Le Journal

AL News & Updates

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9 January 2026

Building for the Future: 2026 Improvements & Updates

Bonne Année, AL Community!

Happy New Year and welcome to 2026. As we begin the second half of the school year, we are excited about what lies ahead and grateful for the continued progress happening across all three campuses. This year brings meaningful improvements to our learning spaces that support students, staff, and families every day.

Thanks to the voter-approved bond and additional planned investments, several capital improvement projects have already been completed, with more well underway.

Bond Project Highlights

Completed

Cherry & Oak campus roofs (Summer 2025)
Cherry & Oak athletic fields (Summer 2025)

In Progress

Cherry auditorium HVAC system, with anticipated completion in Spring 2026

Pending

Oak HVAC system (Request for Proposal published)
Oak windows (Request for Proposal published)
Armour gym and auditorium (Request for Proposal published)

Additional Capital Improvement Commitments

Completed

New Smartboards at Armour & Oak (Summer 2025)
Cherry Special Education office space renovation (Summer 2025)
Transportation upgrades, including three vans and the bus lot renovation (Fall 2025)

In Progress

Oak auditorium lighting and sound upgrades from the 2025 Fund-a-Need, with anticipated completion in February 2026

Pending

Oak playground planning

These updates reflect the current status of the projects shared publicly on our bond webpage. It is exciting to see steady progress on the commitments we have made to our community, and we will continue to share updates as milestones are reached.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership. We look forward to a productive, joyful, and successful year ahead for all Académie Lafayette students.

Elimane Mbengue

Superintendent

embengue@academielafayette.org

Upcoming Events

January 12

Board Meeting, 6 pm, Armour & Online

January 14

11th Grade College Night, 6:30 pm, Armour

January 15

ALIHS 10th Personal Project Exhibition, 1:50 pm

Conseil d'Ecole, 6 pm, Armour

January 19

NO SCHOOL - Martin Luther King Jr. Day

January 20

Restaurant Giveback Night at City Barrel Pizza and Patio

January 22

State of the School Address, 6 pm, Cherry

January 24

Oak Open House & School Saturday, 10-noon, Oak

January 29

Cherry Literacy Night, 5:30-7 pm

ALIHS 9th College & Scholarship Night, 6 pm, Armour

January 30

K-5 Birthday Lunches

January 31

Girls' 4th-8th Grade VIP Dance, 6-8 pm, Armour

February 9

Board Meeting, 6 pm, Armour & Online

February 11

K-5 Valentine's Day Parties

Cherry Pre-K-1st Grade Open House, 5:30 pm

Summer School 2026

June 8-July 8. No school on 6/19.

Access our live academic and athletics calendar here.

Want to see all of our links in one place? Click here!

Table of Contents

Board Meeting Notice
Summer School 2026
Wanted: 26-27 Intern Host Families
Needed: Volunteers for Cherry Market
Open House Information; Volunteers Needed
From the PTO
Cherry Literacy Night

Buy Your Ethnic Food Festival Tickets
T-Shirt Tuesdays Reminder
Generations Day Photos
Apply to Reserve Your Sibling Seat for 26-27
School Communications
Ads:
Franck's Real Estate Corner

💡 Did you know? Our newsletter is often so full of important updates that some browsers cut it off early. Be sure to click "View entire message" at the bottom so you do not miss a thing!

AL Insights

Board Meeting Notice

The Académie Lafayette Board of Directors will meet at 6 pm on Monday, January 12, at the Armour campus (201 E. Armour Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64111). The meeting will be streamed live on our YouTube channel. Click here to read the board meeting agenda.

Summer School 2026

Summer School will be held from Monday, June 8 to Wednesday, July 8. No school on 6/19. Summer School is open to all 26-27 K-8 students. Summer School enrollment information will be shared at a later date. Stay tuned!

Wanted: 26-27 Intern Host Families

Needed: Volunteers for Cherry Market

Volunteers needed for the Class Dojo Musketeer Market at the Cherry campus. Click here to sign up! Slots are 2-3 hours (9-12am or 12-2pm at the beginning of the month as listed in the SignUp Genius). A list of student winners will be provided. This is our 'store' with prizes for students who have met the month's Class Dojo point goals.

