Spectrum Gazette -Fall 2021

 Spectrum Charter School Celebrating Education & Community Service Since 1999

MISSION STATEMENT Our mission is to provide a life changing environment where students and their families feel safe, comfortable, and achieve their highest potential. We envision every child being educated, with skills identified, to live successful and fulfilling lives.

It Feels Good to Be Back by Mrs. Yurkovich  On August 23, 2021 Spectrum Charter School opened the doors welcoming 38 students and 15 staff back into the building. In accordance with Spectrum's Safety Plan, all students began the school year receiving face-to-face instruction. For some students this was the first time riding a bus, stepping into the school building, and seeing classmates face to face in a little over 1 year and 5 months. But by the looks on their faces and the smiles projected under their masks, all students (and staff) were happy to be back! As COVID-19 continues and numbers rise, Spectrum Charter School students and staff continue to practice safety throughout the school day. Along with following the mandatory mask mandate, students are encouraged to use hand sanitizer, stand or sit 3ft away from others, and wipe down their areas frequently.  We are all looking forward to a safe and healthy school year!

Welcome to Our New Teachers! This school year, we'd like to give a big Spectrum Welcome to our two new teachers, Mrs. Alisha Piligno and Mr. Roger Stedina! Mrs. Piligno, who recently moved here from New Jersey, is Spectrum's English Language Arts teacher. She has her Master’s of Education specializing in English education. She has been teaching English for nine years. She has a passion for helping students improve their writing and reading skills. She is an avid reader and dog lover! When she has free time, she enjoys spending time outside with her husband and pit bull. Mr. Stedina is the school's History & Civics teacher. Graduating from Edinboro University with a BA in History in 2015, and a M.Ed in 2018, Mr. Stedina has always been a lifelong lover of the classics, education, and telling stories. When not in the classroom, he enjoys spending his free time publishing short stories, playing music with local bands, and “attempting” to relax with his family, which includes a 30-year old parrot and a creature resembling a dog. We are honored that they have joined Spectrum!

Peace One Day by Mrs. Garbin  On Tuesday, September 21st the staff and students at Spectrum Charter School celebrated Peace One Day. This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the unanimous adoption by United Nations member states of the Resolution establishing an annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence on the United Nations International Day of Peace, fixing the day in the global calendar on 21 September. As a way to celebrate, the students wrote "Peace Poems." Below are some of the poems that the students wrote: If peace had a colour, it would be all colors of light. If peace had a taste, it would be as eating that one sweet delicious food you had since a kid and now re-experiencing that taste again in later years. if peace had a smell, it would smell like the fresh wind blowing against you. Peace would look like everyone taking a permanent break from senseless violence and torment on others physically and mentally. Peace would be as silence as the great nothingness in your home alone. Peace would feel like the comfort of your mind, isolated from the pain of the real world pain and feeling joy as you drift farther away. - a Spectrum student Peace is the color white. Peace tastes like sugar. Pace smells like flowers. Peace looks like unity. Peace sounds quiet. Peace feels like you do not have to stress - a Spectrum student

The Brew Crew by Mrs. Venturini  The Brew Crew, Spectrum’s student run coffee stand, is open each morning from 8:30 am until 8:45 am and provides students an opportunity to socialize. The Brew Crew serves coffee, hot chocolate, tea, oatmeal and fruit. Congratulations to Sydni --winner of our naming contest. Thanks to our super helpers: Andrew, Aniyah, Desiree, J and James.

Art Class by Mrs. Rosendale The students at Spectrum Charter School have spent the last two weeks studying repetition in art. First, students mimicked Andy Warhol’s National Velvet (1963), repeated images of Elizabeth Taylor. Andy Warhol liked to repeat the same image over and over again. Students created a stamp of an image on foam and repeated the image using construction paper and paint.

Next, students mimicked Andy Warhol’s Campell’s Soup Pop Art. Andy Warhol liked to make works of art about everyday products you could buy in stores -- like soup! Students used a template and oil pastels to create their own soup cans.

Then, students created an Ode to Food to express their appreciation of a food that they could eat every day for twenty years. Finally, they created their own food Pop Art using a template and oil pastels. Our Artist-In-Residence will begin teaching art at Spectrum Charter School one day each week beginning in late October!

Reading Rocks! by Mrs. Piligno We have started off this year, in our English Language Arts classroom, with an emphasis on the joy and benefits of reading! This year, each student at Spectrum receives a monthly reading log with the goal of reading for 75 minutes per week outside of class a novel/informational text of their choice. Students are encouraged to check out books from our library that is located in the ELA classroom. In class, students have been developing their reading skills by reading together the novel The City of Ember or The Maze Runner. These high interest novels keep our students engaged as they sharpen their reading and comprehension skills. Each day, students polish their grammar skills by practicing various grammar concepts by revising “Grammar Gaffs.” These are sentences/paragraphs that our students edit daily that focus in on reviewing capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure, and much more! Students become the editor and turn these “Grammar Gaffs” into “Grammar Glamour!” Each student also has their own interactive notebook where they take notes and complete various tasks highlighting literary skills and devices they are learning as they read. Along with their notebooks, each student has a writing folder where they track their progress in writing throughout the school year. We are looking forward to an amazing year in ELA!

