The Hawk: December 20, 2019

December 19, 2019 6:48 pm

Dear IACS Community –

With the chill in the air and the snow on the ground it is clear that winter is here, but it still seems hard to believe that our first semester is nearly over. The December 10th extra-help block during the school day was used productively by our students, so we will be having a second extra-help day on January 9th. On the evening of January 9th we will be having our first multicultural potluck dinner. It will begin at 5pm in the cafe and then at 6pm the high school Exhibition Night will begin. All students will either have projects on display or be involved in a class presentation. The evening is open to the public and we encourage anyone that would like to learn more about the great work that our students engage in at the high school to stop on in. The evening will wrap-up at 8pm with a short performance by our concert choir and chorale. On another note, planning for Endersession is well underway and students should start turning in their Endersession paperwork after vacation. Students need to select their top four choices and all of the descriptions and forms can be found here in the Endersession Packet 2020.

All of us at IACS hope you have a restful and joy-filled holiday season and we look forward to seeing you all in the new year!

Best-

Erik Arnold, Ed.D.

High School Principal

Aspen Glitch

We’ve had a few students and families notify us of problem in their Aspen Portals. It appears that the Recent Activity box is not displaying recent assignments. This is an Aspen-wide problem following a recent update to the system, and not specific to IACS. Aspen hopes to have the problem resolved soon.

In the meantime, recent grades can be found by clicking on ACADEMICS Top Tab and view recent scores by subject and assignment.

Upcoming Middle School Enrollment Open Houses

We have 2 upcoming enrollment open house sessions at the middle school- Saturday, January 4th 10-12 as well as February 13th from 6-8 pm. During the open house, tour groups cycle through sessions by teachers and students to learn about the middle school curriculum at IACS. Please spread the word to friends and neighbors.

5th/6th grade Quality Night

Mark your calendar– the rescheduled date is Tuesday, January 7th from 6-7:15 pm.

Please remind your child to dress professionally. A suit or fancy dress is not necessary, but a nice shirt, slacks, and/or skirt would all be good choices. After they present, we encourage you to visit IACA’s bake sale in the cafeteria for a post-presentation treat and to connect and celebrate with other students and families.

Middle School Ski/Snowboarding Club

We are piloting a new ski and snowboard club for the ski season of 2020 for students that already ski/snowboard or would like to learn. The club will meet for 6 weeks on Fridays at Nashoba Valley

and we have an arrangement with the ski area for a discounted ticket, lesson and rental packages as needed. There will also be a possible parent carpool.

Join us on Friday, January 3rd from 3:15 to 4:00pm for an initial informational meeting for parents and students. Ski you later!

If you have any questions, please feel free to email parent organizer/ski patrol Jude Reveley at

Judereveley@gmail.com.

Poetry Out Loud

Congratulations to all who competed in the Poetry Out Loud semi-finals 2019-2020… well done everyone! The school finals will be in January, but here are the results as of now:

A Block

1st place: Georgia Row

2nd place: Caitlin Pennie

3rd place (tie): Nickeyla Samuel & Katy Baird

B Block

1st place: Andrew Shapiro

2nd place: Hannah George

3rd place: Sammi O’Neill

C Block

1st place (tie): Tess Colella & Amy Clements

2nd place (tie): Sonakshi Srivastava & Andrea Pearson

3rd place: Hope Coleman-Plourde

D Block

1st place: Chloe Kefauver

2nd place: Zander Baker-Villarreal

F Block

1st place: Daniella Chávez

2nd place: Colin O’Neill

3rd place (tie): Morgan Frazier & Delaney Brown

Merrimack Valley Food Drive

Thank you to everyone who donated to the Merrimack Valley Food Drive! Altogether the high school donated 226 goods, worth 227 lbs! Congratulations to the Kelly/Morocco advisory for the most donations. They will receive the prize of a pizza party or ice cream party, sponsored by the National Honor Society. Happy Holidays!

Save the Date – Thursday, Jan 9th!

Exhibition Night will be held on Thursday, January 9th. Join us as the school is transformed into a gallery of student exhibits and presentations. All students will be contributing at least one piece. This is a great way to see the project-based work that our students create during the school year. Come celebrate our students’ achievements.

Come early for a multicultural potluck in the cafe from 5-6pm. Sign up to bring a dish!

Exhibits & Presentations begin at 6pm.

The Combined Choral & Chorale will give us a quick preview of their upcoming winter concert.