May 1, 2013
Dear Parents,

We are in the home stretch. In just a few short weeks summer will be upon us. Please remind students that now is not the time to slow down the pace. It is now time to turn on the final sprint and stretch for the tape!

CRT testing has started today and will continue for the next three weeks. Please make every effort to have your children at school, well rested, and ready to test.

As always, thank you for all you do.

Charné Adams

We will be doing an earthquake drill April 17, 2013 in conjunction with the Great Shake Out Program. I want you to be aware that we will be playing the audio sent to us by “The Great Shake Out Program.” This will make the drill more realistic. Please be sure to prepare your students if you feel they may be anxious.

After the drill we will be sending a phone broadcast to all phone numbers in our system. A text message will also be sent to all parents who register their cell phone number with our phone system. The purpose for this message broadcast will be to check our system.

Follow these instructions to register your cell phone number:
Text ‘Alert’ to 22300.
If this is not the primary number you want for everything else in our system, please call Connie in our front office.

Next week our Elementary Awards Assembly is being held on TUESDAY April 16th and the Middle School Awards Assembly will be on WEDNESDAY April 17th, both at 2:15pm.

Sincerely,
Charné Adams
Principal

April 2013

Dear Parents, Teachers and Students,

Welcome back from Spring Break. I hope the warmer weather and the beautiful blue sky brings joy to your days as we look forward to the summer months ahead. My favorite is seeing the miracle of tulips pop up through the snow!

We have many activities and events coming up as we prepare for these final weeks of the 2012-2013 school year. Be sure to check our school calendar, newsletter, and website for details. Our Spring Music Concert is Thursday, April, 4 at 7pm. It promises to be very entertaining, full of student talent, as well as demonstrating hard work and effort by all involved. End of quarter is April 5th, with our Awards Assemblies soon thereafter.

Congratulations to many students who succeeded in Science Fair this year. They include: Emily Van Wagoner, Emma Lambert, Aaron Slade, Katherine Van Wagoner and Ben Welton.

Our teachers have worked hard to prepare North Star Academy students to once again shine on the upcoming CRTs. It is imperative that students are well rested for these tests. Many students have achieved and improved upon their personal quarterly goals, which will stand them in good stead to succeed on the CRTs.

Have a fantastic final quarter of the school year!

Charné Adams

Principal

Charné Adams

Clusters have ended with this week being our week long “Cluster Celebration”. Please be sure to stop by and walk the hallways to browse the wonderful posters and photos reflecting each Cluster and middle school Academy. Thank you to all our facilitators for making the Clusters and Academies enriching student-led experiences.

Thank you to our PTO for organizing the annual Maturation Program last week Thursday.

Parent Teacher Conferences are tomorrow until 8pm and Friday afternoon. Remember both Thursday and Friday are early out days. We look forward to seeing all parents at these meetings. A big thank you to the PTO for providing dinner for teachers tomorrow evening at 5pm. If you are in the building around this time, please allow the teachers to have their dinner. Thank you for your support and continued interest in education.

The PTO has worked long and hard to set up the Book Fair for everyone’s benefit. Take a moment during PTC to stop in at the library and browse the selections.

Looking forward to seeing you in the building this week.
Sincerely,
Charné Adams
Principal

Troy Fernley

We are part of a community that cares for each other and is dedicated to the betterment of all involved. I feel privileged to work in such an environment. Thank you for your positive attitudes in the one goal we are all working towards – preparing young people to live productive, happy lives.

I recently read an article that has some relevance to working as a community to help prepare our students for success. You can read the article in its entirety here (Mind Shift Article). The main point of the article is the fact that children need free playtime to develop important life skills. What I found most interesting though is the “7 C’s of Resilience” mentioned in the article. While you may or may not agree with everything here, I believe we all agree with the main point. Helping children succeed in life is a team effort.

7 C’s of Resilience

1. COMPETENCE: Young people need to be recognized when they’re doing something right and to be given opportunities to develop specific skills.
2. CONFIDENCE: Confidence comes from building real skills that parents and educators can teach and nurture. Confidence can be easily undermined, but also bolstered by tasks that push learners without making the goal feel unachievable.
3. CONNECTION: Being part of a community helps kids know they aren’t alone if they struggle and that they can develop creative solutions to problems.
4. CHARACTER. Kids need an understanding of right and wrong and the capacity to follow a moral compass. That will allow them to see that they cannot be put down.
5. CONTRIBUTION: The experience of offering their own service makes it easier for young people to ask for help when they need it. Once kids understand how good it can feel to give to others, it becomes easier to ask for that same support when it’s needed. And being willing to ask for help is a big part of being resilient.
6. COPING: Kids need to learn mechanisms to manage their stress by learning methods to both engage and disengage at times. Some strategies for doing this include breaking down seemingly insurmountable problems into smaller, achievable pieces, avoiding things that trigger extreme anxiety, and just letting some things go. After all, resilience is about conserving energy to fit the long game and kids need to know realistically what they can affect and what should be let go.
7. CONTROL: In order to truly be resilient a child need to believe that she has control over her world. Feeling secure helps engender control, which is why kids test limits.

