“We are what we do repeatedly. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.” (Aristotle)
“Excellence is not a skill, it is an attitude.” (Ralph Marston)
In our mission statement at AVA, we state that we will succeed through academic excellence, and if we consider that excellence is both an attitude and a habit, then it is clear to see the emphasis we put on building habitual attitudes of persistence toward excellence here at AVA. One of the cornerstones of Capturing Kids Hearts is centered on forming students’ habits. It helps us to remember the repetition that is necessary to build habits. When we spend time each day to help students to identify and grow from mistakes or give opportunities to practice and perfect skills, we are building habits that help students aspire to continual growth and improvement. The habits and attitudes that nurture improvement, growth, and eventually excellence, are not isolated to academic habits and attitudes. In addition to work and academic habits like preparedness, persistence, work ethic, critical thinking and intellectual passion, we also work with students to build character habits such as respect, giving, kindness, honesty, leadership, empathetic listening, responsibility, and resilience. We see teachers and staff helping students daily to build these habits of character by taking the time to work through a problem between friends, repair a poor choice, encourage kindness, and give students opportunities for leadership. As students grow in routines of persistence, grit, kindness, critical thinking, and responsibility, they learn to shape both the habits that form their attitudes and the attitudes that form their habits.
Melanie Foster
K-2 Assistant Principal
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Expansion news
There is so much expansion activity going on now at AVA. The AVA expansion project is a two-phase approach. In October, AVA began a classroom expansion of the front of the school – in the area where the storm line was relocated and the area that is fenced off. We are adding a 3-story expansion that will include 8 classrooms for elementary grade levels, a science room for 6th grade, an engineering classroom for middle school and a middle school commons area that will serve as a middle school only lunchroom, meeting area, and flex room. One of the main purposes of this expansion is to allow our middle school to occupy the third floor on their own. We believe it is beneficial to provide the middle school students their own space. This portion of the project is at an exciting stage where you can see the progress as you drive through carpool. The classroom expansion really is taking shape. This portion of the expansion will be ready for the start of the next school year.
But wait, there’s more! We are also expanding our facility to increase our sports, music, and theater options. Starting in January, we started an expansion to the back side of the school with a new, bigger gym, stage, and two music rooms. This will allow our students better opportunities for sports as well as amazing theater programs and other music options. One of our goals is to have primarily student lead theater performances complete with students performing and handling the sound and lighting. This portion of the expansion is expected to be complete in February of 2023.
We are excited that we can provide this for our students and staff. While we know there have been some speed bumps along the way, the prize at the end will be well worth it. We have had to make adjustments to the carpool lane, block off areas so the workers can do their job, adjust student routes to ensure the safety of everyone, and be flexible as large machinery come and go in order to get this project done.
These expansion plans are all part of AVA’s commitment to providing our students with the best programming opportunities. Additionally, we will have more breakout space for our support staff (interventionists, gifted and talented, reading specialists, and student wellness staff) to have a dedicated space to meet with students.
I know the students have enjoyed watching the work and progress. We even had all the students sign one of the main beams which is now an integral part of the third floor. Thank you for your patience as the project progresses. We understand that there will be some minor inconveniences, but the end product will be well worth it.
Mr. Barber, Principal
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Governing Board Openings
Per Aspen View Academy By-laws, three seats on the Aspen View Academy Governing Board will be ending in May, 2022. One of the seats is an elected seat. The additional two seats are appointed, and will be appointed by the AVA Board of Directors at their May 19th, 2022 meeting.
Board Election Process
If you would like to be considered for the elected 3-year term on the AVA Board of Directors, please complete the nomination form. The nomination will require 10 signatures of eligible voters: AVA parents and staff. The form must be turned in to the AVA front office by Wednesday April 15th at 4:00pm. When submitted, the form will be time stamped, and you will be given a receipt acknowledging acceptance of the nomination form. If there is only one nominee, the nominee will win the seat, and there will be no election. If no nominations are received, the current AVA Board of Directors will appoint the seat.
Candidates are required to submit a campaign questionnaire to answer a few basic questions about board service. When submitted, the answers may not exceed two pages and must be submitted by April 15th at 4:00pm to Troy Schroeder (Board President) at tschroeder@aspenviewacademy.org. The campaign questionnaire for each candidate will be posted on the school website and emailed to the school community on April 18th. There will be a candidate forum at the AVA board meeting on April 21st as part of the Board’s Working Session.
The election will take place May 16th through May 18th. There will be a ballot box at the front office. Each parent and AVA staff member may vote per AVA Board Election Policy. No Proxy voting will be allowed.
The election committee requests that all candidates and members of the AVA community abide by the following expectations:
- Focus on philosophy, policy, and issues
- No personal attacks
- No campaigning on school property
- Keep the campaign positive in nature, reflecting the R.E.S.P.E.C.T. values of AVA
The election committee reserves the right to disqualify any candidate who fails to abide by these expectations.
The AVA Election Committee will tabulate the votes and announce the results at the May 19th AVA Board meeting. The AVA board will also appoint the two member seats at the AVA Board meeting May 19th.
