06 November 2020

Le Journal



from the head of school

One Week Down... 

Dear AL Community,

What a joy it was to have some of our little ones back! We also welcomed our first AL International High School freshman class.






As we get ready to welcome more students in our buildings next week, please note that your child's attendance during the assigned hybrid days is crucial. The days that your student is in attendance on campus are the only days that contribute to their average daily attendance for the semester.  

Before COVID-19, when students were in school five days a week for 174 days a year, their total attendance was based on the number of days absent. With the hybrid days model, only those on-campus days count toward the total attendance. As you already know, student attendance directly affects our funding. Families sending their child to school as scheduled greatly helps Académie Lafayette maximize its budget. 

Please follow the rules for keeping a child home when they are sick, but understand that missing days for unexcused reasons will negatively impact your child's average daily attendance for the year.

I would also like to let you know that the school improvement day scheduled for Monday, November 16th has been moved to Wednesday, November 18th. This will allow for less teaching disruption to our Monday-Tuesday hybrid students. 

Thank you for your support and understanding. Have a great weekend! 

Elimane Mbengue
Head of School

from the elementary principals

Welcome Back, 2nd and 3rd Graders! 

We are excited to welcome 2nd and 3rd graders back into the buildings on Monday.
Please refer to information from the Town Hall meetings below the calendar section.

Important reminders:
  • please send a water bottle, a mask (and a spare) - all labeled with your child's name
  • students need to be in uniform when they attend in person
  • sack breakfasts will be available for those students who need to eat at school
As we presented in the Town Halls, 2nd-3rd grade teachers will be teaching hybrid (or synchronously) to their in person and online kids at the same time. HOWEVER- we will not start that until the week of Nov. 16 to allow teachers to fully attend to their in person students those first two days. So, if your child is group B-  they will not be having live lessons with their classmates that first Monday and Tuesday. (Same for group A kids on Thursday and Friday). Teachers will post lessons, assignments and independent work in their Google Classrooms.

Schedules are changing from virtual to hybrid. Your child's teacher will send you their schedule, with the times that the online kids need to log on and join their classmates.  Please be aware that special (support) classes will be taught live to the in person students on the days they are in class. We will rotate the specials schedules so the students who have art and PE one week will have music and library the next, for example. Hybrid (online) students will not have specials those online days.  

For families that have chosen to remain 100% online-  your child's schedule will also be changing. You will still have live instruction in core subjects and specials. Your child's teacher will share the new schedule with you. 

Cherry Information:
  • Doors open at 8:10 am and school starts at 8:30 am.  Dismissal is 3:30 pm.
  • Car riders should drop off on Kenwood (east side of the building). That is also where you will pick up at the end of the day. Make sure to have your yellow car rider sign.
  • Walkers will be dismissed via the Cherry front door.
  • We are sorry to report that Mme Lacy, our art teacher, has resigned. As we look for a permanent replacement, we will have a substitute for in person classes only. There will be no recorded lessons for art at this time. 
Oak Information:

Arrival: All entrances B,C and D will be open between 7:45 am and 8:05 am. After 8:05 am, students must enter from the main entrance (A).

Dismissal: begins at 3 pm. 


Thank you so much for your support. We can't wait to see our students!

Heather Royce, Cherry Principal
Jean Claude Diatta, Oak Principal


  

In This Edition:


calendar

Upcoming Events

November 9
Board Meeting, 6:30 pm


November 18 
*DATE CHANGE*
NO SCHOOL - School Improvement Day
November 12
ALIHS 8th Grade Meeting, 6pm

November 25-27
NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving break
November 16
Power of Conversation: Let's Talk about Race, 6 pm
Access the 2020-21 school calendar by clicking here

from the principals

Town Hall Documentstownhall

Thank you to the many families that took the time to submit questions and virtually attended our town halls this week. You will find below the link to the video and slides for each campus. 

INFO SHARING

Board Meeting NoticeBoardNotice


INFO SHARING

Casual Days & Birthdays Updatecasualupdate


INFO SHARING

Trash Bag Sale: Only a Few Days Left!trashbag

Now through November 9th you can place an order for our famous fundraiser trash bags! More options: in addition to the 15 gal White kitchen sized, Yellow or Pink 39 gal, Blue 55 gal super sized bags and Paper Yard Waste/Leaf bags, you can now order NEW RED 39 gal bags that say "Happy Holidays." These bags are perfect for storing holiday decorations, wrapping odd sized gifts, and more! Order here by November 9th!

Pick up of orders will be Saturday, November 14 from 9-noon at the Armour campus (201 E Armour Boulevard, Kansas City, MO). 

INFO SHARING

Thankful Luncheon for Our TeachersThankslunchPTO

This year especially, we are extremely thankful for our wonderful teachers and staff! Traditionally, the PTO organizes a bountiful potluck buffet in November for teachers and staff to enjoy as a way to show our appreciation. To celebrate more safely, the PTO will provide box lunches from Thelma's Kitchen this year. 

