Seniors Spend Saturday Completing FAFSA

Horizon Science Academy Cleveland seniors and parents came to school to file the seniors' 2016 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (applications on Saturday, January 2, 2016. 
 
HSAC alumni Edward and Juwan Lee also came to help students and parents with the process. This is a crucial step in securing funding for the seniors' college careers as the form, which can be prepared annually by current and prospective college students, is used to determine their eligibility for student financial aid.
We are proud to announce the winners of the CONSEF-Design Contest 2016. Thanks to all participants for sharing their creative entries; we truly value the time, effort and imagination the students put into each design. The first-place winner will be awarded a $250 check during the CONSEF Award Ceremony. The other 9 finalists were awarded a gift card worth to $25. See the winning designs and the list of the finalists here

1st Place: Stephanie Salgado-HSA Southwest Chicago

2nd Place: Katheryn Elliot-GSA Fyler

3rd Place: Alexis Solic-HSA McKinley Park
Sign Up for Spoken Word Competition
 
Applications are due by February 26th. For more information please visit the Spoken Word Competition website
Meet the January History Heroes
 
The Concept program History Heroes is designed to promote success in and out of the classroom. We want to recognize students acting as civics leaders in their communities or schools, and students who are going above and beyond in their Social Studies classrooms.
Congratulations to the January 2016 History Heroes:
 
Taya Johnson- Michigan Math and Science Academy

Malik Moses- Horizon Science Academy-Springfield
 
Ayah Mesbah- Noble Academy Columbus
Art and Language Contest Regionals Coming Soon!

The time is approaching for the Concept Schools Art and Language Contest regional finals for Spanish and Turkish language learners. 

-West/South West Region Contest: March 2 in Chicago

 

-South Ohio/Indiana Region: March 3 in Dayton, OH

 

-North Ohio/Michigan Region Contest: March 4 in Lorain, OH


The contestants will showcase their skills in three categories (singing, poetry, and folk dances) to compete for the top three places in their regions.
HSA-Lorain Robotics Team Takes Top Prizes
Over the holiday break, the Horizon Science Academy Lorain Spartans robotics team was one of nine teams to qualify for the Indiana South Qualifying Tournament to advance to the Indiana State Championships Competition. 

The team members presented their robot to judges and then tested their robot through a series of missions earning two prestigious awards, the Rockwell Collins Innovative Award and the Finalist Alliance Captain Award, taking second place out of 32 teams. 

The team was even featured in the Morning Journal. You can read the full article  here. Congratulations, Spartans!
CMSA Senior Named a Chicagoan of 2015!
 
Concept Schools plays a unique role in education, and we often serve wonderfully diverse students with rich backgrounds and unique learning situations. CMSA Senior Iradakunda Jeanne exemplifies our mission to "provide a world class education" to all students, and how they can truly thrive in this challenging and positive environment.
 
Jeanne was recently featured in the Chicago Reader's profiled Chicagoans of 2015 for the positive impact she is making at CMSA and the Roger's Park community in Chicago. In reflecting on coming to CMSA, Jeanne said, "I started actually learning something. I would stay after school, and the teacher knew it took different ways to teach different people... I felt like I finally belonged somewhere."
 
To see the beautiful images and read her powerful story, click here . Thank you for making us all so proud, Jeanne !
HSA Cleveland Middle's Mathtastic 4
The Mathtastic 4, consisting of Horizon Science Academy Cleveland Middle School eighth-graders Kellie Keaton, Shadarria Robinson, Anaya Spencer, and Jayla VanHorn, have entered the MATHCOUNTS Math Video Challenge, a national competition where students create videos that demonstrate how to solve a math problem of their choice from 250 questions released by MATHCOUNTS.
The girls chose to demonstrate and explain problem #5, which deals with finding how many seating arrangements are possible given a certain set of circumstances. Public voting is currently open, and you can even vote for the Mathtastic 4 once every 24 hours if you would like! Vote here ! The top 100 videos with the most votes will be submitted to a panel of judges, who will then narrow it down to four videos. These four teams will be sent to Washington D.C., where their videos will be presented and they will have the opportunity to win $1,000 each in scholarships. Good luck, ladies!
Love (and Learning) Is in the Air
Elementary students across the Concept network celebrated Valentine's Day in their own special way.
 
Kindergarten students in Ms. Lonczynski's class at Michigan Math and Science Academy have been talking a lot about "What is love?" As a class, students made an anchor chart with all the things they think love is, and then each student created a "Love is..." paper during writing station. 
 
Students in Ms. Frazier's Kindergarten class at Noble Columbus brainstormed descriptive words about friends/friendship. Students wrote on the chart as they stretched out word sounds and the rest of the class wrote on their white boards. Students then wrote about one friend in class.

First graders in Ms. Leiby's class at Horizon Science Academy Springfield learned about adjectives and made a list of positive words that described their classmates. Students decorated hearts with their names and glued them on pink paper. A t the end of the activity, each student had a paper filled with compliments from their friends! This was a fun activity to practice grammar skills.

The preschoolers in Ms. Gutowski's class at Milwaukee Math and Science Academy  are discussing ways they can be good friends and writing about things they love.
Important Updates to ConceptSIS
 
Please note the follow new features for the ConceptSIS used at all Concept schools:
  • Winter growth target scores are online now.
  • We have added the  "CYSP Student Log Counts" report to our system.
  • An attachment feature was added to the College -> Community Service page.
Concept Principals Gather for Ongoing Professional Development

On February 26-27, 2016, Concept Schools' principals will meet for the third time for their third professional development session. The first two were held in Chicago back in August and October, and the third one will be in Columbus, Ohio.

Principals will be able to visit HSA Columbus Elementary, Middle, and High school on Friday before the sessions start. Concept Schools provides principals with a wide range of sessions according to their needs assessment, from data-driven instruction to parental engagement.

We look forward to meeting with all principals and superintendents in Columbus.
Ohio Schools! We Challenge You to a Writing Challenge!
 
The Buckeye Community Hope Foundation's annual Writing Challenge deadline is just six weeks away. Your school can select one entry per grade band (3-5; 6-8; 9-12) by holding your own contests and forming your own scoring committees. Entries should be submitted electronically, and the deadline is March 1, 2016. For more information, please contact Andy Flaherty at aflaherty@conceptschools.org.
Concept Schools | (847) 824-3380 | gabela@conceptschools.org | 2250 E. Devon Ave.
Des Plaines, IL 60018