Thank you for all you do to make NSA such a positive community to be a part of,
Troy Fernley
Assistant Principal

Charné Adams

We are always thrilled to offer our students real world learning opportunities that compliment what they learn at North Star Academy. Recently our SBO’s joined Mrs. Hemingway, Mrs. Sorenson, and myself at the State Capitol for Charter Day on the Hill. Our SBO’s articulated details about our school as legislators and others asked questions relating to how we do things at North Star. They were a great advert for our school and they deserve a special mention for all their hard work behind the scenes in preparing for this and other events.

Our middle school Valentine’s Dance on Friday night was also very successful with evidence of great friendships, music, and school spirit adding to the excitement. Thank you to all faculty, parent volunteers, and students for making this event so meaningful and successful for everyone!

KSL has published an annual report detailing school rankings on CRT (Criterion Referenced Test) scores. Here is the link:
KSL School Rankings
Once again North Star Academy is ranked 1st in the state out of all charter schools, and 13th out of all public schools. You may be interested to use the search category, which defines parameters for more information.

We owe this success to the school model we follow, the Board of Trustees and their vision, wonderful teachers, dedicated students, and encouraging parents. Thank you for your continued support in helping us to assist your child to reach his/her potential!

Have a super week!
Mrs. Charné Adams
Principal

Charné Adams

Dear Parents and Students,

The third quarter has begun and we would like all students to aim high and reach their goals. It was fun to see the excitement on many student faces at our recent Award Assemblies where we celebrated academic and extracurricular student achievement and success for the second quarter. Parents, thank you for your continued encouragement towards your children’s future.

Our basketball teams are having a fantastic season! Games that end with nail biting, heart pounding moments seem to be the order of the day. Our players have grown as individuals and as a team and they are fun to watch. Come support our teams!

Elementary teachers and students recently completed the DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) testing. Teachers are in the process of notifying parents if students are below grade level. DIBELS consists of “procedures and measures for assessing the acquisition of early literacy skills from kindergarten through sixth grade. They are designed to be short (one minute) fluency measures used to regularly monitor the development of early literacy and early reading skills.”

Our SEM Cluster program is in full force. The school is a large beehive of contagious enthusiasm and excitement on these cluster days. Thank you to all facilitators, parents and students for your hard work in making them successful.

Have a fantastic week!
Charné Adams
Principal

Lisa Hardy

Dear Parents,

We all know that the “true” measure of character rests in our “ACTIONS”- not in mere thoughts or intentions. Teaching children the “how” to behave gives them some degree of moral intelligence or knowledge. But, achieving good character takes action and good behavior that is far from being guaranteed in children 100% of the time. It must be consciously modeled and nurtured around them. And since the home is the child’s most important teaching center, there is no better place to inspire good moral character development then in the home. School is the next best place for children to learn and practice modeling good character. It has been my privilege each year here at school to teach the “Character Counts” traits that create a strong foundation for them to be resilient when tough times happen. So far this year the students have learned and hopefully practiced teamwork/cooperation, caring/empathy for others, and learning to control angry emotions in an “OKAY” way.

As the second half of the year is beginning, the character traits we will be focusing on are self-disciple, perseverance, being a good citizen, being trustworthy, being responsible, being fair, and learning to problem-solve in peaceful ways. My hope is that as the students learn about each of these traits they will practice them within the family setting and make good choices in the ways they behave.

Thought for the day: Good behavior creates a person of good character!

Lisa Hardy
School Counselor

Charné Adams

I would like to publically acknowledge the dedication, hard work, and determination from our wonderful teachers and faculty over the last semester. Many countless hours of preparation, thought, and effort are spent without anyone else knowing, to ensure goals are met and programs run smoothly.

From this great example of our faculty, the accomplishments of our student body are something that all of us can be thrilled to witness and be a part of! I’m sure many parents have been integral in helping students too! Thank you to everyone for all you’ve done to make the first half of the year so successful.

We’re excited to move into clusters and to see students become totally engaged in the areas they wish to pursue. Students will be absorbed in authentic learning through application, thinking processes, and interpersonal skills to the solution of real problems. (See article here for more information.) I’m looking forward to our school becoming a hive of activity within the cluster focus.

Have a fantastic week!
Mrs. Charné Adams
Principal

Troy Fernley

Dear Students and Parents,

Students, a new semester is starting tomorrow. This is a chance for a new start. Tomorrow there is no missing work, no late homework, and no forgotten assignments. You are caught up! Now, here’s the trick – convincing yourself to stay caught up. Now is the time to decide to stay on top of your schoolwork. I promise, it’s so much easier to keep caught up than it is to try to catch up from behind.

Parents, flu season is upon us. We have already had students and teachers come down with the flu. Please understand that sending your students to school sick not only makes for a miserable day for your student, it also exposes every other student, parent, and teacher (including all their families) at NSA to the illness. I know some or your students would rather go to school sick than have to make up any work they missed while out. Please explain to them that teachers at NSA will be very understanding when it comes to sick days. They will allow your students time to make up any missing work. Please, don’t send your students to school sick. Keep them home where they won’t infect others and will be able to recover quickly.

Sincerely,
Troy Fernley
Assistant Principal