The Screeching OwlAEC Weekly Plan March 20, 2017

Vision: To create a supportive learning environment in which every student graduates with a high school diploma and is college and career ready to further promote growth in our community.Mission: To create a student-centered, non-traditional learning environment that launches lifelong achievement. Beliefs: To achieve our Vision and Mission, we believe: • Accepting, nurturing, and safe learning environment maximizes success.• Ownership and empowerment builds student capacity.• Collaborative and challenging instruction enhances engaged and authentic learning.• Multi-faceted support is necessary.• Professional collaboration is student-centered.• Family and stakeholder involvement matter.• Connection to extra-curricular activities sustains community history and tradition.

In the Know:

Intent Forms: Most of the students that were accepted to AEC in the initial admissions process have turned in their intent forms to attend AEC. I plan to meet with the few that haven’t turned in the intent form this week.

Waiting List: There is a waiting list of students that will have the option to attend AEC if a spot opens up. If those students that have been accepted choose not to attend AEC, we will use the waiting list to fill the vacant spot.

Homeschool/ Private Apps: There have been 6 students from schools not associated with ACS that have applied for admission to AEC next fall.

Student Q & A (Updated Wkly.)

Student Spotlight: Kalyn Melendez

Previous School: Alexander Christian Academy

Something most people don’t know about her is…… I use to live in New Jersey. A lot of people don’t realize that I’m hispanic.

What do you enjoy the most at AEC?

I have made new friends. The teachers have encouraged me to be outgoing.

In what way is AEC different than the previous school that you attended?

I have learned more than in the last 2 years combined. I have more friends here!

Tell me about something that you are currently studying?

I learned that $15/ hr. is not a good salary.

What was the last book that you read? thoughts?

Famous Last Words

It was about a Hollywood killer that staged murders after movie scenes.

What was the last great idea that you had?

The Powder Puff Game as a student fundraiser.

AEC Staff Spotlight (Updated Mthly.) Michaell Ratchford

What do you do enjoy doing outside of school?

I enjoy spending time with my family. We are a busy family going to our children's athletic and extracurricular events as well as being involved in our church. I enjoy assisting my parents in the part-time catering business.

What was the last great idea that you had?

The last great idea that I had was coming to work at AEC.

When did you know that you wanted to work in education?

My first career was working in the non-profit sector. From there, I started working in the institutional advance area of higher education. My true calling to work in secondary education came when one of my mentors (and former teacher) sat down with me and encouraged me to with work with young people in a more structured setting. This is my 18th year in school counseling.

What do you enjoy the most about AEC?

Where do I begin...AEC is a family!!! I enjoy working with the all the teachers and staff. The students are absolutely amazing and are passionate about learning and they truly care about the well-being of each other.

Who’s Whooo

Thank You As principal, I am so grateful for everything that you (AEC staff) that you do. I realize that we have a staff that is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure the success of our students. This past Saturday is a perfect example of this. Our students are so happy, and it is 100% because of what you do everyday! Student Formal The first ever AEC Student Formal was a huge success! AEC would like to thank the Student Formal Committee for their vision and follow through in the planning process. Also, we would like to thank our parents for donating money, time, food, and whatever else was needed for the dance. Our wonderful staff and spouses helped with setting up, cleaning up, and serving food

and refreshments throughout the evening. We would like to give a shout out to Mrs. Sharpe for her guidance with the Student Formal Committee. Also, we would like to recognize Mrs. Sherrill for making the best cupcakes in the world! The AEC legacy class has certainly set the bar high for the incoming freshman class. As principal, I am very proud of their accomplishments. I have posted a few pictures, but I will post several more tomorrow. Please feel free to post your pics in the comment section of this post. Thanks again for all that you do!

Parent Volunteer Hours All but 7 parents have successfully completed the required student volunteer hours for the year. Please know that there is a plan in place for those parents that still need volunteer hours to make up the hours. Those parents that do not make up the required hours before the end of the year will be required to meet with me over the summer to create a plan to meet the volunteer requirement.Open House Last weeks open house was a tremendous success. There were over 150 people that attended the open house. Thanks again for the presentations that you created, but most of all thank you for your positive attitude.

AEC Continuous Improvement Plan Focus for the month:

Goal 4. Vision: Knowing students well is essential to helping them achieve academically. Educators build strong relationships with each student and learn about their interests, needs and goals to design personalized learning and supports.

Goal 4 Guiding QuestionsHow does the school intentionally promote, sustain and leverage positive relationships among students, staff and families so that all students feel that the adults in the school know, care about and respect them? What evidence exists to show that school efforts to support the affective needs of students are working?

Heads Up!!!!I

Parent Advisory Committee mtg.:

There will be a Parent Advisory Committee mtg. (PAC) this afternoon starting at 4:00. This will be our fourth PAC mtg. this year.

3. FeedbackHow do learners know they are moving forward without steady, consistent feedback? They often won't. Along with individual feedback (written or verbal), teachers need to provide whole-group feedback on patterns they see in the collective class' growth and areas of need. Students also need to be given opportunities to provide feedback to the teacher so that she can adjust the learning process, materials, and instruction accordingly.

