Week Ending – September 23, 2011

Dear Parents and Guardians;

This week brings our first Speaker of the Month presentation.  We are delighted to welcome Dr. Edwards who is the Director of Aeronautics at NASA Ames Research Center.  Dr. Edwards is responsible for research in aviation operations, flight vehicle technology and design, and fundamental aerodynamics.  He is also responsible for the operation of national flight simulation and wind tunnel facilities.  He began his career with NASA in 1983, and has served in a variety of research and managerial assignments in fields including computational fluid dynamics, aircraft design, aerothermodynamics, information technology, and aviation operations.  Dr. Edwards is a graduate of Princeton University, with Master’s and PhD degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University.  We invite parents and guardians to attend this presentation at 10:30 on Wednesday, September 28 at the Aerospace Museum of California. 

School uniforms – The remainder of the PE uniform and sweat suit order will be delivered this week.  A partial order for school uniform shirts was delivered and given to students this week.  The rest of the order will be delivered in two weeks.  We do have some shirts for sale.  If you are interested, please contact the office or the Parents of CAA.

Lunch time activities – We are still looking for a volunteer to supervise some lunch time activities.  We would like to provide our high school students with the opportunity to play basketball, volleyball, or other supervised sports during lunch – 1:00 – 1:30 Monday – Thursday.  If you are available during this time on one or several days each week, please contact the office. 

Wanted – We would like to provide some outdoor seating for our students.  If you have a bench or picnic table that you would like to donate to the school, we would greatly appreciate it.  Please call the school office. 

Student Senate – The first meeting of the CAA student senate will be this Tuesday at 8:10.  Students representing their home room classes are Adrianna M., Jacob H., T.J. M., Sean M., Ivy S., Vincenzo V., and Justine C.. 

Free Dress Friday – This Friday will be a Free Dress Friday.  Students may wear jeans on this day.  Remember, RED is never allowed. 

Tardies – Students continue to come to school late daily.  Remember, school begins promptly at 8:10 AM.  Also, students have 3 minutes between each class.  With our small campus, that is ample time for everyone to get to class on time.  Students who continually come to class late can expect to serve a detention after school.  Coming to class late disrupts the learning environment for all students.  Please talk with your student about promptness.  Thank you for your help.

Counselors' Corner:

 Bullying can be a serious problem. Chances are, you have experienced bullying, whether you were bullied, you bullied someone else, or you saw someone being bullied. If you feel mistreated, misunderstood or isolated and think you have no place to turn, know that you are not alone and there is hope. Talk to the School Counselor or a trusted adult if you feel bullied. To find out more about how you can stand up against bullying visit:  www.stopbullying.gov

 Seniors who have not passed the CAHSEE will be taking the test on October 4th (ELA) and 5th (Math). To better prepare for this test, please review the study guides and sample questions available at: www.cde.ca.gov

 Juniors who have paid their $14 fee will be taking the PSAT on October 12th from 9am-11am at Futures High School. This will be an excused absence for these students who must return to CAA no later than noon.

 A.S.E.S.:  If your student is in the After School Program and has permission to sign themselves out, parent permission is still required for them to leave before 6:00pm. Otherwise, all students leaving early from the program must be signed out by a parent or guardian. Please call Mrs. Kaslan at 286-5195 if you need to update your child's A.S.E.S. contract.  Thank you!

Week Ending – September 16, 2011

Dear Parents and Guardians;

We are now entering the second half of the first quarter.  Progress reports were mailed out last week.  If you student is receiving a D or an F in his/her classes you will be receiving a report.  Please take the time to talk with your child about his/her lack of progress.  Be sure you are checking the Parent Portal to see weekly updated grades.  Teachers welcome email from parents and want to work with you to help your child succeed.  As always, if you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the office for an appointment.

