YOUNG SCHOLARS OF
GREATER ALLEGHENY
CHARTER SCHOOL
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News and Events
that you don't want to miss!
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Fall Festival
On November 22 and November 23, YSGA’s School Events Committee planned a Fall Festival for all of our scholars to attend. Students conducted taste testing, participated in relay races, and made some beautiful crafts! Fun was had by both the students and the staff!
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Parent-Teacher Conferences |
YSGA’s first round of Parent-Teacher Conferences was held on November 11. We want to give a special shout-out and say thank you to those parents who attended the conferences and met with their scholar’s teachers. The more we work together, the more your scholar will succeed! Remember that participation in parent-teacher conferences is a requirement and that for each mandatory event parents attend, they are entered into a contest that will be conducted at the end of the school year. |
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Since our last newsletter, the field trip fun has continued! Our 5th-grade class traveled to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, where they learned more about the Native American tribes they have been discussing in Social Studies class. Our 4th graders went to the Pittsburgh Zoo to see the animals their ecosystems, which has been their focus in science class! Finally, our 2nd and 3rd graders went to the Carnegie Sports Works and Science Center to explore and have some fun! |
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Discipline Office & Student Services Corner |
Greetings to YSGA Families and Friends,
As the year 2021 is winding down, we are thankful to have celebrated victories and weathered the challenges we faced together as a school community. Taking a look back, YSGA started the 2020-21 school year remotely. In February, we moved to our new location at 10 Center Street. March kicked off our Hybrid Learning model which we welcomed staff and scholars into the building for in-person instruction since the pandemic. June was a time to celebrate the accomplishments of our kindergarten and eighth-grade scholars. Then came August, and finally, we were able to start a new school year fully in person, in a new space with a new uniform look; only to be faced with transportation issues and shortages of drivers throughout many districts. Parents and guardians have supported YSGA through it all and we are grateful. Your patience and dedication is unmatched. As we embark upon a new year 2022, we want to keep our best foot forward. All scholars are expected to be in complete uniform- grey shirts with khaki, black or navy trousers.(Blue shirts are of the past.) Mask worn at all times keeps everyone safe. Scholars being present and on time for school each day sets them up for success. Let’s start the year off great!
Stay safe and be well!
Wishing you and your family a wonderful and joyous season!
Kelli Humphries
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HELLO YOUNG SCHOLAR FAMILY!
Did you know that in the month of December there is a National Hand Washing Awareness Week? There is!, Dec. 1st-7th. Here is a quick reminder from the CDC on how to decrease the spread of germs.
Follow these five steps every time.
- Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.
- Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
- Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice.
- Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
- Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.
Also, there is a National Influenza Vaccination Week, Dec. 6th-12th.
The week is to remind all 6 months and older to get their annual flu vaccine if they have not already. Flu remains a significant public health concern. There is still time to get a flu shot. It is the only vaccine that protects against flu-to prevent flu illness and potentially serious complications. Protect yourself and your loved ones.
Yours in health,
Nikki Scrabis CSN
412-673-7300 x 216
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Dear YSGA Families,
Happy December! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving break. In this month's Counseling Corner, I am going to go over some ways to Help Children Better Communicate Their Feelings. Always know that I am available anytime if you have any questions or concerns. You can reach me by email (Kielbasa@ysga.org) or by phone (412-673-7300).
Help Children Better Communicate Their Feelings
For any developing child, communication with adults and other children may prove difficult at first. Although we all learn how to communicate our feelings over time, children need special attention and care in this process. Because their vocabularies and sense of self are expanding every day, it’s important to help them down this, particularly challenging path. Without guidance, a child can often feel helpless and be more prone to angry or frustrated outbursts. To instill communication and friendship between you and your child, there are a number of things you should consider first.
Keep Communication Positive
Parents can be a great source of encouragement for children. It can be a real challenge to always maintain positive communication! When children do something wrong, they are more likely to grow upset if you respond with anger or frustration. No child is born inherently bad-tempered or rebellious; they pick up on the behaviors and mannerisms of the people around them.
Sometimes, It’s About Honesty
When you’re open and willing to talk with your child on their level, they will be more likely to do the same with you. Children respond best to positive cues and encouragement, so keep that in mind when you’re developing your child’s unique communication skills.
Tips to Remember
- Always remain calm and assertive when communicating with your child, even in stressful situations
- Refrain from talking down to your child in any way that might make them feel belittling. Put yourself on their level (physically and mentally) and help them see the error of their ways.
Lauren Kielbasa
Phone: (412) 673-7300, ext. 121
We want to ensure our families are being helped and supported in their time of need!
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Curriculum Instruction Corner
Hello everyone! As we continue throughout the first part of our school year, I want to continue to discuss fluency and ways we can help our students become fluent at home. This month the focus is Reading fluency and phonics. Phonics is a key skill to help students become strong readers. Phonics is making the connection between letters and their sounds. For our younger students, it is understanding the sound that a T makes. For our older students, it is understanding that the letters T-E-R-R-I-F-I-C make the word terrific. In our K-2 classrooms, the teachers use a program called Reading Mastery. This program focuses on letter-sound connections and progresses from identifying letter sounds to reading words to sentences. In our 3-6 classrooms, the teachers focus on helping students see patterns, which is called structural analysis. Many of our students who struggle with reading struggle with letter-sound correspondence. Here are some ways that you can help!!
