from the head of school

Summer Dates, K-12 Growth Plan Update

Dear Families,

Although many students, and quite a few staff members, have lamented the lack of snow days this year, you may be pleased with the end of year dates.

The last day of school for students will be: June 1st

The last day for teachers will be: June 2nd

Graduation will be: May 31st, 6 pm

Summer school dates:  June 12th to July 21st

Independence Day Holiday: School closed on July 3rd, 4th, and 5th, but school WILL BE in session on July 6th and 7th

We have exciting news about the K-12 Growth Plan. An email about our progress was sent to all families yesterday. If you did not receive it you can read it here.

Finally, there is a lot of hoopla at both campuses today because we are kicking off Marche des Mousquetaires, or Musketeer March, the school Jog-A-Thon! This is a really fun event that the kids love. It's also an important fundraiser for our school. You might catch a glimpse of your student on the Musketeer March video. Dates are May 11 at Cherry and May 12 at Oak. You will receive a packet in your student's back pack today but you can access the documents here.

The real question, however, is which campus will win the Musketeer hat? 

The Musketeer hat is awarded to the campus that secures the most in sponsorships. I understand that there is quite a rivalry between Mme Royce and Mme Houfaidi. 

Thank you again for your strong support of our school. Our families make all the difference.

 

Bon weekend!

Elimane Mbengue

Head of School

from the principaL

Whoooo Was At STEM Night At Cherry?

We had a wonderful turnout  Wednesday for our first STEM night at Cherry. It was exciting to see students engaged in hands-on science, technology, engineering and math activities. I want to give a shout-out to Dr. Zdenka Guadarrama Brandt (parent) and Anne Marie Haman (Rockhurst student) for organizing the partnership between AL and Rockhurst University to make this event possible. We would also like to thank Diane Balagna, office manager at Cherry, for taking care of so many details on the school end.  

This event was a great example of the learning opportunities we create when we get staff, community, and parent stakeholders together. 

Have a great weekend!

Madame Royce

K-3 Principal

In This Edition: 

 

Please note that this week's newsletter is long and you may not see all articles displayed in your mailbox. Use any of the links below to be taken directly to the article you wish to read. 

• Middle School NWEA schedule
• Title I meeting notice
• From the classroom: 8th graders at the theater
• Re-enrollment information
• 7th grade dance
• Painless fundraising: it's that time again!
• Perseverance at Oak
• Host families needed for 17-18 interns
• IB: community project exhibition
• French reading for summer break
• Oak journée culturelle
• AL's progressive dinner is back
• EiP: don't mask your passion for AL
• EiP: thank you!
• Sports: AL track and field kicks into high gear
• AL in the community: his goal: making people smile
• Advertising:
• ER of Brookside
• Brookside Real Estate Company

calendar

Upcoming Events

INFO SHARING

Middle School NWEA Schedule

Attention Middle School Parents! Next week, your child(ren) will be taking the NWEA test. Please, make sure they come to school well-rested and have a good breakfast so they are in tip-top shape to learn and test. 

INFO SHARING

Title I Meeting Notice

This year's Title I Annual Meeting and Parent Meeting are once again combined, as we will need to revise our three-year Title I Plan to comply with the new ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) legislation. We would like everyone's participation so we can include your ideas and suggestions in this process. This year's combined meeting will be held on Thursday, April 6th from 5:30 to 7:00 pm at the Oak Campus in the Library. Click here to read the entire letter. 

from the classroom

8th Graders At The Theater

Last week, the 8th grade class had the privilege to see the first performance of "A Raisin In The Sun" at the Kansas City Repertory Theater. Thanks to the assistance of Melinda McCrary and Lydia Fuqua, our students were able to get a much-reduced price on their front row seats.

 

The students were so impressed with every single component of the play: the set, costumes, sound quality, music, lighting, and obviously the performances. Many students commented later that because they saw the live performance, they had much different interpretations of the play, particularly the humor and desperation of the first few scenes. 

 

We also had about 15 of our 53 students stay behind for a question and answer session, even though they were starving (it was a three-hour performance). I was so pleased with the depth of the questions they asked and the thoughtfulness of the responses provided by the actors. Justin Ellington, Brianna Woods, Donovan Woods, and Walter Coppage also all stuck around after the Q & A to let us pepper them with more questions. The actors' and soundman's perspectives on the performance and being involved in theater were quite insightful for our young scholars and actors. 

 

The students then had lunch at the area restaurants near 51st and Oak. Several restaurant owners commented on how well-mannered and courteous our children were. When we went to QuikTrip later, even the staff at QT were amazed at how orderly our students went in and out purchasing their treats while at the same time being respectful of other patrons. We sometimes forget how unique our student population is in comparison with other schools. We capped it all off with a journal entry reflecting on the performance and the value of field trips.

