Concept English 2015/2016 
Writing Competition

Concept English holds a writing 
competition each year because
we believe strongly in providing
students opportunities to compete 
for prizes in all areas of academic
life. This year, with an all new
curriculum, teachers are 
collecting  student pieces from 
each  performance task (writing) 
for the first two units of the year.

Our goal is to inspire students 
within the framework of everyday 
learning. This year's theme: 
"From  Idea to Concept, 
Sharpening  Our  Classroom 
Writing Skills."

The deadline for entries is 
January 29, 2016.

For further information, 
including rules and 
guidelines as well as the 
option to download the 
poster  go to 
Class of 2016 reaches record level scholarship mid-year, $5.2 Million   
 
The Concept Schools network 
has 9 high schools with 
2016  graduating classes. 
There are  422 seniors who 
are getting  ready to open a college  chapter in their life. 

Every senior is encouraged 
to  apply to a minimum of 8 
colleges.  As the year progresses,  we have  started receiving many academic scholarships. The 
Concept  community can 
track  the total  amount of 
scholarships  at 

Our bright seniors have 
received $5,200,000 in 
scholarships as of this month. Congratulations, students, 
parents, teachers and the 
Concept community.
Successful Start to  2015-16 Robotics  Competition Season

CMSA hosted regional  FLL qualifier on December  5th. 
16 teams competed to 
reserve a spot for the state 
finals. 

Cleveland Middle School 
won the Judge Award,  GSA 
Fyler got the table 
performance  and Core 
Values awards,  advancing 
to the state finals,  GSA 
South  received the table performance  award,  GSA 
Smiley received  the  Robot Design award,  Columbus 
Middle won the  table performance  and 
Robot Design awards, 
advancing to the state 
finals,  and HSA Lorain 
received  Mechanical Design award. 

Thanks to our students and 
coaches for their hard work!
City Honors HSA Cleveland Social Studies Teacher

Mr. Sklad, Social Studies teacher at Horizon Science Academy Cleveland, was awarded the week's Teacher 
of the Week honor by Ohio Savings Bank and News-channel 5 Cleveland.

Congratulations Mr. Sklad, another great example of the Social Studies teachers that 
we have in our network!

Watch the video here of Mr. Sklad accept his award.
Foreign Language and 
History Converge in 
Youngstown

In December, Turkish language 
learners at HSA Youngstown 
were busy making the models 
of the historical buildings and 
places, some of which are 
world famous.

The wooden Horse of Troy, 
The Giant Sculptures of 
Commagene Kings, Hagia 
Sophia Museum, Topkapi 
Palace, Maiden Tower 
Lighthouse, Fairy Chimneys 
of Cappadocia, and Pamukkale Travertines were just some of 
these models.

The learners also searched 
for  the historical background 
of the  building and places and 
displayed  some brief information 
about each  of them. 
Nominate Concept Schools' Teacher of the Year

As part of our ongoing effort to improve teaching and learning, Concept Schools continues to provide a Teacher of the Year recognition program to honor, promote, and encourage outstanding teachers in our schools. This recognition will also raise the stakes among our teachers as they will then move on to state and national competitions.

The Concept Schools Teacher of the Year will also serve a community point person who both promotes charter community schools and innovative teaching strategies. He or she will receive a $1,000 monetary award for this recognition.

Administrators, teachers, parents and students can nominate a teacher who:
  • Holds a valid state teaching certificate;
  • Is an exceptionally dedicated, knowledgeable, and skilled individual, teaching kindergarten through grade twelve;
  • Inspires students of all backgrounds to learn;
  • Has the respect and admiration of students, parents, and colleagues;
  • Plays an active and useful role in the community as well as in the school;
  • Is poised, articulate, and possesses excellent communication skills;
  • Uses technology as a tool for learning, communication, and collaboration; and
  • Possesses a state and national perspective of how current educational issues and practices impact teaching and learning.

The deadline for nominating a teacher is February 26, 2016.

The deadline for applications is April 15, 2016.
The winner will be announced on May 20, 2016.
2015 Concept Schools Spelling Bee Results
 
We are happy to share the results of the 2015 Concept Schools' Spelling Bee, which took place Saturday, December 12 at the University of Illinois at Chicago:
 
ELEMENTARY GRADES 3-5
 
INDIVIDUAL:
1st: Hezeki Webb- HSA-Springfield
2nd: Jada Perry- Noble Academy Cleveland
3rd: William Zamudio- HSA-McKinley Park
 
BEST OVERALL SCHOOL:
1st: Noble Academy Cleveland
2nd: HSA-McKinley Park
3rd: HSA-Springfield
 
MIDDLE SCHOOL GRADES 6-8
 
INDIVIDUAL:
1st: Leah Walters- IMSA North
2nd: Amya Washington-HSA-Belmont
3rd: Dylan Wesner- HSA-Denison Middle School
 
BEST SCHOOL:
1st: IMSA North
2nd: HSA-Belmont
3rd: HSA-Denison Middle School
 
We couldn't be happier to see so many eager and successful students, parents, friends, teachers, volunteers, and staff members in attendance at this exciting competition. Thank you for your hard work, time away from home, effort, and most of all for your dedication to making this a wonderful event and competition!
STEMCON Awarded Staples Foundation Grant

STEMCON, the 2-day convention for science, technology, engineering, and math educators and students, has been awarded a $1,000 grant by the Staples Foundation after being nominated by local Staples associates. 

The grants are part of a philanthropic initiative created by Staples Foundation, called 2 Million and Change, which allows Staples associates around the world to direct funding to non-profit organizations that are focused on education or job skills. The Staples Foundation provides grants to over 1,000 non-profit organizations each year. STEMCON, which features a full-day professional conference for science, technology, engineering, and math educators and the full-day Concept Science & Engineering Fair (CONSEF), is organized by Concept Schools. The 3rd Annual STEMCON will be held April 8-9, 2016 at the Cleveland Convention Center. 

More information is at:
MathCON Concept Regionals at Indianapolis

MathCON Online Test will be administered between January 25- March 6, in your own schools for grades 5-12, and the National MathCON FINALS will be on April 23 in Chicago for top qualifying students.
 
Besides being eligible to participate in these two platforms, this year the Concept Schools Math Department has decided to provide another venue for students in the Concept network schools: 
 
"CONCEPT SCHOOLS ONLY" MathCON FINALS in INDIANAPOLIS, MARCH 12, 2016.
 
Our purpose in organizing the paper-based test Finals for our Concept Schools only is to recognize the math success and the great performance of our own students within the network and reward them.
 
For that purpose, based on their performance in the online MathCON Test, top-scoring students from each grade level at each Concept school will be invited to Indiana Math & Science Academy North on March 12, 2016 for the MathCON Concept Schools Finals.
 
Even though the online testing is open between January 25-March 4 for schools nationwide, we ask your school to complete the online MathCON testing within first 3 weeks, namely before Feb 12, 2016. This will allow us to have enough time to accommodate the qualifying students to participate in the paper-based finals in Indianapolis.
 
We hope all top scorers will be able to participate in the Indianapolis Concept Finals. 
Concept Schools | (847) 824-3380 | gabela@conceptschools.org | 2250 E. Devon Ave.
Des Plaines, IL 60018