RE-ENROLLMENT SEASON IS HERE!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I hope your new calendar year is off to a fantastic start, and that you all had a wonderfully blessed Christmas season!

I just wanted to take a moment to reach out to you to encourage you to get your children re-enrolled as soon as possible, if that is your intention for the fall of 2017. We are most grateful to God for the blessing of having a thriving school, but the consequence to that could be that we exceed capacity at certain grade levels! If you were at our Eagle Vision dinner last fall, you heard about how we ran into that problem this year. Open enrollment to the public begins on February 8, so I hope you can get re-enrolled before then!

I trust that your child’s time thus far has been good at Upland Christian Academy. We hope to work with our students’ families through the Twelfth Grade! Please let me know if there is anything we can assist you with!

PRINCIPALLY SPEAKING - SEPT 2016

 
What a great start to the new year we have had! I want to once again thank you all for partnering with Upland Christian Academy for your child’s education! I have already heard from so many of you about your child actually being EXCITED to go to school, something that makes all of us, parents and educators alike, thrilled to hear and witness!

I wanted to let you know about some of the things happening in Elementary this year, particularly in the month of September, so that you are fully informed. I intend to send monthly messages like this one, so that you are not over-bombarded with school communication. You will also hear regularly from Debbie Acheson, the Office Manager, but her emails soon will be shorter and more bullet-pointed, and we will direct you to Parents Web to refer to news and events information.

It is very exciting that this year, all our classrooms now have instructional aides! This is an important development as we endeavor to support our teachers and students in the strongest ways possible. Having an instructional aide is like having an extra “arm” for our teachers, allowing them to multitask, assist individual students more often, and the like. We are thrilled to have these dedicated people here!

We had a wonderful school year dedication ceremony in the Abundant Living Family Church sanctuary on August 17! It was our first time using the sanctuary for this annual event, and it was the first time Pastor Diego Mesa helped us kick off a new school year since our first one on this campus in 2009! We are so blessed at Upland Christian, and we thank God for all that He has done to provide for us and even prosper us as a ministry and school! We put our trust in Him, as displayed when our parents surrounded the students while praying the Lord’s blessing on our school year.

One of the ways we are being blessed by the Lord is added enrollment. We have a whopping 34 additional students in Elementary this year over last! That is amazing, and we praise God for it!

Besides learning new routines and policies, one of the other things that is happening in your child’s classroom right now is individual assessments. The teachers are trying to get a handle on where your child is developmentally and academically, so that they know exactly how to meet your child’s educational needs. That’s what we do at Upland Christian—we provide a standards-based education for our students, while delivering that information in a way that suits your child! Your child’s teacher appreciates your patience in this, and are happy to answer any questions you may have during this process.

Another thing related to assessment that we are preparing to do immediately is our biannual standardized MAP Testing. As an administration, we are always looking for better and effective ways to assess our students’ progress. After careful consideration a couple years ago, we decided to use the NWEA MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) Assessment as a way of monitoring our student’s academic growth both individually and across the grade levels.

We see several benefits in using the MAP Assessment. The test is adaptive which means that the difficulty of each question is based on how well a student answers all the previous questions. As the student answers correctly, questions become more difficult. If the student answers incorrectly, the questions become easier. Through this process, the final score is typically a reliable measurement of the student’s academic progress to date. The MAP Assessment can also be used as a benchmark to track student progress throughout the year and assist in making instructional decisions. In addition, the MAP Assessment is aligned to the Common Core Standards.

All students, Kindergarten through 12th Grade will test two times per year. Our Elementary department will begin testing September 6th. Please see the schedule below for your child’s testing dates. Students will be tested in Reading, Language and Math. With the exception of Kindergarten and 1st Grade, students will test for about one hour a day in the morning for four days during their testing week. Please be sure that your child gets plenty of rest and eats a good breakfast during their week of testing.