4. Formative AssessmentsIn order to provide students with effective and accurate feedback, teachers need to assess frequently and routinely where students are in relation to the unit of study's learning goals or end product (summative assessment). Hattie recommends that teachers spend the same amount of time on formative evaluation as they do on summative assessment.

5. Metacognitive StrategiesStudents are given opportunities to plan and organize, monitor their own work, direct their own learning, and to self-reflect along the way. When we provide students with time and space to be aware of their own knowledge and their own thinking, student ownership increases. And research shows that metacognition can be taught.

Collaborating with ColleaguesGreat teachers are earnest learners. Spend some time with a colleague, or two or three, and talk about what each of these research-based, best classroom practices looks like in the classroom. Discuss each one in the context of your unique learning environment: who your students are, what they need, what they already know, etc.

How do you already bring these five classroom practices alive in your classroom? Please share in the comments section below.

5 Highly Effective Teaching PracticesBy Rebecca Alber

I remember how, as a new teacher, I would attend a professional development and feel inundated with new strategies. (I wanted to get back to the classroom and try them all!) After the magic of that day wore off, I reflected on the many strategies and would often think, "Lots of great stuff, but I'm not sure it's worth the time it would take to implement it all."

We teachers are always looking to innovate, so, yes, it's essential that we try new things to add to our pedagogical bag of tricks. But it's important to focus on purpose and intentionality -- and not on quantity. So what really matters more than "always trying something new" is the reason behind why we do what we do.

What Research SaysThis leads me to educational researcher John Hattie, who wrote Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning. Through his research, one of his goals is to aid teachers in seeing and better understanding learning through the eyes of their students.

Hattie has spent more than 15 years researching the influences on achievement of K-12 children. His findings linked student outcomes to several highly effective classroom practices. Here I'd like to highlight five of those practices:

1. Teacher ClarityWhen a teacher begins a new unit of study or project with students, she clarifies the purpose and learning goals, and provides explicit criteria on how students can be successful. It's ideal to also present models or examples to students so they can see what the end product looks like.

2. Classroom DiscussionTeachers need to frequently step offstage and facilitate entire class discussion. This allows students to learn from each other. It's also a great opportunity for teachers to formatively assess (through observation) how well students are grasping new content and concepts.

3/20— PAC Mtg.

3/21- AEC Open House

3/21- Principal’s mtg.

3/30- NCASA Conf.

The Screeching Owl

AEC Weekly Plan

Upcoming Events:

Mar. 21- AEC Open HouseMar. 20-22: Collaborative Conf. for student achievementMar. 20- Parent Advisory Mtg. @ 4:00Mar. 20- SST Mtg. @ 1:15Mar. 21- Principal’s Mtg. @ 9Mar. 21- AEC Open House @ 6Mar. 22- Bookkeepers Mtg. @ 10Mar. 24- Rocky Face Trip @ 1:10Mar. 24- Anime Club @ 1:10Mar. 30- Student Performance Review Comm.Mar. 30-31: NCASA ConferenceMar. 30- SIT Mtg. @ 7:15Apr. 6- Counselor’s Mtg. (CO Board Rm.)Apr. 6/7- Community clean-up (afternoon)Apr. 7th- End of Year PDP due to Mr. EvansApril 10- Writing NCDAP RetakeApril 11- ACBE Mtg. @ 6April 12-Principal’s Mtg. @ 9

Apr. 14- Holiday: Good FridayApr. 17- Annual Leave DayApr. 14- Holiday LeaveApr. 17-19- Annual Leave DaysApr. 17-19- Student Spring BreakApr. 20- Student Performance Review Comm.Apr. 20-Students return from Spring BreakApr. 24- SST Mtg. @ 1:15Apr. 25- Test Training Adm.April 26- NCDAP Math Testing Apr. 27- SIT Mtg. @ 7:15Apr. 28- Rocky Face Trip @ 1:10Apr. 28- Anime Club @ 1:10May 2- Student Led Conferences 4:30-6:00May 4- Of the Year Celebration @ ACHS @ 6:00May 9- ACBE Mtg. @ 6May 9-Intake Meeting WAMSMay 11- Counselor’s Mtg. (CO Board Rm.)May 11-16- AEC ExamsMay 15- Parent Advisory Comm. Mtg. @ 4:00May 16- Principal’s Mtg. @ 9May 10-16- AEC EOC/ Final ExamsMay 16- End of 2nd SemesterMay 16- EAMS Intake mtg.

May 17- Bookkeepers Mtg. @ 10May 17-18- Required Teacher WorkdaysMay 18- SIT Mtg. @ 8:00 am ( most of the day)May 19- Annual Leave DayMay 22- HolidayJune 13- ACBE Mtg. @ 6June 20- Principal’s Mtg. @ 9July 18- AEC Summer Camp (Bo’s & LRU)July 19- AEC Summer Camp @ AECAugust 2- ASU Leadership Conf.August 7- County Commissioner’s Mtg.Sept. 14- Student Pics @ 8:30Nov. 18- Make Up Pictures

AEC Student Formal