Additionally, the PTO organizes a gift card drive to provide each staff member a $5 gift card with funds generously donated by AL families. We would love to increase the amount to $10 this year. Please consider donating as you are able, taking into consideration the cost you might have otherwise spent to provide an item for the buffet. Payments can be sent digitally to Kelly Garr, chair of the PTO Teacher Appreciation Committee, at @Brett-Garr on Venmo or [email protected] on PayPal. 

Thank you for your support! Questions? Please use this PTO contact form.

INFO SHARING

ALIHS 8th grade Information Sessionalihszoom

Wondering about attending ALIHS next year? Have questions about ALIHS? All 8th grade parents are invited to attend an online information session for Académie Lafayette International High School Thursday, November 12th, 2020 from 6 to 7pm. This is an opportunity to ask questions you may have about ALIHS in the areas of teaching staff, curriculum, student numbers, or extra curricular activities. An invite will be sent to 8th grade parent emails with the zoom link. 

INFO SHARING

Diversity Conversation IIIdiversityconvo3

The Diversity Committee would like to invite any interested parents to our third virtual conversation about race and racism on Nov. 16 from 6:00-7:00 pm. 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

New Spiritwearnewspiritwear

We are pleased to launch a new spiritwear assortment with our new partner, PTL Outfitters. Based in Lenexa, Dave and his team will print and embroider items on demand. While school is still in remote and hybrid mode, items can be picked up in Lenexa or shipped at nominal costs.  

Check out the new items with new logos for both the core school and high school... the ALSpirit website is now live and ready to take your orders!   

"As a local embroidery and printing company, we are excited to partner with Académie Lafayette to serve you in all your spiritwear needs." 

INFO SHARING

Scholastic Book Fair Coming Soonbookfair

The Scholastic Book Fair is back! While the Fair will be exclusively held online this year, we still plan on making it a fun and joyous experience for our kids. Features include:
  •  Académie Lafayette's own online store, with a large selection of titles, at the right price points
  •  A Virtual Fair so you and your kids can experience the magic of the school shopping experience. Browse titles by grade, meet popular authors, and discover the comfort and joy of our Fair
  •  Every dollar you spend will benefit our school directly (25% back in rewards!)
Save the dates: November 16, 2020 - November 29, 2020! Click here to view the website. 

INFO SHARING

PTO Budget Votingvotingpto

All AL families received a digital ballot for the 2020-21 PTO budget earlier this week. Voting takes just a few clicks! Please take a moment to submit your response by 10 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 15.

Not seeing the email? Search your inbox for the sender [email protected] or the subject "Vote now: Academie Lafayette - 2020 PTSO Budget vote."
Please use the contact form on the PTO website with any questions or feedback. 

INFO SHARING

Art Materials for Oak & Cherry CampusArt

Oak and Cherry students will be starting projects that will need materials very soon. 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

Social Work and Counseling CornerSocialCorner

Dear middle and high school parents, Children's Mercy is holding a virtual information session called "Prepped and Ready: Parenting into the Teen Years". This presentation includes information on eating disorder prevention, home safety, screen time, self-care, substance abuse (including vaping) and suicide prevention. Click on this link  to access the list of times and dates that this session will be held and the registration information.  

Food distribution changes: Starting next week, food delivery and pick up will change to Wednesdays only. If you would like deliveries please contact your campus counselor or social worker. If you would like to pick up food, please come to the parking lot door of Armour between 11:00 and 1:30 and ring the buzzer. You do not need to sign up ahead of time.  
Check out our AL Counseling and Social Services Department website!

INFO SHARING

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.

INFO SHARING

$10,000 Cash Raffle WinnerTendollar

The winner of the $10,000 cash raffle prize is Bradley Kuhn! Lennon Kube sold the winning ticket. Congratulations! 

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.

INFO SHARING

Drive-up Testing for 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: Overland Park, KS, Independence, MO, Kansas City, MO. Testing is by appointment only: Monday- Friday 12 pm- 6 pm. 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

Community Outreach CornerOutreach


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Parents & Caregivers Forumparentforum


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Technology and EquipmentTech

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

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CommunicationCommunication

  • To help answer your questions, we have created our distance learning page. 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.
  • Looking to build your community? Get going today by joining our private Facebook group here. You will need to answer the three security questions.

INFO SHARING

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Young Rembrandts is offering Online LIVE art classes and our new sessions are starting in November. These are FUN and Interactive. Sign up with your friends and you can draw together-virtually! Click here to read the flyer. 


Details are on the flyers, or visit our website www.youngrembrandts.com/kcmo.
For scholarship inquiries, contact Sarah Hirtzel at (816)944-9064 or [email protected].

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