ADL Charger News: Welcome Back!

We are so excited to be starting a new school year with our ADL scholars, and we can't wait to welcome you all back to school on Monday, August 26th! Our theme for this year is "Challenge Accepted." We have high expectations for all of our students, and together we will work hard every day to ensure every student receives what they need to meet or exceed their goals and to have a positive, successful school year.

Our faculty and staff returned to school this past week, and they have been busy getting ready for your arrival. Our school goals continue to be focused on building a school culture that promotes a deep sense of belonging, safety, connection, and engagement and provides high-level learning opportunities for all students to thrive.

In service to these goals, we will continue to be a phone-free environment for students this year. We implemented our phone box system last fall. This model was very successful in eliminating the distraction and disruption caused by cell phones in our learning community. Students' cell phones must be powered off and stored in their advisory teacher's phone box at the beginning of the school day. Students will receive their phones back before dismissal at the end of the day.

Our students' social and emotional learning (SEL) and well-being are at the heart of our mission here at ADL. Our Advisory period is an important part of our work in this area. Every student is a part of a small advisory group and is assigned an advisory teacher who will be their point person for the school year. We focus on self-awareness, relationship skills, and social awareness in advisory, and we are excited to bring resources from the TeachRock's Harmony Student Wellness Program to our students this year. We received a generous grant from the WaterWheel Foundation which made this collaboration possible, and we look forward to sharing more about our experience with this resource in future updates!

A new school year always brings much positive energy and optimism. We are grateful for the support of our parents and caregivers and know that our partnership with you is critical to our Chargers' engagement and growth. We welcome you to visit, volunteer, and reach out if you have any questions as we kick off the 24-25 school year together.

Happy New School Year!

Sincerely,

Jennifer Wood, Principal

Kevin Barber, Assistant Principal

• Our school day begins at 8:35 AM. Our dismissal time is 3:35 PM except on Wednesdays when we have an early release at 2:35 PM.

• Students will report to their advisory teacher's classroom after the bell on our first day of school. We will have students' advisory assignments posted in the gym lobby, and these are also available now to view in PowerSchool. Teachers will also be present to help direct students to their assigned locations on the first day.

• We sent this letter to students and families at the beginning of August. This letter includes Health Office updates, information about Athletics, and important dates.

Breakfast will be available (it is free!) for all students from 8:10-9:15 am each day. The end time is a change from what was previously communicated. Breakfast is "grab-and-go" and we encourage all students to take advantage of the program. After 9:15 am, students may access a "share cooler" for a second breakfast if they are still hungry. Please note students must have gone through the food service line and received a first breakfast to access the share cooler later in the day per federal guidelines and procedures.

If your student will require early morning transportation to ADL to participate in Band, Chorus, or Orchestra (BCO) this school year, please take a moment to complete this transportation survey.

Band, chorus, and orchestra ensembles are scheduled before school from 7:50-8:30 am on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Rehearsals are scheduled during the school day on Wednesdays.

Sign-ups for BCO will take place during the first week of school, and ensembles will begin after Labor Day on Tuesday, September 3.

We have welcomed some additional new staff members over the past month. Please join us in welcoming them to ADL!

• Emma Schroeder-Team NRG Humanities Long-Term Substitute Teacher
• Peter May- Instructional Assistant
• Katelyn Masch- Behavior Interventionist
• Sebastian McCabe- Algebra 1 Long-Term Substitute Teacher