As the music department continues to prepare for their Spring Concert on May 29th, the choir, chorale, and instrumental students took a break on Thursday to attend a rehearsal for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. A good time was had by all and thank you to Mr. Sciolla and Ms. Lane for organizing the trip to Boston.

Students in Mr. Pelham’s Film & Photography class and Mr. Barry’s Design 3D class have been creating some great projects this semester as well. This work can be seen displayed on the first floor and here are a few samples of what you will see throughout the building:

Lastly, while not an art or music class, but certainly a “work of art”, students in Mr. Thornton’s Outdoor Adventure class have been building shelters in the woods. Ben & Thomas took on the challenge of trying to build a shelter over the water and while it is still a work in progress, they have built a solid foundation so far.

Have a great vacation everyone and take some time to get outdoors!

Best-

Erik Arnold, Ed.D.

High School Principal

Mark your calendars for the:

IACS Spring Arts Night – Wednesday, May 29th.

The Spring Arts Night will be a showcase of Middle School Art, Middle School Bands and Chorus, High School Chorus, Chorale & Instrumental Ensemble.

Middle School Art will be on display starting at 5:00 pm. Performances by the musical groups will be starting at 6:00 pm and will take place in the auditorium and library. Join us for a great evening of art and music!

Have you ever dreamed of performing on a famous New York stage in front of Broadway producers and others who are celebrating this show?

JOIN US! Email rhawthorne@innovationcharter.org

Join us for Performing Arts Camps this summer, for students finishing grades 4 through 12! Camp has a free, public performance on Friday night. Don’t miss your chance to shine on stage! Find information here.

Scholarships are available and are based on need. Please email rhawthorne@innovationcharter.org with any questions!

Sign up here.

Eighth Grade Families: Save the Date- Moving Up Ceremony

The 8th Grade Moving Up Assembly will be held in our school auditorium from 8:15-9:15 am on Tuesday, June 11th. Eighth grade students have a ceremony including a retrospective account of middle school written by students and recognition of students’ completion of middle school. This will be followed by a continental breakfast for students and their guests. Due to space constraints in the auditorium, students are limited to no more than 2 guests at the assembly. Please respect this rule to ensure all that attend can be seated.

Eighth Grade Families: Save the Date: Eighth Grade Semi-Formal

The 8th Grade Semi-Formal will take place on Saturday, May 11th from 7:00- 10:00 PM. This is always a fun night, and we are hoping to have 100% student participation. At school, we will share plans with students so that they may look forward to this last celebration with their eighth grade classmates, while at the same time ensuring that students understand how this is distinguishable from a formal event, like a prom. Girls may opt to wear a simple party dress. Gowns, short mini-dresses or other revealing dresses are not permitted. Boys may opt to wear a collared dress shirt and dress pants. Tuxedos are not permitted. Limousines are not permitted. Tickets will be on sale closer to the event and details of this fun event will be discussed with students as the dance approaches.

Save the Date- Spring Quality Night

Fifth grade Quality Night is Tuesday, 5/21 from 6-7 pm. Please make sure this date is on your calendar. Attendance is mandatory.

Seventh graders will also be making presentations as well, but we’ll be altering the format for the spring. We will partner with HS advisories so that seventh graders will be making their presentation to older students as well as receiving feedback. These presentations will occur during the school day during the week of 5/20.

A reminder that all sixth and eighth graders have their assigned jury presentation date/time. Eighth graders will jury during the week of May 27th. Sixth graders will jury during the week of June 3rd.

Middle School Visual Arts Camp

We’re excited to be offering 2 week-long sessions of Visual Arts Camp for IACS students entering grades 5 – 8!

There will be morning and afternoon programs available, each with a different focus.

Visual Arts Camp will run the weeks of 7/8 – 7/12 & 7/15 – 7/19.

More information, including how to register, can be found here.

Kent/Leonard Advisories Coin Drive

The Kent Advisory and the Leonard Advisory are teaming up in their efforts to collect coins for two very impactful organizations, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) and The Jared Box Project. The mission of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Your contributions will support research efforts to rid the world of blood cancers. The goal of the Jared Box Project is to lift the spirits of children in the hospital. Your contributions will go toward the creation of boxes filled with well wishes, hope, and love, and packed with toys, games, and fun activities, symbolizing the importance of play.

So search your couch cushions and save the change made from purchasing your morning coffee, and consider donating your coins to help us reach our combined goal of raising $500 toward these two very special organizations! Collection bins will be in each of the Self-Direction Advisory locations, Room 410 (Mr. Leonard’s Room), in the cafeteria, and in the 7th/8th grade math classrooms. Thank you for your donations!

MCAS Testing Update

The MCAS schedule is as follows:

April 26 & 29- 5th/6th grade MCAS Math testing

April 30 & May 2- 7th/8th grade MCAS Math testing

May 6-7- Science MCAS testing for grades 5 and 8 only

Families often ask us what they can do at home to help their child be prepared and do their best on the day of the exam. Please be sure your child is well rested and eats a healthy breakfast on testing days. Remind your child that the tests are not timed and s/he is well prepared for the exams. We want our students to remember to go back into the passages as they work through the tests and to check all of their work prior to finishing. Be certain to arrive to school on time. Once a testing session has begun, students who are tardy are not permitted to enter the testing room. If you have any questions about MCAS testing, please do not hesitate to contact me at mkapeckas@innovationcharter.org or 978-649-0432 x 2229. If you’d like to see the TestNav tutorial and/or review computer-based or paper-based practice tests, they are available at this website: http://mcas.pearsonsupport.com/tutorial/

2018-2019 IACS Middle School Yearbook now available to order

Early Bird Order Form $20 until Sunday, April 21st, 2019

NEW THIS YEAR! You can now order and pay Onlinebit.ly/MS-Yearbook

Price is $27 after April Vacation

Yearbook Order Form 2018-2019

Life Sciences Field Trip

Twenty 10th and 11th graders participated in a career exploration field trip to Millipore Sigma in Burlington today. Thanks to employee volunteers, we toured one of their life science labs to learn about the equipment they design to ensure that medical drugs are safe and not contaminated with bacteria, viruses, leaching from plastics, etc. Thank you to MassBioEd for funding our trip and to our Millipore Sigma guides for sharing their knowledge and experiences.

Model United Nations Team

Internship Stars

IACS student interns Isabella Green, Erzi Nason, & Emma Foley are featured in a video from the company Beyond Benign. They have been working on a Guide for Sustainable Bioplastics in partnership with Lemelson-MIT "Green Chemistry Invention: A Student Perspective" https://youtu.be/K8R6T9wblH8

IACS Scholarships for Graduating Seniors

We have compiled a list of IACS Scholarships that we give out to graduating seniors. Please be sure to check for deadlines and application requirements.

Ian’s “Promposal” became more challenging in the wind this week…but I believe Eva said “Yes!”