20 May 2016

Le Journal



From the head of school

Recognizing Excellence 

Dear families,

Last week, our sponsor UCM (University of Central Missouri) organized its annual recognition ceremony for charter schools. It was an opportunity for Acad�mie Lafayette to recognize student Ella Norton and parent Brenda Kumm.
 
STUDENT OF THE YEAR: Ella Norton is an exceptional member of the Acad�mie Lafayette community. As a student, she consistently excels in all subject areas and has earned recognition on the honor roll every grading period. As a school citizen, she took the initiative to get involved in the student council, and was voted president by her middle school peers. As president, she ran weekly meetings and helped organize middle school social and academic events. The maturity, poise and determination that she has shown in fulfilling her leadership role has motivated other students and has set a standard of conduct for future student council representatives and officers.
 
COMMUNITY PARTNER OF THE YEAR: Brenda Kumm, along with other parent volunteers, has given countless hours to help build a very successful after school track and field program for all students at Acad�mie Lafayette. Her patience, dependability and skillful motivation of our students have resulted in remarkable progress and success. The track and field program now has close to two hundred participants at the two campuses. Brenda has devoted weekends and evenings to coaching practices and holding meetings. AL Track and Field boys team won the 2016 Metro Championship and the girls' team took third place. Besides, Brenda graciously accepted to co-chair our first fundraising student jog-a-thon, the Musketeer March, that raised $20,000. She also recently helped with our Kindergarten Round-Up, spending several days doing screenings for our newest students. As a parent of a 1st grader and a 6th grader, Brenda has been a very supportive member of our school community. Acad�mie Lafayette is very lucky to have parents like Brenda Kumm.
 
I would like to thank all the parents who have given a tremendous amount of their time to support the school. You have made a huge difference!

Bon weekend!

Monsieur Mbengue

calendar

Upcoming Events

May 24
Orchestra Concert
7 pm, Oak Auditorium



May 31
Last Day For Students

Cherry Field Day

8th Grade Graduation
6 pm, Oak Auditorium
May 27
Oak Field Day

End Of Year Picnic 
3:45 pm, Oak Campus

June 2
Incoming Kindergarten Parent Orientation Meeting
6 pm, Cherry Campus


May 30
NO SCHOOL 




Summer School
Wednesday, June 8 -
Friday, June 22

No School July 4 & 5

Download the 2015-16 School Calendar by clicking here.
Access the 2016-2017 School Calendar here

Info Sharing

Summer School Information

Greetings from your Acad�mie Lafayette Summer School Staff! With the regular school year drawing to a close, we are hard at work making sure everything is ready for the students so we can hit the ground running on that first day of Summer School! The theme for this year is A Well-Balanced Summer or Un �t� �quilibr�! The first day of Summer School will be Wednesday, June 8th. 

For the inquiring minds, if you have already enrolled for Summer School, we will be sending a packet home with your child with information pertaining to what class they are in, their field trip schedule, snack policies, and a Summer School supply list. Additionally if your child is an incoming Kindergartener or a child who has recently been admitted from the wait list in grades 1, 2 or 3, you will be receiving your child's car-rider number as per our dismissal procedure. Any questions about this can be answered at our Incoming Kindergarten Parents' Orientation on June 2nd at 6pm at the Cherry Campus! We are excited for the summer to start and can't wait to have another awesome summer session with your kids! 

Questions? Contact Roxanne Troxell [email protected]

Info Sharing

Will You Need Y-Care This Summer? 

If you are interested, you need to register directly with the Cleaver YMCA, (816) 285-9622). Simply stating that you are interested on the re-enrollment form does not register you. 

Info Sharing

Field Day Supplies And Volunteer Needs

Parents: Field Day volunteer spots are going fast - don't miss out on this awesome last-days-of-school tradition! Also, for grades K-4, please send your kids to school on their field day with either extra (dry) clothes or a bathing suit under their clothes - yep, there will be water fun happening! 4th Grade Field Day is on Friday 5/27 and K-3rd Grade Field Day is on Tuesday 5/31.

Volunteers: click HERE to register for Oak (5/27) and HERE to register for Cherry (5/31). 


Info Sharing

End Of Year Picnic 

Let's celebrate the end of an awesome school year! Come to the Oak campus on Friday, May 27th, from 3:45 to 7 pm. Bring the family and enjoy a night of food and fun at the Oak campus parking lot. We will have free bouncy houses for the kids! Bring your picnic blanket and lawn chairs. Acad�mie Lafayette will provide hotdogs, meat and veggie burgers. 

What to bring? 
  • K-1 grades bring drinks (bottle water, cans, or juice boxes)
  • 2 -6 grades bring a side dish (salads, fruit etc.)
  • 7-8 grades bring desserts. 
  • EVERYONE:  Please bring your own dishes and silverware. 
***There are lots of volunteers still needed to help monitor the bouncy houses***

Info Sharing

Yearbooks For Sale

We still have a few yearbooks available for purchase for $15 each. Please contact Mme McClain, [email protected], if you are interested, or go to the front office at the Oak Campus. 