Stories and Tales in History by Mr. Stedina All too often, “History Class” succumbs to the chains of its own reputation, mired by an abundance of dates, maps, timelines, and bullet-point factoids regarding the many faceless and unknowable figures who came long before us. This is known, and as students sat down to their first day of US History, it needed to be made immediately clear exactly what sort of experience was to unfold behind these weighty doors: Story Time.  Since day one, we have constantly reinforced the most important - and often most forgotten - aspect of the study of human history: the STORY. This is not a class where we spend our time and energy focusing on rote memorization and irrelevant facts regarding dates, events, or figures; while that may be fun for some, it’s lacking a certain “pizazz”, or appeal. No, in this class we tell stories. Have you ever wondered why Marco Polo would have made a perfect bumbling sitcom character? Maybe you, too, have spent your time pondering just why George Washington had a reputation as the best dancer in The Colonies prior to the revolution. In fact, who among us hasn’t stopped to ponder the reasoning behind why you should never buy a used car in Ohio?  These stories, and many, many more are what we talk about in History class. After all, our history is, in fact, the story we all tell, and it only gets better and, arguably, more entertaining with age. So, as I like to tell the students oh-so-often, “Buckle in friends, it’s about to get weird.”

Thanksgiving Meal Fundraiser for Spectrum Families It is our goal to make sure that EVERY Spectrum Family celebrates Thanksgiving with a special meal! Therefore, we are collecting monetary donations to purchase gift cards to local grocery stores for those Spectrum Families who request one. If you would like to donate, please make checks payable to: Spectrum Charter School Mail check, or have student return it, to: Spectrum Charter School 4369 Northern Pike Monroeville, PA 15146 ATTN: Thanksgiving Fundraiser If you would like to receive a gift card (This information is completely confidential), forms and instructions have been sent home with students. PLEASE DONATE WHAT YOU CAN SO THAT EVERY SPECTRUM FAMILY CAN CELEBRATE THANKSGIVING!

School Closings & Delays It’s that time of year again when inclement weather delays and closings are a possibility. The following is a description of the process we use to determine whether or not to close school and where to go to get information about school closings or delays. DELAYS AND CLOSING OF SCHOOL:  Will be determined by Spectrum Charter School Administration May differ from local school districts Decisions to delay or cancel school will be made as early as possible, but by 6:00 AM at the latest.   If Spectrum Charter School is on a two-hour delay, school will begin at 10:30 AM If the decision to change from a delay to a closure is made, it will be posted by 8:00 AM at the latest All notifications will be posted on KDKA, WTAE and WPXI stations -- however, Spectrum Charter School has no control over when the postings are made PARENTS SHOULD: Check news stations regularly for predictions of inclement weather during the cold months Check the news stations for postings of closings or delays Have a plan in place in the event that school is closed or delayed  Contact your child’s bus driver or transportation department to find out their policies on transporting your child if the home school district closings/delays differ from Spectrum Charter School’s Snow Day Make-up Days 1st - March 18 2nd - April 14 3rd - May 27  If there are more than 3 Snow Days, or if they occur after the planned Snow Day Make-up Days, they will be added on to the end of the year. THERE WILL BE NO REMOTE LEARNING IF SCHOOL IS CLOSED. *SCHOOL CLOSINGS FOR REASONS OTHER THAN WEATHER: May occur due to heating, gas, water, sewage or other unforeseen issues May require Spectrum Charter School to be closed or delayed Will be determined by Spectrum Charter School Administration as early as possible

Spectrum Charter School's Autism Awareness 5K Walk/Run  To celebrate Autism Awareness Month, Spectrum Charter School will be hosting an Autism Awareness 5K Run/Walk at Boyce Park an Saturday, April 23rd, 2022. We are excited for the opportunity to connect with our community, celebrate our school and enjoy a beautiful day at the park. Please join us in the fun! Early registration is open for our 5K Run/Walk for Autism Awareness. The race proceeds will benefit the students of Spectrum Charter School. You can register for the event at: https://runsignup.com/Race/PA/Monroeville/SpectrumAutismAwareness5KRunWalk

School Picture Day Inter-State Photography will be on-site to take school pictures on Monday, November 15th. Order forms and online ordering instructions have been sent home with students, but please feel free to contact the school if you have any questions. Say Cheese!

Upcoming Notable Dates & Events    10/25/2021     Deputy Tarap    10/26/2021     Artist Residency starting    11/11/2021    Veteran's Day Breakfast  11/15/2021     School Picture Day    11/18/2021     Thanksgiving Day Feast    11/19/2021     Deputy Tarap    11/22/2021     Giving Tree    11/25-11/29    Thanksgiving Break (no school)    12/17/2021     Holiday Shop    12/17/2021     Deputy Tarap    12/23/2021     STEM Fair    12/24-1/2        Winter Break (no school)

HAPPY FALL!

Spectrum Charter School, Inc. 4369 Northern Pike Monroeville, PA 15146 Phone: 412-374-8130