Excel Academy Eagle Update

One of the primary objectives of Excel Academy's Board of Directors is to bring the Excel Academy Strategic Plan to life. To do this, we’ve created advisory action committees where we’d like to invite families and staff to participate and provide valuable input to achieve the outlined goals. A brief description of each committee is outlined below. If your skills and passion align with these committees - and you’re interested in participating, please complete this FORM by September 18.

1. Finance Committee - This committee includes Excel’s business manager and board treasurer, and it reviews the budget and makes recommendations for any needed adjustments, assesses enrollment requirements, reviews annual compensation for staff and makes recommendations to the board regarding any needed adjustments. Meeting Schedule: Virtual Meeting the Third Tuesday of the Month @ 2PM
2. School Accountability Committee - This committee reviews student achievement and culture data, helps the executive director create the annual Unified Improvement Plan (UIP) and develops the annual Parent Satisfaction Survey and Staff Satisfaction Survey. The SAC will create and maintain a dashboard to evaluate how Excel compares to other comparable schools and the district on KPIs. Meeting Schedule: Monthly - TBD
3. Technology Committee - This committee assesses technology needs of the school and makes corresponding recommendations as well as reviewing technology services contracts. This committee will assist the school in the completion of a technology inventory and master plan. Meeting Schedule: Quarterly - TBD
4. Facilities Committee - This committee includes Excel’s facilities manager and oversees building maintenance and construction. This committee will assist the school in the completion of a facilities/grounds master plan. Meeting Schedule: Meets Virtually Quarterly in the early mornings.
5. Governance Committee - The governance committee is commissioned by and responsible to the Excel Charter School Board to assume the primary responsibility for matters pertaining to Board recruitment, nominations, orientation, training, and evaluation in accordance with the school’s bylaws, as well as established policies and practices approved by the Board. The governance committee will also support the ED and staff regarding curriculum review that Excel is considering adopting. Meeting Schedule: Monthly - TDB
6. Excel Academy’s 30th Anniversary Committee - The role of the anniversary committee is to organize and host the 30th anniversary events of Excel Academy during the 2025/2026 school year. The board is looking for people passionate about helping others, creative in events organization, and willing to contribute personal time. Meeting Schedule: TBD

The Excel Academy Volunteer Board of Directors

Reminder there is NO YMCA before or after school care on Monday, September 16th as the YMCA staff have Professional Development. Click HERE for the complete list of days the YMCA will be closed for their staff Professional Development Days.

The October Menu and Order Form is ready for you to fill it out!

As always, we advise filling out the form in its entirety. Please note in order to sign up your kiddos for the first week of October, the form will need to be filled out By Sunday, September 21st! Click HERE to sign-up.

Clarification and additional information provided:

In an effort to gather your and your student's input, Jeffco has developed a strength and interest questionnaire to complete prior to setting goals. An email about how to complete this questionnaire was sent on September 3rd from Cheryl Pendelton. (subject line: GT ALP Goal Setting). We request that the questionnaires are completed in partnership with your child no later than Monday, September 16, 2024.

Click this Student Insights link and you will be taken to the family portal..

• The username and password is the same as all other Jeffco Systems which you use.
• If you need support with Student Insights login information click here

1. Once you are logged into the Student Insights portal, click on the tab that says “ALP”
2. Click on the button that says “Family Interest Questionnaire”
3. Complete and submit the survey

4. Please have this completed by September 16. (Excel's Deadline)

Thank you in advance for your support of this process. If you have any questions, please contact Danielle Kaschub (danielle.kaschub@jeffco.k12.co.us) or Paul Smales (paul.smales@jeffco.k12.co.us).

