days, the muse of mastery tests and the scope/sequence of the curriculum. The composite “GPA” for this indi-cator was 3.62. Indicator 3.2 is about learner performance and professional collaboration. Once again, the MAP/STAR/CTBS/ACT/SAT/PSAT testing was mentioned the most, followed by the two-week training for staff before school started in the fall. The composite “GPA” was 3.73. I have only identified the evidence where there were multiple identical responses. The complete inventory of respons-es is too voluminous to detail here, but is available at any time during normal school hours. Next month, we will share the results of the next four indicators. Your input is always encouraged and welcomed.

2160 S. Cook St. Denver, CO 80210 303-758-2003 www.acceleratedschools.org

Accelerated Schools

Education with a History of Success

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER November 2017 ISSUE 74

From The Desk Of The Queen

Monthly Message From The Executive Director, Jane Queen

In November the snow brings its own excitement. Accelerated students are not different from other teenagers, as their thoughts move toward the mountains, skiing and snowboarding. Students are eager to ski and snowboard. Safety is the precursor to a ski trip. The school will never send skiers to the mountains if the chain law is in effect the morning they are to go skiing. Accelerated Schools students and staff generally ski at Loveland. It is easily accessible and not far from the school. To ensure the safety of our students, a driver drives the students to the resort and a staff member rides on the ski van. A student must qualify to ski. To qualify, a student must earn an average of 9 or better for two weeks before the ski day. In addition to the 9 average, students must have accumulated at least 40 homework points per week for two weeks before the ski day and be in school each week for 4 out of 5 days. The ski bus leaves school between 9:30 and 10:00 a.m. Students arrive at Loveland, check in and ski for the day. All students report back to the bus by 4:00 p.m. The teacher, driver and students return to school around 5:30 p.m. Parents or host parents are re-quired to pick up their child. School doesn’t provide transportation to their homes after skiing. On a ski day, students are required to turn in their homework before they go skiing. The students skiing are to abide by all the school agreements as outlined in the student handbook. A student must wear a seatbelt in the van to and from the ski resort. They must ski in bounds and abide by the rules and regulations of the ski area. Language and behavior are expected to be appropriate at all times. All skiers must wear appropriate clothing and sunscreen is recommended. Students who do not wish to ski or snowboard will come to school and attend their regular classes. Students are not excused from school if they do not go skiing. Our ski program is in place to provide positive outdoor experiences for our students. We want everyone to have a good time and make good choices. New students will be added to the school roster. Please welcome with me Jack Egan and Sydney Hickman. We are excited to have you become a part of the Accelerated Schools Family. We want your school experiences be positive and fun. The staff and I want to support you on your educational journey. Remember, Accelerated Schools will be closed for Veteran’s Day, Friday, November 10th, and for Thanksgiving on Thursday and Friday, November 23rd and 24th. Have a wonderful November. It is a month to remember our past and present veterans, and give thanks for our many blessings. May you and your family’s holiday basket be full of love, laughter and good health. Happy Thanksgiving! Ms. Jane

Middle School Shares Their Thoughts Michelle Tuengel, Associate Director and Enrollment Counselor

Accelerated Schools Staff Update

Last month, I shared with you the elementary responses to our student survey, this is part of our AdvancEd (North Cen-tral) accreditation process. This month, we will focus on the comments made by our middle school students:

Some of the positives: 1.The teachers are nice/good/awesome… (mentioned 6 times) 2. Friends/nice kids (mentioned 3 times) 3. The atmosphere/environment - awesome homeroom (mentioned 3 times) 4. Activities/going to the park/Elitch’s (mentioned 3 times) 5. I get paid - The money (mentioned 2 times)

What did you learn that will help you succeed for next year: 1.“Reding” (reading) (mentioned 3 times) 2. “I learnt how to study - which will help me in my next school.” 3. “I learned how to save my money” 4. “I think math” Highest ratings went to: 1. My parents are supportive of the school and its goals 2. The daily report card is a positive motivational tool 3. Counselors 4. Small class sizes For a complete copy of the survey, please contact me. Next month, I will share the high school highlights.

