Charter Chatter

A weekly newsletter written to parents of the Tracy Learning Center

Jan. 10, 2014                                                                                        Vol. 20 No.20

Virginia Stewart

Some important events that bring unity, fun, and needed money to our schools.

 Next Friday, Jan. 17th is the TLC Talent show.  We really do have excellent talent. I have attended every talent show since this tradition began.  We always have a full house and everyone leaves marveling at how great our students are!

Saturday, Jan 18, 2014 is a Thunder Hockey game.  Attending together gives us a chance to enjoy a game with people we know and gives us a chance to support the school.

February 1 is the annual crab feed.  This is a major fundraiser for us and a great time as well.  The food is excellent and everyone has fun dancing.  Our students are excellent servers for this event.

New California fee policies do not allow us to charge fees for field trips, supplies, or other things that are  part of the educational  school day.  We can suggest a contribution, but we cannot charge a fee.  This new policy makes donations and fundraisers more important than ever.  Please consider participating in our fund-raising events and consider making a contribution to the schools to thank us for all that we do to provide such a remarkable education for your students. We have suggested a $400 donation per family per year in order to help us balance our budget.

Please remember that charter schools, while free public schools, are not funded at the same rate as the public schools in Tracy.  We receive approximately $1000 per student less than the public schools in the area.  This is true because charter schools are funded at the state average not the specific area average.  Tracy schools are funded above the state average.  We are not. Despite that, we provide an excellent education that puts our standard scores high above the state and area average.

Misc. Announcements

ATTENTION ALL TLC HOCKEY FANS !!!!!

This week your children were treated to a visit from 2 of the Stockton Thunder Hockey Players.  They were there to promote TLC night with the Stockton Thunder on Saturday January 18th. Please come out to support our school at the Stockton Area to see the Thunder go head-to-head with the Bakersfield Condors. This will be the TEDDY BEAR TOSS game where all fans bring a teddy bear or other stuffed animal (all battery and hard parts removed) to the game and when then Thunder scores their first goal everyone throws the bears on to the ice.  The team then donates them to a local charity.  Puck drops at 7:30pm and doors open at 6:30pm.  Flyers went home with the kids before the break and extras are available in the school office.  Fill them out and turn them in to the office no later than Friday 1/17/14. You can also visit www.stocktonthunder.com/tlc to order the tickets on line.

Tickets are $14.00 each  – and $3.00 from each ticket will be donated to the school.

 

We hope to see you all at the game!!   GO THUNDER!!!!!

Next Parent Council Meeting

Thurs. Jan. 23, 2014 4:15 in P6

Annual Crab Feed

Please mark your calendar for this year’s Crab Feed on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014!! Details coming soon!

Spirit Store

Attention Falcon Fans, Millennium Athletics now has an online SPIRIT store!!  Check out what we have in stock:  FALCON FAN WEAR!!

(https://ssastores.com/store/millennium-high-school-athletics-tracy-ca/)

Check back monthly as we are working on getting designs created for each sport.  We invite TLC Students and Families to help customize the store:  If you have an original design representing MHS Athletics or a specific sport, that you’d like to submit for consideration, design resolution must be 300dpi or higher.

Next Holiday – Mon. Jan. 20, 2014

Buffalo Wild Wings

Next Wednesday, January 15th, come out and support Millennium Athletics by grabbing dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings from 5-9pm!!  By presenting the attached golden ticket (electronically or printed), Buffalo Wild Wings will donate 10% of your pre-taxed bill to our program!  Don’t have time to sit down at the restaurant?  You can grab it to go!  You can also phone in your order to pick up.

Buffalo Wild Wings will also be providing us with Home Team Advantage (HTA) cards.  With this card, Buffalo Wild Wings will continue to donate 10% of each of your meal bills to athletics between now and March (the duration of our Winter Athletics Season) when you present this card to your waiter or waitress.

PCS/DCS Lunch Menu Week Jan. 13 – Jan. 17

Mon. –   Pizza

Tues. –Beef Lasagna

Wed  – Sausage Egg McMuffin

Thurs. – Beef or Bean Burrito

Fri. – Hamburger

Primary Charter

PE

P8 earned the Golden Shoe Award for demonstrating Respect and Responsibility in PE for the month of December!!!

The following two students Julio and Tanya earned shoe tokens for returning equipment they found that was left out from the night before. Thank you for being responsible and returning our equipment.

 

PCS Sapphire

The Sapphire Team had a fantastic first week back!

The students came back from their two week break ready to work and learn.

We were happy to have Stockton Thunder team members here on Wednesday to talk to the kids and sign autographs.  Remember to plan and come out to family night with the Stockton Thunder on January 18, doors open at 6:30. Tickets are $14.00 and $3.00 of every ticket will be donated to Tracy Learning Center. It is also Teddy Bear Toss Night, so bring a teddy bear to toss on the ice when the Thunder scores!

Reminder:  Please remember how cold it can be in the morning, even though it may warm up by the afternoon;   dressing your child in layers is a great idea so that they will be comfortable all day.

