December Updates
Dear Wonderful Families,

It is with such joy that we come together to celebrate the holidays through the performances of our children. Yesterday we shared our holiday concert performed by our Grades 1-5 Elementary students with support from specialty Middle Schoolers groups. It was entertaining, superbly performed and just plain fantastic seasonal fun!!  We commend our staff for finding ways to bring out the incredible diverse talents of our students, and we applaud our students for a job well done. As we continue through the holidays we will find our Preschool Winter Pageant on the other side of the New Year and will share with those families the pride we shared with all of you on Thursday! We thank all of the families for joining us and for sharing your wonderful children with us! We hope that however you experience the holidays this program brought out seasonal joy for you!! Click here for pictures of this festive event!

On a side note, the NAEYC validators will be on-site Monday and Tuesday performing their re-accreditation visit (we have been accredited for 34 years…Where does the time go??) on our World Academy. Please share with them the joy of being a part of our World Academy family if you happen to run into them. We are always ready...it will just be nice to get this one done!!

Warm regards,
Kathy and Lisa for all of us
President and Head of School  
Thank you to the families who already have donated matched gifts to our 40 for 40 to kick off our #Giving Tuesday campaign!!
Join us by giving  40 for World Academy’s 40th Anniversary! This year,  the World Academy Alumni Association is celebrating the 40th year anniversary of the founding of World Academy by participating in a donation drive! Since 1980, the school has educated and nurtured over 20,000 students, and we would like to honor that accomplishment by paying tribute to the students, teachers, alumni and special memories from our “World!”

We are aiming to celebrate this incredible 40-year legacy by attaining 40 gifts in honor of the 40 years of excellence.  Please consider donating a gift of any amount to the WA Alumni Association by the end of Tuesday, January 7, 2020 (the first week of the 40th anniversary year!) . All gifts designated to the  “40 for 40” will go directly to the WA Alumni Association’s Scholarship Fund to support a quality World Academy education to even more deserving students. Please consider this tax-deductible donation in honor of your wise investment in your child’s education as it will allow us to offer more quality, deserving students a chance to have a positive impact on your child’s “World!”.  

Gifts can be donations of any denomination given in honor of a special current student, alumni, special teacher and/or special memory. If your company will match your donation, you will be doubling the good your gift will bring! We are grateful to announce that some of the companies that have shared our ‘World’ over the years have also offered to match individual donations as well. Please see the different levels of donations below and let us know how we can support your matching funds.

All  “40 for 40”  donors and honorees, unless designation of anonymous is preferred, will receive personal recognition in our special edition of  Coordinates that will highlight this banner year at World Academy. We thank you so much for the opportunity to celebrate our World Academy’s 40th Anniversary in this impactful way and to share our pride in the joy of what happens in our “World” every day!

Warmly,
The World Academy Alumni Association
in cooperation with the Administrative Leadership Team of World Academy

Upcoming Events and Important Dates
Current and Upcoming Week's Events
Friday, December 13th 
  • All Giving Tree Gifts Due by this date! 
  • Staff Appreciation Breakfast - See below for details!
  • Sarit Itenberg & Miri Shpindler visit Grade 3 for Hanukkah
  • Krysta Arabudzki visit Pre3-2 to present on Polish holiday traditions
  • Basketball Game at Litchfield 
  • Boys 3:30pm
  • Girls 5:00pm
  • RIZE IQ Meet (location TBD) 6:00-8:00pm
  • Monday, December 16th 
  • Grades 2-8 Lunch Program Order Forms due for January 
  • Basketball Game vs. Deering 
  • Girls 3:30pm
  • Boys 5:00pm
  • Wednesday, December 18th 
  • Coffee and Conversations 8:00-8:45am
  • Recognition & Award Assembly 8:45am - Mrs. Spaulding’s Kindergarten performs about Responsibility 
  • Class Robotics: Grade 2
  • Thursday, December 19th 
  • Grade 2 Wax Museum in Entrance Hall 1:00-2:00pm 
  • Basketball Game at Sanborn 
  • Boys 3:30pm
  • Girls 5:00pm
  • School Community & Leadership Club 2:45-3:45pm
  • Friday, December 20th 
  • Classroom Spelling Bees at 9:15am, Final Round at 1:30pm

