ACES Academy Newsletter

As August has slipped away and September has arrived, we look forward to all this month has to bring. We will celebrate our first career day and parent involvement event this month. (See information below) ACESA will also host our first parent advisory committee meeting on Sept 12 from 5-6 pm. We will be discussing and sharing information on the 3rd-grade promotion law as well as information on instructional resources available for all students K-4th.

Our staff would also like to say thank you to all of our families for helping us as we navigate our morning and afternoon car rider lines. As the morning car rider transition is improving, we must stay consistent. We request that all car riders arrive by 7:35 AM at the latest. If you arrive and no adult is available to greet your child or assist with exiting the car, please pull around to the front office and sign them in. Students are tardy after 7:45 am. If your student eats breakfast, please arrive by 7:15 am to allow for plenty of time.

Our 2024-2025 Parent and Student Handbook is now available. The handbook is a guide to our district’s practices, guidelines, and procedures. The handbook is available on our website by clicking here. If you are not able to view the handbook via this newsletter, printed copies will be available upon request at your child’s school. Each family must read through the handbook before signing, dating, and returning the acknowledgment form to their child’s school. The acknowledgment form is the last page in the handbook. Please sign one form for each student in your household. If you have any questions regarding the handbook, please contact your child’s school.

STEM Career #1: find those overalls and gardening clothes, farmer day is coming up this week on Wednesday, September 4th!

Congratulations! William Peden is the August STEM Student of the Month. He is always excited to learn and follow directions while helping out his classmates. Way to be a great STEM student!

International Dot Day is a global celebration of creativity, courage, and collaboration and is easily one of the most fun days of the year! Celebrated by both children and adults, International Dot Day is a day to connect, collaborate, and create. The day is inspired by the book The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds, which is about a teacher who encourages a student to "make her mark".

On Monday, September 16, award-winning children’s author Dawn Young will visit the ACESA Library to read her books to Pre-K, Kindergarten, First Grade and Second Grade. Order forms will be coming home this week with your child. Their book orders will go home with them on the day she visits. Happy Reading!

Our first early dismissal day of the 2024-2025 school year is Friday, September 20. Schools will dismiss at 11:45 a.m. Lunch will be served for students on this day. Teachers will participate in professional development in the afternoon.

This year, we are excited to welcome two nationally renowned speakers for our professional development session. Gerry Brooks will speak to our elementary school teachers at 1:15 p.m. in the East Cheatham Elementary School gymnasium. He is a former teacher and school administrator who turned his experiences into a successful career as a speaker, author and internet personality. Damon West will speak to our middle and high school teachers at 1 p.m. in the Harpeth High School theatre. He is a college professor, internationally known keynote speaker and a three-time Wall Street Journal bestselling author.

The 2024-2025 application for free and reduced meals is now available. It is extremely important that all families who believe their children qualify for free or reduced meals complete the application. Only one application per family is needed. If you qualified for free/reduced in the past, the application must be submitted within 30 operating days of the new year or the student will be moved from free/reduced to paying beginning September 18.

Applications can be completed online via Skyward.

Printed applications are available at each school. Applications must be submitted and approved each school year for a student to receive benefits.

Families can click here for more information, including a Frequently Asked Questions document about free and reduced-price school meals and a free and reduced-price application for the 2024-2025 school year (both in English and Spanish).

Breakfast Prices

Student (Pre-K-12): $2.00 (reduced 30 cents)

Staff: $2.75

Adult: $2.75

Lunch Prices

Student (Pre-K-12): $3.75 (reduced 40 cents)

Staff: $4.75

Adult: $4.75

Holiday, Adult: $5.00

Holiday, Student: $4.00

The 12-week Strengthening Families program will begin in September at Faith Community Church in Ashland City. The program is open to parents and youth ages 6-16. The sessions will be held on Mondays from 5-7 p.m. from September 9 to December 2. Families share a meal together and then break into groups to learn specific skills such as conflict resolution; how to discuss difficult topics such as drugs, peer pressure, etc.; and how to develop speaking and listening skills.

At the end of the program, a printed copy of the family mission statement is presented to each family during a closing graduation ceremony. Strengthening Families is an evidence-based program recognized by the Tennessee court system and Department of Children Services. Check out the graphic for additional information and how to enroll in the program.

We have updated our grading procedures for the 2024-2025 school year. The grading procedures will form a foundation for consistent grading practices. Grades will accurately communicate what students have learned, and each student will be an active participant in learning and assessment processes. For more information, click here.

https://www.cheathamcountyschools.net/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1293750&type=d&pREC_ID=2600886

Part of being a STEM designated school, our students get to study different STEM careers throughout the school year.

Here are our STEM-focused careers dress-up days that students can participate in this school year. #futureisSTEM

Would you or your business like to be a community partner with ACESA?

Here at ACESA our students love to learn about careers and how what they are learning in class relates to the world around them.

Community partners can help by giving guest speakers or participating in career activities.

If you are interested, please fill out the link below. We greatly appreciate it!

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=qmF0dn9znEScCOpe_cPQu0jDUb90RYxPiFivdVOC-PJUOTVJOFNXWFlRWVZZSzc1MDVEUFEwSExCRC4u

ACESA teachers, Riann Price and Shaunna Fort attended the TSIN Computer Science ILI kick off in August. They are excited to share ways to enhance our computer science instruction for our students.

Tennessee Stem Innovation Network supports the growth and quality of STEM education in Tennessee. Check out their website for more information: https://www.tsin.org/

We want to remind our families that they can pay online for just about anything school-related (such as school meals, yearbooks, daycare, club/organization events, laptops, etc.) via our RevTrak payment system. We have individual school links on the district website. To access the RevTrak system, click here.

https://cheathamcountyschools.revtrak.net/sfa-payments/#/list

We are always looking for substitute teachers! For the past few years, we have partnered with ESS, and they are responsible for recruiting, scheduling, hiring, placing, and managing all substitute teachers in the district. This year, the company is excited to announce that it has increased daily rates for both non-certified and certified substitutes so start your application today. For questions, contact Carly Moore at cmoore@ess.com, follow ESS on its Facebook page at "ESS Cheatham County, TN" or visit www.ESS.com.

Please use your students classroom communication app to contact their teacher directly or the teachers school email.

Website: https://www.ashlandcityccs.net/
Location: 108 Elizabeth Street, Ashland City, TN, USA
Phone: 615-792-4296
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ACESwilcats1/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acesa_wildcats/