From the Lead Facilitator
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Hello ACLC Community!
Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. My birthday falls right after, and growing up, that meant that Thanksgiving offered all the joy of Christmas, without any of the forced toy-sharing with my brother. Over the years, Thanksgiving has become the beginning of a time period full of reconnecting with family and friends. I get to play with my niece and nephews, and I try to make sure I spend some time with my oldest and closest friends.
This year, I have a lot to be thankful for, and ACLC is a large part of that. I'm beyond grateful to those facilitators, learners, and the parents that stand behind them. This is truly a community that is focused on working together to support each other. Whether it is the tireless work of PAC and CCEF to make sure that our learners have an enriched learning experience, or learner taking the time to help out another learner during a project period, I am continuously reminded of how people are living the "Community" in ACLC.
As we close out 2017 and the fall semester, I hope everyone here takes the time to say "Thank you" to someone else that has helped them out this year. At the risk of sounding too cliche, I am incredibly thankful for you all.
Thank you to all who work to make this such a supportive community!
Happy Holidays,
Jeremy Goodreau
ACLC Lead Facilitator |
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As many of you know, the CCEF Board and learner volunteers made calls last week to encourage/remind you to contribute to our CCEF Annual Fund. We only called folks who have not made a contribution to CCEF thus far.
At ACLC we rely on the parent community to fund a number of special programs that could not be provided without the Creative Community Education Foundation (CCEF). CCEF has a fund raising goal of 100% participation. Any amount you can give $1 - $10 - or more will be a great help.
Several folks made donations directly over the phone. Others pledged to give in the days and weeks to come. Still others have heard our voicemails and have been reminded to give. Below you will find the different ways you can make your contribution.
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Give directly at ACLC:
Bring your donation to the ACLC office
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Give Online:
Go to "WE ARE PARENTS". Drop down to Fundraising/CCEF and click on Online Giving Form Clcschools.org/page.cfm?p=545
For those of you who have already given, we say THANK YOU!!!!!!!
What ever you can donate will help CCEF reach 100% participation by the ACLC community.
We need your help to reach our goal!
Sincerely,
CCEF Board Members made up of Parents, Learners and Facilitators
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We are pleased to welcome Stacey Patsko to the ACLC Community as our new 7th and 8th grade math facilitator. Below is her introductory email to the parents. She has been a truly wonderful addition to the ACLC team.
Dear Learners and Families -
I am so excited to join the faculty of ACLC as the full time Facilitator for CC2 and CC3! I want to take just a few minutes of your time to introduce myself.
My full name and title is Dr. Stacey Michelle Patsko, but past learners, colleagues and friends call me Stacey, Stace, Doc, or Patsko. I began my career in education in two roles; one as a middle school math teacher at a private school in San Diego, and the other as an intercollegiate women's basketball coach at UC San Diego. I graduated from UCSD in 1995 with a BA in History and was a member of the Women's Basketball team during my college career. After graduation, I was privileged to serve as a member of the coaching staff while attending San Diego State University's Teaching Credential program. In 1997, I received my CA Single Subject Credential in Social Studies and Math.
In 2000, I followed my dream of becoming a Head Basketball Coach at the collegiate level and found myself at a small school outside of San Antonio,TX. After 4 years in the collegiate ranks, I returned to my first passion as a secondary school educator, serving as Athletic Director and Math and Social Studies teacher at a high school in Kerrville, TX. In 2006, I was hired at TMI-The Episcopal School of Texas in San Antonio where I spent 10 years as a middle school math teacher. During those 10 years, I also served as an administrator at the school, first as the Middle School Athletic Director and then as the Dean of Students for grades 6-12.
In 2016, I returned to San Diego to be closer to my family and to take a sabbatical to finish my PhD in Leadership Studies. Now I have found my way to ACLC and I am ready to jump back into the classroom! In just a few days on campus I have found the community of learners and facilitators to be a welcoming and friendly group. I am confident that we will have a wonderful year going forward and I look forward to getting to know each learner and family as we move through the year.
As during any time of transition, I expect that there may be bumps along the road, but be assured that I am very open and accessible to questions and communication as the learners adjust to a different teacher who may have a different style and different expectations than those to which they have been accustomed over the past few months. By working together, I know that we will be able to make the transition as seamless as possible!
Thank you for welcoming me to your community! I look forward to knowing each of you!