Thank you to the parents who were able to join our first evening Virtual Coffee Chat! Thanks as well to Coach Miller, Ms. Coffey, Mrs. S. Smith, Mrs. Lee, and Ms. Rothstein for joining. Here is a recap of the topics discussed:

• Bonus Learning: One parent thanked the school for ensuring plenty of options on Fridays due to the 2:15 dismissal time, and asked that offerings from outside providers also be scheduled Monday through Thursday.
• Student-Led Bonus Learning: We talked about updating and relaunching a way for students to lead after school programs for peers with the fees being applied toward their extended field studies costs. These would be led by the student but supported by their guardian in attendance to ensure adult supervision. There is talk between Mrs. Shelley Smith and Ms. Moore to coordinate these through an Entrepreneur Club to provide consistency.
• Two "Holds" Since Start of School: Addressing a concern expressed by a parent, I shared that the two "holds" were for different reasons and involving different individuals. I clarified that we go into a hold during medical emergencies in order to protect confidentiality of the individual experiencing the medical issue as well as ensure that students do not see something that could cause them distress.
• Curriculum Selection & Adoption Process: I shared that the Board Governance Committee has been tasked with developing a proposed curriculum adoption policy to add to the Board Policy Manual. Committee interest is currently being gathered, with the Board seating members at their September 24th meeting. The Governance Committee will then meet, and once a proposed policy is drafted, it will need to have two reads at two board meetings prior to a vote for the Board to adopt the policy. It's expected that the curriculum adoption policy will be in place soon enough for this year's math curriculum review.
• Welcoming Atmosphere at Arrival: A father shared gratitude for all the staff who support the morning arrival process, and that he appreciates how his children are greeted by name and how welcoming it feels to arrive at school.
• Highlighting School Communications: There was recognition of the school's efforts to include all things families need to know in the Eagle Update, and appreciation for the bold topic titles that help parents know what applies to them and what doesn't. Several also expressed that they appreciate and look forward to their teacher's periodic newsletters as well.
• Appreciation Expressed: Those on the call expressed gratitude for holding an evening virtual option for parents who are unable to attend during the school day, with consensus that once per semester is sufficient unless a major topic arises.

Our next Leadership Coffee Chat is scheduled for Wednesday, October 30th from 8:25 - 9:10 a.m. in the school cafeteria. Please join us for light breakfast and conversation. All guardians are welcome!

The library has a few projects that we could use some help with during the school day, as well as ongoing support with book searching and checkout for K-5 classes. Volunteer spots have been put in Track it Forward (currently through October), but feel free to reach out to me if you want to volunteer and those times don't work well for you. I can be reached at jblack@excel-academy.org. I appreciate your help and support of the library.

Holy smokes what a sport filled week we just had. All three teams had events, and the action was truly exciting!

Cross Country

The cross-country team competed on Sept. 11th at Majestic Park in a 1.5-mile race. The Eagles fared quite well with our own Noah Kelley being the overall winner of the boy's race. Fellow teammates Owen Tassano and William Houston both finished in the top 10! For the girls it was 5th grade mighty mite Cora Anderson leading the girls pack followed closely behind by Audrey Payne. The Eagles race again on Sept. 24th at Oakhurst Park II.

Girls Volleyball

Monday saw the Eagles at home vs Evergreen Country Day School. Things didn't go well for our squads due to a failure to be able to return serve. It was a mystery to this observer, as I have never seen this happen to our teams collectively, ever. Four games and the match was decided. B-team lost 25-1, 25-10 and the A-team lost 25-13, 25-19. There were some bright spots Sierra Makelky did a nice job serving and Isabella Ekman came up with some excellent service returns but it wasn't enough to stem the tide of the Eagles from up the hill!

Thursday night against WWA there was much more spirited play by the B- team than during the previous game this week. Returning serve was still an issue, but there were many more moments of longer rallies. WWA prevailed 25-13 and 25-5. Much like the B- team, A- team had some lengthily rallies that resulted in points but the WWA squad proved to be too much for the Eagles winning in straight sets 25-11, 25-14.

Boys Soccer

The soccer team played twice this week. Game one on Monday was a makeup game with Lincoln from a rainout the week before. Once again, the Eagles put up a respectful number of goals with six but fell short by a score of 9-6. Barrett Anderson led the charge with five goals while Eli Quenzer added another. Tuesday it was soccer again vs. Evergreen Country Day School. ECDS was a bit undermanned, so it was a nine-on-nine affair. Playing with just nine, the Eagles still put up some points. It was Andrey Bloshenko with the hot foot, tallying four of the team's seven goals. Ethan Cochran, Dean Cooper and Logan Levine each pitched in with a goal apiece. The Eagles will hit the pitch again on Sept. 24th at Lincoln.

