Excel Academy Eagle Update

March 7, 2025

SPRING FORWARD: Daylight Savings Time Begins Sunday Morning!

Spring Break: No School March 14 - March 21

UPDATES FROM THE SCHOOL

Dear Excel Families,

Spring is almost here! It's a busy and exciting time, with Spring Break marking the middle of our semester and much learning happening throughout our classrooms. It's also the time when we begin planning for the upcoming school year. I'm pleased to share that the majority of our students and staff plan to return next year, marking the highest retention rates in the past several years. That said, I do need to share important news from Ms. Rothstein:

Dear Eagle Families,

It is with mixed emotions that announce that I will be ending my time as Assistant Principal at Excel Academy. While I have cherished every moment working with the students, faculty, staff, and families here, I will be moving back home to Nevada.

My journey at Excel Academy has been incredibly rewarding. Together, we’ve witnessed so many successes, celebrated countless achievements, and navigated challenges with determination and resilience. I am so proud of everything we’ve accomplished as a school and a community.

Though I will be leaving the school on March 14, 2025, please be rest assured that our leadership team is committed to ensuring a smooth transition and continued support for all students. We will share more details in the coming weeks about the next steps in this transition and how we will continue to provide the high level of education and care that you have come to expect from Excel Academy.

Thank you again for the privilege of being part of this incredible school community.

With heartfelt appreciation,

Alia Rothstein, M.A., M.Ed.

Assistant Director - Elementary

While I am sad to see Ms. Rothstein leave, I fully support her in making the transition in support of what she feels is best for her family. I am also grateful to Ms. Rothstein for sharing the situation leading to her need to move back with her family with our Instructional Leadership Team some time ago, affording us the opportunity to plan intentionally for this transition. Based on a number of factors and in consultation with Kia Murray, Board President, we will be reverting back to having only one Assistant Director. I'm pleased that Mr. Dale, our current Assistant Director - Middle School, has agreed to shift to serving our entire K-8 community beginning when we return from Spring Break. Please reach out should you have questions about this transition.

In Partnership,

Kresta Vuolo

Executive Director

Spring is in the Air: Week of Activities March 10-13

Lots happening the week leading up to Spring Break!

Teacher Requested Conferences: By Invite Only W & Th
Spring Book Fair! Sales hours:

M & T 7:30-8:00am and 3:30-4:45pm
W & Th: 7:30-8:00am and 3:30-5:45pm

Spring Spirit Week to Benefit NJHS

March 10 - Wear As Many Spring Colors to Welcome Spring!
March 11 - Teacher-Student Swap: Students, dress like teachers, and teachers dress like students
March 12 - Tropical Day - Wear your favorite tropical clothes to welcome spring
March 13 - Spring PJ Day - Pay $2 to wear your favorite spring PJs. Funds will go directly to NJHS to support community service projects.

2024-2025 Yearbook: Order Now

The deadline for ordering a yearbook and having a copy by May 16th is April 25th.

The deadline to add custom pages is April 4th.

Custom Yearbook Flyer

Click HERE to Order a Yearbook

Excel Academy Board Meeting Update

On February 25, 2025, the Excel Academy Board of Directors held its regular business meeting. You can find the full meeting agenda here. While the board discussed many important topics, key highlights included Ms. Vuolo's Director’s Report and an in-depth review of this year’s supplemental budget and next year’s proposed budget.

In recent years, K-12 education has benefited from increased funding, but the governor’s latest proposal includes funding cuts for the upcoming school year. For Excel Academy, this means we must carefully evaluate our budget to ensure we can sustain the exceptional programs that support our mission—enriching students’ academic, social, and emotional experiences through rigorous curriculum and engaging opportunities. The board will continue to assess budget scenarios in the coming months.

