Charter Chatter

A weekly newsletter written to parents of the Tracy Learning Center

Jan. 16, 2015                                                                                        Vol. 21 No.21

I had a wonderful week visiting all of our Primary Classrooms.  I observed the teachers, talked to the children and “Walked the walls” of the room.  I am so impressed with the amount of information the students are processing and the pride they have in what they are learning.  I also told the teachers and the students that viewing what is on the walls of the room is similar to surfing the Internet….. there is so much to learn just reading what is on display.

It is a wonderful feeling to be a director of a school filled with committed teacher and fantastic, enthusiastic learners.

TLC’s Got Talent Show

Attention all students who completed and submitted an application to audition for the TLC’s Got Talent Show. The auditions for the talent show will be held next week. All forms have been returned to the students with completed forms informing them of the time, date and location of their audition. If you are going to be using amplified music please make sure to turn you music in to the MHS Counseling Department prior to your audition and or bring your music with you to your audition. Please audition in what you plan on performing in. If you have any questions in regards to the talent show please contact the MHS counseling department at 209-627-8299..

SAVE THE DATE TLC Crab Feed:  February 7, 2015

Come join us for the 9th Annual Tracy Learning Center Crab Feed – Saturday, February 7, 2015. All you can eat crab, pasta, salad, and bread. Dessert Auction. Stay for the raffle, live auction and lots of dancing.

Tickets are $45.00 each or reserve a table for $360. There will be an opportunity again this year to advertise your business on a placemat that will be placed at each table setting. Great exposure for your business. A business card size ad is $30.00. Larger ads are available, please contact Donna Baker for details.

If you would like to donate an item or volunteer for this awesome event please contact Donna Baker at (209) 832-1940 or donna@donnabaker.com.

Thanks a bunch to all who make this event so incredible!!!!!!!!

ATTENTION ALL TLC PARENTS…

It’s Crab Feed time again and we are looking for your help.  The Auction Committee is hoping to collect donations to help fund and fill our fantastic auction this year!!!!

We are asking each child to donate $5.00 or more to this event     or      we would be happy to accept your donation of a gift card or auction item!!!!

Please have your donations into the school by Friday January 30th so they can be counted and/or cataloged in time for the event….

If you have any questions please contact Kristina Brachna-Gonzalez or Jeanette Oliveri.  

Hope to see you on February 7th for this fun filled event!!!!

Thanks in advance for you commitment and support.
Calling all “BAKERS. PASTRY CHEFS, & CANDY MAKERS”, the dessert auction at the Crab Feed was so successful we are asking for donations again this year.

Please email Donna Baker at donna@donnabaker.com if you can kindly donate a baked good or sweet treat to be auctioned the night of our Crab Feed. Thanks a bunch!

Wonderful Crab Feed Raffles Prizes….

 (so far..)

Wine Tasting

Wine displays

Hearst Castle Tickets

California Excursions

Spa package

doTERRA Essential Oils

Man Cave items

Gift Card Trees (of course)

55 gal drum BBQ Smoker

Nascar Tickets

Grand Prize……   a GO PRO and accessories !!!!!

YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS EVENT ……

More to come —- Stay tuned !!!

Give Every Child A Chance

Tracy Learning Center has been approved as a new site for the strong and expanding tutoring/mentoring program Give Every Child a Chance!  They are bringing a homework assistance group tutoring program to our school for 7th through 12th graders.  The program is free for students who have a D or an F in any subject, an IEP, or a strong teacher recommendation. Math and Language Arts assistance will take place Monday-Thursday between 4:00-6:00pm in D-13, Mrs. Saldana’s room.  For more information about GECAC, please see their website:  www.gecac.net.  For an application, please contact Ms. Moore at the MHS Counseling Office, or visit http://www.gecac.net/downloadsapplications.html and click “One on One Tutoring Application”.  You may write in “Tracy Learning Center” as your site of choice.  Turn in applications to Ms. Moore at MHS Counseling.

SHOP WITH AMAZON SMILE!

What is AmazonSmile?

AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to your favorite charitable organization. You can choose from nearly one million organizations to support.

How do I shop at AmazonSmile?

To shop at AmazonSmile simply go to smile.amazon.com from the web browser on your computer or mobile device. You may also want to add a bookmark to smile.amazon.com to make it even easier to return and start your shopping at AmazonSmile.

Which products on AmazonSmile are eligible for charitable donations?

Tens of millions of products on AmazonSmile are eligible for donations. You will see eligible products marked “Eligible for AmazonSmile donation” on their product detail pages. Recurring Subscribe-and-Save purchases and subscription renewals are not currently eligible.

Can I use my existing Amazon.com account on AmazonSmile?

Yes, you use the same account on Amazon.com and AmazonSmile. Your shopping cart, Wish List, wedding or baby registry, and other account settings are also the same.

How much of my purchase does Amazon donate?

The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases. The purchase price is the amount paid for the item minus any rebates and excluding shipping & handling, gift-wrapping fees, taxes, or service charges. From time to time, we may offer special, limited time promotions that increase the donation amount on one or more products or services or provide for additional donations to charitable organizations. Special terms and restrictions may apply. Please see the relevant promotion for complete details.

