Monday message 09.11.2023

Dear Colorado SKIES Academy Families,

It was a jam-packed week of learning, collaborating, and celebrating! The 6th-grade learners had their first Presentation of Learning (POL): City in the Sky, last Thursday and did such an amazing job! We hope that you enjoy the picture collage of their POL, and please share any photos that you took with us (info@coloradoskiesacademy.org).

We also had our first fire drill last week, and the learners did a great job exiting the building and following directions. We ended the week with Back to School Night, where learners had the opportunity to show their families the school, introduce their facilitators, and offer insight into what and how they’re learning each day. We received great feedback from those who joined us and really appreciate the time you took to attend, become informed, and engage as a community!

As discussed during Back to School Night, we are working diligently to finish NWEA MAP testing for all learners so that we can adjust schedules as needed for the week of September 18th based on each learner’s demonstrated ability. Electives will remain the same through the end of Quarter 1. During this schedule update, we will also be condensing 6th grade from three sections to two based on the total number of learners enrolled.

We continue to have daily conversations as a school about our CSA Learner Creed and Community Expectations. Our facilitators and care team members are working hard to be role models for the learners and work with them to exemplify these expectations. We continue to be inspired by the light bulb moments we see on learners’ faces, the smiles and laughter throughout the school, and knowing that we are making a small difference in their lives every day.

Back-to-school reminders and updates:

All CSA learners should have their photo ID cards if they were here for pictures in August. As a reminder, we have implemented additional safety measures this year and every learner is required to wear their grade-level colored lanyard around their neck with their photo ID at all times. If they break or lose it, they will get one replacement at no charge, and each additional lanyard will be $5.

We hope that you’re getting the opportunity to review your learner’s student planner each evening (M- Th) and initialing each day. We are encouraging these executive functioning skills (planning, organization, accountability, follow-through, etc.) by offering various rewards for learners who meet the expectation of the daily planner check-in with parents/guardians. Every learner has a planner and is expected to have it with them during all classes. If they lose their planner, we will give them one free replacement, and any additional planners will be $5.

We’ve had some parents and community members inquire about wish lists and ways to donate. Currently, we have 3 main ways to donate:

1. DonorsChoose – an online platform where teachers can post requests for classroom resources
2. Amazon Wish Lists – Exploratory, Makery, Art, Ms. Griffin
3. Annual Family Giving Online Donations

Please review the Family Guidebook, including our CSA Core Values and Learner Creed: 

• As a learner at CSA, I will do my best to walk with integrity and honor those around me, and avoid intentionally offending others. I will not accept the improper conduct of others and will GROW in Greatness, Respect, Ownership, and Wonder every day to make every moment of learning count. I promise to be an active participant in my education.

CSA expectations for school behavior are:

• I will do nothing to harm myself or others.
• I am responsible for my behavior.
• We are each other’s keepers.
• I take pride in myself and in my work.
• I will leave it better than I found it.

Some additional back-to-school reminders:

• Cell phones must be in backpacks by the start of Flight Crew (period 1) and must remain in backpacks until the dismissal bell. Any cell phone not in a backpack will be confiscated, and a parent or guardian will need to pick it up from the office at the end of the day.
• Please remember to follow the drop-off and pick-up procedures as outlined here. Please note: the speed limit in the CSA parking lot, from entrance to exit, is 5 mph. This will become even more important in the coming weeks as we have been told that construction will soon begin on the property next door on the north side of CSA.
• Join the CSA Family Connection Facebook page
• Follow the Colorado SKIES Academy Facebook page
• Carpool Signup
  • Once you sign up, you should receive a confirmation email with the map link. Please check your spam folder if you don’t see the confirmation email in your inbox. For reference, the carpool map may also be found on this page.
• Learner fees can be paid here.
• Punch passes for after-school clubs can be purchased here.
• Lastly, the CSA Spirit Store is now live on our website! If there’s anything you’d like to see in the store that isn’t there currently, please email info@coloradoskiesacademy.org to request that your item be added.

Please check out the “Upcoming Events” calendar, including CSA’s drone soccer team’s information night, dates and times for 7th and 8th grade’s first Presentation of Learning of the year, “Wingman for a Day” dates, aviation-focused events happening next door at Wings Over the Rockies Exploration of Flight, and more!

Other topics covered in this week’s articles:

• CSA Drone Soccer Informational Meeting
• CSA Wingman For A Day
• CSA Parent Action Committee – Help Needed
• Mobile App: CSA Flight Controls
• What is Project-Based Learning?
• Presentation of Learning: What is it?
• Individualized Learning Plans
• Athletic Development at CSA: Orientation Recap
• Fall Athletic Development Newsletter
• Thought of the Week

Sincerely,
Christa Coryell
CSA Acting Director