6th Grade Mission to Mars

Mr. Riley, Middle School Science Teacher, and Ms. Vuolo, Executive Director, joined 31 students and four parent chaperones in embarking on a 4-day, 3-night extended field study: Mission to Mars. Planned through our partners at Appleseed Adventures, students learned about various Earth biomes and studies underway related to Mars exploration. Our students had the opportunity to visit:

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum - a fusion of botanic garden, zoo, natural history museum, and aquarium focused on inspiring people to live in harmony with the natural world by fostering love, appreciation, and understanding of the Sonoran desert.
Biosphere 2 - a research facility dedicated to advancing our understanding of natural and human-made ecosystems through integrated research that drives the discovery and development of interventions that increase the resilience and sustainability of Earth systems and human quality of life. We advance research in our unique facilities, conduct interdisciplinary science education, and foster leadership initiatives focused on developing scalable solutions for our planet and beyond.
University of Arizona Space Analog for the Moon and Mars - a hi-fidelity, hermetically sealed and pressurized habitat and research station is composed of a living quarters complete with workshop, kitchen, crew quarters, and toilet facility. It includes a fully functional airlock, computer controlled and electric actuated pressure regulation system, and pressure release valves and flow control. While here, we also visited a warehouse where the Martian landscape is being re-created, and students had the opportunity to experience what walking in reduced gravity would be like.
Colossal Cave Mountain Park - a guided walk to learn about the Cave’s history, its legends (like train robbers and ghosts), and its unique geology. As you descend approximately six stories deep (363 stair steps) you’ll see some amazing cave formations including stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, box work, and helictites that were sculpted by millions of years of geological activity.
Flandrau Space Center & Planetarium - after experiencing a show in the planetarium, students had the opportunity to explore all of the wonderful interactive exhibits ranging from prehistoric earth through Mars exploration and beyond.
Titan Misslie Museum - a decommissioned nuclear warhead silo, the Titan Missile Museum gives visitors a rare look at the technology used by the United States to deter nuclear war. What was once one of America’s most top secret places is now a National Historic Landmark, fulfilling its new mission of bringing Cold War history to life for millions of visitors from around the wor This one-of-a kind museum gives visitors a rare look at the technology used by the United States to deter nuclear war. What was once one of America’s most top secret places is now a National Historic Landmark, fulfilling its new mission of bringing Cold War history to life for millions of visitors from around the world.
Community Food Bank of Souther Arizona - we had the opportunity to give back by spending a morning volunteering at the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona preparing food boxes for families experiencing food insecurity. Our 31 students, four parent chaperones, three tour guides, and two staff members helped prepare an incredible 1,398 boxes, far exceeding the shift goal of 1,000.

Many thanks to our incredible tour guides from Appleseed Expeditions: Lindsay, Sean, and Jen, for helping our students create memories to last a lifetime. We are also incredibly grateful for the four parents who supported the trip through chaperoning: Tracy Brandon, Lesley Kuhl, Christina Miller, and Kelly Pilger.

CMAS is Coming!

The 2024-2025 Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) testing window is April 7–April 25, 2025. Excel Academy will conduct testing sessions from April 8–10 and April 14–16, 2025. CMAS is a great opportunity for scholars to demonstrate academic success in English language arts, math, and science aligned with the Colorado Academic Standards. For more information please refer to this informational flyer or the Jeffco Assessment Website.

Coffee Chat Follow-Up

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our virtual Coffee Chat on March 4th. Topics discussed included:

SAFETY CONCERNS AT PICK-UP: Parents shared concerns that people are parking in no-parking zones and blocking crosswalks during end-of-day pick-up. Reports of guardians speeding in the road were also shared. One parent suggested checking into putting cones in no-parking areas and to delineate the crosswalk to enhance safety.
QUESTIONS REGARDING SPANISH OFFERINGS IN 2025-26: A parent asked if Spanish would be returning to the specials rotation in the upcoming school year. Ms. Vuolo shared that with Sra Barron-Rosales going on maternity leave for the second semester last year and wanting to return only part-time this year, that extensive efforts were made to find a Spanish teacher for the curren year without success. With forecasted budget reductions in K-12 funding for the 2025-26 school year, we are not planning to reinstate Spanish into the specials rotation.
2025-26 BUDGET FORECASTS: Ms. Vuolo shared that the governor's draft budget reflected elimination of funded student averaging from the school finance formula, which if fully removed, would result in flat or decrease in the per pupil revenue for all schools within districts with declining enrollment like Jeffco. At Excel, we are working to develop a budget for next year that takes this into account and utilizes several strategies to decrease our expenditures and examining potential avenues for expanding revenue opportunities.
UPDATES SHARED: Ms. Vuolo shared some highlights from last week's 6th grade extended field study to Arizona called Mission to Mars and information about the upcoming opportunity for guardian participation in strategic planning focus groups to inform the work of our Excel Academy Board of Directors. Ms. Tangsrud, Board Secretary and Chair of the School Accountability Committee, shared that the SAC is seeking guardians to help plan the kindergarten, 5th grade, and 8th grade continuation ceremonies and shared information about the SAC creating a director of businesses owned by Excel families.

We truly appreciate your interest and dedication to supporting your children's learning and safety at school. Your comments and insights were invaluable, and we're grateful for your active participation. Together, we're making a positive impact on our school community!

KG-5th Grade: Share Day in Music Class

Announcing Share Day in music classes K-5: Each student will be asked to share an interest, passion or talent they have with their classmates during music class. (See schedule below) This performance is not for parents however you may want to practice with them, so they are prepared to share. Students can talk about, do, or show something that is unique or important to them. Acts should not last more than 2 minutes to allow time for each student to share. Please support your child in being prepared for their special day. Share Day performance can also be used as an audition for the school wide talent show if needed.

Some acts I have seen in the past include magic, cup-stacking, bouncing a ball, gymnastics, dancing, karate, singing, reciting a poem, skits etc. We will also discuss and practice appropriate audience behavior. Students will be graded on their preparedness and supportive, respectful audience behavior. The expectation is that each child will share. Share Day allows each child the opportunity to practice presenting and practice supportive, appropriate audience behavior.

Schedule

Monday, March 24th - Mader, Clark, and Mesa

Tuesday, March 25th - Prather, McDaniel, and Weaver

Wednesday, March 26th - Malmgren, Dexter, and Adams

Thursday, March 27th - Kuhl, Komloski, and Zerr

Friday, March 28th - Mackey

Family Engagement Opportunity: Focus Group

We’re excited to invite parents and guardians to a special focus group where you’ll have the opportunity to help shape the future of Excel Academy Charter School! This session, facilitated by a third party through the Colorado League of Charter Schools, will include:

SWOT Analysis – Share your honest perspective on Excel Academy’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Visioning Exercise – Share your dreams and aspirations for the future of our school.

Your insights will directly inform the Excel Academy Board of Directors’ 2025-2029 Strategic Plan as we continue our mission to enrich every student’s academic, social, and emotional growth.

Date: April 1, 2025 Time: 9:00–11:00 AM
Location: Excel Academy

Please sign up using this Google form so we can plan accordingly. We look forward to hearing your voice!

NEW! Canvas & Quill Bonus Learning

Open to 2nd - 8th graders:

There is still time to sign-up!

A creative space for young poets and artists to bring words to life! Each week, we’ll write poems, play with rhymes and rhythms, and illustrate our work. Whether you love storytelling, haikus, or drawing, this club is perfect for expressing yourself. Join us to spark imagination and share your voice!

We meet Wednesdays, 3:30-4:30pm in Ms. Komloski's Room 118. Sign Up HERE for Canvas & Quill. Club is run by Entrepreneur Club students and is teacher supervised.