 

Thank you to all of the seven parent chaperones who assisted Ms. Hynes and myself that day. We could not have done it without you. Thank you to our colleagues for allowing us to take the children out of school for the day. Most importantly, thank you to the 8th graders for continuing to represent Académie Lafayette so well. I would encourage all families to find the time to see "A Raisin In The Sun" in the next two weeks. There is definitely some adult material in the play, but the themes are particularly resonant in 2017. In short, it is a masterpiece that continues to have an impact on all who are exposed to this work of art.

 

Patrick Sprehe

INFO SHARING

Re-Enrollment Information

More information about the summer school and 2017-2018 school year enrollment will be sent out by the middle of April. Please watch this newsletter and your email for the link that will be sent out in the next few weeks. 

INFO SHARING

7th Grade Dance

The 7th grade will have a dance on  Friday, April 14th  from  7:00 pm to 9:30 pm  at the Cherry campus. This is a formal affair, so students are invited to wear something fancy. Casual wear is also welcome. The cost is $10/student and the visiting French students will be admitted free.

painless fundraising

It's That Time Again

The Painless Fundraising Committee will be collecting labels at the end of April so please send in all Box Tops, Best Choice (including Clearly Organic) and Tyson A+ labels to your teachers. Please be sure to label your baggie with your teacher's name so that your class gets credit. If you have a lot of labels, it would speed up counting 

if you could separate them into different baggies by label type. The class with the most labels will win an ice cream social at the end of the school year! This is an ongoing program so please continue collecting throughout the year.

If you are interested in helping us count on Sunday, May 7th, or have questions about the painless fundraising program, please contact Lynne Yarnevich at lynneporthouse@hotmail.com.

From the counselor

Perseverance At Oak

At Oak campus we celebrated Character and Athletic Achievements this month. Coach Thomas and Coach Mamadou honored both the Middle School girls' and boys' basketball players for their fantastic efforts and sportsmanship. Coach Thomas gave his 8th grade boys a memorable send off after coaching the middle school team for over 10 years! Coach Mamadou presented the Girls team with their season champion and season tournament champion trophies. Thank you for all the time you have given to the team, Coach Langle, Coach Thomas, Coach Coleman, Coach Nicholson, Coach Schoop, Coach Djiba and Coach Mamadou. Congratulations to all the players on a great season!

We continued our assembly with student talents and student achievements in character. Our trait this month was Self Control. Self Control is very important during this time of the year when "Spring fever" starts to take over! Congratulations to all the students who have showed extra efforts in having self control and self discipline.

INFO SHARING

Host Families Needed For 17-18 Interns 

Would you like to  host an intern next year? Our interns are native French speakers and interested in a career in education. They work in Kindergarten classrooms and live with  host  families in the community. For a semester or a school year, host f amilies provide the intern a private room, shared bathroom, and meals when you are together as a  family.  

It's a great way for your children to practice their French at home! 

Questions? Interested? Contact Diane Balagna at  dbalagna@academielafayette.org .

INFO SHARING

Community Project Exhibition 

As part of the International Baccalaureate program in the middle school, students in 8th grade have been working hard all year to complete student-designed community service projects. 

In September, students were asked to identify a need within the community and then, throughout the year, they worked with a teacher-advisor to create a way to address the need. We will be proudly showcasing this hard work at an expo on  Friday, April 14th from  2:30 - 3:30 at the Oak campus. If you would like to learn more about the community project, please join us at this time. Our 8th graders will be happy to show you their work and to answer questions for you about the process. (All 7th grade students will attend the expo with their homeroom teachers as they begin to think about the project for next year.)

Some of the projects this year include the following:

• working with local restaurants to collect excess food and then delivering it to a hospice community
• volunteering at local animal shelters
• an awareness campaign on understanding autism
• spending time playing cards with residents of nursing homes
• product drives for children in need

INFO SHARING

French Reading For Summer Break!

L'école des Loisirs  is  offering the MAX book club for summer: i nstead of getting one book every month, subscribe now and receive 8 new French books altogether before the summer break! With your subscription, your student can now listen to the books online when you create an account with Ecole des Loisirs. Through the school, you'll enjoy a group discount rate, and for every 12 subscriptions made through Académie Lafayette, the school receives a free subscription, too!  DEADLINE for the summer subscription: April 25th

 

Explore the eight different sets of books, leveled for kids ages 0-16+ at the English Ecole des Loisirs website. (Note that the levels are designed for French kids, so you may consider going down a level.)

