IACS Hawk Distance Edition
Week ending May 15, 2020
Dear IACS Community -
For the Hawk Letter this week I wanted to focus on our seniors. They are down to only 9 school days left in their high school experience and certainly are deserving of some celebration. On Tuesday, all of our seniors were visited by various teachers and staff members between 5-7pm with a special senior care package. Ms. Landis was instrumental in the purchasing and organizing of the various items which included: Class of 2020 t-shirt, class photo, sunglasses, lanyard, water bottle, toilet paper, candy, and a drawstring bag. All of us that delivered the bags loved getting to see our students in person again. Thank you to all of our delivery staff: Ms. Deknatel, Ms. Kelly, Debi, Mr. Orpen, Ms. Stafford, Ms. Witmer, Ms. Booth, Ms. Barnes, Ms. Anthony, Ms. Poulioupolis, Ms. Cynar, Ms. Landis, Ms. Spence, Mr. Provencher, Ms. Lane, Ms. Ringwall, Ms. Talbot, Ms. DiCarlo, Mr. DiCarlo, Ms. Brody, Ms. Theep, Ms. Bisso, Ms. Ford, Mr. Sciolla, Ms. Tamares, Ms. Bush, Ms. Feeney, & Ms. Modrich (apologies if I missed anyone!). Thanks also to IACA for their financial contribution to this effort. I’ve included a few photos here, but Ms. Kelly is finishing up a complete slide show that will be uploaded to YouTube and a link will be shared with everyone.
Pictured: Teshi, Christian, Kristina, & Maddie
Our Director of College Counseling, Ms. Deknatel, has also been working to celebrate our seniors through Instagram, some of which is copied to the Twitter feed and is available for viewing on our school website. Check them out at: iacs_collegecounseling - https://www.instagram.com/iacs_collegecounseling/
Iacs.seniors.2020 - https://www.instagram.com/iacs.seniors.2020/
We are also planning a “Rolling Rally” for our Seniors & their families on their last day of classes, 3:30pm on May 29th. Weather permitting, the plan is to have the faculty & staff lined up (6ft apart of course) outside of the building to celebrate the seniors as they slowly drive through. More information will be sent to seniors soon, but please save the date!
Senior Project Presentations Begin on May 18th!
Even while celebrating our seniors, it is important to remember that they are not done yet. Our seniors have continued to work hard to work on their senior projects, often having to modify their original project due to public health guidelines, and they will start virtual presentations on Monday. As an example, Senior Anita Gulia’s initial proposal was to write and direct an original musical and to perform it before a live audience at school. She still wrote her musical, but has had to switch from a live performance with student actors to performing the songs herself (with the assist of family members!, adding illustrations, and spending some time editing it all for a video format. She plans on conducting a table reading of her musical in August. Here is a video promo where you can see an example of her hard work. Also, she is inviting anyone from the IACS Community to attend her senior project presentation on Wednesday, May 20th at 1:15.
ZOOM INFORMATION:
Topic: Anita's Senior Project
Time: May 20, 2020 01:15 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/96110613900?pwd=TFlOL0NWSU5BTitMcEJ3NFU5NDYyUT09
Meeting ID: 961 1061 3900
Password: 2jQGEL
Other than continuing to educate our students, we are also trying to reach out, lift spirits, and keep students connected with each other and the school. I especially want to mention the work that Ms. Cynar & Ms. Booth have done with the IACS Connects classroom page and their spirit competitions. Ms. Kelly and Debi are constantly in touch with students and families and the Student Services teachers and aides have done wonderful work supporting our students. Let’s finish strong this spring and hopefully we can look forward to brighter days ahead.
Be well.
Erik Arnold, Ed.D.
High School Principal
All School News
Tilo and The Liber Institute are partnering to facilitate a three part talk series on coping with stress during the pandemic. The first session will be Saturday, May 16 from 12-1pm.
Connecting During Distancing: Coping with Stress during the Pandemic
Change like the pandemic can cause tremendous anxiety, but it doesn't have to stay that way. During this shared discussion, we will be talking about the effects of stress on the household during unprecedented change and the necessity of taking care of yourself to allow for space to care for others. The antidote for stress is human connection and love. Our goal is to provide a space that allows us to experience our emotion about the pandemic and begin to heal through human connection.
Please register here. Once you have registered you will receive an email with the zoom link to participate in this discussion.
Additional opportunities for families to pick up personal items still in our buildings. The dates are designed to meet different family schedules and are as follows:
Wednesday, May 20: 6 pm - 7 pm
Saturday, June 6: 10 am - 11 am
Friday, June 12: 9 am - 10 am (Final Date)
All of these dates have been added to our website calendar with the following reminders:
These visits must be brief and should not be viewed as social "meet ups".