Open House Information; Volunteers Needed

Do you know someone interested in learning more about all Académie Lafayette has to offer? If so, tell them to join us for an interactive open house where you can hear more about our school, French immersion, and our educational approach. You will have the opportunity to meet some of our wonderful teachers and staff, interact with current AL families, tour our Oak K-5 Campus, and get all of your questions answered. We can not wait to see you there!

The Admissions team needs open house volunteers! If you are interested in volunteering for our Oak Open House, please email enrollment@academielafayette.org.

Oak Open House | Saturday, January 24, 2026 | 10 am to 12 pm

From the PTO

Girls 4th-8th Grade VIP Dance

Calling all girls in grades 4-8 - it's dance time! Grab your dancing shoes and join AL PTO for the season’s VIP dance on Saturday, Jan. 31, 6-8 pm at the Armour campus. This fun evening is for 4-8th grade students and their adult VIPs. There will be a DJ, raffle, photo wall, snacks, and lots of fun. Dance and dress in the style of your favorite decade!

Tickets are on sale now at alpto.org/vip. Visit the VIP Dance page for a full schedule of VIP dances and FAQs.

Upcoming dances for other grades:

Girls K-3rd grade dance - Sat. February 28, 6-8 pm
Boys K-5th grade dance - Sat. March 7, 6-8 pm

Restaurant Giveback Night at City Barrel Pizza and Patio

Tues. Jan. 20, 2026, all day | City Barrel, 120 E Gregory Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64114

Enjoy a meal at City Barrel Pizza and Patio in Waldo and a portion of the sale will be donated to AL PTO. Please mention Académie Lafayette during your visit or when placing your to-go order.

AL Day at the K

The AL PTO invites you for a day at The K to cheer on your boys in blue and support your PTO, as a portion of each ticket will go to the organization! Get your tickets now!

White Sox at Royals | Sun, Apr 12, 2026 • 1:10 PM CDT

Cherry Literacy Night

Buy Your Ethnic Food Festival Tickets

The Third Annual Ethnic Food Festival will be held on Saturday, February 7, 2026 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the Armour campus. It is a benefit for high school international trips. Tickets are $25 for adults, $10 for students.

Click here link to purchase tickets.

T-Shirt Tuesdays Reminder

Every Tuesday during the school year, students at any campus may wear Académie Lafayette t-shirts in place of their traditional uniform tops. This includes any AL t-shirt received through the Raffle and Musketeer March, as well as the new 2026 Evening in Paris (EIP) t-shirt. Dress Code–approved pants, shorts, skirts, and jumpers are still required. If your student earned a 2025 Raffle t-shirt, distribution was completed this week.

Generations Day Photos

Thank you to all the families and friends who joined us for Generations Day! We loved celebrating the connections that make Académie Lafayette so special.

You can view and download photos from the day using the campus link buttons below.

Armour

Cherry

Oak

New Students Only: Apply to Reserve Your Child's Sibling Pre-K, Kindergarten, First Grade, and High School Seat

If you have a new incoming child or sibling entering in the fall of 2026, please apply here starting November 8 until March 1st, 2026 for the 26-27 school year. The process will take you less than one minute! Sibling applications received after the deadline will be placed on the waiting list. For additional information, click here.

Please note this only applies to new siblings not currently enrolled at AL. All current pre-K-11th grade students will re-enroll at a later date. Remember All 8th grade students have a guaranteed 9th grade seat at ALIHS. When re-enrollment opens in January make sure to let us know if you want to reserve your ALIHS seat.

Questions? Email enrollment@academielafayette.org. After you fill out your child's application, share with your friends and neighbors wanting to join the AL family!

Click here to view the ALIHS brochure!

School Communications

If you know someone who is not receiving this newsletter, encourage them to contact communication@academielafayette.org.
We use Facebook to communicate with our families. Please "like" us at https://www.facebook.com/LafayetteKC/ and join our private FB group!
Changing emails? Phone number? Let us know at communication@academielafayette.org.