Martha Brown United Methodist Church invites parents and children to come for an evening of fun and games to kick-off our new kids program, "Little K", on Wednesday, February 15, 6:45-8:00 pm. There will be games, crafts, and contests like "Best Bed Head".  Invite your friends and neighbors.   Come early to potluck at 6:15 for Breakfast for Dinner!

The City of Atlanta is pleased to announce the launch of one of their initiatives - the Love Your Block mini-grants.  In partnership with Hands On Atlanta and the Neighborhood Fund, COA is inviting all groups to apply to potentially receive up to $500 or $1,000 mini-grants (in form of Home Depot gift cards).  You can learn more about the program at the newly launched, city-led volunteer web portal www.IAmAtlanta.org.  The application for the Love Your Block mini-grants can be found at http://iamatlanta.org/city-led-initiatives/love-your-block/.    

On Saturday, February 18th, Little Friends for Peace founders Mary Joan and Jerry Park of Rainier, MD will lead a peace skills seminar at Berea Mennonite Church, 1088 Bouldercrest Road SE, Atlanta GA 30316.  LFFP have been leading programs like this since 1981. They received the 2008 Pax Christi USA Teacher of Peace Award, joining better known past recipients Dorothy Day, Sr. Helen Prejean, and Fr. Daniel Berrigan. 

The program is aimed at providing teachers, parents and kids with strategies for growing peace in the home, the classroom, at work, on the playground and everywhere else. 

Cost is $15 per adult (additional donations accepted).   Please bring your children as there is a parallel program for children 5 and up.  Lunch is provided (but bring bottles, etc for infants to 4 year olds as they will be in daycare).  Time is 10 AM to 3 PM.  Reserve your place by emailing John.

Do you have an interest in seeing the Brownwood Park Recreation Center become an even better facility for the East Atlanta Community?  If you do below are two ways you can help.

A joint collaboration between EACA and the East Atlanta Kids Club, the Brownwood Recreation Center Community Committee seeks your participation in a community survey designed to help us better understand and improve the community's experience of the recreation center at Brownwood Park.  Please let us know what kinds of activities you'd like to see, how you feel about what's there now, and what you might be willing to do to make the rec center better serve community needs.  Contact Lisa Marie Welch, Brownwood Facility Manager, with any questions or comments, at 404-624-0747, and also keep up on the goings-on at the Rec center on Facebook.

Want to do even more? Come join this very worthwhile committee as it oversees the center while working to find fun, educational and entertaining ways for the community to take advantage of this wonderful facility.  If you have an interest in being part of this incredible success story that includes the unique City/Community relationship which allowed East Atlanta to reopen our Rec Center while others were closed, please email president@EACA.net.

Following the merger of the Neighborhood Charter School and the Atlanta Charter Middle School last summer, the Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School (ANCS) was created as a single school with two campuses serving students in grades K-8.  The first few months as a merged school have indeed been exciting ones for ANCS.  

The benefits of merging are beginning to be realized, including shared teaching and administrative resources, a more efficient governing board, and stronger parental involvement with families now connected to the same school for up to nine years.  ANCS is being recognized locally and nationally for its work.  The school was selected as a site visit during the national charter schools conference in June, and conference attendees from around the country came to hear more about the school's approach to teaching and learning.  ANCS was named a Title I Distinguished School by the Georgia Department of Education based on student performance on the Georgia CRCT.  As well, ANCS was recently awarded a nearly $1 million "Innovation Grant" by Governor Nathan Deal to partner with the Georgia State University College of Education in the creation of a new teacher training and support program.

ANCS is gearing up to enroll new students for next school year.  Applications for new students are now available on the school's website and in the main office of both the elementary and middle campuses.  There will be a series of information sessions for prospective students and their families on Thursday, February 23 at 6:30 PM at both campuses  and on Saturday, March 10 at 9:30 AM at the elementary campus and at 10:30 AM at the middle campus.  For more details about the enrollment process and to learn more about the school, visit its website at atlncs.org. 

