ALCOTT NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Middle School Building Project TOWN-WIDE SURVEY: The Middle School Building Committee invites you to participate in a TOWN-WIDE SURVEY regarding the design, function, and project cost of the new middle school project. It is critical that we collect feedback broad community feedback from all segments of our population and as many residents as possible. Please click here to share your feedback in a 5-10 minute survey. The survey will be available through Monday, April 5, but we suggest you do it right away!
From the Virtual Art Room: Dear Families: If your children are going to remain fully remote starting 4/5, you can ignore this message. Otherwise, please help your children organize their remote art materials to bring back to school, after their art classes this week, 3/29-4/1. They will need whatever art supplies I sent home with them, including scissors, glue, and paper, if they have any left. They will also need their markers and crayons. Art (and all specials) will be taking place in classrooms, with 20 minutes of Zoom, and 25 minutes of asynchronous work time. It will also be very important for every student to have their earbuds or earphones, and laptop chargers at school.
The Alcott Chess Club has kicked off its final 10-week session for the school year, but it's not too late to join the fun! Give your child something to do for those rainy evenings, and for those times when they just want to kick back and have some fun. Email Ken Belt at alcottchess@hotmail.com if you're interested. And be sure to watch for details on the annual Alcott chess tournament after vacation. You won't want to miss it. It's your move!
Basic Rights in Special Education - understanding the IEP, Tuesday, 6th April from 7:00 – 9:00 pm: Hosted by the Acton-Boxborough, Concord/Concord-Carlisle, Lincoln-Sudbury, Maynard, and Sudbury Special Education Parent Advisory Councils with support from our school districts. This workshop, presented by the Federation for Children with Special Needs, will provide an understanding of the Individual Educational Plan (IEP); why it is important, how it is developed, what information belongs in each section, what types of services are included, measurable goals, what to do when you receive a proposed IEP and the process for resolving disputes. Please register via this link. The Zoom information to access the meeting will be sent directly by FCSN to all who have registered. If you have any questions, please contact us at concordsepac@gmail.com or visit our website at www.concordsepac.org.
SEPAC Appreciation Awards - last chance to nominate! We are inviting parents and caregivers with children on an IEP or 504 plan to submit the name of one special person in our school district who has made a difference to your family this year. This may be a classroom teacher, coach, special educator, guidance counselor, or any other school employee that has made a positive impact on your child or family. Given the challenges this year for all of us, these awards are even more important. All names submitted will be honored and recognized publicly. Please visit our website to nominate your special person. Submissions for the SEPAC Appreciation Awards close on April 3rd. If you have any questions, please email us at appreciationawards@gmail.com
Apr 5: Return to Full In-Person Learning
Apr 7: Conference Day - No School for Students
Apr 19-23: April Recess - No School
May 28: Professional Day - No School for Students
May 31: Memorial Day - No School
IN THE COMMUNITY
Virtual Ed Morgan Concerts at the Concord Free Public Library: The Concord Free Public Library invites kids and families to join us for an interactive sing-along with Ed Morgan, “The Music Man”, on Friday, April 16, May 21, June 21, July 16 and August 20. All concerts will take place at 10 am on Zoom. Enjoy fun rhymes and tunes, and connect with your family through music. These family-friendly performances will have everyone up moving, dancing, and singing. Register by visiting our events calendar online at concordlibrary.org, and we'll send you the Zoom link. This event is generously sponsored by The Friends of the Concord Free Public Library.
Concord Children’s Center is Celebrating its 45th Anniversary! Concord Children’s Center will be celebrating its 45th anniversary in April with a series of small-scale, COVID-safe events that are open to all.
Family Scavenger Hunt: A fun activity for the entire family! Download a scavenger hunt form and then find the picture of the decorated “45” at participating local businesses from Monday, April 12-Tuesday, April 27. Return your completed sheet to CCC Development Coordinator Jennifer Saxe and get one entry for the child’s prize in our 45th anniversary raffle!
Raffle: The grand finale of CCC’s 45th anniversary celebrations! On Thursday, April 29, we will be holding a virtual raffle at 8:30 p.m. Participants have the chance to win one of five prizes, with one of these prizes being just for kids! Allocate your raffle tickets among the five prizes however you wish — apply them all to one prize or divvy them up among a few items. You do not need to be on the raffle call to win. Raffle tickets will be on sale from Monday, April 12-Tuesday, April 27, and are 1/$10, 3/$25, or 10/$75. Massachusetts law does not provide for the sale of raffle tickets on-line or through the mail, so all sales must be in person. To purchase tickets, please email CCC Development Coordinator Jennifer Saxe.
More information on the festivities can be found on the Concord Children’s Center website.
CCM presents Sacred Green: The 11th Century Environmental Movement of Hildegard of Bingen—a complimentary online lecture on Friday, April 23, from 7 - 8 pm by CCM faculty member Dr. Greta Feeney. It’s an exploration of the music of 11th century Catholic scholar, theologian, composer, natural scientist, mystic and polyglot Hildegard of Bingen. Greta explains, "Hildegard is one of the first identifiable composers in Western history. Most of them were 'anonymous' until the 14th century, but she wrote in the 11th century and we know a lot about her life to help us understand her musical and intellectual contributions." Examples of Hildegard's sacred chant containing a variant of the word 'viriditas', or, 'noble greenness' from her own language 'Lingua Ignota', will be explored in the context of modern environmental activism. Receive the link: https://concordconservatory.org/sacred-green-11th-century-environmental-movement-hildegard-bingen
CONTINUING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Shop through Amazon Smile: Do you shop on Amazon? If so, one easy way to support our PTG is to shop through smile.amazon.com. The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of all qualifying purchases to a charitable organization of your choice. There is no catch and no extra fees; just designate “Alcott School Parent Teacher Group Inc” as your charity, then shop through the “AmazonSmile” link!
Helpful Links:
PTG online volunteer information and sign-up: Please visit our SignUpGenius Page and our website to discover all the ways both working and non-working parents and guardians are needed to support our wonderful staff, students, and families. Have something to offer that you don’t see listed there? There’s a place for you to submit that info as well! We hope to hear from you!