Upcoming Important Date Reminders
  • There will be no Dance, Karate or Drama for the weeks of December 23rd and December 30th.
  • Monday, December 23rd
  • Classes as usual!
  • Tuesday, December 24th-Friday, December 27th 
  • World Academy CLOSED In Observance of Christmas 
  • Monday, December 30th and Tuesday, December 31st
  • Vacation Program for Elementary/Middle School - No Classes 
  • Infants through EK in session as normal
  • Wednesday, January 1st, 2020
  • World Academy CLOSED In Observance of New Year's Day
  • Thursday, January 2nd
  • K-8 Classes resume
Thanks Yous, Congratulations & Welcomes
A HUGE thank you to our wonderful PTO for the FABULOUS Staff Appreciation Breakfast this morning!! What a beautiful, delicious spread!! Thank you to all those who donated and volunteered their time. We truly appreciated it!
Check out how wonderfully generous our World Academy community is!! Thank you to all those who participated in our Giving Tree to bring holiday cheer to the families and animals supported by this effort.
A special thank you to Sarit Itenberg, and Miri Shpindler for volunteering to come in to speak to our students about their Hanukkah celebrations and to Krysta Arabudzki for coming to speak about Polish Christmas traditions! We are also incredibly grateful to all our volunteers who have supported the teachers with the holiday celebrations and activities going on at all levels!

Welcome back to some of our summer helpers, Cora Thibeault and Kendall Liggett, for returning on their college breaks to support our staff, and to our Advisory Board member and past administrator, Martha Maye who has returned to support us with the value of her consistent knowledge and talents!! Thanks, Martha!
Recognitions, Updates & Reminders
Our school is being highlighted in many periodicals these days for its valued programs, staff and innovation. Keep an eye out for these wonderful reviews!
REMINDER
With the winter comes snow and unpleasant driving conditions.  It is VERY IMPORTANT that you be more vigilant and patient than ever in our parking lots where children are everywhere. Please drive like your child is there...because he/she IS at some point every day! Thank you for supporting our safe campus!
It's BEE Season!
On Friday, December 20th, each grade level from Grades 1-8 will hold their own grade-specific Spelling Bee in the morning until there is one winner for each grade. These grade-level winners will compete in the World Academy formal Spelling Bee which will be held in the Gymnasium that day at 1:30pm. Parents of winning participants will be notified as soon as grade-level winners are determined in case they wish to attend. Click here for the study list of words for each grade level!

Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions to Mr. Kilgour at
Vacation Program Sign-Ups
Our Vacation Program is a safe and fun option available to any Kindergarten through Grade 8 student (even those who do not regularly attend World Academy). This program supplements the days outside of the school calendar so a separate daily rate applies. In order for us to properly staff our programs, advanced sign-up is required for the days your child will attend, and there will not be any refunds for unused days. Space is limited and will be filled on a first come/first served basis. Registration will close one week prior to the vacation day or once the spaces are filled.
 
