16 October 2020

Le Journal




from the head of school

School Updates

Dear AL Community,
 
I would like to thank the PTO and all the parents who donated to provide lunch to our teachers and staff today. It was a busy professional development day for all. Teachers were trained in hybrid/online (synchronous) teaching and learned how to administer the NWEA test online. 

In preparation for the in-person learning phase, we received 380 new Chromebooks, as well as computer stands and microphones for our teachers. Please note that a few staffing changes may occur as we accommodate our staff members that cannot teach in-person. 

We are proud to share a few more pictures of our high school facilities and equipment. We cannot wait to have students back in the building to bring them to life! 







Have a great weekend! 
 
Elimane Mbengue
Head of School


  

In This Edition:


calendar

Upcoming Events

October 19
Diversity Committee virtual conversation about race and racism II, 6-7 pm






Access the 2020-21 school calendar by clicking here


INFO SHARING

Chromebook Annual FundChromefund

Académie Lafayette is currently trying to purchase more Chromebooks to accommodate students on our waiting list. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to the Chromebook fund, click here and choose the first option.

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Save the DateSavethedate

Armour Student Council is hosting an online costume contest for middle school and high school Musketeers on Friday, October 30 in the evening. More details coming sooOOOOoooooOOOOoon.  


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Technology Needs surveytechneeds

If you did not fill out a technology needs survey to indicate your needs please use this waiting list survey. Click here. You will be automatically entered into a waiting list and will be contacted as we are receiving our devices.

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AL in the Communitycommunity


India Jane Walker, class of 2016, is participating in a very special event next week as part of the Ameri'Kana music festival with the band Making Movies. India has been paired with a national artist and they have created a song for the event on 10/23. Click here to read the full press release. 


Our AL Girl Scouts Troop 2074 have been busy trying to earn their Bronze Project Award. They are working to make streets safer for everyone who uses them. Click here to read about their project. 







INFO SHARING

Adopt-a-Family for the HolidaysAdopt

The holidays are still two months away but it is never too early to start organizing our annual adopt-a-family program.  Please complete this form to let the social workers know how many family members you are willing to adopt. Typically, each family member is given presents or a gift card amounting to $50. In a few weeks, we will follow up with the process for sending gifts or monetary donations. Thank you for supporting our community!

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AL Families Love Their TeachersThanks

Thanks AL families for responding so generously to the request to help feed our teachers.  You helped raise roughly $2,500!  Because of your generosity teachers at all three campuses enjoyed yummy eats throughout their professional development day today. More importantly, you communicated a clear message to our teachers during these trying times: 'We appreciate and value all that you do for our children.' Thanks!

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Election 2020Vote

This month, middle and high school students have been running to represent their homeroom classes on the building-wide student councils.  The results came in on Tuesday. We want to congratulate Eleanor Mueller, Jasmine Floyd, Claudia Wilson, Annika Wirz, Silas Bartel, Chamberlain Webster, Cameron Molina, Audrey Parker, Ayla Napier, Milan Davis, Louise Pfeiffer, Scarlett Lewandowski and Evan Noboa who will serve on the middle school student council.  Congratulations to high school student council: President Elijah Dastrup, Vice President, Vivian Nodland, Treasurer Tanner Means, Secretary Libertie Watkins and Senators Justice Gaines, Lacey Lepper, Kristy Butcher, and Estella Roodman.  All candidates ran strong campaigns.  

We thought you might enjoy checking out some of our favorite campaign videos.

                    Silas Bartel, sixth grader.              Vivan Nodland, 8th grader

INFO SHARING

Conversations about race and racism IIConvo

The Diversity Committee would like to invite any interested parents to our second and third virtual conversations about race and racism on Oct. 19 from 6:00-7:00 and Nov. 16 from 6-7 pm facilitated by Académie Lafayette parent, Diversity Consultant and author of "Anchored in Bias, Fired Over White Tears" Lisa Benson Cooper

The first conversation focused on key terms related to diversity, equity, & inclusion and took a deeper dive into understanding unconscious bias. You can check out the recording of the session here. For our next two conversations, we'd like to focus on the history of systemic racism in our country. The conversation will be based on the documentary Race- The Power of an Illusion. Each episode is 1 hour long so our first conversation will be about Episode I and half of Episode II, and our second conversation will be about the second half of Episode II and all of Episode III.

Episode II: The Story We Tell
Episode III: The House We Live In

We hope many of you will be able to watch the episodes, but even if you don't have time to watch them, we encourage you to still attend to be part of the conversation. Please RSVP here if you plan to attend so we can plan for the right number of participants. You will be asked for your email address so we can send you the link for the meeting.

Reach out to Beth McCarthy at [email protected] with any questions.