Stacey
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Starting on November 30th, ACLC's 9th grade English class staged a mock trial as the culminating project for Steinbech's classic, Of Mice and Men. With the guidance of their facilitator Lynn Kameny, and the wonderful support of several lawyers and a stenographer, the freshmen delivered a wonderful case that showcased both their poise and deep understanding of the literature. Well done!
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As a follow up to the item last month about CCEF funding a new MS library, we wanted to let everyone see the finished product! Our MS learners are already taking advantage of the expanded offerings, and Loreley has been training some of our MS learners to be librarians.
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| Constitutional Convention |
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Here is a wonderful write up about ConCon, which occurred this year on November 15th, by one of our wonderful senior learners and member of the Speakeasy, our school newspaper, staff:
The Alameda Community Learning Center, or ACLC for short, is an unusual school in many respects. First and foremost, it focuses upon the empowerment of its learners (students) and upon their ability to actively make change in a democratic school community.
To achieve these ends, ACLC provides many leadership opportunities. Learners can be elected to represent the student body on ACLC's Governing board. They can serve on the Judicial Committee, helping a jury of their peers decide upon consequences for rule breakers, or as members of the Leadership Class, approving changes to the school (called Proposals) and even authoring new rules or changes to the Learner Bill of Rights.
Possibly the most important institution in support of democracy at ACLC is the school's annual Constitutional Convention. This event opens up discussion of important issues to the whole community, and gives all learners the chance to discuss and express their desires for the school.
Lynn Kameny, a facilitator at ACLC, says that the yearly tradition has its roots in a business practice. Originally, ACLC was called AACLC - the Arthur Anderson Community Learning Center. Arthur Anderson, an accounting firm that supported the school at the time, suggested some practices that might be beneficial to implement at the school.
"One practice they introduced was the practice of holding a company 'retreat', a refocusing time for an organization to reflect on its philosophy and to re-calibrate and re-design to make sure the organization was still aligned toward achieving its goals," says Kameny.
This event was originally held off campus, when the entire school was small enough to fit in one meeting room at a hotel. Learners met in small groups for discussions of specific topics, then came back together to share their ideas over lunch.
Today, Constitutional Convention is carried out on a much grander scale, but the premise has stayed the same. Leadership votes on a selection of session topics, from "Schoolhouse Rock" (Academics) to "Space Yo Face" (a discussion of how to best use the school's physical space), and everything in between. There are even sessions about Leadership and a "behind-the-scenes" rundown of the system of boards that governs ACLC to help learners understand how best to exercise their voices. In the sessions, learners make posters and graphic organizers, pour over maps of the school, and have exuberant discussions about middle-high school mentorship programs, new murals, or (memorably) a bonding day where everyone makes origami hats. Session leaders pass out proposal forms at the end of each discussion so that learners can make a formal request to Leadership for their ideas to be implemented.
The day finishes off with a potluck Thanksgiving feast where learners share lunch and celebrate the community that makes ACLC such a special place to go to school.
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ACLC Enrollment for 18-19 School Year
PASS THE WORD
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The Priority Application for the 17-18 school year is open. This application will be open until
January 31st, and we will conduct our lottery during the first week of February. We have mailed out cards, putting up flyers around town, and taking out ads online and in print.
We are also still accepting applicants for this year. Please refer anyone with questions to Kira, Jeremy, or Dave.
Site Tours.
All tours start promptly at
9 am.
Thursday, December 14, 2017
Thursday, January 18th, 2018
Thursday, February 15, 2018
Thursday, March 15, 2018
Thursday, April 19, 2018
Thursday, May 17, 2018
Family Info Sessions.
Middle school presentations
6:15 pm
High school presentations
6:45 pm
Tuesday, January 9, 2018
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Tuesday, April 3, 2018
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
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| Upcoming Events in December |
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Wednesday - December 13, 2017
- CCEF Board Meeting CANCELLED6:45 PM to 9:00 PMACLC Center
- ACLC School-Wide Science Fair7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Thursday - December 14, 2017
Friday - December 15, 2017
- Healthy Lunch-Wholesome & Healthy Chili
Tuesday - December 19, 2017
- ACLC Finance Meeting3:30 PM
- ACLC Board Meeting6:30 PMThe Center-Rm 12
Wednesday - December 20, 2017
- Independent PE Sept. hours due (15hrs)(Essay)
Friday - December 22, 2017
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