Another new face – We are so excited to welcome our final addition to our staff.  Amy FitzGibbon will be taking over as the 8^th grade ELA and science teacher as well as the 7^th grade science teacher.  Amy is a welcome addition who comes to us with Middle School experience.  Please talk with your middle school student and encourage him/her to help Mrs. FitzGibbon feel welcome at CAA.

Graffiti – This past week we have been experiencing a rash of graffiti at our school.  It started in the student rest rooms but is now showing up all over campus.  The school staff is doing its best to remove the unsightly art work, but this takes time and resources away from our academics.  We are asking the help of our parents to stop this growing concern.  Here are some ways that you can help:

                1.  Talk with your student about respect for himself/herself and others

                2.  Check backpacks for permanent markers – these are not allowed at school and need to stay at home

                3.  Look at your student’s work and notebooks checking for inappropriate drawings

                4.  Volunteer at school during lunch time and after school

School uniforms – PE uniforms were delivered last week.  If you placed an order your students should have received his/her uniform.  We were shorted on some uniforms, and another order was placed on Thursday.  Those back-ordered items as well as the PE sweat clothes should be received this week. 

Our school shirt order was delayed due to a mix-up with our vendor.  The shirts should be completed by this Wednesday and be delivered by the end of the week.  We apologize for any inconvenience.

Dress Code – We are seeing many students come to school in jeans or denim pants as well as shirts that are not plain navy blue, gray, or black.  All students and parents signed a dress code contract before school began.  I have attached a copy of that contract to this newsletter.  Please see that your child comes to school dressed for success.  Students out of dress code will be calling parents to get the proper attire.  Thank you for your cooperation.

Lunch time activities – We are looking for a volunteer to supervise some lunch time activities.  We would like to provide our high school students with the opportunity to play basketball, volleyball, or other supervised sports during lunch – 1:00 – 1:30 Monday – Thursday.  If you are available during this time on one or several days each week, please contact the office. 

Outstanding Students – The staff at CAA would like to recognize two senior students who have been working hard at school to set up our second computer lab.  A special thank you goes out to Mason C. and Steven A..   These two gentlemen have been giving up their time to improve our school.  We are proud of you!

Week Ending – September 9, 2011

Dear Parents and Guardians;

On this 10^th anniversary of the tragic events that took place in America, I urge you to take time to reflect on this moment in history and spend some time with your children discussing this significant event that changed the United States forever. On this anniversary, there will be news coverage, including replays and stories about survivors and rescue workers will be common. September 11 can be difficult to address as it may also bring up memories and feelings that you had that day and in the days following the terrorist attacks. It is a time to be there for your child, be ready to discuss the events of this day, and show your child that you are able to talk about difficult topics.   Also encourage your child thank those first responders (military, police officers, fire fighters, and volunteers) who make sacrifices daily to keep us safe and America strong. 

Merit rewards – On Wednesday, we acknowledged 101 students who had 3 or fewer demerits during the first half of the first quarter.  With our new discipline model, we award all students one merit each period, each day.  Students lose merits for the following reasons:  out of dress code, unprepared for class, not following class rules, eating or chewing gum in class, inappropriate language, or be being late to class.  This positive reward system seems to be working and we are proud to reward students for doing the right thing.  Rewards will change each time, so we encourage all students to be the best that they can be and exhibit the characteristics of exceptional CAA students!

August Students of the Month – At morning assembly on Wednesday, we honored students that were chosen as Students of the Month.  This month’s theme was “Professionalism”.  The following students exhibited qualities of Professionalism at CAA:  Travis F., Sam M., Steven A., Jonathan E., Daniel P., Linzey S., Mia R., Justin B., and Aarianna M..  The students received a certificate and will have their pictures displayed in our lobby. 

School uniforms – If you ordered a school shirt or PE uniform they are expected to be delivered this week.  Again, we apologize for the delay.  We will distribute the school attire as soon as we receive the items.  Thank you for your patience.  