September 6-9
4th and 5th Grades

September 12-16
3rd Grade - Mrs. Johnston’s Class
1st Grade

September 19-23
3rd Grade- Mrs. Kreuger’s Class
Kindergarten

September 26-30
2nd Grade

At Upland Christian, we like your child to have FUN at school while learning! As such, we have monthly “Spirit Rallies” in the Gymnasium at the end of the school day. These rallies consist of a fun game, some singing, and awards for attendance. Parents are always welcome to join us! As of this typing, those dates are: September 16, October 14, November 17, December 9, January 13, February 10, March 24, April 27, and May 12. All rallies begin at 2:10 and will be over by 2:40. Another fun aspect about rally days is that the students get to dress up according to a theme. For example, “Cowboy Day,” or “Career Day,” etc. Our first dress up day will be September 16, and the theme will be “Disney Day,” where students may dress up as their favorite Disney character, or simply wear their favorite Disney clothing! Jeans are acceptable that day. So, dust off those Mickey ears on September 16!

I want to remind you that there is no school this coming Monday for Labor Day. Both the school and Extended Care are closed that day.

Don’t forget that our annual School Picture Day is coming up on Tuesday, September 13! You will be getting more information on that soon, including package ordering and payment envelopes from the studio. Students may wear free dress that day, within the dress code outlined in the Elementary Handbook. Thank you!

And believe it or not, we are already coming up on our first Parent-Teacher Conferences season! That will be on Thursday, September 29 and Friday, September 30, and they are both minimum days for students (dismissal at 11:30; Extended Care still available until 6:00).

Lastly, I am hearing that many of our boys are really into Pokemon, and are bringing their game/trading cards with them to school. I understand that there may have been some conflicting messages about this, but I want to declare at this point that we are simply asking students to stop bringing them to school. In addition to taking on the risk of losing them, damaging them, or having hurt feelings when they are traded to another student as part of the game, it has also become a major distraction in classes and even in Extended Care. We appreciate parental support on this matter. Thank you!

I can’t thank you enough for all of your support and cheerful smiles as I see you around campus! You are all a blessing to me, and I really do love my job! My door (and email inbox) are always open to you should you have any questions!

Praying the Lord’s blessings for your family’s school year!

I'M BACK!

Hello, friends!

Shame on me for not updating my school blog yet this school year! Things have been a bit busy, as we moved into a brand-new building with six new classrooms on the Abundant Living Family Church campus!

Mrs. Currier (Assistant Principal) and I share a small space for an office, but we are glad to have our own space, apart from the old Administration office. We have a beautiful view of Mount Baldy from our office window!

A lot of wonderful things are happening at UC Academy Elementary! First, it is priority registration time! This means that we are giving our current families priority registration before opening registration up to the public. Registration for returning families is open NOW! Please take advantage of this opportunity! In the past, we have been blessed to not create waiting lists for our grade levels, but we can see that time soon coming to an end as we have limited space in the classrooms, and increasing interest in our school. We want your child back next year (and we hope you do, too), so please don’t delay! Information was sent home last week in a letter, explaining the new process of online registration. Open Enrollment to the public begins on February 10. If you have any questions, please call the school office!

Next, we had a Spirit Rally on Friday, February 5, which means it was also a “Dress-Up” day! In honor of last weekend’s Super Bowl, the dress theme was Sports or “Football Friday." Of course, since I am not a big sports fanatic, but I love my rock & roll, I wore a shirt resembling the jersey of an L.A. Kiss (arena football) player!

I am excited to announce that UCA has adopted a new international mission. For years, we have been supporting a sister school in Zambia, and we are proud of the thousands of dollars (perhaps hundreds of thousands) Elementary students have raised over the years. This year, we have adopted an orphanage in Guatemala called “Ahikam.” Every week, we take a bucket to Chapel to collect loose change, all of which will go to Ahikam at the end of the year. So whenever you think of it, maybe send your child with some change on Thursday mornings!