In order to plan appropriate staff supervision, please email the main office (mainoffice@innovationcharter.org) 24 hours in advance if you would like to enter the building.
All personal belongings must be picked up by Friday, June 12th. Personal items left in school after that day will be discarded or donated so that the normal summer cleaning can occur.
We are trying to reach out and find all of our alumni. You can help us find them by sharing our link on Facebook. Alumni, like our page and join your year of graduation Facebook group to reconnect with former classmates! You can also follow us on instagram or on Twitter. Sending along your updated email address to smorocco@innovationcharter.org will ensure you receive our Alumni Hawk newsletter and other important updates.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Shannon Morocco - Director of Community Development
Middle School News
Progress Reports
The second progress report of the semester was released to our student and family portal on Monday. Teachers wrote comments on how to improve for any student in danger of not passing a class. Final grades will be reported as Pass/Warning.
Please reach out to the main office (mainoffice@innovationcharter.org or MS Admin Assistant Katie Hoyer (khoyer@innovationcharter.org) if you have difficulty accessing this document or need another copy of your Aspen password.
To monitor current averages, students and families should log on to Aspen. This semester, Novice grades or higher are passing.
What do you do when you never took a yearbook photo before leaving campus? Well, you take one via Zoom. Here’s our latest Student Advisory Council meeting and yearbook photo! This group has been amazing to work with!
Middle School Yearbook
CONTRIBUTE to the 2019-2020 Middle School Yearbook and make it an honest and wonderful tribute to your class. This is a weird year and so help to create a yearbook that reflects the WEIRD! Contribute your school-appropriate stories, photos, poems, reflections, screenshots of your life in The Covid-19 Quarantine!
WATCH THE Presentation to get ideas! There is a video on the second slide.
Send contributions to MSYEARBOOK@Innovationcharter.org
Middle School yearbooks can be ordered here for the regular price of $27.
High School News
Progress Report 2 Released
The 2nd Progress Report of Semester 2 was released on Aspen Family Portal’s on Monday. If you need assistance with your family portal login/password please contact Crystal McKiel, cmckiel@innovationcharter.org.
IACS Virtual Gallery Grand Opening!
Come visit the IACS VIrtual Gallery and see the creative and expressive work from your fellow students. The Virtual Gallery is a place for students from Innovation Academy to show the art and music that they are proud of. New work will continue to be posted every week so make sure to check back for future updates. If you have work that you would like to show, email your images, music files, and video links to Mr. Barry, Mr. Pelham, or Mr. Sciolla. Remember all art forms are welcome!
https://sites.google.com/innovationcharter.org/iacsvirtualgallery/home
NHS Executive Board for 2020-2021
The National Honor Society is thrilled to announce the Executive Board for the 2020-2021 school year and final year of NHS. And the results are...
President: Rian Benoit
Vice President: Caitlyn Pennie
Secretary/Treasurer: Jack Benoit
Community Service Director: Hudson Guilmartin
We are so excited to have phenomenal student leaders who are passionate about their work in the community. We wish we could celebrate in person, but since we can't, please be sure to congratulate each member and watch this video of their speeches of what they can bring to the IACS community next year! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7tLMbRgzBM
Student Art Slideshow
Mr. Pelham and Mr. Barry are proud to present the first Student Art Slideshow featuring photos by our talented IACS students!
Photo of the Week:
Anthony/Arnold Advisory Participates in Spirit Week
Masked Advisory Zoom Competition
Theatre News
With school campus being closed for the year, the Theater Arts is announcing the following:
The production of Les Miserables will not occur this spring or summer, however we are exploring ways in which all students, and yes our current seniors, can come together to perform this show next academic year. You've all worked so hard and we want to explore every option possible to make this happen! Rhonda Hawthorne will be communicating directly with Les Mis participants.
We will make a decision regarding Performing Arts Camps, which normally occur the last three weeks of July, no later than the end of June. If camp is cancelled, payments will be refunded promptly to families who have signed up.
Normally, this is the time of year when we announce the fall show and hold corresponding auditions. These plans are on hold and will be announced at a later date and communicated to the entire community.
Athletics News
The Athletic Department is working with the Business Office to process spring athletic fee refunds. All payments should be returned within the next few weeks. If you have any questions or concerns, please email iacsathletics@innovationcharter.org. Also, student athletes who still have uniforms to return should contact our athletics office; these items can be returned during the visit dates listed in the opening letter.
IACA News
Nominations and Elections for our IACA group will be held next month, if you'd like to find out more click here:
Innovation Academy Charter School
Email: mainoffice@innovationcharter.org
Website: www.innovationhcharter.org
Location: 72 Tyng Road, Tyngsborough, MA, United States
Phone: 978-649-0432
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IACStyngsborough/
Twitter: @iacharterschool