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Reminders |
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We are a nut-free school for 2009-2010. Questions? Call the office.
PTO meetings are held monthly on the first Tuesday of each month in the community room at Earth Fare. The exception will be the first meeting to be held on September 8. All are welcome! |
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Volunteer Hours |
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Did you read to the class, go on a field trip or clean up? Be sure to have your hours counted. It is vital that we track these hours. Record your hours on the sheet in the office or send your hours to mrscholarsacademy@
gmail.com. |
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The Eagle's Nest Update... |
...is a bimonthly e-newsletter. The next newsletter will be distributed on Monday, September 7, 2009. Send your submissions to: scholars.newsletter@
gmail.com by Friday, September 4, 2009.
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The Eagle's Nest Update
Newsletter of Metrolina Regional Scholars' Academy
A Charter School Serving Highly Gifted Students
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Dr. Peine's Pen
This school year begins the tenth year of operation for Metrolina Regional Scholars' Academy. The school has nearly 270 students this year - compared to the 60 students on opening day in September of 2000. The mission of the school remains unchanged. We will provide the best education possible for highly intellectually gifted children. In an anniversary year, such as this, it is tempting - and easy - to reflect about the tremendous progress the school has made. The challenge for us is to remain focused in the present - as we work to continue to provide the best education possible for highly intellectually gifted children - and to look toward the future - as we contemplate how we will continue to offer individualized, challenging, and exemplary experiences for all of our students. Being the unique school that we are, our progress will provide some unique challenges, and some spectacular opportunities for innovative practice and creative endeavor that will set a different standard for excellence in the field of gifted education. We've only just begun! I invite all of you to be participants in this year of moving forward.
For the earth,
Marie E. Peine, Ph.D., Director
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Board of Directors Update
Dear Scholars' Academy family,
Welcome to the first e-issue of the 2009-2010 Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) newsletter for the Scholars' Academy. I am glad to have this opportunity to address you as the new Chair of the Board. We celebrate our 10th anniversary this year as an accredited charter school, and I know I speak for the entire board when I say thank you for all you do on behalf of this remarkably unique school.
For most us, the start of the school year is a time to send our children back to classrooms and reorient ourselves with the Scholars' Academy. For those of us on the Board of Directors, the inside of classrooms is familiar territory as we have worked over the summer to secure financing for our new building. We continue to narrow down our options and are very encouraged by the direction our negotiations are going. We know everyone wants to know "are we there yet?" We anticipate a few more weeks of negotiations and a decision very soon. We appreciate your patience during this involved and complicated process.
In the meantime, I am pleased to report that the Scholars' Academy enters the new school year with a budget that remains whole over last year - a remarkable accomplishment given difficult economic conditions. It is only through the strong support of our parents that this is possible, and I thank you for your continued commitment to the school. As you know, September will bring our annual fund drive and I hope we can once again count on you to assist during this very important year.
As I continue acclimating to my new role as Chairman, I am glad for every conversation with my fellow parents. As always, feel free to contact me with your ideas and suggestions at ggage@empoweredbenefits.com and I look forward to seeing you soon. Sincerely,
Gaston Gage
Chair, Board of Directors
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Important Information for the First Day of School 
(especially those families who were unable to attend the school orientation)
1) Students who arrive at school before 9 a.m. MUST report to Before Care. There is no supervision for waiting in the hall or waiting outside the school on the walkway. Families will be invoiced for use of the Before Care service.
2) For morning drop-off, DO NOT park in the drive-around if you are going to get out of your car. Please park in the parking lot.
3) For afternoon pick-up, DO NOT pull up to the drive-around until after the bus has left. Volunteers will be on hand to help for the first week.
4) Students may not carry any type of medication with them at school - not Tylenol, or Benedryl, or any type of over-the-counter medicines. Please make sure that all medications are registered in the office with Ms. Hargrove.
5) Students are NOT permitted to use cell phones or other electronic devices on the school campus. Please do not send them to school with students. Any devices used at school will be confiscated.
6) Flip-flops are for the beach, not for school. Please make sure students are wearing appropriate footware for PE days and outside play.
7) Due to new entry procedures, the entrance will be locked from 9:15 a.m. - 3:50 p.m. Please buzz at the door to gain entry. Ms. Hargrove will activate the lock as soon as guests have been identified.
8) For early dismissal, please pick up children no later than 3 p.m. We wll not call students from class after 3 p.m. This is disruptive to the entire class when done during instructional time.
9) Please return the gray Emergency Cards to the school as soon as possible.
Call the school office if you have any questions.
If you did not receive the Orientation Packet, please stop at the office where Ms. Hargrove is located (as opposed to the new office where Dr. Peine is located) to pick up a complete packet.
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Development Brief 
Did you know that 17% of the Scholars' Academy's 2009-2010 budget is made up of contributed income? It takes many people to help make the Scholars' Academy function - students, teachers, administrators, board members... and you! Our school, which plays such an important part in the lives of our children, is made possible in part by the generous contributions of parents, grandparents, family members, corporations, family foundations and friends of the school who dig deep each year.
