IACS Hawk
IACS Newsletter for the week ending October 12th
Dear IACS Community,
On Tuesday, October 16th, grades 9-12 will attend an assembly on healthy teen relationships and sexual harassment. The presentation is a program that is provided by the Middlesex Partnerships for Youth. IACS is one of over a 100 charter schools, public school districts, private schools, special education schools, educational collaboratives, and youth community service organizations that are members of Middlesex Partnerships for Youth (MPY). MPY provides training to students, teachers, and parents with the goal of reducing and eliminating risky behaviors (MPY Website). Healthy relationships and sexual harassment are part of our Integrated Health/PE curriculum that all sophomores take, and we hope that this presentation will be an additional support to help our students in this area.
Related to this, I would like to share with you some resources for parents. Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education began a project known as “Making Caring Common”. Their mission is to “help educators, parents, and communities raise children who are caring, responsible to their communities, and committed to justice.” Their website includes the following resources that I think you will find helpful:
Making Caring Common Resources for Parents
Misogyny and sexual harassment are distressingly commonplace in young people’s lives yet it appears that most parents have failed to address these topics. If you’re a parent and aren’t sure how to start a conversation at home, try these tips and resources:
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Practice our 6 Tips for Parents: Reducing and Preventing Misogyny and Sexual Harassment Among Teens and Young Adults. Given the prevalence of sexually degrading and harassing behavior in young people’s lives, conversations about misogyny and sexual harassment are critical—and it’s vital that parents go beyond platitudes like “be respectful.” Here are six tips for parents for engaging in meaningful, constructive conversations.
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Practice our 5 Tips for Parents: Guiding Teens and Young Adults in Developing Healthy Romantic Relationships. How can we as parents prepare our teens and young adults to develop healthy, caring romantic relationships? We can have frank, wonderful conversations with young people—even if we don’t have all the answers—that powerfully guide them, greatly enrich our relationships with them, and help us understand and develop skills in our own romantic relationships.
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Access more Resources for Parents. From tips to conversations starters, access more resources to support you at home.
I hope you find these resources helpful and if I come across any additional resources, I will be sure to send them your way as well.
Best,
Erik Arnold, Ed.D.
High School Principal
Important Dates

All School News
Growing Up in the Digital Age: A Film Screening & Panel Discussion
The Central Catholic High School Administration is hosting two special screenings of Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age, a documentary that explores the impact of screens and technology and how we can empower students to navigate the digital world. This valuable program will promote awareness, understanding, and dialogue around the important issue of screen use. Each screening will be followed by a panel discussion.
You are invited to attend the screenings on:
Tuesday, Oct. 16, at 6:00 PM. – En español
The screening is recommended for ages 10+
Please join us on Thursday, Oct 25th for an afternoon of fun. There will be a trail race (register here ) music, games, HS Girls Varsity soccer game, awards ceremony, food, and Trunk or Treat for more information go to the Pumpkin Run page on the school website.
Questions? – Contact Heather Landis
IACS School Nutrition Program:
The breakfast and lunch program is off to a great start with a significant increase in participation over this time last year! Thank you for participating in the School Nutrition Program! If you would like more information about this program, please contact Karen Drake, kdrake@innovationcharter.org.

Theatre News

Middle School News
Progress Reports: The first progress report of Semester 1 was published to our x2 Aspen student and family portal today. Please reach out to the main office if you have difficulty accessing the document, or if you need password or account help.
Winter Athletics Registration: It is time again for winter sports. This year, we are offering the following sports for middle school students: basketball, cheer, archery and high school indoor track (7/8 only). Please find the registration packet here. This packet includes specific team offerings, practice times/locations and the steps to register. All middle school athletic registration paperwork is due October 29th. Please do not hesitate to contact the Athletic Department at iacsathletics@innovationcharter.org with any questions or concerns.
Carwash: The Destramp 5th and 6th grade advisory will be holding a car wash to raise money for those affected by the gas explosions last month in Lawrence and Andover. The car wash will be on Wednesday, October 17 from 1-3pm in the lower middle school parking lot. The price will be $5 for a wash, plus $2 for a vacuum package, with a $2 discount available to IACS teachers. Come get your cars washed and support a great cause!
High School News

Spirit Week
October 15-19 is Spirit Week in the High School. The week will conclude with the Fall Festival. Join in and celebrate IACS!
The spirit days are:
Monday – Athletes & Mathletes
Tuesday – Twin Day
Wednesday – Fashion Disaster
Thursday – Throwback Thursday
Friday- Class Colors
Seniors – BlackJuniors – WhiteSophomores – RedFreshman – Blue
School Photos have Arrived
School Pictures were handed out to students this week. Parents that ordered a digital sharing file (and no prints) will be emailed directly to the address you provided on the order form. Students who were absent or would like to have their photo re-taken will be able to on Thursday, November 15th. For re-takes please make sure to bring all of the pictures back in the photo envelope. Student ID’s are available for purchase for $5. Students should speak with Crystal in room 230.
Parents with questions (late orders; missing orders, refunds etc.) should contact the dedicated Coffee Pond Lifeguards:
By phone you can reach the Customer Care Department directly at:
1-800-632-2323 ext "0"
By Email:
Semester 1 Progress Reports & Family Portals
Semester 1 Progress reports will be available on your X2 Family Portal this coming week. An email will be sent to parents when they are ready. If you do not know your log-in information please reach out to Crystal McKiel.
Italy Endersession Information Meeting for Parents & Students
Rome. Florence. and Venice. Colosseum. Gladiator School. Interested? From June 9th – June 17th, 2019, a group of students and staff are headed to Italy and we want you to join us! Come to the Italy Endersession Information Session on Tuesday, Oct. 16th at 5:30pm in room 242. Hart Travels will be there to present the program itinerary, cost, and other travel details. Parents/guardians are strongly encouraged to attend with students! Contact Ms. Anno (janno@innovationcharter.org) or Ms. Derival (rderival@innovationcharter.org) if you have any questions before then.
Yearbook
Order forms for the high school yearbook were distributed in advisory this week. Yearbooks are $40.00 this year, and must be purchased by March 22, 2019. Paper order forms may be turned in (with cash or check) to the Main Office.
Yearbooks may be personalized with student’s name and icons for an additional cost. If you would like to personalize your child’s yearbook, please order online at schoolannual.com.
If you have photos from school events that you would like to see in the yearbook, please submit them to yearbook@innovationcharter.org.
Senior Pictures
Seniors have the option of submitting senior portraits taken outside of school. If students don’t take senior portraits outside of school, we will use the portrait taken on School Photo Day. If students want to send in senior portraits from a different photographer, they can send them to yearbook@innovationcharter.org. The senior portraits should be 300 ppi or be able to fit a 3”x5” orientation. They should be vertical so that we don’t need to crop them. It should be a posed portrait in which your face is clear. We will be sharing more information about all things yearbook-related (including sales, other things that need to be submitted, and important deadlines) in the coming weeks.
Kelly, our volunteer coordinator is looking for bakers to make Apple Crisp and/or Pumpkin moons (whoopie pies) to sell at our Pumpkin Run event. Don’t have time to bake but still want to help? We could use donations of candy for the Trunk or Treat event, (just in case folks run out) Please email me with questions or if you’d like to donate candy. Thank you – Kelly Ash
LET’S DANCE!: Our 7/8 Halloween social is tonight, but there’s still a need for chaperones and parents who can donate 100-calorie pack snacks and Capri Sun Roaring Waters juice pouches for next week’s 5/6 dance (Oct 19) ! Contact fabykelly@gmail.com.
Innovation Academy Charter School