Some suggestions include: 1. Longer, more exciting activities (mentioned 6 times) “I don’t like the activity to go the museum” 2. More lunch time (mentioned 2 times) 3. “You need to be more strict with homework” 4. “You need to fix the vending machine” General Comments: 1.“I am very happy to study with you guys in this year.” 2. “I live (love) the pizza day. The pizza is delicious.” 3. “People are getting away with not doing their homework and they don’t get in trouble. SO NOBODY DOES THEIR HOMEWORK IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL! Lowest ratings went to: 1.Transportation (the vans) 2. Discipline 3. Useful feedback on classwork and homework

Larry Graham, an accomplished pianist, friend and supporter of our school and a teacher of many successful pianists, including our own graduates; Jiaqi “Dragon” Long and Zicong “Simon” Su, will perform in a benefit concert at Accelerated Schools on November 11th at 2:00 p.m. The proceeds of this piano concert will benefit our Student Scholarship Fund. We are fortunate to give “matching funds” scholarships to own students during the school year. Some-times it is a matter of just a few dollars whether or not a student can attend our school. You can help by attending the concert or buying a ticket even if you can’t be present. Won’t you please help our students financially by enjoying an af-ternoon of great piano music?

Larry Graham’s Concert– November 11th, 2017 at 2:00 p.m.

2160 S. Cook St. Denver, CO 80210 303-758-2003 www.acceleratedschools.org

It’s that exciting time of year for our juniors and seniors to start taking college visits! On October 24th, we took our first trip of the school year to Metro State University. We decided to have the full college experience by riding the RTD to Metro for our tour and then having lunch in the Student Union. The next trip we have scheduled is to Colorado College in Colorado Springs on November 7th and the last trip scheduled for the semester will be to Colorado Technical Univer-sity located in Aurora on November 28th. After these trips, we will take a break during the month of December and re-sume visits again next semester.

College Visits Aundrea McCormick, High School English Instructor

Math Everyday Zach Leins, High School Math Instructor

Witches & Warlocks Georgina Bruce, High School lnstructor

Welcome Nick, Salar and Sonny who have joined us in American History!

We have been investigating the roots of slavery and discussing the far-ranging repercussions of that institution on the development of the United States even to this day.

We have also been exploring the origins of the kind of mass hysteria that led to the Salem Witch trials in 1692. Stu-dents related these historic events to recent incidents in Charlottesville VA, described in the media as “an egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence.” Discussions of prejudice, fear and mob psychology raised searching ques-tions regarding personal responsibility and the price of courage.

More Fun with Computer Science

Cale Dunlap, High School and Middle School Instructor

As a teacher with more years of experience than I care to admit, I have learned at least one im-mutable truth: boys love to break things.

In a building with as much history as ours, there are myriad resources hidden around the proper-ty… including a veritable museum of obsolete technology tucked away in the dark recesses of the basement. As an ongoing project in our computer science class, we have started gathering old computers, ripping them apart and exploring what’s inside. What a great opportunity to learn!

Classes are starting to run more smoothly as students are getting settled in. Many students in all of my classes strug-gle with vocalizing their understanding so I highly recommend they try to teach/explain what they are learning to a peer/classmate to really solidify their learning. I believe teaching the material to someone is the best way to learn the mate-rial. Overall, all of my courses are a couple sections (not chapters) behind where I would like to be but that is all right because I would rather have students understand the material than rush through it. Please let me know if you have any questions about your individual child; my email is: zleins@acceleratedschools.org. Thank you!

Big News From The Little House

Joe White, Micro School Instructor

When the Little Learners work on math, they get to use manipulatives to help not only find the answers, but also to form a conceptual understanding of what they are learning. It might be easy for some students to memorize their math facts no matter the function, but do they really understand what the process is or the results they are thinking? By using blocks and cubes to help build numbers, they see that 6 groups of 6 are 36 or 6 and 6 is 12. We use the counters to help support and show our thinking and understanding. As they develop an understanding of the concept, they no longer need to use manipulatives. This now means they have a conceptual understanding of the function and not just memorize a bunch of random facts.