 PSC Art

This week in Art, the K/1’s started learning about how lines are used in Art. They made ‘Harold and the Purple Crayon” drawings, had a Line Scavenger Hunt,” Walked the Line”, and learned  about line directions – horizontal, vertical, and diagonal.  2/3’s are beginning a new Element of Art – Color.  They learned how a Color Wheel  is used and began painting a Primary and Secondary color artwork.  The 4^th grade Multi-cultural Art classes “traveled” to China and began making Chinese Dragon puppets.

PCS Gold

Golden Highlights:

Welcome back and Happy New Year!  We hope that everyone had a relaxing winter break.  Primary Gold students have jumped back into academics with enthusiasm!

Congratulations to P8 for getting the Golden Shoe Award for the month of December!

Students have started Mix it Up Mondays! Each Monday, students will be encouraged to sit next to someone new during lunch.

This week we had a Stockton Thunder Rally. Students got a special visit from some of the players from the Stockton Thunder hockey team. The players demonstrated some of their tricks and signed autographs after school. Please join them for their game on January 18th at 6:30. Some of the money from the tickets will go to the school.

Crab Feed Tickets are on Sale Now. Come join us for the 8th Annual Tracy Learning Center Crab Feed – Saturday, February 1, 2014. All you can eat crab, pasta, salad, and bread. Stay for the raffle, live auction and lots of dancing. Tickets are $40.00 per person, or a table of eight is $320.00.

Primary Gold has joined the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to help raise money for lifesaving cancer research. For the next 3 weeks we will be taking part in the Pennies for Patients program. Students will collect change to fill the box in the classroom. Thank you in advance for your help.

On the 100th day, Tuesday, 1-14-14 GOLD will have a spirit day where the kids dress up like a 100 year old person for the day.

Reminders:

January 13-31- Pennies for Patients

January 15- Buffalo Wild Wings Fundraiser

January 17- 8th annual Tracy’s Got Talent at the Grand Theater

January 18- Stockton Thunder hockey game

January 20- Martin Luther King Jr. Day. No School.

DCS 5^th/6^th

5^th/6^th

The return of sunshine this week melted the ice that started to form in the outdoor areas of campus. We hope the warmer weather carries into the holiday break so students feel inspired to spend time outdoors.

Pet Shelter Donations:

Students collected many donations of food and pet care supplies for local animal shelters. These supplies will be delivered over the holiday break. Thank you for contributing to a successful drive.

SWO:

Personal awareness scrapbook pages and essays were submitted for grading on Friday. It is pleasing to see many students writing scrapbook captions that are creative, interesting, and playful.  The third part of the SWO project will be explained when we return from holiday break.

Garnet:

Students worked very hard on China projects and presentation boards this week. They practiced research skills, presentation skills, and time-management skills. Students came to school dressed very professionally for the occasion, a true demonstration of their pride and dedication.

Gold:

Thank you to the wonderful chaperones who made our fieldtrip to the Academy of Sciences possible. There were so many things to see and do at the museum. Students seemed most impressed by the animal exhibits and expressed a desire to return. We wish the fieldtrip could have been longer, but perhaps you will find time to visit as a family.

*Science Camp forms and information went home with students on Wednesday, December 18th. Please complete the forms and return them to school no later than February 14. Any questions regarding Science Camp can be directed to Ms. Pelaez.

PHSA 7^th and 8^th

We hope everyone had a fun and relaxing holiday.  PHSA is very excited to get the New Year underway.  This week we met with all 7th and 8th grade students to kick off the start of the PHSA Individual Project.

This is one of the great learning experiences of the year in which students choose a topic of their own interest and work throughout the Trimester on developing a greater knowledge and understanding of the topic.  Throughout the process, teachers will help guide the process.  We have provided information to students on due dates, grading procedures and expectations.

We encourage parents and students to look over he materials and ask or email questions to the teachers.  The first due date is the letter signed by students and teachers with their topic due on January 14th.

MHS

Welcome Back! Our Spring senior interns will be starting their internships this week.  We are very proud of our students and how they conducted themselves with our local business partners.  We received excellent feedback regarding their interviewing skills and professional demeanor throughout the entire placement process.  Keep an eye out for our students at the following businesses and non-profit organizations throughout our community:

Astoria Gardens

Boys and Girls Club of Tracy

Central School

City of Tracy, Department of Engineering Services

CMYK Print and Promotions

Community Partnership for Families

DCS Physical Education

Dr. Michael McKim

Fagundes Garage

Fit Force

In Shape Sports Club

In-Shape Fit

Keller Williams

Meineke Auto Repair

Mendez Ranch

MHS Sports Management

Parks and Community Services

Photographic Art Studio

Reich’s Pharmacy

San Joaquin Hematology

Sky View Aviation, LLC

Sutter Tracy Community Hospital- OB

Sutter Tracy Community Hospital- Physical Therapy

Sutter Tracy Community Hospital-ICU

TLC IT Department

TLC Plant Management

TLC Snack Club

Town and Country Café

Tracy Golf and Country Club

Tracy Performing Arts Foundation

Valley Chiropractic

VCA Old River Veterinary Hospital

Versailles Salon and Day Spa

Zumiez