18 september 2020

Le Journal




from the head of school

The Generosity of our AL Community  

Dear AL Families,

I would like to congratulate our students for their attendance, focus and hard work during online classes. I am very impressed by their engagement. Our teachers, social workers and staff have been very committed to supporting struggling learners. Thank you very much to the parents for your patience and understanding. The events of 2020 have changed our world and community in many ways. As we continue to adapt to our changed world, we remain committed to supporting our families.

Through the generosity of our families and community partners, you have helped us do just that.

The Chromebook annual fund has satisfied our technology request needs by providing 110 additional chrome books since the beginning of the school year. Over $17,000 in donations through the GoFundMe initiative and grants has been distributed by our social workers to help AL families who find themselves in need. 

We appreciate each of you who has generously donated to support our efforts to address the needs of our disadvantaged students during this pandemic. Raffle ticket sales are another way to help our school's Annual Fund meet the increased needs of our school community, and this year is more urgent than most. We appreciate all of the students who have sold a tremendous number of raffle tickets already in our first two weeks of our $10,000 Raffle. Your hard work already has us at 20% of our total goal, and we still have six weeks to go! 

We want to keep the momentum going, so
  • We are going to extend the Early Bird T-Shirt qualification deadline through Friday, September 28. This gives you two more weeks to sell 20 tickets and earn a T-shirt while raising $100 for the school. 
  • This also means the Early Bird drawing for the Nintendo Switch will move to September 30.  
  • Additionally, the October 2 drawing will now be for a $50 Amazon Gift card, instead of $20.
As always, we appreciate your support of our school and each other.

Elimane Mbengue
Head of School


  

In This Edition:


calendar

Upcoming Events

September 28
No School-School Improvement Day

September 29
Diversity Committee virtual conversation about race and racism, 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.

INFO SHARING

Technology needs surveytechneeds

Dear Parents,

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.

Thank you

INFO SHARING

Order Your 8th Grade SweatshirtsSweatshirts8th

Attention families with 8th grade students! It's time to place your order for the always popular 8th grade sweatshirts.  Please place your order at this link by Friday, September 25th. Make sure to scroll all the way down to view the 8th grade sweatshirt ordering box.  Sizes run from adult S to 3XL. This is a one-time order opportunity to ensure we receive the best pricing. If it is a hardship to afford this sweatshirt for your child at this time, please email the counselor, Mme. Seely, at [email protected]

INFO SHARING

Art Materials for Oak CampusArt

Hello Oak  and Cherry Parents,

We 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

CondolencesCondolences

It is with heavy hearts that we share that Zera Davis, mother of Zalia and Anjanette Davis, passed away on August 30.  Please keep the family in your thoughts and prayers.  If you would like to help support the family through this extremely difficult time- the school has started a GoFundMe for them:  gf.me/u/yxd33v.

INFO SHARING

PTO Virtual Trash Bag SaleTRASH

There's just 10 days left to place your trash bag orders! These are quality bags suitable in size and strength for your KCMO trash needs and never-ending yard work.
As always, proceeds benefit our PTO! With fewer events and fundraisers this year, we can really use your support to reach our goal of selling 1,200 rolls.

Orders can be placed and paid for online at buybags.trashbagfundraiser.com. Enter ACADE as the Group ID and your student's name on the checkout page. 

More information and an order form are available at www.alptso.com so you can keep track of any orders you place for family or friends. Bag pickup will be the first two Saturdays in October.

If you have any questions or cannot order online, please contact: Sara Clark at 816-729-5810 or [email protected].
 

INFO SHARING

Diversity Committee virtual conversation about race and racismDiversity

Click here to view flyer.
The Diversity Committee would like to invite any
interested parents to a virtual conversation about race and racism on Sept. 29 from 6-7 pm.  The Committee has been focused on developing plans to engage teachers, board members, and students in conversations around diversity, equity, & inclusion (DEI) and would now like to extend the conversation to our broader parent community.

For our first conversation, we will be discussing key terms related to DEI and taking a deeper dive into understanding unconscious bias.  Please RSVP here if you plan to attend so we can plan for the right number of participants.  You will be asked for your e-mail address so we can send you the link for the meeting.

The committee plans to host one discussion each month for the next few months.  Please 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! Please click here for all the information on the 2020 Raffle. The winner will be drawn on Saturday, October 31st. Click here to view the Kick-off video. 

