phoenix times winter 2016

9
Inside this issue: Holidays at Innovations 1 Man cave decorates Christmas tree 2 Principal’s Corner 3 Innovations At the Museum 4 Visit from St. Nicholas 5 Check it Out 6 Parent University 7 HOPE through Service Excellence Phoenix Times : Winter WINTER 2016 The clever and creative staff of Innovations Academy spent quite some time collaborating and developing this holiday “masterpiece.” We entered this art work into the SBHS contest. Even though we did not come in 1st place, the staff could agree that the enjoyment of putting this together was much more than any prize. This Grinch did not steal our spirit!

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Page 1: Phoenix times winter 2016

Inside this issue:

Holidays at Innovations 1

Man cave decorates

Christmas tree

2

Principal’s Corner 3

Innovations At the Museum 4

Visit from St. Nicholas 5

Check it Out 6

Parent University 7

HOPE through Service Excellence

Phoenix Times : Winter

WINTER 2016

The clever and creative

staff of Innovations

Academy spent quite some

time collaborating and

developing this holiday

“masterpiece.” We entered

this art work into the SBHS

contest. Even though we

did not come in 1st place,

the staff could agree that

the enjoyment of putting

this together was much

more than any prize. This

Grinch did not steal our

spirit!

Page 2: Phoenix times winter 2016

Page 2 Phoenix Times : Winter 2016

School Choice Week was celebrated

at Innovations Academy the last week

of January. The students and staff

spent the week wearing yellow

scarves in honor this nation wide

awareness project. On that Friday of

school choice week, the students and

staff participated in school pride by

sporting Innovation’s school colors;

yellow and orange. Students who

participated earned extra positive

behavior points throughout the week.

Thanks to all of the participants!

Page 3: Phoenix times winter 2016

Page 3 Phoenix Times : Winter 2016

Dear Parents and Guardians:

The second semester school year began on January 16, 2016. Academic instruction is

rigorous and challenging with more opportunities for life application thanks to the certified

Common Core training that our staff received from Mrs. Jen Norton of K-12 Teacher’s

Alliance. Teachers are also doing an amazing job with unpacking the N.W.E.A. standards.

We anticipate that our students will perform well on the next upcoming MAPs and PARCC

standardized tests.

We are growing! Recently, Mr. Art Weidner was added to our high school staff as our math

specialist. Mr. Weidner has been in the education field for many years and has a strong

background in therapeutic school settings. Ms. Myers, will continue to work as the Teacher

Assistant for this classroom.

We are progressing! Congratulations to all of the staff and students on their 1st Semester

success! There was a 15% reduction in D’s and F’s this semester thanks to the hard work of

the teachers, staff and students! We exceeded our goal of 5%! I am very proud of this recent

accomplishment and recognize the hard work of our staff and students! Keep Up The Great

Work!!!

Innovations Student Council Members are active and creating ideas to involve more student

engagement at our school. Members have participated in saying the Pledge of Allegiance and

reporting the morning announcements. As a reminder, Student Council Members must pass

and maintain a successful grade average and demonstrate and represent positive and

respectful character traits in the school. The student council members met with Ms.

McComb and Ms. Quartman on February 2, 2016; They discussed a variety of student ideas

and suggestions for the second semester.

Pizza with the Principal! February 24, 2016 @ Noon until 12:45pm, Parents are invited to

attend a Pizza Luncheon with the Principal! There will be an open discussion format and the

Principal will share information on the great things that are happening at Innovations. After

the luncheon, please join our school staff and students for our Black History Program @

1:00pm. Our students are learning about the history of Black Americans and will share and

celebrate their learning at our assembly.

Janice Quartman

Principal

[email protected]

630-540-3900 ext. 2774

Page 4: Phoenix times winter 2016

Page 4 Phoenix Times : Winter 2016

Innovations at the Museum !

Ms. Kramer’s Freshman English

and Ms. McComb’s World History

classes took a field trip to the Field

Museum to see the exhibit on

Alexander the Great. Artifacts

over 3000 years old which had

never left Greece before were on

display. Students saw the bronze

voting ballots used back then, as

well as jewelry, pottery and

statutes. They also had the

opportunity to walk through other

exhibits such as the Hall of Gems

and listen to a guide tell them

about how Native Americans lived

in a communal longhouse. It made

for a memorable day.