New Faces on Campus – We welcome two new teachers to our CAA family.  Richard Gregory has joined us as the new PE/Health/and Aerospace teacher.  Steven Stetson will be taking over the position as the long term substitute for Mrs. Schroeder.  We are very happy to have such fine teachers with us. 

Shoes – A safety reminder - all students must wear closed toed shoes to school.

Parent Support – We urge all parents to become active in our school.  The Parents of CAA is in desperate need to workers for the upcoming spaghetti dinner as well as other activities.  Remember, each family is required to donate 20 hours of service to the school. 

Lunch time activities – We are looking for a volunteer to supervise some lunch time activities.  We would like to provide our high school student s with the opportunity to play basketball, volleyball, or other supervised sports during lunch – 1:00 – 1:30 Monday – Thursday.  If you are available during this time on one or several days each week, please contact the office. 

Week Ending – September 2, 2011

Dear Parents and Guardians;

Fall is in the air as we welcome September.  I hope that all of you are enjoying the Labor Day Holiday.  My apologies for not getting this newsletter out to you on Sunday. 

STAR results – Your student’s STAR results are in the mail.  As a staff, we are greatly disappointed in the results.  While there were many challenges last year, we are not making excuses for poor academic achievement.  The CAA staff has been analyzing the results to determine the causes for look performance, especially in math.  We have been putting remedies in place to overcome this problem and are working diligently to make great improvements this year.  Some of the supports that are in place are the following:  support classes for ELA, math, CAHSEE, and EL students, and after school tutoring for all students (middle school through the ASES program, and high school by appointment).  We also realize that we do not have our entire staff in place.  By the end of the week we should be fully staffed.  We encourage all high school students who are struggling to seek help from their teachers or come to the after school program for the tutoring hour from 3:30 – 4:30 for extra help.  While we are implementing many supports for your students, we ask the help of parents as well.  Here are some things that you can do to ensure your student’s success:

• Make sure your student comes to school with appropriate supplies (pencil, pen, paper, notebooks, backpack, etc.)
• Monitor homework – everyone should have homework every night.  If your student says that he/she has no homework – please email his/her teachers
• Send your student to school on time, every day.  Call the office if he/she is ill and remind your student to get work that was missed when absent. 
• Work with the school to assure that your student follows the dress code and school rules. 
• Actively monitor your student’s grades via the Parent Portal. 

Picture Day – September 8 is school picture day.  All students must wear their school uniform.  Picture packet information is available at the school office.  If you wish to purchase a school picture packet, please have your student stop by and get the information.

Prohibited School Items - Energy drinks are not allowed on campus.  Please remind your students of this.  Also, students should not bring permanent markers to school.  Any such items will be confiscated.   For the first offense, students make pick up such items after school.  After that the items will need to be picked up by parents. 

School uniforms – If you ordered a school shirt or PE uniform, they should be in this week.  We are sorry for the delay.  When the PE uniforms are in, we expect all students to dress out for class.  Student not is proper PE attire cannot participate fully in class.  Please help us to make sure your child has the appropriate attire.

Shoes – A safety reminder that all students must wear closed toed shoes to school.

Advisory Team – Our business partner’s advisory team met on Tuesday.  We discussed ways that our students can participate in community service as well as upcoming activities in the community in which our school can participate.  We thank our business partners (SAGE, SCC, Lions Club, USCG, Aerospace Museum of California, McClellan Park, and AFA) for their time and energy in helping our school to become the best that it can be. 

A special thank you - The staff of CAA extends a warm thank you to Mr. Harry Block (GCC Board Member) , Ms. Dawn Contreras (GCC Director of Categoricals), and Mr. Jason Sample (GCC Director of Community Engagement and Development) for their help this past week.  As always we welcome parents and volunteers to our campus. 

Lunch time activities – We are looking for a volunteer to supervise some lunch time activities.  We would like to provide our high school student s with the opportunity to play basketball, volleyball, or other supervised sports during lunch – 1:00 – 1:30 Monday – Thursday.  If you are available during this time on one or several days each week, please contact the office.