Later this month, UCA is hosting a fundraising event called “APEX Fun Run.” You will start to receive information in emails and letters sent home with your child soon, but I also wanted to make you aware of it directly from me. The actual “run” will be very much like a Jog-A-Thon and will take place on Friday, February 26. But before that, your child will meet a high school partner to help encourage and cheer them on, as well as the APEX coaches who will be coming on campus to drum up excitement among the students. The proceeds of this fundraiser will mostly be going toward the aforementioned Ahikam orphanage in Guatemala, and 10% of what your child’s class raises will go back to their classroom! Every child will participate, so we hope you can get behind this spring fundraiser! More details will be coming, so be on the lookout!

I also want to remind you that we have a four-day weekend coming up, February 12-15, for Presidents Day and Lincoln’s Birthday. The school will be completely closed, as will Extended Care, so be sure to mark your calendars!

SPRING 2015 UPDATE

Hello friends!

Incredibly, we are now at the start of the final stretch of the 2014-15 school year! The Third Trimester promises to bring more academic excellence and fun for the Elementary students!

 

School Is “Speech-y!”

 

Last week, we had our class Speech Meets. Several of our students gave outstanding speeches, expanding their skills in public speaking. Each class selected three winners, who competed for First, Second, and Third Place at our Elementary Speech Meet on March 6. Here are the winners, by class and placement:

Miss Keen’s class:

1 – Sarah  Plant

2 – Julia Jarvis

3 – Derrick Tooley

Miss Pepe’s class:

1 – Josiah Sarmiento

2 – Kaelyn Valdez

3 – Anthony Tallian

Mrs. Paxton’s class:

1 – Julia Kim

2 – Joshua Toupal

3 – Christopher Flowers

Mrs. Jarvie’s class:

1 – Ethan Macatula

2 – Nathan Snawder

3 – Tisselle Panameno

Mrs. Racusin’s class:

1 – Janae Persichino

2 – Isabella Dowd

3 – Mindy Dao

Mrs. Jacobs’ class:

1 – Layla Harbert

2 – Ella Riedel

3 – Nolan Jarvis

Mrs. Johnston’s class:

1 – Ade Rosado

2 – Joy Liu

3 – Taleah Williams

Miss Fischer’s class:

1 – Gabriel Osorio

2 – Kyle Plant

3 – Sienna Snawder

Miss Kaiser’s class:

1 – Kaylynn Chang

2 – Becky Chang

3 – Nicole Godoy

Mrs. De Los Santos’ class:

1 – Jade Martinez

2 – Jada Flowers

3 – Elijah Parr

We know that these types of activities are excellent opportunities to broaden our students’ school experiences, giving them a leg up on their competition in the years ahead.

Elementary Family PJ Jam and Movie Night

 

On Friday, February 27, over 275 students and parents came out to the café and gym for a “PJ Jam and Movie Night.” It was a huge success and was organized by our IMPACT team, which provided dinner and popcorn. We purchased a license to show the new movie, “Big Hero 6” in the gymnasium after dinner, where students and parents lounged on pillows and lawn chairs for a cozy night of fellowship! Big kudos to our IMPACT team for a wonderful evening!

Jog-A-Thon Fundraiser

 

On Wednesday, March 18, IMPACT is hosting a Jog-A-Thon field event fundraiser during the school day for our Elementary students and families. The theme is “Superheroes” and there will be fun activities and snow cones! While it is a fundraiser, and we’d like to see each student get enough sponsors to contribute $10 for this event, we want to emphasize that NO student will be excluded from participating in the activities that day! It is “shaping up” to be a great day!

Big Field Trips Ahead

 

We have our two major annual field trips coming up this month! Our Fifth Graders will be flying up to Sacramento tomorrow as part of their Social Studies curriculum, while our Fourth Graders will travel by train down to San Diego on Friday.

Spirit Days

 

This Friday, we will have a Spirit rally at 2:10 in the gym (parents are always welcome)! Students may wear their spirit shirts and jeans that day.

