September 27, 2011
ACHS is off to a smooth and successful start of the 2011 – 2012
school year. We welcomed over 1000 parents and family members to a
very busy Open House! Thank you for being an involved parent. I
know you enjoyed meeting your son or daughter’s teachers and
experiencing a glimpse of his or her day! Classes are balanced and
teachers are in place, with a few in the last stages of the hiring
process. Being able to balance classes and hire needed faculty at
the end of September is a great improvement from last year when this
process occurred in late October. The change is due to a modified
budget calendar at the district level. Due to these recent changes,
progress reports have been rescheduled to be issued on Thursday,
September 29th. This change was also communicated via
automated phone call through ParentLink last week. If you are not
receiving these calls, contact the school to update your phone
information.
The students, faculty, and staff enjoyed an exciting Homecoming Week
last week culminating in a boisterous pep rally, a winning football
game, and an Oscar winning dance. If you have not been out to enjoy
a Friday night football game, you are missing a great time. Go
Stingrays!
Students will have the opportunity to take the PSAT, which is a
CollegeBoard test used as a predictor for the SAT. This test will
be administered to 9th through 11th grade
students on October 12th. The test fee is covered for
all 10th grade students. 9th and 11th
grade students may sign up and pay the $14 fee (cash only) during
their lunch in the courtyard tomorrow and Thursday. I strongly
encourage all to take the test. The more practice a student has on
standardized tests the more successful he or she becomes at
performing well. The National Merit Scholarship Program chooses
scholarship recipients based on the results of the PSAT taken during
the student’s junior year.
For the past four years DCPS has been forced to cut a significant
amount from our annual budget. As a result there have been several
changes which impact the availability of services after school
hours. Two popular programs which are no longer available for
students to utilize include the after school activity buses and the
student safe room. I would like to remind families that the school
will provide supervision for a reasonable time before and after the
school sponsored event. Guidelines for supervision have been
established by Florida State Statute 1003.31. A reasonable time will
be defined as thirty minutes prior and thirty minutes after the
completion of an after school activity. It is the parent’s
responsibility to arrange for the pickup of their children within
the thirty minute window. Families should not rely on supervision
outside of the defined window. The safety of your son or daughter
is of utmost importance to us.
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