We are very pleased to welcome Josh Jacobson, the Scholars' Academy's first-ever Development Coordinator, who will be helping us with our fundraising efforts this year. Josh will be working with Development Consultant Patton McDowell to oversee the fall fund drive and our capital campaign. It is their goal to begin soliciting support for the Scholars' Academy from outside the walls of our school, including local foundations and corporations. If you have any questions for Josh, or suggestions for funding prospects, he can be reached at development@scholarsacademy.org.
Thank you for all you do!
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A Million Thanks... 
Cleanup Day
Thanks to Joshua Lyle (Emma - Lloyd) and to Ruppert Landscape for responding to our "wish" for a company to donate playground materials. Ruppert Landscape generously donated and delivered all the mulch and sand for the playground. We are so grateful for this generous gift! Also, thank you to the many student and parent volunteers who gave their time, energy, and elbow grease on Cleanup Day on Saturday, August 15. Mulch was spread, hedges were trimmed, furniture was moved, and our school looks great! Click here for pictures of Cleanup Day.
Ambassador Families
Thank you to the following folks for serving as Ambassadors (Buddies) for our new Scholars' Academy families: Nilma Amin, Melissa Brown, Sabrina Brown, Breta Collins, Julie DiBella, Cheryl Drake-Bowers, Ann Gleason, Jigisha Gor, Suzanne Huffman, Kiran Kedar, Joanna Keel, Tejal Kothari, Dawn Lombard, Cara Ludvik, Trent Pitts, Cary Probst, Susan Scherer, Sangita Ramani, Leah Trowbridge, Carol VanBuren and Patty Watkins. A BIG thank you to Brad Chatigny and Rebecca Young for hosting the new family welcome evening.
Orientation Crew
Heartfelt thanks to the following adults for assisting with orientation, whether it involved setting up the PA system, hauling chairs or stuffing parent folders: Trent and Kathryn Pitts, Mary Tayal, Suzanne and Mark Huffman, Kiran Kedar, Melissa Brown, Jigisha Gor, and Josh Jacobsen. An even bigger thanks to the following students for assisting: Connor and Nina Brown; Kareena and Sagan Gor; Jade and Saige Kedar; Rajan and Sita Tayal; Peter, Bennett and Natalie Huffman; and Trevor Pitts. We appreciate all of your assistance in making orientation a success!
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Lunch Anyone? 
We will offer Jason's Deli on Tuesdays and Papa John's pizza on Fridays starting September 11. Families will receive an e-mail with an order form (and pricing) to e-mail directly to Page Lee at scholars.pizza@gmail.com. The last day to order pizza for September is September 4 at noon. The first day of pizza is Friday, September 11. If a family does not use e-mail and wishes to order pizza, contact Page directly at 704-442-4074. The only way to pay is through the PTO family fund, so everyone who wants to participate needs to be certain they have deposited money. |
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Wish Upon a Star
Will you be the next star to help make these wishes come true? Consider donating new or used items. To donate, contact Renee Alsop at scholars.newsletter@gmail.com.
- Any new or used musical instruments
- Outdoor chairs for the playground
- Any other items you think the schol might need...
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Community Service 
Welcome to the 2009-2010 school year! Although many of us feel challenged in these financially hard times, there are always those who have even greater needs than ourselves. In order to acknowledge both these factors, the community service projects at Scholars' Academy this year will focus on giving of ourselves via time and service, and donating items we already have to others in need.
Our first project will be a shoe drive in conjunction with Soles 4 Souls ( www.soles4souls.org). The drive will begin in mid-September. Look for details in the near future. In the meantime, as you purchase new school shoes for your children, please put away your gently used shoes for this upcoming drive. Also ask neighbors and friends to do the same. "Soles 4 Souls"... pretty much sums up a wonderful way to help others. |
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Clip Your Box Tops 
I hope you have had a great summer! I'm Kim Szentesi-Thomas, Box Tops for Education coordinator. For those of you who don't know what a Box Top is, please take a minute to look in your cabinets, pantry or fridge. If you see a product with Box Tops for Education written on it, then please take the time to clip the rectangular symbol and send it in to school with your child. The PTO receives 10 cents for each one, and it adds up in a hurry. Also, if you go to www.boxtops4education.com and click on the "Bonus Offers," you can sign up for a drawing of 500,000 bonus Box Tops worth $50,000. The Box Tops for Education program is a quick and easy way to earn money for our school. Every little bit helps! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me - and keep on clipping. Kim Szentesi-Thomas kszentesi.thomas@yahoo.com |
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Gazelle Gadgets for Good 
Turn your old gadgets into cash for Scholars' Academy! Old cell phones, MP3 players, digital cameras, laptops and more ( click here for a full list) can be donated, and the value of each will be donated to our PTO. |
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Re-link Your Harris Teeter VIC Card 
Harris Teeter's Together In Education program is a fund raising program for schools in our community.
When you purchase select Harris Teeter brand products using your VIC card, Harris Teeter contributes a percentage of those purchase dollars to our school.
Our school code is 4075. To re-link your VIC card for this school year or to sign up for the first time, click here. It is necessary to re-link every year. Look for more information about linking other rewards programs to our school in upcoming newsletters. | |
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