INFO SHARING

Annual $10,000 Cash Raffle Online updates & Weekly WinnerTendollar

The Annual $10,000 Cash Raffle has gone completely online this year! The winner will be drawn on Saturday, October 31st. Important links: Click here to view the updated Kick-off video. The exclusive QR code that directly links anyone to our raffle website. The full raffle packet that includes rules, prizes, and deadlines. Student optional promotional poster. Raffle information slide show. Raffle Short url: http://bit.ly/ALRaffle20 

Raffle Updates:
  • This Friday's Weekly Winner is fifth-grader Avra Welling! Avra won a $25 gift card to Yogurtini! Remember: it just takes 5 tickets sold each week to be eligible for this weekly drawing! 
  • This last week we announced a giveaway of two flying vouchers to iFly! The winners were drawn from the students who sold a minimum of 5 tickets over the past week. The two winners are second-grader Henry Knecht and eighth-grader Ryder Clay! Congratulations to you two, and thanks for selling those tickets! 
  • We still have 20+ ticket entries that DO NOT have a student listed to receive their credit. The emails registered with the purchase have been contacted frequently to properly update tickets sold. Please tell your friends and family to check their emails if you think that this might have been an issue. 
  • We will continue to email parents each Wednesday with updates on ticket sales for your student(s). 
  • If you need posters printed to put around the community, please contact [email protected].
  • If you need to change or add any information related to the tickets bought, need an update for your child, or you believe that your student(s) earned a raffle t-shirt or the $50 Amazon gift card but have not heard from Janessa (DevIntern), please email [email protected]
Upcoming deadlines:

The winner will be announced in next week's newsletter. 

Interested in more chances to win prizes in these final two weeks? Make sure to follow along on Facebook and to read your weekly classroom update for more information! 

Don't forget that the top seller deadline is on Friday, October 30th. To be eligible for the top three best sellers prizes, you must sell a minimum of 120 tickets. To be eligible for the top seller per grade level prize, you must sell at least 80 tickets. 

For any questions regarding the raffle, email [email protected]. Keep up the good work, and happy selling!

INFO SHARING

Art Materials for Oak & Cherry CampusArt

Oak and Cherry students will be starting projects that will need materials very soon. Some of the following materials were on the Yubbler list sent home. Others didn't make it on. Could you please make sure that your Oak or Cherry student has the following materials for at home art projects and then for when we transition back to school? We are not allowed to share materials this year. Thank you for your support of the Art program.
  • crayons
  • white construction paper
  • pencil
  • watercolors
  • paintbrush
  • washable markers
  • Elmer's glue bottle
  • eraser
  • permanent marker
  • colored construction paper
  • ruler ( not necessary for K&1)

INFO SHARING

Drive-up COVID-19 Testing available for symptomatic childrenDriveuptest 

Children's Mercy has some exciting news to share: Drive-up COVID-19 Testing available for symptomatic children at the following Urgent Care sites: Children's Mercy Blue Valley in Overland Park, KS, Children's Mercy East in Independence, MO, Children's Mercy Northland in Kansas City, MO. Testing is by appointment only: Monday- Friday 12 p.m.- 6 p.m.
 
For more information on scheduling and criteria please click here

INFO SHARING

Kinsa FLUency program for K-5NurseFlu

If you are a K-5 family, it is time to order your free thermometer! Please review the attached flyer and follow the directions to order your free thermometer. Unfortunately, this program is only available for Cherry and Oak families, as it is exclusive to elementary schools. FLYER HERE

INFO SHARING

Social Work and Counseling CornerSocialCorner

Suicide Awareness & Prevention Family Night was held on Tuesday, October 6th. Thank you to all the parents and guardians who attended this discussion. Here is a link to the counseling and social work website where you can find the video of the event.

Food pick up changed to Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12 to 1:30pm. The location is the east door of the Armour campus on McGee Street. Deliveries will also take place on that day. Please contact your school counselor or social worker if you need deliveries. This is available to all families. We want to say a special thank you to our community volunteers for helping us with deliveries.

Sincerely,
Check out our AL Counseling and Social Services Department website!

INFO SHARING

Community Outreach CornerOutreach


INFO SHARING

Technology and EquipmentTech

  • If you have technical difficulties with a Chromebook or Google Classroom contact Roger Goudiaby, [email protected].

INFO SHARING

CommunicationCommunication

  • To help answer your questions, we have created our distance learning page, which will be updated as we have more information to share. If, at any time, you have a question, concern or information to share, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child's teachers, counselors, principals or Mr. Mbengue.
  • We will continue to communicate with families and students through emails, all-calls, website and social media updates. We are also exploring the possibility of text messages with families.
  • Looking to build your community? Get going today by joining our private Facebook group here. You will need to answer the three security questions.

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Oak Street Campus
6903 Oak Street
Kansas City, MO 64113
816-361-7735
Armour Campus,
201 E. Armour Blvd, 
Kansas City, MO 64111 
816-800-8771 

Cherry Street Campus
3421 Cherry Street
Kansas City, MO 64109
816-888-7400
www.academielafayette.org