Special Edition: Log your volunteer hours

Kingsley Parents,

Before schedules get any more hectic, please take a few minutes to log into K12 Ambit and log your volunteer time THIS WEEK! Even if you haven't kept a detailed log, please estimate!

The current K12 reports show only 78 families who've met the annual commitment of 16 hours and only 31 families who've meet the Charter Challenge (32 or more hours).  We know this report does not reflect what's actually happened this year. We see all of you at the school helping in the classroom and at special events. It has to be that you simply haven't logged your time. 

Why Logging Hours is Important:

• Each Kingsley family commits to serve the school with at least 16 hours per year through assistance with the classroom, school, events, or donations.
• In our Charter document, we committed to DCSS and the Georgia Board of Education that our families would continue to be actively involved in the school. When it comes time to renew our Charter, we will be held accountable using the hours logged in K12.
• Often when we apply for grants, the sponsoring company wants to see that the parents are committed to the school and are not looking for someone to provide funding for a quick fix. The hours you log in K12 help us tell the story of how committed our parents are to making Kingsley exceptional!

To log your hours:

1. Go to http://k12ambit.com/Portal/
2. Log into K12 Ambit using the login profile you created at the beginning of the year.
3. Click Volunteer Activities in the top left corner.
4. Enter your activities.

As a reminder, the following rules apply for logging hours:

• 1 hour for attending an event (1 hour per family, not per parent)
• For cooked items for classes, 1 hour for home made items and 0.5 hours for purchased items
• Actual amount of time worked for any events or activities you've assisted with.

If you have any questions about what qualifies or need help logging time, please send an email to council@kingsleycharter.org.

Thank you, and thank you all you do to support our school, teachers, and kids.

Your Charter Council Representatives

Your Weekly Kingsley eNews

 

COMING UP AT KINGSLEY

Kingsley Grad leads 30-Day Challenge to earn her Gold Award Twelve years ago, Sophie Trent started her journey as a Girl Scout at Kingsley, and now a junior in high school, she's working to earn the biggest and best award any Girl Scout can achieve--the Girl Scout Gold Award. To earn this prestigious award, she is coordinating a 30-day fitness challenge for students at Kingsley. The goal ... get Kingsley students active. For complete details on how your student can participate and Sophie's story, download Sophie's 30-Day Challenge flyer. Also, make sure to turn in your student's permission slip and keep an activity log. Cool off at next week's Yogli Mogli Spirit Night - Wed 4/18 5:00-8:00 p.m. Our last Yogli Mogli Spirit Night is next Wednesday, so don't miss it. Come hang out with other Kingsley families for a yummy treat and some laughs with friends. Hope to see you there! Volunteer Opportunities: Interested in getting involved? Want Kingsley to be the best school possible for your student? Nominations and elections for 2012-2013 for the Charter Council and our Action Teams is now open. There are jobs that take no more than a couple hours a month, some that are seasonal, and a few that require a routine commitment. Dedicated teachers, staff, and PARENTS help make Kingsley Charter a great school! Join us – it’s rewarding, it’s important, it’s even fun! Nominate yourself or someone else. All positions can be shared. (See back of form for position descriptions.) If you have any questions, please contact Erin Nydam at erinnydam@comcast.net or Michele Richards at mrichards@cmacommunities.com. All nominations for Council positions must be received by Thursday April 19, 2012. Elections will be held at the school April 26- May 3. Download nomination form. Field Day is just around the bend Imagine it ... a beautiful, sunny day ... kids running, jumping and playing together ... sounds of fun and joy are all you hear.  That's Field Day!  For this to happen though, Coach Thomas needs help from a parent to coordinate the other volunteers. If you are interested in helping with this amazingly kid-favorite event, please let the Council know by sending an email to council@kingsleycharter.org. Additional volunteers needed so we can grow our Odyssey of the Mind program Our Odyssey of the Mind team finished in 9th place in their division in the recent Lilburn Regional Tournament. This caps another great season of creative problem solving, where the students get all the credit because they do it all. They wrote the script. They designed the sets and created the costumes. And along the way, they made new friends and shared a lot of laughs. Now, Kingsley’s creative problem solving program is ready to grow. For 2012-13, we are moving our team to Destination ImagiNation, which will give us new opportunities to learn and compete. We also hope to add a second team for kids in grades K-2. But to grow, we need more help from the Kingsley community. Specifically, we need a few more parent volunteers to manage our teams. If you can spend 1-2 hours a week with a group of seven students, you can be a team manager … and when you commit to managing a team, your child (or children) will be guaranteed a place on one of our school’s teams. If you are interested in helping, please contact Dori Kleber at no_spam_bots@gmail.com. Time to shower our teachers and staff with love Teacher/Staff Appreciation week is just a few weeks away, and just like in past years, we want our faculty and staff to feel abundantly appreciated. We have several activities planned, but we need your help to make these happen:   Luncheon - Monday, May 7 - Food donations needed for the staff luncheon.  Items needed include: Salads, ice tea, lemonade and desserts.  Help is also needed to set up and clean up this event from 10:15-12:30.  If you can provide food or help for this event please contact  Melanie Marks melaniemarks1@me.com Breakfast - Wednesday, May 9 - Food donations needed for the staff breakfast. Items needed include: Egg casseroles, fruit, Danishes, bagels and juice.Help is also needed to set up and clean-up for this event 7:00am-8:00am If you can provide food or help with the event, please contact Beth Bacon at bethbacon@gmail.com Snacks/drinks for teacher lounge - May 7-May 11 - Goodies needed all week to keep the teacher's lounge stocked with treats If you can provide a food/drink item please contact Kimberly Cooper at kmcoop1@gmail.com Raffle items needed May 7-May 11 -  Items needed to raffle off to the staff such as event tickets, gift cards or baskets, merchandise, services, or food! Ask your favorite vendors and neighbors for items or come up with idea for something nice you could do. If you can provide a raffle item or need help with ideas, please contact Melanie Marks melaniemarks1@me.com

PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED...

Kingsley Spring Cleanup weekend - Please save the date for a big cleanup weekend at Kingsley April 21/22.  We plan to have a work session both of those days to accommodate as many families as possible - Sat. 9-1 and Sun 1-5.  Please mark your calendars and plan to attend one of our cleanup sessions.  We have several areas around campus where we need to spread mulch and there's always pruning and weeding to do.  We will also be working on the beds in the front.  We want the school looking its best for Kindergarten Roundup on 4/27.  Contact Amanda Hensley at bahensley@bellsouth.net with any questions or suggestions.   NOMINATE YOUR TEACHER AS AN A+ TEACHER! The Downtown Disney Resort Area Hotels has partnered with Walt Disney World to honor outstanding K-12 teachers with its 2012 A+ For Teachers at Downtown Disney essay contest. The fourth annual contest, which runs through April 13, 2012, asks students in grades 1 through 12 to nominate their favorite teacher by writing a brief essay of no more than 300 words and submitting it via email to www.downtowndisneyhotels.com.  The essay should explain how the teacher has made a difference in the student's life and will be judged on its relevance to theme, creativity, originality, and the merit of the teacher's accomplishments as outlined in the essay.  The A+ For Teachers at Downtown Disney contest winners will be notified directly by May 1, 2012.  Please see the attached document for complete details. Attention Rising PCMS 6th Grade Parents Please note:  Because PCMS is a charter school, parents are required to volunteer a minimum of 10 hours per year.  This is a rewarding way to earn those hours! The Peachtree Charter Middle School Peer Proofing Committee is looking for new parent volunteers for the 2012-13 school year.  Peer Proofing is a interactive two day program facilitated by PCMS parent volunteers during health class, for all 6, 7 and 8 graders.  Special character building videos by Connect With Kids encourage candid classroom conversations that help the students understand and manage peer issues such as bullying, stress and anxiety, drug awareness, etc.  Requirements: * Available during the school day for 2 days each quarter * Comfortable facilitating a classroom of middle school kids  * Desire to connect with and mentor middle school kids If you are interested in becoming part of the Peer Proofing team, we invite you to observe the final Peer Proofing session for this school year.    Date:  April 18 and April 19   For more information or to visit our next session, please contact: Shari Clark   shariwclark@gmail.com   or    Elizabeth Herrington   elizherrington@gmail.com

DCSS Survey for 2012-2013 School Calendar - Respond by this Thursday!

Per Dr. Atkinson’s request, the Division of Curriculum and Instruction has convened a group of stakeholders to explore school calendar options for next year. The Calendar Committee includes parents, teachers, principals, district office staff, and community partners. The committee has worked together to present three calendar options to the DeKalb County School District community of stakeholders. The survey is designed to gather stakeholder input that will be used to inform our decision about school calendars.

Please take a moment to review the three proposed calendars and provide DCSD with your calendar choice and comments. Every parent's input is valued. The survey is short…you basically indicate your role (parent, teacher etc.), then choose one of the three options….and finally are allowed a box with a free flow area for comments.

Click to take the survey in English OR Calendario escolar 2012-2013 Encuesta.

View calendar options: 
        Option A in English | Calendario A en español

        Option B in English | Calendario B en español
        Option C in English | Calendario C en español

NOTE: All three options include making dismissal time on Wednesdays one hour early for the purpose of providing staff development and professional learning opportunities for DCSD staff.

Additional opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback

Remember that there is also a DCPC meeting at Peachtree Charter Middle tomorrow morning. Dr. Atkinson is the speaker there and it is open to the public.