I want to wish all of our NCA family a very rewarding, safe, and Happy New Year.
I am excited to see the return of our students as we have only a couple weeks remaining in our 1st semester which ends on Thursday, January 15, 2015. This is an important time to close-out the semester on a strong note so it is important for students to have all of their work completed to the best of their ability, and of course, submitted.
“I think we need to include a specific note to parents that a change IS HAPPENING at NCA for academic rigor and that parents and students already have seen these changes, and we anticipate this academic expectation to continue to prepare students for State Standardized Testing. We need the support of the parents of our students if we’re going to see improved results on testing- and I think keeping them informed is something as a school we need to do more of. We should have these newsletters monthly or weekly if we’re not currently doing this. I know I need to be better with communicating with parents about students’ progress too- it’s a goal of mine for this semester. ” ~ Ms. Ebbers, Science Teacher and Head Cross Country Coach.
Grade Recovery
It is important to remember that there is only 1 (one) remaining day scheduled for grade recovery due to unexcused absences. Teachers have been frequently reminding students of their absences so there should be no surprises as grades will be adjusted per the procedure in the student/family handbook. In addition, we are permitting students to arrange grade recovery time with selected teachers that can be arranged before or after school up until the deadline. The deadline for grade recovery consideration is Saturday, January 10, 2015 from 8:00 AM -12:00. The director and teachers will continue to remind students of this procedure and 2-step process of grade determination.
2nd Semester – Lets make it awesome!
2nd semester begins Tuesday, January 20, 2015. The New Year encourages goal and bucket-list thinking, as such, I encourage parents and students to set academic and wellness goals for 2nd semester. Teachers will be doing the same with many students so we can set our sights on continued improvement.
Choir Status for 2nd Semester
One of our most celebrated moments of Semester 1 was the inaugural all-school public choral performance on December 4, 2014. I want to thank our students for their perseverance and willingness to try something different. Many of these students earned a partial required art credit for their participation. Again, thanks to our students, staff and parents for your support.
Our choral arrangement will be different for 2nd semester. The changes are largely the result of not having the services of Ms. Miller who has recently accepted a full-time choral position in another school district. Our musical programming going forward has the following vision and implementation:
- NCA will still require 7th, 8th and 9th graders to participate in music during advisory hour
- 2015-2016 – 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th – required for all
- 2016-2017 – 7th 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th – required for all
- 2017-2018 – All-student requirement – all year
- 10-12 grade students will have the option to choose from the following FOCUS groups:
- Choir
- Products and Projects (P&P) (includes art)
- Silent Reading
- Homework
ADVISORY, during the academic week, will take the following shape:
Monday – 7-9 choir/10-12 focus
Tuesday – 7-12 traditional advisory/clubs
Wednesday – 7-9 choir/10-12 focus
Thursday – 7-12 traditional advisory/STEAM Challenge
Friday – 7-9 choir/10-12 focus
IMPORTANT! Teachers and administration have the discretion to re-assign students to best meet the educational needs of individual students and/or the learning environment.
Mock Trial
Mock trial is off to a very strong start. This is a new frontier for many of the students involved as mock trial has not usually been offered competitively at NCA. Coaches Dolge and Mock are hard at work trying to set up scrimmages for the Mock Trial team and, very soon, enrolling in tournaments. Both Miss Dolge and Mr. Mock have had experience with mock trial before, but as coaches it is a whole new ball game. This year’s case is a murder case in which the students need to analyze evidence, statements from witnesses, and rules set by the Minnesota BAR Association to formulate their version of what happened on behalf of both the prosecution and defense. The students are working hard at every practice to put their case together and present it to persuade the court and the coaches are advising them on how to do so. The team meets every Monday and Wednesday from 3:30-5:00 PM with additional sessions with students if requested. The team currently includes students in grades 8-11. However, we are encouraging more and more students to join our team. Every Wednesday we get the immense pleasure of hosting our attorney coaches, Matt and Darby, who take time out of their busy schedules to come and work with our students. Whether that means answering questions about objections, going over case materials, or speaking to Ms. Dolge & Ms. Ebbers criminology and forensics E-term, we are extremely grateful for the work our attorney coaches put in. In the next month or so, we are hoping to have several scrimmages with surrounding schools and participating in established mock trial tournaments in January in order to prepare for sections in March.
Lunch Accounts Policy
The school board is currently in the development and “reading” stage of a new Lunch Accounts policy. Please contact school administration and/or school board members if you have any feedback as the board finalizes this policy. Specifically, the policy addresses deficit lunch account management, family-account alerts, and food service. The next board meeting is on January 21, 2015 at 3:30 PM at New Century Academy.