Raffle Updates:
  • This Friday's Weekly Winner is Ana Kohler, 7th grader at Armour. The winner was drawn from the students who sold at least 5 tickets over the past week. Ana won a $25 gift card to Andy's Frozen Custard! The weekly drawing will be announced every Friday based on tickets sold Friday through Thursday of each week. Remember: it just takes 5 tickets sold each week to be eligible for this weekly drawing!
  • We will continue to email parents each Wednesday with updates on ticket sales for your student(s). As you close in on qualifying deadlines to earn prizes, you can email [email protected] to get an update.
  • We're seeing students ask local businesses if they can put the poster up in their storefronts, which makes it easy for more members in the community to buy tickets. If you need posters printed for this purpose, please contact [email protected].
  • When someone buys tickets and receives an email receipt from Raffle Creator, be aware that this is generated from "[email protected]", so if you respond to that email to update any information, that email is not received at the school. If you need to change or add any information related to the tickets bought, please email [email protected].
  • Upcoming deadlines:
    • Friday, September 28 is the new Early Bird deadline - sell 20 tickets and earn a T-shirt while raising $100 for the school. 
    • Monday, September 30 is the Early Bird drawing for the Nintendo Switch. Everyone who earned a T-Shirt is eligible for this drawing.
    • Friday, October 2 will be a drawing for a $50 Amazon Gift card for anyone who has sold a minimum of 40 tickets through Thursday, October 1.
For any questions regarding the raffle, email [email protected].  Keep up the good work, and Happy Selling!

INFO SHARING

Agenda Correction & UpdateAgenda


*Please note that kindergarten and 9th grade students will not receive an agenda so therefore, do not need to purchase one.  

If you are a kindergarten or 9th grade parent and paid for an agenda, please contact Marcia Berry at [email protected] for a refund.  Please include your name, the email address of the paypal account you used, your child's name, and the approximate date of the payment if known.

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.
 


INFO SHARING

Change.org Petition to Support J1 Intern and Teacher ProgramsJ1

Académie Lafayette welcomes dozens of interns and teachers each year through the J-1 Visa program sponsored by the Amity Institute. On June 24, President Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation which temporarily suspended the J-1 visa for several categories, including teachers and interns. A few weeks ago, the Alliance for International Exchange created a Change.org petition to the White House stating that J-1 Exchange Visitor Programs are important to the U.S. economy, national security, and public diplomacy. The organization then goes on to urge that these vital programs be exempted from the June 22 proclamation. For those of you who are not aware of the Alliance's work, it is an association that represents organizations and companies comprising the educational and cultural exchange community in the United States, serving as this community's public policy voice.

If you feel inclined, please take a moment to sign onto the petition to support J1 programs (linked here).  While this petition does not exclusively address the Teacher and Intern Programs, we believe it is important to support the J-1 exchange program in its entirety. We all know of the enormous benefits of exchange opportunities such as those offered by Amity... however, there is a common misconception as to the actual impact that these exchange programs have in the United States.  Therefore, petitions such as Alliance's are important for raising awareness.

INFO SHARING

Kinsa FLUency programNurseFlu

Dear AL families, 

As we approach the school year, the nursing and social work teams would like to help support your families as much as possible.  This program is only available for our K-5 families. 

Académie Lafayette has once again been granted a spot in the Kinsa FLUency program for the 20-21 school year. This program, which normally starts in late September, has added a waitlist feature this year due to COVID-19 which allows families to sign up for the program early.  The FLUency program gives one free Kinsa thermometer to interested families in the community and provides a community illness tracker in their app so families can see what illnesses are going around the school community.  All personal information is kept completely private while notifying the broader AL community of communicable illnesses. 


INFO SHARING

Textbook ReturnBookreturn

If you have any textbooks or novels from last school year at home, please drop them off at Armour between 12-1pm on Tuesdays or Thursday.  Come to the east door on McGree Street.

INFO SHARING

Social Work and Counseling CornerSocialCorner

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 the volunteers from St. John's Methodist Church 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 the Google Classroom contact Roger Goudiaby, [email protected].

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.
  • Looking to build your community? 
    Get going today by joining our private Facebook group here. You will need to answer the three security questions before being granted access. 

AdvertisementKW



AdvertisementTheatre



AdvertisementLandsEnd



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