Weekly Update - September 4, 2024

• September 5 - Curriculum Night - 4:30PM - 6:00PM (see below for details)
  
• September 5 - Title I Parent Input Meeting - 6:00 PM
• September 6 - Community Circle
• K-2 @ 7:55 - Hosted by Ms. Dean's Crew
• 6-8 @ 8:30 - Hosted by Mr. Rangel's Crew
• 3-5 @ 12:20 - Hosted by Ms. Durand's Crew
• September 19 - Town Hall/PTO General Body Meeting - 5:30PM - 7:30PM
• September 23-27 - Fall Break (School Closed)
• October 1 - Fall Picture Day (students in uniform)
• October 14-15 - Asynchronous Learning Days (Student-led Conferences)

Did you know that championship athletes walk among us at Amana? This year, we want to highlight not only the amazing accomplishments that our students achieve while they're at school, but also the extraordinary things they're doing in their out-of-school time. This week we're featuring two student athletes that have accomplished big things in their respective sports and highlighting ways that Amana's High Five Habits can show up outside of school. These students are making us #AmanaProud!

Josiah (Jo) Hardee is an Amana 6th grader who has been with us since Kindergarten. He's been playing golf since the age of 8, and is ranked 4th on the Georgia State Golf Association's Junior Tour, and finished 22nd nationally on the Under Armor National Tour this past summer. Josiah says, "I believe that golf is more than just a game - it's a way of life for me. I am dedicated to achieving academic excellence and following my dreams of playing the beautiful game of golf. More importantly, I want to share my experiences and encourage others to watch and play the sport. I understand how fortunate I am to be able to play this sport and it breaks my heart many others don't have the same opportunity that I have. Therefore, I want to use my talents and influence to increase access and diversity in the sport I love and encourage other boys and girls who may be thinking about golf. My dad reminds me to reflect on what golf teaches me about life... "Being Honest, accepting the constant changes, learning from mistakes, focusing, solving problems, remaining calm and collected, respecting others and recognizing learning never-ever stops."

Dr. Carlton Hardee, Josiah's father, says, "Josiah, while maintaining a rigorous training, travel and playing schedule - rising 6 and sometimes 7 days a week at 5:30-6:00AM, has maintained perfect attendance for almost his entire 6 years at Amana and for the past two years has achieved A/B honor roll. His determination and equal commitment to being at school and maintaining his studies are what I most proud of."

Manha is also in 6th grade and is making Amana proud through her competition in the fencing world. She started fencing 2 years ago and has persevered to accomplished great things in that short time. Last year, she

• Finished 10th in the US in her age category
• Finished 80th in one age category above her
• Win a gold medal in GA State Championship in Youth 12 category while she was 10yr old
• Finished 1st in her Region (Region 6 which, with 10 states, is the largest region in the country).

When asked how she thinks being an Amana student and learning about the high five habits makes her a better Fencer, she said "Even if I lose a match, I still congratulate my opponent. And if they lose, I show compassion by telling them they fought well. And if I'm behind in a match, I'll persevere to try and win. Fencing also takes courage, because you can get hurt"

Do you have a student in your household that is doing remarkable things outside of school? Maybe they play travel soccer on a winning team, or they're on a competitive gymnastics team. Maybe they do community theater, or are an amazing musician. Or, maybe they're on a competitive Robotics or Esports team. We want to know about it and share their accomplishments with the community. We know there are more super talented kiddos in our school! Use the form linked below to share.

Hi Families,

We are committed to supporting you and your students on a successful year! In order to do so we absolutely believe in open communication and dialogue with those directly involved first. This means if you have a concern you take it directly to the teacher or individual first through conversation and a meeting prior to looping in an AP or Principal. During these conversations share your context and need and seek to understand and drive towards solutions together. If the individual doesn’t meet your need, you can escalate it to the AP next (Mrs. Stubbs 5-8 grade and Mrs. Woodard 4-8) and then finally to the Principal. Honoring communication flows is a way to build trust and an efficiency that is a must to allow all individuals to improve and for us to meet our many families and students needs.

Thank you for your commitment to this process.

With love,

Amana Academy Leadership Team

We look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow evening for Curriculum Night. This is an opportunity for you to learn about your child's schedule, see the curriculum their teachers will be using, dive into what their Learning Expeditions will be about, and learn what Field Studies they'll be experiencing. We wanted to share a few housekeeping items that will help tomorrow flow more smoothly:

• Snacks will be on sale in the cafe after dismissal and prior for families and students from our Nutrition Team

• At 4:30 Middle School Parents will enter the event through Middle School doors

• At 4:30 Elementary School Parents will enter the event through Elementary School door.

Parents, please refrain from ordering food for delivery from a delivery service (Doordash, Grubhub, Uber Eats, etc) to the school for your student. There is no guarantee that it will be delivered to them. Food must be delivered by a member of your household and you must tell the front desk who it's for, what grade they are in, and their homeroom teacher. Then we will call them to the front desk to pick it up.

As a community-focused charter school, volunteering is crucial to the fabric of our culture. Research shows that when parents are involved at school, ALL students do better. Therefore, we ask that all Amana parents commit to volunteer 10 hours per school year to create a community of families involved in their children’s learning. Whether volunteering in your child’s classroom, at an event, through our PTO, or at home, the opportunities to commit your time are endless.

There are a few easy steps to becoming a volunteer at Amana:

1. Watch our Prerecorded Volunteer Orientation and complete the Mandatory Quiz. Please note you MUST complete the Quiz to receive credit.
2. Print, complete, and submit Volunteer Confidentiality Agreement and Fulton County Schools Parent Volunteer Registration Forms (archived on the website). Completed forms can be dropped off at the front desk.
3. Decide HOW you want to volunteer!

There are a few additional steps to take in order to chaperone an overnight field study, and you can read more about that process on our website, linked below.

We are excited to announce that Amana Academy has received a grant from Nordstrom to purchase shoes for 30 students enrolled at Amana that receive free or reduced lunch only. If your student qualifies and you are interested in this program, complete the form below to opt into this program. Please note: Once the 30 slots are filled, we will be unable to add students. Complete the form below by September 16th.

The consideration for gifted services may be reported or automatic as defined by the GaDOE Resource Manual for Gifted Education Services. Amana Academy screens all students for eligibility for gifted services twice a year and uses a systematic approach to identify highly capable students who may qualify for gifted services. The gifted teacher routinely reviews available data to refer students for further assessment. Students meeting either the automatic screening OR the classroom screening criteria AND who have supporting data gathered from test history, products, and/or advanced content levels are referred for additional testing to determine gifted eligibility.

Click the attachment for full information.