See you at the games! Go Eagles!

Games & Meets Schedule

Congratulations to this week's SOAR drawing winners!

Self-Discipline

Outstanding Effort

Acceptance of Others

Resilience

K- Blair M, 1st - Elizabeth G, 2nd- Benny M, 3rd- Nora P, 4th- Nova T, 5th- Margaret T, 6th- Manuel B, 7th- Lily D, 8th- Ethan C

The class winner this week is: Mrs. McDaniel's 4th grade class

PTO Newsletter with dates to know about, info on money spent, and ways to support the PTO and the School.

We are wishing you all a continued great school year,

Excel PTO

PTO Information

Track it Forward Volunteer Opportunities & Hours Tracking Site

RaiseRight online gift card fundraising site

Destination Imagination (DI) (https://www.destinationimagination.org/) is an internationally renowned extracurricular competition that challenges students to use their imagination and innovative thinking to solve complex problems in various STEAM topics. DI is sponsored by the Jeffco School’s Gifted and Talented Department but is open to all Jeffco students. DI’s mission is to prepare Colorado kids to be the innovators of the future by combining the arts, sciences and technology with creativity, teamwork and problem solving.

Our goal is to get the word out to all of our Jeffco families and to have students from Excel Academy participate. We will be hosting an all Jeffco Parent Information Night on Zoom on September 24th. We have attached an Informational Flyer that contains all of the information parents will need to join the Zoom Info Night. We are asking for your help to get the word out about the Information Night.

While the DI Program is administered through school districts in Colorado, almost all of our teams are coordinated and run by parents or grandparents. The DI experience is open to every child. Our experience has been that once a DI program gets rolling at a school, the student interest and the parental involvement keep the program going and growing. Please click here for more information.

2nd Saturdays at CSU Spur (held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) are free and open to the public for lots of family-friendly programming, including cooking activities in the CSU Spur kitchen, opportunities to watch veterinarians perform surgery on dogs and cats, see horses assisting with human therapies, engage with scientists at work, and play in a kid’s kitchen and kid’s vet clinic – allowing kids to become a veterinarian for the day and fix up stuffed animals.

Upcoming Themes:

• Sept. 14: Farm and Feast
• Oct. 12: Youth River Festival
• Nov. 9: Made in Colorado
• Dec. 14: Give Back Day

Check out the CSU Spur Flyer Here

The Ralston Valley Poms would love to invite your PreK - 5th Grade dancer to join us for our Fall 2024 Mini-Mustangs dance clinic and performance! Please use the link or QR code below to register and invite all of your friends!

Our Poms can't wait to dance and perform with you!

Register Here!

Arvada West Youth Wrestling is returning for their winter session. Please see the following flyer for more information: Arvada West Youth Wrestling.

Jeffco GT Information Nights (Virtual)
Content available: 9/13 – 9/17
Q&A Session: September 17, 2024 (4-6pm)

Jeffco GT Information Nights will feature content posted to the GT website for multiple days for guardians to view at their convenience. September 17th will be the follow up opportunity for guardians to speak directly with the presenters and members of the Jeffco GT department to talk through any unanswered questions that they have after watching the recorded sessions.

Topics covered within this session will focus heavily on GT Center Schools, application processes, deadlines, and the qualifying data required. ALPs, programming, and district support for gifted learners will also be discussed. Content will be posted on the Jeffco GT website HERE by 9/13/24.

Order Breakfast or Lunch: (due a week before the week of meals)

Excel Academy Standards-Based Grading Scale

Infinite Campus Parent Directions

Jeffco Student Insights (CMAS, ACCESS, MAP, DIBELS, READ Plan, ALP Goals, etc.)

Log Volunteer Hours and sign-up for volunteer opportunities

2024-25 Excel Academy School Year Calendar

Ideas for thanking a staff member: Treats and Deets

Email: Julie.Smith@jeffco.k12.co.us
Website: https://excel-academy.jeffcopublicschools.org/
Location: 11500 West 84th Avenue, Arvada, CO, USA
Phone: 303-467-2295
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ExcelAcademyK8