17 April 2020

Le Journal




from the head of school

AL Updates  

Dear AL Community,
 
I think this past week felt like a month for most of us. It's hard to have our buildings empty, especially at a time like this when the halls are usually buzzing with excitement over things like EIP, the Musketeer March, the France Trip, Field Days, the Year End Picnic, the success of our sports teams and extracurricular clubs, and so much more. We remain grateful to all of you for your part in helping students adjust to these and many other changes they've encountered over the past month.
 
Today's professional development sessions focused on online teaching demonstrations as well as tools that teachers can use to be more effective online. We are listening to your feedback and will continue to incorporate it as we refine classes through the end of the year. This includes your recent survey feedback as well as the questions you have posed related to the school buildings being closed for the remainder of the school year. While we have provided some immediate responses, we will email and post full responses to all of these next week as we work through some of the more complicated logistics. 
 
One repeated question has been related to a graduation ceremony for 8th graders. We are currently considering two propositions, and appreciate the parents who have volunteered to make this happen. Of course much depends upon the timing of when we can gather in some form again and we will share plans as soon as we can. In the meantime, Mayor Lucas has graciously offered to join a live class session with the 8th graders later this month where he can impart some encouragement and engage in some Q&A with our upcoming graduates. I know our 8th graders will have some really smart questions for the Mayor and I'm looking forward to seeing this. We will share those details with the 8th grade families next week, and of course will have the recording for all of our community to view afterward.
 
We remain thankful for our wonderful families and continue to ask you to contact us with questions or for any help you need.

Have a great weekend!

Elimane Mbengue
Head of School


from the Oak Principal

Au revoir

Dear AL community,

It is with mixed emotion that I write today to inform you of my plan to retire at the end of this school year.  This decision was one I knew someday I would have to make, but the closer I get to the inevitable date the harder it is to grasp.  It is difficult to imagine my life without Académie Lafayette, as the threads of this community have become so intricately woven in the tapestry of my life.  I have been with this amazing school since its Temple genesis in 1999 when we quite literally had nothing but four concrete walls and a few folding tables and chairs. My, how things have changed! That humble beginning made this school into the driven community is it today.  Within the three buildings that make up the AL campus, one finds a richness in technology, resources, trips, clubs, sports, bright pupils, and dedicated staff. 

Though this is not the way that I imagined my last year to go, I am awed and inspired seeing the way our staff has kicked it into overdrive, giving no less (if not more) than their normal 110% work speed to meet the needs of the status quo.  Within the blink of an eye, these rapid changes have become the new norm, and though I know it is a big adjustment, I have great confidence in knowing that I am leaving the school in the best hands possible. From the bottom of my heart I wish to say thank you to each and every one of you.  It has been a pleasure to watch the growth of this school from the children that roam the halls, the teachers that bring education to life, the staff that work to keep everything running smoothly, and the families and friends that bring us alive through love and support. Together we are Academie Lafayette, and though I may not be as active of a member after this year, my heart will always be with it. Thank you for all the memories.

Leslie Houfaidi


from the Cherry Principal

Bonjour de Cherry

Madame Royce's Message
Madame Royce's Message

Heather Royce
Cherry Principal


  

In This Edition:


calendar

Upcoming Events

May 22
Last Day of School for students online classes


May 26-29
Teachers online PD days




Access the 2019-20 school calendars by clicking here


INFO SHARING

Contest Winnerwinner

 
Lucia Thomas received first place in the Nature in Your Neighborhood Art Contest at the Anita Gorman Discovery Center with her drawing of an Eastern Bluebird. Congratulations!

INFO SHARING

School ClosedClosed

Académie Lafayette is closed for the rest of the 19-20 school year 
with May 22nd the last day of online classes.

Teachers online PD days will be May 26-29 to review curriculum for next year.

INFO SHARING

20-21 Intent to Return 
& Summer EnrollmentSSE

Part 1 of the re-enrollment process: Please watch your emails for the SchoolMint link for your 'Intent to Return' and 'Summer School Applications'. These will start going out on April 15th. You will receive a separate email for each of your children. Please use each child's individual email to register them to avoid confusion on which school they will attend. Summer Apps will be due on May 4th.

Part 2 of the 'Re-enrollment Forms' will begin roll-out the last week of June and will be due the middle of July.

Please log-in to SchoolMint right away to make sure your email contacts are correct so you will receive your re-enrollment information in a timely manner.