Subscribe directly online at www.regroupmax.com/en:

1. Click the "Reduced rate subscription." Enter your student's last name ("subscriber family name"), first name ("subscriber first name"), Académie Lafayette in the "name of group location" field, your student's grade and teacher, and the OAK street campus zip code - 64113. Click continue...
2. Select which book set you would like; be sure to select the USD price (not the Euro price). Click "Add this subscription to my order," you will then have the option to "add another subscription", if you want, otherwise you can continue to the next step by clicking "Approve your Order".
3. Create an account to have access to the audio versions of the books.
4. Payment through PayPal. There is a note in orange about printing out a form or filling out a form with the "subscription number," you do not need to do that; they have all the information they need!

Questions? Contact Jessica Wallace, jwallace@academielafayette.org or (816) 361-7735

from the journee culturelle committee

Oak Journée Culturelle

Dear Oak parents,

Thanks to the great response we received last year from the pilot program of Journée Culturelle, we are doing it again! The theme for this year's program is "Le sport et les traditions dans le monde", or " Sports and Cultural Traditions Around the World". 

Unlike the Winter concert, which is mandatory for students and teachers, the Spring Journée Culturelle is voluntary. Teachers are volunteering extra time to help students learn songs and dance from around the world. However, not all teachers are able to do this because of other classroom commitments.

In addition, even if your student's class is participating,  not all students will be in the performance. We understand that spring is a very busy time for some students (and their parents) with sports and other activities, so performing opportunities were offered on a volunteer-basis. 

However, even if they are not in the production, all students will participate as audience members during the daytime performance in May.

There will be a repeat performance that evening,  May 17th,  from  5:30 to 7:30  for parents. Please plan to join us!

One other thing -- please do not come to the daytime performance because of space constraints.

Thank you for your strong support of our school.

INFO SHARING

The AL Progressive Dinner Party Is Back! 

A moving party feast offering hours of epic food and spirits held at several homes in succession with a single course served at each one.  One price | food, drink, and all revelry included. Yes, it's as awesome as you're imagining.

Buy tickets here! Check out the Facebook invite here! There are a limited number available so carpe diem, folks.

INFO SHARING

Don't Mask Your Passion for AL

Help make the night a great success! Click here to volunteer! 

Also, don't forget to order your tickets for Evening in Paris on  April 29. You can purchase them at  https://eveninginpariskc.com.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

INFO SHARING

EiP: Thank You!

The EIP Committee would like you to meet some of our loyal partners. This week we want you to meet "4 Dads Cooking Shrimp". These 3 men (dads) are responsible for years of entertainment and amazing food. They have donated countless hours, sacrificed weekends of their time to cook for others, and committed themselves to our little French school like no others. John Tootle, Sean Stoy and Hugh Wooden came up with the idea of "cooking big" as an auction item eight years ago. "Let's do shrimp for 24," John said. The other two agreed, and the rest is history. 

To date these amazing men have raised over $35,000 "for the children", as Hugh likes to say. 

This year will close the door for these gentlemen, but open it for another group. John, Hugh and Sean are putting down their aprons and getting ready to pass their spatulas on to the next group of people that want to keep this great tradition alive. They have offered mentorship and equipment to the next group as well. 

A big thank you for all of your hard work, partnership, and amazing fundraising ability over the years gentlemen!

Sports

AL Track & Field Kicks Into High Gear

 

Monday, April 3 come cheer on the AL Middle School Track Team at their opening track meet. Field events start at 4:30pm at Southeast (ACE Prep) HS situated between 63rd and Meyer just west of Swope Park. The team is 64 athletes strong and ready to compete.  The team calendar is posted on the CC/Track & Field page of the AL website.

 

Our 4th-5th grade program totaling 43 young athletes started last week with their introduction to track practice basics and will focus on a different track skill each week.

 

Our 2nd-3rd grade program starts next Tuesday, April 4 at the Cherry Campus with 44 excited kids ready to run, jump and throw!

 

We have 151 student-athletes moving this spring season. Registration is now closed for all track & field programs.

 

We are thankful to our parent and student volunteers and donors for our new long and triple jump pit and our high jump training center at the Oak Campus. These are great training additions.

 

COURAGE-CLASS-COMMITMENT-CHARACTER

Championship also starts with C but it is not as important as each of these!

AL in the community

His Goal: Make People Smile  

Ryder Clay, 4th grade AL student, was recently featured in the news for once again helping others. His birthday wish: collecting toys to give to children staying at St Jude's. So far, he has collected $400 to buy them, and his birthday isn't until June! Click here to read the article on the KCTV5 website. 

Report your sightings of Académie Lafayette parents, staff, or student accomplishments to communication@academielafayette.org.  

Research Medical Center, Brookside Campus, is a proud sponsor of academie lafayette

Congratulation to our sponsor, the  ER of Brookside at 6601 Rockhill Rd , for receiving patient satisfaction scores in the top 20% of all emergency rooms nationally. In addition, they are undergoing a renovation and expansion from 11 rooms to 20 rooms. The remodel includes innovative technology in every room to further expedite the already really fast service.   

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