On Tuesday, March 17, we will be having “Green Day” in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. Students are invited to wear as much green as they want that day!

Teacher In-Service Days

 

I want to remind you that there will be NO SCHOOL next Thursday and Friday (March 19 and 20) due to teacher in-service days.

Construction Appreciation Update

Below is a picture of the Construction Appreciation banner after it was hung on the fence outside the construction area! Each Elementary student and teacher signed the poster. Our students did a wonderful job, under the guidance of new Arts Academy teacher Jackie Wolf!

Monthly Character Traits

 

February’s Character Trait focused on Resourcefulness—“Making wise use of what you have or what others might have discarded.” Our Fourth Graders presented this trait in Chapel using songs and scripture to reinforce the concept. March’s theme will be Discernment.

FIRST POST AS ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL!!

I want to take a moment to communicate the great things that are happening at in the Elementary department at UC Academy this fall, and to update you on some recent developments.

New Elementary Administration Team

I have enjoyed adjusting to my new role as Principal, with Marijoy Currier as my Assistant Principal. For me, it feels like coming home. I have been blessed seeing the growth in the students I knew previously as Principal, as well as getting to know the students who have come since I was last in this position. There are some big changes in the Elementary department this year, and we are all up to the task of incorporating them into our program! Mrs. Currier and I have both spent the past several weeks preparing for the start of the year, visiting classrooms, and loving times we get to interact with the students and their parents. We are very excited about the growth in the Elementary department! We have appreciated the mentoring and guidance of David and Pat Haney, and we know this is going to be a unique and excellent year!

Picture Day

On September 23, we had our fall Picture Day. It went very well, and the kids all looked terrific! 100% of our Elementary students came to school wearing their uniforms, and I want to thank you for your support! I also want to acknowledge the concerns that were expressed to Administration about the change to students wearing uniforms on Picture Day. We decided to try that this year because, as “school pictures,” we felt the students’ time at UC Academy would be more fully and appropriately captured in their daily attire, and they would all look sharp in the yearbook and class pictures. Having said that, we have heard the concerns that were expressed by a few parents, and will consider those before making any decision for next year’s pictures. I also happily inform you that when we have our optional Spring Pictures taken on March 10, the students may come in “free-dress” (within the Dress Code, as outlined in the Student Handbook) if they are having their picture taken.

New Children’s Building Construction

This week, we will begin to see construction for the new Children’s building, adding 7 classrooms to the campus. This is very exciting for both the church and school! As you know, no construction project is “inconvenience-free.” We have had to close the north parking lot by the current Children’s building and Gym to accommodate the project. Elementary families are invited to use the southparking lot (Parking Lot F) to park and drop off their students. For pedestrian safety, we are blocking off a walking area with orange cones. We would recommend entering from the east (from Red Oak), then making an immediate right turn, then driving around the south side of the lot to find a parking space behind the blocked-off Student Crossing Zone. Remember, this is all in the name of student safety! 

Arts Academy

We have had an amazing rollout of the new Arts Academy! On September 16, we had 197 students go to 11 new classes for instruction in Dance, Fine Art, Recorders, Ukulele, Tonebells, Orchestra, Band, Musical Theater, Choir, and Orff Instruments! This new program allows our students to learn important skills that are being lost in many public school districts due to budget constraints. We believe that as our students grow in these areas, they will also mature academically, as many studies indicate. These Arts Academy classes are now offered in addition to our traditional Enrichment courses such as P.E., Computers, and Spanish! This is an exciting and promising new program that we know will greatly benefit our school program and our students.

Monthly Character Traits – September and October

Last month’s Character Trait for students was “Responsibility,” based on Romans 14:12. I led a Chapel on that topic on September 4, teaching our K-5 students the importance of knowing and doing what is expected of them, by their parents, their school, and by God. October’s Character Trait is “Patience,” based on I Corinthians 13:4, and Mrs. De Los Santos’ 5^th Graders led our Chapel October 2 to teach about that important attribute.