Page 5: Phoenix times winter 2016

Page 5 Phoenix Times : Winter 2016

A Visit from St. Nicholas

Students in the elementary/

middle school music classes

as well as the high school

choir worked very hard this

year to perform the musical

“A Visit from St. Nicholas”.

The production took place on

December 18th, and was an

excellent showcase of the

students’ talents. Solos were

sung by Mason H., Ammar

B., Joey P., and Moises V..

Mr. Nichols played the part of

“grandpa” and his class

performed the speaking parts

for the musical. Special

thanks to Ms. Hurrle and the

students involved in open art

studio who made the

backdrops for the

performance. They really

made everything come alive.

All students involved in the

performance did an excellent

job, and I am extremely proud

of them for their

accomplishments.

Ms. Lindaman

Page 6: Phoenix times winter 2016

Page 6 Phoenix Times : Winter 2016

Sports The 2016 Basketball season has begun for Pro-League. The Innovation team is coached by

Edward Charse and assisted by Amy Schaper. The players that attend the basketball games in

Addison are Joey P., Zach H., Luis R., Justin H., Roman B., DJ D., Omar B., Jan J.,

Colton.,. The students play every Friday and the games are four 8 minute quar-

ters. Innovations has had two games so far and played extremely hard but lost both games.

These players have shown amazing sportsmanship and teamwork with peers and other

teams. Keep up the great work Innovations and “Good Luck” in your future games.

Culinary Arts Our Culinary class is very excited to embark upon our new adventures. We have really taken

advantage of helping others. We just finished our first annual Innovations’ Food Drive and it

was a great success! We participated in our philanthropic duties with FMSC just this past week

and our students, as always, loved it. Coming soon, is our February Love Bake Sale and our

brand new task of a grocery shopping service that is being piloted this week.

School Store The School Store is hopping!! We have received very many generous donations from staff

and parents. The Employability students have been organizing and “selling” many

goods. Sweatshirts, pants, wallets, toiletries, toys and books are just a small sample of what

is available to purchase. Employability is also working on learning life skills such as filling

out forms, buying a car, finding an apartment and learning about personal likes and dislikes

which could lead to a possible career.

Home Economics

Home Economics class is making fleece hat for the winter. The students are recycling the

National School Choice Week fleece scarves, which were generously donated by staffs after

the week’s long celebration. Students made personal hats and are working on making hats for

their favorite staffs, after which the remaining fleece would be turned into children hat for

donation at children’s Hospital. This skill allows the students to use the sewing machine for

basic straight sewing, basting, and simple clothing construction.

Page 7: Phoenix times winter 2016

Page 7 Phoenix Times : Winter 2016

“Lemon and Lime Magic”

By: Olive S.

This fabulous comic was created by the

one and only, Olive S. from Mrs. C’s

class. When Olive was asked where she

gained the inspiration to create such a

comical piece, her response was, “I was

inspired by the Sprite can and the flavors

of the lemon and the lime.” Olive also

read her comic to the entire school during

the daily announcements. Great job,

Olive!

Next Parent University

February 19, 2016 at 12:00 P.M

Gregory Kabat LPC, CADC will discuss adolescent video gaming addiction by addressing current research regarding healthy and unhealthy gaming behaviors, warning signs and behaviors that may

require intervention.

On December 10, 2015

Innovations therapist Ms. Jillian

Newkirk presented Parent

University: Healthy Bodies,

Healthy Minds workshop to

teachers and parents. The discus-

sion was on how food and nutrition

impacts our children’s behavior,

mood and attention span. The

audience learned about research

supported nutritional advice for

addressing mental health concerns.

Thanks to all who came!

Page 8: Phoenix times winter 2016

At the holiday presentation back in December, the students and staff of Innovations had the honor

of witnessing the student council executive members being sworn in to their various offices. Ms.

Quartman and Ms. McComb, seen in these photos, have been hard at work to train and discuss the

ins and outs of being on the student council board. We are pleased to announce the 2015-2016

student council board members of Innovations Academy. Top left: Ammar B.—President Top

right: Joey P. –Vice President Bottom left: Kanye C.-Secretary and Bottom right: Joey W.-

Treasurer Congratulations, to the executive student council members!

Phoenix Times : Winter 2016 Page 8

Page 9: Phoenix times winter 2016