Don't forget to sign up for the Holiday Break Vacation Days on December 30th & 31st! Please note: World Academy has a regular school day on Monday, December 23rd. There is NOT a Vacation Program option for that day. Registration for February and April vacation weeks will be sent out in January. 
  • Click here for the sign-up for Kindergarten Vacation Program
  • Click here for the sign-up for the Grades 1-8 Vacation Program
Master Builders for Grades 3 & 4
Master Builders Session 3 for Grades 5 and 6 will be starting up next month!  Click here to sign up!
Check out the great in-class Robotics session from this week, where our Grade 3 students worked with gears to build and program a claw that could capture and release different items!
NorthStar Nation
Our NorthStars Girls and Boys Basketball Teams won their games on Monday, and they split against the defending champions Bow…Boys won and the Girls narrowly lost. A great effort by both teams!! Both teams will be at home on Monday against Deering, and will conclude next week in Sanborn. Go, NorthStars!! Thank you to our wonderful fans and Spirit Squad for keeping up the great energy at our home games!
World Academy Celebrates
Computer Science Education Week
We live in a world surrounded by technology, and we know that whatever field our students choose to go into as adults, their ability to succeed will increasingly depend on understanding how technology works. Only a tiny fraction of us are learning how technology works, and fewer than half of all schools teach computer science. That’s why World Academy is joining in on the largest learning event in history: The Hour of Code, during Computer Science Education Week (December 9th - 13th). More than 100 million students worldwide have already tried an Hour of Code. Throughout the week our students, Kindergarten through Eighth Grade, teamed up, explored coding, and expanded their knowledge. Our Hour of Code is making a statement that World Academy is exposing our students to the foundational 21st century skills and more critical thinking opportunities. 
During the Hour of Code on Monday, students from Kindergarten to Grade 8 were paired up across grade levels and engaged in an intellectually satisfying experience where they explored a variety of coding activities that nurtured their creativity and problem solving skills. The upper grade level students mentored the younger kids exposing them to the idea of coding on the digital platform. Besides the collaborative activity, students also completed a few coding activities including unplugged coding in their individual classrooms with their teachers throughout the week. Students had fun while coding and playing, and strengthening their higher level thinking skills. 
Mrs. Seguin & Mrs. Spaulding’s Kindergarten classes teamed up to complete a coding activity in conjunction with their current gingerbread unit. After learning the basics of coding with Middle School students on Monday, the Kindergarten students practiced coding on their own. This included following predetermined codes to follow directions such as up, down, left and right. After, students worked with a partner to create their own code in order to get from start to the gingerbread man. Some students were on a quest to find the most direct route while others enjoyed using additional steps to create a longer algorithm. 
Mrs. Tully's Kindergarten worked on coding skills using “Happy Maps”, where the students followed mazes, learned about debugging, and learned what an algorithm is! The class also worked with the Seventh Graders on www.code.org to sequence coding puzzles.
The First Graders started their day by learning about what coding is from a short video that helped the students understand the impact it has in their world, such as video games and remote controls. To help the students grasp this abstract concept, Mrs. Tucker and Mrs. Guidoboni made a grid on the ground with tape and placed items inside the grid. The students along side of the grid were the "computer programmers" who were responsible for writing one line of code to move a person ("the computer") in the grid one space to eventually retrieve the object. As the students called out their direction, one of the teachers would write the line of code on a board so the students could understand what the code looked like. This exercise helped the students understand that computers cannot think for themselves and must follow the directions exactly as they are given (which was also a great listening exercise!). This group activity helped the students work independently on coding an emoji from start to finish using a color code.
The Second Graders were paired up and used Root: The Coding Robot. They gave Root directions so he would land at the end space. While the pairs were waiting their turn to use Root, they worked with their partner to “Crack the Code” and get their snowman safely to the mountain. This was a tricky task because they had to avoid dangers along the way, like the fireplace. 
Mrs. Novak’s Third Graders did a coding activity with ELA connections to storytelling by programming an animated story about a hero using a program through Scholastic. They also collaborated with the Fourth Graders in the Middle School!
Our Fourth Grade students worked on a variety of different coding activities, such as Dance Party, Minecraft, and Star Wars. Dance Party was a particularly popular activity, where the students had a blast writing code to enable their character to move a given way. They then had the opportunity to share their expertise with the Second and Third Grade students during collaborative coding time. 
Miss Hill’s Third Graders worked with a partner on Code.org in the "Infinity Play Lab" solving missions with Disney Infinity Characters, and then joined Miss Bishop’s Fifth Graders in the Middle School Core to explore the game “Imagine a World” in teams. Mrs. St. Lawrence's Fifth Graders collaborated with the Second Grade for some fun coding games!
Our Sixth Graders worked on different coding activities to build their linear thinking skills. They worked on using different coding languages and declarative coding types. Dance Party, Basketball, and Minecraft were popular options. During a collaborative approach, the students partnered with Mrs. Guidoboni’s First Grade to work on Dance Party and Minecraft activities, with the older kids explaining the type of coding happening. Lots of fun and dancing were seen all around the classroom!
In addition to their collaborations with the younger grades, the Seventh and Eighth Graders enjoyed coding games such as CodeCombat, Minecraft Voyage Aquatic, Dance Party, Hero’s Journey, and Gumball’s Coding Adventure.
Seen Around Our 'World'
We love to know what our students and families are up to outside of school! If you have something you would like to share, please don't hesitate to share it with us! Click here to email us your photos with details for us to post! We especially love to hear (and brag!) about student accomplishments outside of school! We love sharing ALL about each of our students!
What a fantastic Holiday Concert!! Congratulations to all our performers, Mrs. Collins, Mrs. Kirk, and all the teachers who helped support the students with this beautiful performance! Thank you to Mrs. Sankar, Sam Wingate and Erik Congdon for your support and to Mrs. Iannone for a beautiful job with the art work and decorations. Our students are so very talented, and it all was beautifully highlighted! There are so many pictures that we have compiled an album for you to view by clicking here! For those who missed it, the entire concert was live-streamed on our Facebook page and can be viewed by clicking here!
Our First Graders had a blast at the See Science Center in Manchester last week! Students made silly putty in a science lab and were able to explore all the hands-on exhibits!
We have been in the holiday spirit across all levels here at World Academy! Check out these sweet pictures of our students in Toddlers and Kindergarten making gingerbread houses, our Emergent K's Polar Express and Gingerbread Days, and Mrs. Arabudzki's Preschool Threes presentation on Poland, where she brought a book with pictures, a Polish flag and salt ornaments for the children to paint! The FIrst and Third Graders enjoyed learning the story of Hanukkah, playing the dreidel game, and receiving a special treat of their own from Mrs. Itenberg and Mrs. Shpindler! We love to share the holiday season around our 'World'!
The Sixth Graders held the Science Fair this week in our Entrance Hall to present their space projects! Students were tasked with not only presenting about their topic, but to come up with a means of surviving in the atmosphere in that location! We are always so impressed by the in-depth critical thinking that our students use in these assignments!
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