Spirit Day
On September 26, we had our first Spirit "dress-up" day! The theme was the Old West, and we saw many darling cowboys and cowgirls dressed to represent "those thrilling days of yesteryear!" We had a fun spirit rally in the afternoon, with games and music! Yee-haw!

 

Eagle Award Recipients

Each week before Chapel, the teachers select a couple students from their classes whom they want to recognize for good behavior. Those names are then read in Chapel and those students are given an “Eagle Award.” On September 25, we randomly selected two Eagle Award recipients from each class to have lunch with me and Mrs. Currier that day. It was a fun time, and we believe it is good for us and the students to meet informally in this way. We will be having these lunches every month!

After-School Programs – New Additions!

We are excited about some new additions to our After-School enrichment programs! This year, we are introducing Bricks 4 Kidz and Challenge Island in addition to our other after-school programs. Bricks 4 Kidz and Challenge Island allow student teams to build items out of LEGOs or everyday materials, sometimes in competitions! These new programs encourage higher-order thinking and will be great compliments to forthcoming programs for our advanced learners, as well as Chess For Success, 100 Mile Club, and Dramatic Performing Arts! A packet of flyers was sent home last week. Please look them over, and be sure to check out the web links that some have provided on their flyers for more information. These programs begin THIS week, so sign up now!

May the Lord continue to add His blessing on our students and UC Academy!

A SOARING DAY WITH "THE RIGHT STUFF"!

Yesterday, my "Right Stuff" 8th Grade Exploratory class had a visit from Sean Franke, a competitive glider pilot. He brought his sailplane with him, and spoke to my students about how airplanes work, and the specific differences between a glider and a powered aircraft. His expertise was evident, and my students were fascinated by his lesson. They asked him some great questions! I hope to have Mr. Franke back next year!

I have been teaching my "Right Stuff" class for three years now. I envisioned it as sort of an "introduction to engineering concepts" because of my love of all things air & space! But since I am neither a mathematician or an engineer, the class is made incredibly more interesting when I can have experts come and share. Last year, we were able to have a video conference with a Flight Surgeon at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. Before this year is out, we will be building and launching our own rockets!

TIME FOR AN UPDATE!

What a fulfilling, wonderful year it has been so far!

I must admit...despite (or perhaps because of) all the fun we've had in my classes since September, I have forgotten all about this blog! Here's hoping for a fresh start on getting the posts up more regularly!

Here are some photos that highlight some of the exciting things we've done so far:

 In the fall, my Bible 7 students created posters on their iPads, using the Beatitudes for inspiration!

 Here are some of my 6th Graders, presenting their poster on the Israelite civilization in History class!

 A 7th Grade student presenting her very own Superhero in the "Superheroes" elective!

 An awesome time of worship in Chapel!

 My Yearbook staff, celebrating a completed yearbook for 2013-14!

 Students from my "Right Stuff" Engineering Elective, learning about what makes airplanes fly!

 In March, I attended the CUE (Computer-Using Educators) Conference and learned a lot about how teachers can use technology in their classrooms!

 Actor/Producer LeVar Burton was the keynote speaker at the CUE Conference!

 Later in March, I accompanied the 6th Graders to the Whitewater Preserve near Palm Springs, CA!

 My big 6th Grade son and me at the Whitewater Preserve.

 Two 6th Grade girls at the Whitewater Preserve!

 In History, we used iPads to create comparative topographies for some of the civilizations we've studied so far!

 History students, presenting their poster about India!

 Like, totally awesome girls on 80s Day!

 Using my iPad to display a book that was being read via Audible to my Bible students!

 Me and some of our Junior Highers at Farrell's on a fundraiser night!

 Making a map of the campus in our Cartography class!

 Oh! Did I mention I grew a mustache? It was shaved off by January, but fun while it lasted!

 Some of my 6th Grade students at the Holyland Exhibit in Los Angeles!

Hayden, giving his Comic Book Report in "Superheroes" Elective!