Info Sharing

AL T-Shirt Design Voting Closes Monday

Our talented community submitted many creative designs for next year's tee-shirt. This shirt will be approved for PE wear and just for knocking around and showing your school spirit. It will be available in youth and adult sizes.  

We will set up the ALSPIRIT.com website in early June to order this shirt and any of your spiritwear needs over the summer. Everything will be ready for pick up at Meet the Teacher Night on August 15th or the first day of school August 17th if you miss Meet the Teacher night.  

Use this link to vote for your favorite by Monday, May 23rd!

Info Sharing

Still Looking For Intern Host Families

Bassin family with intern
Intern Quentin Fernandes with Lindsey Bassin, Asher (4), Judah (1st) -- and Scout!
Lindsay Bassin had never heard her son speak much French - until intern Quentin Fernandes moved in. 
 
"Now I get to hear them converse in French all the time!" she says. "And he helps Judah with his homework - a plus for a non-French speaking parent."
 
The Bassin family volunteered to host an AL intern last year. They did not know what to expect and were a little nervous, but the experience has been rewarding for the family. "We have a new appreciation for the French culture," Lindsay says. "We're applying to host an intern for next year!"

Questions? Interested? Contact Amandine Brown [email protected]

Info Sharing

Order Your SchoolKidz Kits Now

Ordering your back-to-school supplies has never been easier! SchoolKidz is America's #1 source for hassle-free school supply shopping. It's customized for Acad�mie Lafayette and personalized based on your child's teacher's needs. Every Acad�mie Lafayette teacher made adjustments to the supply list this year to keep the price low. 

This program not only saves you time and gas, it is also a fundraiser for our school. 10% of your purchase comes back to AL! The PTSO is hoping to raise $3,000 through this program to benefit our kids. Your school supplies will be delivered to your child's classroom the week before school starts - no hassle!

The SchoolKidz school supply sale will run from May 10 - June 10 and all orders must be made online. Parents will receive an email with online order information and an informational letter came home with your child last week (click here to access the letter). You can order online here

Info Sharing

Musketeer March Stats

MM t-shirt The Musketeer March was a great success and raised more than $20,000! Thank you to everyone who participated, our volunteers, our event chairs, Brenda Kumm and Kristi Odums, along with Sarah Guthrie, Director of Development, and our in-kind sponsor, Research Medical Center, Brookside Campus. We could not have done it without you!

Congratulations to the following AL students who completed the most laps on each course:

Logan Brettell Sebastian Herber Ilys and Ian
  • Kindergarten: Logan Brettell with 52 laps on the gym course - Mme. Israel Class 
  • 1st-3rd Grade: Sebastian Herber with 54 laps on the outside course - M. M. Jones Class (3rd grader)
  • 4th-8th Grade: Ily�s Ait Abdelkader (7th Grader Mme. McDowell) 30 laps and Ian Remer (4th grader, Mme. Charruau) 30 laps.  These two each ran 4.68 miles in 30 minutes averaging under 6:45 min/mile.
Congratulation again to the 5th grade -- Mme Hanriot's class -- for securing the most in sponsorships of either campus. Congratulations to Mr. Justin Jones' K class for securing the most sponsorships at Cherry. They celebrated with a Kona Shaved Ice party.  MM Mr. Jones shaved ice
MM 5th grade Kona Ice
Watch for a special newsletter on Tuesday, May 24, with lots of pictures!

Info Sharing

We Love Matching Gifts

AF 5.19.2016
Have you ever wondered if your company makes matching gifts for charitable donations -- such as the Acad�mie Lafayette Annual Fund? Many do and you can find out if YOUR company does by clicking here: matching gifts. Type in the name of your company and this link will take you to a website that tells you not only if your company makes matching gifts but what you need to do.  

Remember, the Annual Fund extends to June 30, 2016. You can make a safe, secure online gift by clicking here. We have $67,074 to go to reach our goal!
 

Info Sharing

End Of Year Logistics

This is a very exciting time of year as we all look forward to the upcoming class trips, Journ�e Culturelle, end of the year picnic, graduation, the last day of school, and then our AWESOME SUMMER SCHOOL PROGRAM. The weather is beautiful and a good time to run errands and get some things done. However, we have to remember that all students need to be picked up by 4:00 pm from the Oak Campus and 3:45 pm from the Cherry Campus. We will not allow students to leave the building at the end of the school day who do not have permission to walk, and students found on the playground that haven't been picked up will be brought in to the building and parents called. It is a safety issue to have unsupervised students on the playground and in the building, so please help us keep your child(ren) safe. Feel free to have your children use both playgrounds as long as you are present to supervise them. 

Just as a reminder, in the past, there has been a late fee charged when picking up late, but we have not been enforcing that rule. However, it will be enforced next year with no exceptions: any student not picked up on time will be charged a $1.00 per minute late fee.  

Thank you for your cooperation.

Info Sharing

Oak Expansion Clarification

The construction is scheduled to begin at the Oak campus this summer, but this will NOT impede the 3rd grade students from attending summer school at the Oak Campus to start their 4th grade experience.

