Wow, this title is certainly appropriate for the season with Halloween the last month. Very spooooky! At any rate, the next couple of months will provide some fun, relaxation and celebrations with holidays soon upon us. In addition, E-term is November 18-21, 2014 which makes for exciting learning times at NCA. Our E-terms, for your information, have been designed to integrate Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (S.T.E.A.M.) as appropriate within each E-Term experience. E-terms will feel much the same, but they will now have an integrated STEAM focus.
Spooooky Weather Procedures for Families, Students and Staff
To avoid confusion with local school weather-related decisions, we will continue in the same fashion of following the late-start and/or cancelled school days as per Hutchinson Public Schools ISD# 423. For example, if Hutchinson Public Schools delays school by 2 hours, NCA will do the same.
In addition, New Century Academy will post any delays and/or cancellations on our NCA Website, NCA Facebook, KARE 11 News, CBS News-Channel 4, and WCCO Radio.
Veteran’s Day
On Tuesday, November 11, 2014, we salute Veterans on their special day of recognition for service to our Country. A special “thank you” goes out to those that have served, and presently serve, to protect our country. Many classrooms, on this day, will be making a special effort to integrate a Veteran’s perspective to curriculum and instruction.
Budget Reduction Process
Each year the board and school administration work to develop and ensure a balanced budget. In addition, we have the responsibility to build our general fund reserves to meet the recommended threshold. These savings serve to provide a “cushion” for those things unexpected such as facility maintenance, enrollment variation, un-funded mandates etc….
I mention this because we have recently had to address our bottom line as it relates to fund balance. Largely due to decreased enrollment, the board and administration has responded by trimming our expenditures to the following extent:
Reduced Director’s Salary, Reduced Activities and related activities transportation, .5 reduction in language arts instruction, .5 reduction in social studies instruction, .5 reduction in special education, .5 reduction in Music, 3% reduction of all NCA staff salaries.
The implementation date of for these changes begins effective November 10, 2014. On this date, some changes will impact students as some classes will be combined and/or assigned to another period. The impact, however, is minimal in terms of the total school impact. The reality is that we (NCA) have relatively small classroom sizes that responsibly requires an adjustment of Full-Time Equivalent Teachers (FTEs). Simply stated, FTEs need to go up or down as the need dictates and this is based largely on enrollment.
We have a very defined goal for this school year; increase our fund balance by 1% or more and significantly increase our student academic proficiency scores by 2% in all tested areas.
Good Things Happenin’
Despite the decrease in enrollment, we do fully expect that enrollment will stabilize and grow us even stronger as we are only in the early stages of re-definement at NCA. I encourage families and students to stick with us….. cuz we are onto something great, just wait and see!
Thank you!
This is a time to thank many for their service to NCA:
Sheila Hendricks will be leaving us to pursue a career pathway as an adjunct professor. Ms. Hendricks will be sorely missed, but we celebrate her new chapter forward. Ms. Hendricks was a Language Arts Teacher.
Cyndi Brede will be leaving us as she has resigned to give more attention to family matters. Ms. Brede was a Special Education Teacher.
Bill Erickson has resigned from his custodial position to seek other employment. He was especially crafty with woodworking and his skills will be missed.
To ya’ all……. Thank you.
NCA’s 1st Annual All-School Choral Performance
Just an exciting reminder to add this event to your planners and calendars. We encourage all parents, grandparents, family, relatives, and friends to join us on this inaugural event. Participants will be expected to dress-up as determined by the Choral Director. This is a required event if students wish to receive art credit.
Thursday, December 4 Maplewood Academy, 7:00 PM
GiveMN.org
GiveMN is one fundraiser that we will be doing this school year at NCA. GiveMN links generous people like you with organizations working to make Minnesota a better place. It is done by making giving simple, rewarding, and fun. Please visit https://givemn.org/organization/020574622-8358 or simply search for New Century Academy on the GiveMN.org page.
Be sure to mark your calendar and make your gift on Give to the Max Day—November 13!
On November 13, every gift made on GiveMN.org will be entered into an hourly drawing for a $1,000 GiveMN Golden Ticket to be awarded to a Minnesota school. That adds up to 24 opportunities for you to help us receive an extra $1,000!
Here’s the really exciting part: At the end of Give to the Max Day, one donation made on GiveMN.org will be randomly selected to receive a $10,000 Super-Sized GiveMN Golden Ticket just for schools.
The more gifts we generate on GiveMN.org on November 13, the more our chances increase to receive that additional $10,000 donation. Imagine what we could do with $10,000!
Our goal is to raise $5,000, and YOU can help us reach it!
Innovative and Responsive – Next STEAM Scream Tease
Did you know that we are utilizing the following to support our curriculum and instruction?
MPCC Mobile Apps, Odyssey, Write To Learn, Kahn Academy
I will explain these and others in the next STEAM Scream – December edition.
Go Spartans!