INFO SHARING

2020 Summer School DatesSS

If dates change due to closures 
we will notify as soon as possible.
2020 Summer School Dates: 
Session 1: 
Monday, June 8th, 2020 - Friday, June 26th, 2020 
Off Week No School: 
Monday, June 29th, 2020 - Friday, July 3rd, 2020  Session 2: 
Monday, July 6th, 2020 - Friday, July 24th, 2020

INFO SHARING

Host a French Intern for the 20-21 School Year

Would your family consider hosting  an intern for the upcoming school year?

Académie Lafayette, French Immersion Charter School, is pleased to announce that we will again be welcoming interns for the 2020-21 school year. However, we still need host families. This year AL will save approximately $260,000 by using the intern program. If you are able to welcome an intern into your home, it's almost like you're donating $20,000! 
Interns are university students from French speaking countries who spend a year working in the classrooms of our youngest students. Host families open their homes and welcome an intern for a semester or for a year. They provide a private 
bedroom and meals when you are together as a family. The school provides a generous monthly stipend to the intern and a monthly city bus pass. 
Hosting an intern is a great way for your children to speak French at home, to discover more about francophone culture, and to have someone to visit when your family goes to France in the future! 
If you would like more information about hosting, please contact Diane Balagna, intern coordinator at Academie Lafayette, at 816-888 7400 or  dbalagna@academielafayette.org.


INFO SHARING

Thank you to Alice Coates and Charlotte Bretell for donating toiletries to the food and supply pick-up station at Armour.  This was the culmination of their IB project.  These items will help our community in this difficult time.  If families are in need of any of the following items, they may come to the east door of the Armour campus on McGee Street from 10-12:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  Please contact Mme. Seely ( lseely@academielafayette.org) for deliveries if you cannot come during those hours or lack transportation.
  • Lunches
  • Hot meals for the weekend
  • Groceries
  • Toiletries
  • School supplies
  • An opportunity to talk directly to the the school counselor about other needs you may have

INFO SHARING

Food ServiceFood

  • Free sack lunches and additional groceries and supplies will be provided to families as they become available for pick up at the Armour Campus, 201 E. Armour Blvd, KCMO 64111, at the east door on McGee Street, from 10:00 - 12:00 Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Families are also welcome to deliver grocery, toiletry and cleaning supplies for donation at that time. 
  • Meals for families will be available. The meals will feed 12 people. They will be available first come, first served.

INFO SHARING

Teaching and LearningTeaching

  • The live curriculum includes: French, math and English, science, social studies and teacher office hours. Please email the teacher for assistance. 
  • Académie Lafayette is currently partnering with the Springfield school district through their LAUNCH program to access their online courses for our middle school students. 
  • As of now, the buildings will be closed and all school events canceled through the end of the school year. As this is an ongoing and quickly changing situation, we will update you on any changes well in advance of that date.
  • Click here for a parent tutorial guide to access the virtual classrooms.
AL Online Schedules

INFO SHARING

Technology and EquipmentTech

  • The Chromebook and hotspot distribution has started with Middle school, 5th grade next and we will work down to 2nd grade.
  • Click here for internet options for families.
  • LOCATION FOR CONNECTIVITY BUSES!
    As an immediate solution to connectivity, a consortium of community partners (Connecting for Good, KC Library, and KCPS) are organizing Connectivity BusesBuses that serve as wifi towers will be positioned in the parking lot of the Southeast Library Branch and the Bluford Library branch starting Wednesday of next week. All Kansas City Public Library locations will also have free wifi access in all of their parking lots. 
  • Technical issues: 

INFO SHARING

CommunicationCommunication

  • To help answer your questions, we have created our Covid-19 webpage, 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.

INFO SHARING

AL in the CommunityComm



Let's keep the fun going and support our Académie Lafayette graduate. A $1,000 People's Choice Award will be awarded to one lucky student. Sheridan Mirador is Kansas City's Branch Winner. He is a senior at Center High School in Kansas City.
Click here   https://bit.ly/2ykviwn to watch the video performances of 49 students who entered the 2020 National Shakespeare Competition. As you watch each of the students perform, be sure to watch Sheridan, he is #47. 

Here's how to vote: Text NSC and the number of your
favorite student to 212-818-1200. There must NOT be a space between NSC and the
number (example: NSC57) Please only vote once. Additional votes from the same number will be discounted. Please do not call in; your vote will not count and your call will not be returned.


INFO SHARING

Evening in Paris PostponedEIP

Due to the Stay At Home order, 
Evening in Paris has been postponed to a later date. We will provide updates as soon as we have more details.
If you have any questions please email eipchair@academielafayette.org.



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Oak Street Campus
6903 Oak Street
Kansas City, MO 64113
816-361-7735

Cherry Street Campus
3421 Cherry Street
Kansas City, MO 64109
816-888-7400

www.academielafayette.org