“The Hawk”

Dear IACS Community,

As we look ahead to January, our enrollment office gets busy with events in preparation for our March 1st lottery. On Saturday January 7th, the middle school will host the first of two Open House events for prospective families; the event runs from 10 am to noon. On Wednesday, January 18th, the high school will host the final open house event of the year, from 6 pm to 8 pm. We encourage all eighth grade families and students to attend if you have not yet been to an open house. Families of seventh grade students are welcome as well. Please spread the word to friends and neighbors that would be interested in learning more about our school program.

As we head off to vacation, the staff at IACS would like to wish your family a joyful holiday season and a happy 2017!

Warm regards,

Melissa Kapeckas

Middle School Principal

P.S.  And if you’d like a peek at some IACS holiday silliness, CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS VIDEO which was clearly not made by anyone featured!

Students in the Leedberg Advisory spread some holiday cheer this week by decorating classmates’ lockers as a surprise.

Important Upcoming Dates

December 19 Board of Trustee Meeting  6:30 – 8:30 pm

December 20 11th Grade College Night Kick-Off (parents & Students) 6:00 – 7:30

December 21 Early Release

December 23 – January 2 No School Winter Vacation

January 3 IACA Potluck Meeting  7:00pm

January 4 Early Release

January 7 MS Open House for Prospective Students & Parents 10:00 – 12:00

January 9 HS Field Trip  Windsoul Studio

Board of Trustee meeting 6:30 – 8:30 pm

January 11 Early Release

January 13 Last Day  Semester 1- MS and HS

January 16 No School – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

January 17 No School- Staff Professional Development Day

January 18 Full Day Wednesday

HS Open House for Prospective Students & Parents 6:00 – 8:00 pm

January 21 SAT Exam  8:00 – 1:00 pm

January 25 Early Release

January 27 MS Innovation Morning for Parents of Prospective Students 8:30-9:30am

HS Winter Semi-Formal Dance

All School News

Annual Giving Campaign:   Thank you to all of the IACS families who have already contributed to this year’s AGC.   Remember that any donations made before January 1st can be included towards your 2016 tax deductions.  All families will receive a donation letter for your tax records by mid-January.  

To make your secure online contribution, CLICK HERE.    Thanks for supporting IACS!

Reminder for Making Caring Common Family Survey:  

If you have not had a chance to complete this survey, please take 10 minutes to complete a brief online survey and enter MCC’s raffle for a chance to win one of five $50 gift cards! Your thoughts will help IACS to promote safety, caring, and respect, as well as to reduce bullying. An adapted version of this survey is also available for students and school staff.  The survey will close at 3pm, tomorrow Friday 23rd.

Please follow the link below to complete the brief survey:

https://harvard.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4PfaURUDbzBFjOR

For more information about Making Caring Common visit www.makingcaringcommon.org

Drama for MS & HS:

Thank you so much for all of your support for the IACS production of "Through the Looking Glass"! Congratulations to the Cast and Crew on a spectacular run, and HUGE THANKS to the IACS family community who volunteered in every way to make this production successful!

The Performing Arts Program is looking for Middle School and High School TECHIES! Would you like to learn how to operate the lights and/ or sound for the upcoming show, Man of La Mancha? If so, please email Mrs. ONeil at smyl21@aol.com for details! If you have run tech for shows in the past and would like to continue to, please email Mrs. ONeil for information.

Middle School Drama Workshop is full! Please email rhawthorne@innovationcharter.org if you would like to be added to the waiting list. Thank you!

The Cast List, and Rehearsal Schedule for Man of La Mancha is out! Please check your email for the latest of the latest! The first middle and high school dance rehearsal is Monday, December 12, 3:00-4:00. The first all high school cast rehearsal is Tuesday, December 13, 3:00-5:00. We can't wait to get started on this beautiful and demanding show!

Questions about the performing arts program? Please email rhawthorne@innovationcharter.org.

Athletics News:

This season, the Athletic Department will be implementing admission fees at our high school basketball games. We will be charging $2 for student/child admission and $5 for adults (anyone 18+ who does not currently attend IACS) at all games that have a varsity team playing.  Proceeds from admissions will go directly towards offsetting the associated costs of our growing program:  hiring scorekeepers and scoreboard operators, paying for professional referees to officiate the games, and covering for rental fees for the use of the facilities. We hope that you understand that this is a necessary change to make as our program grows and expands and will ultimately benefit our student-athletes.   Thank you for all of your continued support, we are looking forward to another successful winter season!

Lost & Found

Our lost and found bins are overflowing. They will be cleaned out on January 13th. Please encourage your student to stop by to look for any missing items.

Middle School News

Middle School Chorus:

Calling all Middle School Singers!

The Middle School Chorus will resume on Wednesday January 4th.

Middle School Chorus will meet on Wednesdays after school from 12:25-1:30 in the Middle School Music Room.

We welcome all Middle School students who like to sing. We will be preparing for our March Concert  with the Middle School Band and the theme is Disney Songs.  Students just need to bring their lunch and their singing voice and be picked up by parents at 1:30 on Wednesdays.  

Questions? Please contact Erin Lane who teaches the Middle School & High School Chorus –elane@innovationcharter.org

Middle School Yearbook:

2016-2017 IACS Middle School Yearbook Order Forms are now available.  They have been passed out in Advisory and are available on the MS Yearbook page on the website.

Order your Middle School yearbook NOW for the EARLY BIRD price of $20 is available until Friday, February 17, 2017. Orders placed after February 17, 2017 will be at the regular price of $27

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High School News

Upcoming Events to Note:

Tuesday, 1/03 – Classes Resume at 8am

Friday, 1/13 – Last Day of Semester 1

Monday 1/16 – No School for MLK Holiday

Tuesday 1/17 – No School for Students – PD for Teachers

Endersession Packet

Ballot Question 4 and Schools

College Acceptance Update for December

Commonwealth Commitment

Student Health 101 – How do you know what online health resources to trust?  What about WebMd  and Dr. Oz?  Can these sites do more harm than good?   How to Navigate Online Health Info  is a great article in this month's Student Health 101! It will help you and your family learn how to recognize trustworthy, online health/medical resources.   

Photo of the Week

Submissions can be emailed to earnold@innovationcharter.org

Students in Mr. Hinkle’s Advisory created a Gingerbread Innovation Academy…to scale of course!

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