FIND US UNDER

DISCOVERY CHARTER SCHOOL

We received our first check of the year for BOX TOPS of $642.40!  Thank you Mrs. Skaggs for making this possible.  Please continue to bring in box tops as this is a great and easy way to make money for our school.

Next School Holiday is Jan. 19, 2015 Martin Luther King’s Day

This week in Initial Phase we learned a lot about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  Take some time this weekend and ask you student what their dream may be.  We heard some well thought out and heartfelt ideas.  It is wonderful to see that we have so many kind, thoughtful, and caring little learners.

The 100^th day of school was this week and the students in P1 had so much fun counting to the number 100. The day started off by participating in a friendly competition with the rest of the school, led by Coach Caldwell and Coach KV. Selected students had to do push-ups for 100 seconds, toss a ball to a partner 100 times and volley a balloon for 100 seconds without it touching the ground. They had a blast cheering on their classmates! The students in P1 counted in their 100 items they brought in while the students in P8 made hats that said “I am 100 days smarter”. Both classes enjoyed a snack filled with 100 items.

For science, both classes learned all about fossils. They learned that fossils are formed from plants or animals that lived long ago, in a past geological age like dinosaurs. They learned that we can find their remains in soil and can put them together to form their skeletons. The students learned that when a dinosaur dies the bones are not in order so they have to be put them back together.

In Language Arts, the students are continuing to learn about all parts of speech, types of sentences, similes, quotation marks, commas and apostrophes. In Math, the students are learning about fractions, telling time, places value beyond the decimal and how to add with decimals. In Writers Workshop, the students are writing personal narratives.

This was the last week with our current elective teacher and starting on Tuesday, January 20^th they will switch. P1 will now have art with Mrs. Wiltse and P8 will have music with Mrs. Watson. The students are very sad to say goodbye to their elective teacher but very excited for a change and to start a new elective!

Phase 2 learned all about the scientific method this week.  We performed experiments and tested hypotheses throughout the week.  Some students are already thinking about what they want to do for the science fair!

Phase 2 has started using agendas to track daily behavior.  Students will fill out their agenda every day.  If they got on warning or yellow, they will write why and need to take the agenda home and get it signed.  Students who stay on green do NOT have to get their agenda signed every night, just at the end of the week.  We will also use agendas to write down important dates or information.  Green folder policy will stay the same.  Please make sure to continue to sign and return the green folders.  Please let us know if you have questions!

Electives will switch on Tuesday.  P3 will have art with Mrs. Wiltse and P6 will have music with Mrs. Watson.

DCS 5^th/6^th

Star Student:

Congratulations to Alfonzo Ybarra for receiving the Star Student Award for the Week of January 19th. Alfonso always works hard and is kind and helpful to all those around him. The teachers appreciate his willingness to lend a hand and help anyone who needs help. Alfonso shows wonderful leadership capabilities.

Special Shout Out:

We want to give a special Thank You to all the parents and friends that helped support us in our fund raising drive for Science Camp.  We made $260 from Dell’Osso Farms; $3.00 at Eagal Lakes; and $663.82 from the Turkey Trot.  We also made over $3000.00 from the County Office Raffle – hopefully one of our parents wins the money in April.  All this money supplemented what the parents paid for Away Camp and supported Stay Camp.  Thank you again to all the help received from such great parents!

Exploration News:

The Exploration Science Fair will be help in room D 5 on Wednesday, January 21^st from 10 – 10:30.

The Drama/Performance Exploration class will be sharing their 60s Dance Party performance at Unity on Thursday, January 22^nd at 8 AM.

If they would like, parents are invited to attend either event J

The weather has been very cold lately, please remind your student to dress accordingly. Been seeing some shivering 5^th and 6^th graders in the morning.

Hope everyone has a great week!!!!!

PHSA 7^th and 8^th

Mrs. Santiago – Mrs. Santiago’s pre-algebra class has been learning Geometry

MHS Charter Chatter January 16, 2015

In January and February, Mrs. Stewart and the counseling staff will be meeting with all students for their annual counseling review.  Fast track classes and next year’s schedule will be planned.  Only 10th grade parents will be invited for an appointment.  Time is extremely limited and we encourage 10th grade parents to rearrange schedules as necessary to attend their scheduled time.

College Info

College bound seniors: most colleges will be notifying applicants the status of their admission in early Spring by either mail or online via a student portal on the individual college web site.  We anticipate hearing about the acceptance letters.  All students accepted to a college or university should let the Counselors know as soon as they are notified.  Best of luck to all of those who applied!

San Joaquin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 12th Annual Student Financial Aid and College Awareness Workshop (STUFA)  Sunday, January 25, 2015 at the Alex G. Spanos Center at University of the Pacific
Services are FREE and include: One on one assistance filling out financial aid forms, Tax preparation assistance and Scholarship information. For more information please call (209) 946-7705 or email: iruiz@pacific.edu

12^th Annual Black College Expo

12^th Annual Black College Expo to be held  from 9am-5pm at the Marriott Convention Center Downtown Oakland, California. For more information call: 877-427-4100 or visit our website at: www.theblackcollegeexpo.org