Kindergarten to Second Grade
- Identifying Letters – Telling your child a letter name and asking them to write it or identify it (you can use magnetic letters, create your own letters using construction paper, etc.). The first step is knowing your letters. If you see your child struggling with certain letters, you can practice with them.
- Tracing or Writing Letters or Words – If you have a Ziploc bag and hair gel, you can put the gel in a bag, seal it, and tape the end. Your child will enjoy tracing letters or words.
- Identifying Sounds –Telling your child a letter sound and asking them to write it or identify it (you can use magnetic letters, create your own letters using construction paper, etc.).
Third to Sixth Grade
- Looking for Word Patterns – There are 37 rimes (word chunks) that make up 500 words. If your child knows AT, there are a ton of words they can identify. AT makes up CAT, CATCH, BATTER, and PATTERN. Practicing rimes (at, ate, an, ike, etc.) can help your child become a stronger reader.
- Suffixes and Prefixes – There are hundreds of words that have suffixes (end of the word) and prefixes (beginning of the word). For example, the word pre- means before. If I ask students to pre-read their textbook, it means to read it before. Learning prefixes (re-, un-, under-, etc.) and suffixes (-ing, -s, -ful, etc.) can help students figure out words.
- Base Words – If students are learning suffixes and prefixes, they will also need to know the base word. For the word disagreeing, students need to know that dis- means not, agree means to have the same opinion, and –ing in this moment. Disagreeing means that I do not have the same opinion as you right now.
These are just a few helpful hints that can help your child become a strong reader. Enjoy practicing with your student!
Curriculum & Instruction
Ms. Long
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Dear Young Scholars Families,
Enrollment season is upon us. If you are interested in registering a sibling or a new student for the 2022 - 2023 school year, please fill out an online application at ysga.org. You do not need to fill out an application for returning students, they will receive a separate form in January. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Akarsu - info@ysga.org.
We would like to share the new YSGA commercial video with you. Click here to access and enjoy it.
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Saturday Academy
Come join our Saturday Academy! Saturday Academy is designed for students in the 3rd - 8th grade wishing to further build their Reading, Writing, and Math skills in order to get ahead in school and perform well on the state PSSA tests! Students will work in small groups with teachers to complete activities that will help them improve their skills.
Saturday Academy takes place on Saturday mornings from 8:30 AM - 12 PM. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.
The following dates will be used:
- Saturday, January 22, 2022
- Saturday, January 29, 2022
- Saturday, February 5, 2022
- Saturday, February 12, 2022
- Saturday, February 19, 2022, OFF-DAY
- Saturday, February 26, 2022
- Saturday, March 5, 2022
- Saturday, March 12, 2022
- Saturday, March 19, 2022
- Saturday, March 26, 2022
- Saturday, April 2, 2022
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Honor Roll Ceremony
YSGA hosted the first Honor Roll Ceremony for students who received Honor Roll and Scholar’s List for the first quarter of school. Students and their guests were invited to YSGA to celebrate their scholar’s success and have a small breakfast. We are proud of all of our Honor Roll and Scholar’s List students, and we are looking forward to seeing even more students make the list in January!
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STEAM Week
During the week of November 8th-12th, our students were able to participate in various activities in the classroom, around the school, and at home related to STEAM. STEAM is an approach to learning that encourages our students to explore and practice skills in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics. Some of the activities in our building had our 4th-5th graders take a closer look at genetics and why they have the traits they do, our 6-8th graders explored diseases at the microscopic level and created an art piece to represent the hidden beauty in our cells, our 2-3rd graders were able to step back in time and explore the layers of the earth and the hidden secrets that are below our feet, and our K-1st graders were able to take a visit to space and learn about the planets in our solar system. In the classroom, the 4th graders designed a habitat for an animal they have been researching, our 5th graders designed a house that used renewable energy, the 6th graders stepped into the world of geology to make crystals, the 7th graders built an eco-column that supported 5 guppies, and the 8th graders explored, designed, and built roller coasters. Our students are exploring their curiosities while developing skills that will take them beyond the classroom.
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Extended Day Enrichment is excited to announce that we have over 60 students participating in activities ranging from self-defense to photography to step team. Our Newspaper, The WORD recently published its second edition. This edition showcases our students' hard work over the last 4 weeks. Please keep an eye out in your scholar’s bag or on our Facebook/Instagram page. We can’t wait to see what’s next. |
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Winter Concert
YSGA is excited to bring you our Winter Concert! Due to high COVID transmission rates, our Winter Concert will be taking place in a virtual setting. Students will perform their songs at school, and we will record them and share them with families. There will be no live event. Our students have been working very hard on learning their songs, so we hope you all enjoy the videos that will be shared! We are hoping to have an in-person Spring Concert in 2022.
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Pick-up and Drop-off Route |
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Open House: December 7 - 5.30 pm-6.30 pm
Half-Day: December 23
Winter Break: December 24 - 31
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