News & Notes July 21, 2017
What's Happening at The Academies? 



Aug 10 -- 
SVA New Student Orientation & Middle School Orientation

Aug 11 -- 
Blue Oak Orientation & Ribbon Cutting

August 16 -- First Day of 2017-18 Academic Year


SVA News
SVA Crest_gif

We are so excited to be able to spread out across our campus as the final phase of construction is completed. What does this mean for your school? We'll have our Learning Center up and running in Room 14, our Library will finally settle into it's permanent home in Room 18, and our specialists (band, art, Spanish) will have a space of their own in Room 19. Room 6 will return to it's intended function as Staff Lounge and Teacher Work Room, now with elbow room at the lunch tables, and our 5th and 6th grades will have shiny new classrooms on the east end of campus this year!

Blue Oak News
Happy Summer, Parents!
Blue Oak's opening is quickly approaching. VUSD is putting forth great efforts to have our campus ready for our First Day. Much work is underway on the landscaping and prepping for our playground equipment. We're hoping to start moving in on July 31st!
All teachers new to The Academies, along with Principal Stinson and a few returning teachers have been in Santa Barbara this week at the California Association for the Gifted's Summer Teacher Institute. They've been busy learning about the best practices for gifted education (a key part of The Academies Way!) and are ready to put what they've learned to practice in just a few short weeks.
Our  Grand Opening and Orientation will take place on  Friday, August 11 from 5:30-6:30 in the cafeteria. From 6:30-7:30, author Gary Soto will meet and greet each enrolled child with a signed book. Tacos Galacticos will be selling tacos, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting our school! If you are interested in helping us start our PTO, there will be a brief chat session at 7:30 with Sycamore Valley Academy's PTO leaders. 
We still have a few spots in second grade, so please help us by sharing the good news with neighbors and friends! If they have questions, we would be happy to join with you both at Round Table. We'll provide the pizza and answers!  Contact Principal Stinson to set up a meeting asap!
After School Program Information 

To sign up for any of The Academies after school program options, please complete this online form, and one of our program staff will be in touch with you soon. 

Returning families, please note that we are changing our billing and payment system. At the end of this month, your Jackrabbit account will no longer be active. Please pay any outstanding fees by July 31. Thank you! 

Our program fees are on a sliding scale based on income and family size. Fee reduction is available to families who qualify upon request and verification. You must complete the application for Free and Reduced Lunch to qualify (will be sent home on the first day of school).

SLIDING SCALE 


PREPAYMENT DISCOUNT
We offer a 20% discount on fees paid in advance. You can pay in advance in two ways:

1. If you know you will need care on specific days or a specific number of days per week, sign  up for the flat fee plan that suits your needs and set up automatic monthly payments from your  checking account. View all Flat Fee Plans on our websites.

2. If you will need only occasional drop-in care, make a deposit to your account and your fees  will be deducted at the discounted rate. See daily program fees on our websites. 

If you have questions about our programs at any time, please email [email protected] or call the school office to leave a message for the After School Program Coordinator, Elyse Reveles.

Sycamore Valley Academy Office- (559) 622-3236
Blue Oak Academy Office- (559) 730-7422
Orientation Information 

To help you and your child get acquainted with our unique program, our campuses and our staff, we will host an Orientation Night for each of The Academies Charter Schools. 

Orientation is recommended for families new to our schools, families who joined us mid year or were otherwise unable to attend Orientation previously, and anyone else who wants to meet new staff or ask questions before the first day of school. After School Program staff will be available to answer your questions and complete registration. 

Sycamore Valley 
New Student Orientation 
SVA Cafeteria
August 10
6:00-7:00PM

**New this year** 
MANDATORY Middle School Orientation
Immediately following New Student Orientation
August 10
7:00-8:00PM 

Blue Oak 
BOA Cafeteria
August 11
5:30-6:30 - Orientation
6:30-7:30 - Meet and Greet with author Gary Soto
7:30-8:00 - PTO Planning Chat with SVA PTO Leaders


school-bus.jpg

Sycamore Valley Bus Signup 

For the convenience of our families, SVA has contracted with Visalia Unified School District (VUSD)to provide bus transportation to the SVA campus. 

SVA and The Academies Board of Directors have chosen to invest in transportation service in order to ensure equitable community access to our school. 

Seats on the buses are limited and are assigned on a first come, first served basis. In the event that there are more rider applications than available seats, preference will be given first to students who qualify for free and reduced price lunch. Second priority will be given to students who will ride the bus daily. Remaining seats will be filled based on the order applications were received.

ALL bus riders and their parents must attend a MANDATORY transportation meeting during our Back to School Night. More details will be shared in News & Notes as the date approaches. 

Families in need of transportation to SVA may submit a 2017-18 Transportation Request Form by clicking here.
#blueoakswag #svaswag

Whether you travel near or far, take a picture of your child (or yourself!) in their school swag, tag Blue Oak Academy and Sycamore Valley Academy and add the message #blueoakswag and #(location of where photo was taken). This will be so much fun to see all the different places our swag visits! 

Check out our staffers at #CAGsantabarbara in their
#blueoakswag and #svaswag. 
Camp Invention Summer Fun at SVA

Mr. and Mrs. Padilla led Camp Invention at Sycamore Valley Academy this week. Students had loads of science-y summer fun. Take a look!





Substitute Teachers Needed 
The Academies Charters have an experienced and dedicated teaching staff, but we are always looking to expand our sub list. 

If you or someone you know has the desire to be a substitute teacher at our amazing school, has a bachelor's degree, has passed the CBEST, and is willing to get a substitute credential and fingerprint clearance we would love to grow our team.  

Substitute Instructional Aides Needed 
The Academies Aide Subs minimum requirements are a high school diploma and fingerprint clearance. 

If you are interested please email Shauna Dolin at   sdolin@sycamorevalleyacademy.org. 


Next PTO Meeting

August (date TBD)
6:00PM
Round Table Pizza 
4035 S. Mooney Blvd. 
Community Events
 


The Academies CMO| 559.622-3236 | theacademiescharters.org
DONATE