To parents, friends, neighbors and supporters of Burgess-Peterson Academy:

The demographers working for Atlanta Public Schools have recently released their second round of options for redistricting within the system.  We encourage you to take the time to review them here (see options A and B, dated 1/27/12).  While in this current round of options BPA is not slated to close, please be aware that the School Board and Superintendent have stated that the final plan may be very different from either of these two current options.  Therefore, it is crucial that we continue to advocate for BPA.

As soon as you can please access this link and make your voice heard.  Share this information with as many of your fellow parents and neighbors as possible, and ask them to lend their support to our great school.

For more information about specific options and how to fill out the online form, please click here.  You will be provided comment space to discuss your answers for each set of options and for the plans as a whole.  Rather than have everyone give the same scripted answer, we ask that you identify the things that you most value in BPA and mention those.  For instance:

• BPA was never implicated in the CRCT cheating scandal; it is a CLEAN SCHOOL;
• BPA has won numerous grants and awards, including the 21st Century After-School Grant;
• BPA is a Title One School of Distinction and has made AYP for six years running;
• The school is a beautiful facility, relatively new, well-designed and with a lot of great amenities that many other schools don't have;
• BPA is in the middle of a vibrant and rapidly-growing neighborhood, as increases in enrollment show;
• The community is heavily involved in the school, with a gardening program staffed and run by volunteers, cooking demonstrations from the local farmers market, and grants from the local community association, among others;
• The need for a consistent cluster of schools that are all close-knit neighborhoods and which all feed into Coan/King MS and Jackson HS.  This reinforces the sense of community, and helps ensure great parental involvement on every level.

Most of all, we suggest that you keep it positive, keep it constructive and let them know how important our school is to all of us.  Do it today!

Thank you,

Dr. Elisabeth Burgess - Chair, Burgess-Peterson Academy Local School Council

Reid Tankersley - President, Burgess-Peterson Academy Parent-Teacher Association

Lewis Cartee - President, East Atlanta Community Association (EACA)

Dennis Madsen - Chair, EACA Education Committee; Treasurer, BPA PTA

It's never too early to start thinking about homegrown tomatoes and sweet basil. Why not let Burgess-Peterson Academy students grow seedlings for your spring garden? Order now for pickup or delivery the week of March 26. Each of the seven grades at BPA is planting a different variety of fruit or vegetable in 4-inch pots. Plants are $2 each. Supplies are limited so don't delay. Profits will support garden education at the school. Each student also will get to take a plant home. 

Click here for the order form or e-mail BPAgarden@gmail.com for more information. Also, don't forget to "like" the garden on Facebook!

The Wesley International Academy Phoenix Ball & Silent Auction is

right around the corner and you are invited to attend!  This is a great way to be a part of our school community especially if you are looking for your child to attend Wesley International Academy.

The WIA auction is the most important fundraiser of the year for our
public, charter school.  A successful auction makes a big impact on
our students! Proceeds from last year's auction helped the WIA PTA
purchase Interactive Whiteboards and fund field trips and our Green
and Healthy Initiative, including the Gardener-in-Residence.

We are looking for donations from the community of items such as
tickets for concerts, special events and sports, items from specialty
stores, gift certificates from local restaurants, art, autographed
books or CDs, jewelry, vacation rentals, bikes, electronics, services-
cleaning, decorating, floor care, landscaping, painting, home repairs,
personal services- hair care, cooking, manicure, pedicures, health
services- massage, aromatherapy, chiropractic, reflexology, dental,
cosmetic, legal services, tutoring, fitness, summer camps and more!

Donations to the WIA Silent Auction are 100% tax deductible. 

• When:  March 10th, 5 - 10 pm
• Where:  Ambient + Studios in Mechanicsville
• Cost:  Free to attend, $10 for dinner in advance, $15 at the door

Click here for donation forms, details, menu and dinner ticket order forms. 

EACA Needs Your Support!