Info Sharing

Stay In The Know

As part of our commitment to transparency and improving our communications, we've created a PTSO Facebook page. Follow the PTSO on Facebook for updates on activities, events, and much more. You can even subscribe to the events feed to be reminded of Acad�mie Lafayette events and deadlines.


Info Sharing

PTSO Survey

The PTSO (Parent, Teacher, Student Organization) represents the families at Acad�mie Lafayette and we want to make sure we are aligned with the needs of our families. The PTSO works to raise funds for school programs that are not covered by state funding, such as the sports teams, robotics program and many field trip subsidies. In a typical year we raise over $300 per student through events and fundraising activities such as discount cards, Allez 5k, Trivia Night, and EIP (to name a few).

We would like additional feedback from the larger community to improve upon the events, making them more attractive to more families. Please spend a few minutes answering these questions. Click here to access the survey. Merci!

Info Sharing

Stone Soup Event A Blast




This year, the AL Ambassador Team hosted the school's very first "Stone Soup." Parents and kids from both campuses came together for dinner and community. Everyone brought dishes that came from cultures all over the world. 22 countries in all were represented. Yassa Chicken from Senegal, German potato salad, Russian beet salad, Cameroonian plantains, French baguette and Camembert, English sausage rolls, and Spanish empanadas are just a few of the wonderful things that were brought to share. Children performed songs that they and their teachers had prepared. Teachers and parents danced together on stage. Madame Lawanda put together a wonderful team of Cherry kids to portray famous African Americans. Sheridan Mirador danced as Alvin Ailey. We learned about each other, we came together in the spirit of kindness and of acceptance. It felt like home, and it felt like family. If you did not make it, we hope you will consider coming next year as this will be something we do again and again. Thanks to all who made the night such a success. Special thanks to Amanda Campbell, Monique Hall, Mbarou Mbengue, and the spectacular Madame Lawanda Swoopes. These lovely ladies are responsible for all of the entertainment, planning, clean up and signage. My heart is full of gratitude toward all who participated.  I hope to see you there next year. 

Leslie Kohlmeyer

Info Sharing



AL in the community
AL Students Witnessing KC History

5A and 5B went to the Grand Opening of the street car. We got to meet Mayor James who mentioned Acad�mie Lafayette 5 times during his speech! We rode the Street Car heading back to Union Station to have a picnic in the park. What a great day! Students got to see for themselves how government works for us and how taxes turn into fun things like the street car.

Mme Werner





Report your sightings of Acad�mie Lafayette parents, staff, or students accomplishments to [email protected].  

AL in the community
Facebook Shout-Out

Mme Smith, Oak Art Teacher, got a shout-out from Major Sly James on social media for sending projects done with 4th grade students to his office! The students were asked to draw postcards that represented Kansas City. 





Report your sightings of Acad�mie Lafayette parents, staff, or students accomplishments to [email protected].  

Sports

Middle School Boys Soccer Info Meeting

Next year's 6th, 7th and 8th graders will have an opportunity in the fall to represent Acad�mie Lafayette in the KC Metro Conference. Come meet the coaches and learn more about the Middle School Boys Soccer program on Tuesday, May 24th at 5:30 pm in the Oak Campus auditorium!

5th, 6th, and 7th grade families: check your email for a message with more detailed information about the new soccer team.

Sports

16-17 Volleyball Team Roster

We would like to thank all those who attend the volleyball practice and tryouts for the 2016/2017 school year. We loved meeting all the volleyball enthusiasts and were so encouraged by all the talent and passion out there for the sport. We would like to introduce Academie Lafayette's volleyball team for 2016/2017:

Seraphina Von Rautenfeld (8)
Katie Riffle (8)
Isabella Dougherty Jaime (8)
Gabriella Mussulman Watson (8)
Megan Roe (8)
Haley Langle (8)
Rayna Bowman (8)
Donyae Watson  (7)
Bishop Hankel (7)
Ruby Harris (7)
Indigo Nelson-Frey (alternate) (7)
June Eaton (6)
Ava Martinez (6)
Samantah Lif (alternate) (6)

We look forward to starting practices in August (before school) to be ready to lead the charter schools this coming fall. Congratulations, ladies. 

Coaches Sheila, Rodney, Edouard and Mamadou

INFO SHARING

Newsletter Contact

The school newsletter is used to communicate weekly with families. It is published on the last school day of the week. It contains vital information about upcoming events, school issues, as well as PTSO news and articles about what goes on in the classrooms. 

We have several mailing lists, and if you receive emails not pertinent to you or your child, please let us know by emailing [email protected]. Unsubscribing will remove you from all of the mailing lists, so please contact us before hitting the button!

If you know someone that is not receiving this newsletter, please encourage them to email the address above as well, so we can add them to our system.

To place articles and/or ads, please read the 2015-2016 Newsletter guidelines before contacting us. 

 

 



Oak Street Campus
6903 Oak Street
Kansas City, MO 64113
816-361-7735

Cherry Street Campus
3421 Cherry Street
Kansas City, MO 64109
816-888-7400

www.academielafayette.org