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Tomorrow, Friday March 25th is Dress of Choice
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Picture Day is Tomorrow be sure to order today! |
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For Spring Individual Photos: Only students whose parents have prepaid online and are purchasing photos will get their picture taken.
For Kindergarten Cap & Gown Photos: All Kindergarteners will get their photo taken and parents will receive one complimentary photo certificate of their child. If you would like more photos then you will need to prepay online.
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Thank you to our wonderful AVA community for your contributions to the Scholastic Book Fair. We sold over 2,000 books at our fair. We raised over $8,000 for our school, which we’ll use to purchase more books for our school library and classroom collections, as well as educational products for teacher/student use. My reward for hosting a book fair is watching your kids discover new books. All that joy wouldn’t be possible without volunteers from our school community and our amazing staff. A BIG THANK YOU to all that were involved from setting up everything-to running the preview and sale days-to packing it all up! I appreciate all of you! I can't wait until our next Scholastic Book Fair. Look for that happening in the fall of 2022. Until then, HAPPY READING!
Gratefully,
Mrs. Molly O'Reilly
AVA Librarian/Book Fair Chairperson
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Middle School Career Fair- Friday, April 15th
Looking for parent volunteers. We are inviting parents to discuss their careers with the Middle School Students. Please see the sign up genius here.
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Looking to get some more volunteer hours, like to plan parties? We are looking for some parents to help plan the decorations for the 8th grade continuation dinner and dance. Sign up here for the planning meeting on April 5th. |
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Landsharks Running Club
Spring Track Series at
Aspen View Academy
Please click on the photo to the left for more information and to sign up.
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Quarter 4 Clubs Start Next Week
Listed below are all of the available clubs that will run during the 4th quarter. All after school club registration will occur in My School Bucks. Registration opens today and clubs will remain open until filled or April 1st, whichever comes first. The clubs will start the week of March 28th.
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Did you know that AVA has two official social media accounts? You can find us on Facebook and on Instagram! Over the next couple of months we will be stepping up our social media presence and using these valuable communication tools.
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Summer Camp 2022
Come join AVA BASE on a World Expedition this summer! Summer camp runs June 6th – August 5th. Camp days are comprised of field trips on select days, themed lessons, and crafts along with a variety of indoor and outdoor activities.
*Registering does not guarantee a spot…selecting attendance and checking out does. Camp days are almost full.
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Raise Craze started this week! Help your students get registered. They will get a prize for early registration if it’s before Monday, March 28th and they will get a prize just for being registered. Instructions on how to register and game board will be coming home with them so be on the lookout for those.
Please click on the link to register your student.
Each of these organizations has an amazing purpose behind them. Take the opportunity to look into them and discuss them with your students. We will be collecting donations for each of them next week.
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Staff Luncheon Friday, March 25th- sign up here if you can help bring in food.
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Spirit Night at Cuba Cuba
Monday, March 28th
Calling all sandwich lovers! Cuba Cuba Sandwicheria is donating 20% of sales on Monday, March 28th between 11:00 AM - 9:00PM to Aspen View Academy. Treat you and your family to a delicious meal and support a good cause too. Aspen View Academy is grateful for your support and would love to see you there! Cuba Cuba Sandwicheria accepts orders in store mentioning Aspen View Academy. All details here.
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The Wolf Shack is restocked!
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The AVA PTO is excited to announce this year’s talent show on April 12 at 6:30 pm.
Auditions:
There are two options for auditioning this year:
In-person auditions will be held Tuesday, March 29 from 3:45-5:00pm in the cafeteria
Video auditions are due March 29.
Acts can be anything from playing an instrument to dancing to comedy to juggling live chickens (OK, maybe not that one).
To sign up to audition or volunteer to help, click here.
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Happy Grams
Click on the image for more information
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BASE - Before and After School Enrichment
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Click the image for more information
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Welcome to another school year at Aspen View Academy. We have a lot of volunteer opportunities so keep a look out for Sign-up Genius', Newsletter announcements and emails from the PTO. Below is an excerpt from the AVA Handbook.
VOLUNTEERING COMMITMENT – AVA believes that the success of each student will be a shared responsibility of students, teachers, parents, staff, and community leaders. Volunteers enhance the school and its culture and character through their involvement. Accordingly, a strong family involvement program will be implemented. AVA expects 30 volunteer hours per family per school year. Single-parent families are expected to volunteer 15 hours per school year. The volunteer school year shall coincide with AVA’s fiscal year, and hours shall accrue from July 1 through June 30. If your family has special circumstances that make it difficult for you to meet the expected volunteer hours, please contact the Volunteer Coordinator. Many volunteer opportunities exist within AVA’s PTO. The PTO is an organization comprised of parent volunteers for the purpose of providing community support, fundraising and planning various events within our school community.
Pre-registration is required prior to volunteering. Please visit the Raptor Volunteer site, as this only needs to be completed one time. Once completed we will need you to bring your ID in to scan and link to your profile.
These volunteer opportunities can also be found on the volunteer page of our website.
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Fax: (303) 660-5959
Attendance Line: (303) 660-5940
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Aspen View Academy
2131 Low Meadow Blvd.
Castle Rock, CO 80109
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