Excel Talent Show Extravaganza

K-8th grade Talent Show Extravaganza will take place on Thursday, April 10th from 6 to 8 p.m. Looking for some entertaining acts to fill our show. All ages and types of acts are invited to audition. I have included some available time to audition but don't hesitate to reach out if these times do not work. All auditions need to be completed by Thursday, April 3rd. Mrs. Boyd will post the acts that will be participating on Friday, April 4th on the outside of the music room.

Audition Times:

See the sign-up sheet on the Music Room door.

Friday, March 7th, and 28th from 2:15 to 2:45pm
Every morning before school except Thursdays from 7:45 to 8:15am
Friday, March 14th - Please reach out for available times during the day when I am not in training.

If these times do not work for you, do not hesitate to reach out and we will find alternate times for you.

Keep Our Kids Safe

Let's prioritize the safety of our children at Excel Academy by addressing concerns raised by neighbors and several Excel Academy parents. By working together, we can create a safe environment for everyone:

Park Only in Designated Spots: To avoid congestion and ensure our kids' safety, please park only in designated areas.
Ensure Space Around Crosswalks: It's crucial to keep crosswalks clear for better visibility and safety for both pedestrians and drivers.
Adhere to the Speed Limit: School zones are strictly 20 miles per hour. Slowing down helps prevent accidents and keeps our children safe.

Class Picture Day Rescheduled to Monday, March 31

Order your class picture NOW!

Only the students that have a prepaid Package purchased will be photographed individually.

All students will be photographed with their class.

Online Ordering Link: Enter School Code 30014012

After ordering you will receive a confirmation email. You do not need to send anything in with your child.

The picture company will have a list of the students that need to have an individual picture taken.

Upcoming picture events

March 31: Class Picture and Individual Pictures
April 8: Sport Team Pictures: Boys Volleyball, Girls Soccer, & Co-ed Cross Country. Link to order is coming soon.
April 11: Kindergarten Continuation Photos: Families will receive a sample picture two weeks after pictures have been taken. At that time, you can order pictures.

Extensive List of Summer Programs

The Jefferson County Association for Gifted Children has curated a list of a variety of summer programs for all ages, grades K-12. These programs are not only for students who are identified as gifted and talented. Follow this link to see their list and descriptions.

Donations Still Needed for Spring Explorations

Our students are diving into new Explorations topics and are ready to start creating their Exploration projects! Please help our students by donating supplies needed for Explorations. We appreciate your donations and ask that they be here soon, as students are ready to start their projects. Remember that every $10 spent equals an hour of volunteer time.

Thank you so much! Explorations Supplies Needed

Upcoming Enrichment Activities

March 12 - Children's Museum Star Lab @ Excel - 1st Grade
March 12 - Denver Art Museum, 9:00am-1:30pm - 2nd Grade
March 12 - Majestic View Nature Center, 9:15am-1:30pm - 3rd Grade
April 4 - A Precious Child (Service Project), 10:30am-1:30pm, NJHS

SOAR Winners

Congratulations to this week's SOAR drawing winners!

Self-Discipline

Outstanding Effort

Acceptance of Others

Resilience

K-M. Fehnel, 1st-M.Saavedra, 2nd-E.Weimer, 3rd-S.Nguyen,

4th-B.Cooper, 5th-A.Anderson, 6th-A.Pantina, 7th-K. Dowling, &

8th-A.Young.

Classroom Soar Winner: Mr. Kelso's Core 1 8th Grade Math.

PTO SUPPORT OF OUR COMMUNITY

PTO Upcoming Events

Date TBD - Informational Meeting. This is a PTO Meeting open to the public for those interested in joining the 25/26 PTO Board

PTO Links

Excel Academy PTO Website

PTO Information

Track it Forward Volunteer Opportunities & Hours Tracking Site

RaiseRight online gift card fundraising site and How It Works

Excel Academy Outreach Committee: Please reach out if your family would benefit from our care or if you can support a family in need. Email Tara Schirner, coordinator or the Excel Outreach Committee at exceloutreachcommittee@gmail.com.