Immunization Requirements for Rising 7th Grade Students

All students entering 7th grade for the 2025–2026 school year are required by Georgia state law to have the following immunizations on file before the first day of school:

  • Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis) booster
  • Meningococcal (MCV4) vaccine

Any student who does not have updated immunization records on file will not be allowed to attend school until documentation is provided. This includes students with medical or religious waivers in the event of a communicable disease outbreak.

To avoid any disruption in your child’s attendance, please make sure all immunizations are up to date and that updated forms are submitted to the school before the start of the school year.

Thank you for helping us keep our school community safe and healthy.

Adjunct Faculty Member (Grades K-5)

Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School is working to build a team of capable, energetic and careful support staff to support elementary campus students and teachers. We are looking for individuals with experience working in the classroom or with children in other capacities to fill in where needed to back-up our faculty and staff in various capacities.

Duties/responsibilities may include:

  • Supporting classroom teachers by helping to supervise/support students in classes where there is already one other teacher
  • Supporting teachers by helping with copying, laminating, putting up displays of student work, etc.
  • Serving as a substitute lead teacher on an as-needed basis
  • Monitoring lunch
  • Supporting arrival
  • Supervising students during after care on Wednesdays from 1:30-3:30
  • Supporting office and administrative staff as needed

Compensation:
Positions are 40 hours a week and include benefits.
Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience.

School Mission:
The mission of the Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School (ANCS) is to:

  • BUILD an empowered and inclusive community of students, parents, and educators
  • ENGAGE the whole child—intellectually, social-emotionally, and physically
  • HELP all students to know themselves and to be known well by their community
  • CHALLENGE each student to take an active role as an informed citizen in a global society
  • COLLABORATE with the larger community to advocate for student-centered schools

We are committed to strengthening and preserving diversity, fostering an environment of equity and ensuring that we are as inclusive as we can possibly be.

Fill out the online application

Closing in on Our Goal—Thanks to You!

Thanks to your incredible support during Giving Week, we’ve made tremendous progress toward our goal! So far, we have raised $132,000 toward our $140,000 target, providing crucial support for our programs.

A big congratulations to first grade — the winners of the Great Recurring Donations Race! They’ll enjoy extra time at Field Day! Thank you to everyone who signed up for recurring donations. We are deeply grateful to be part of a community so committed to our mission today and our vision for tomorrow.

Camp Best Friends

The City of Atlanta Department of Parks & Recreation is now registering for Camp Best Friends 2025: Under the Sea! The camp runs Monday through Friday, June 9–July 25, from 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Register online at www.atlantaga.gov/iparcs. Financial assistance and multi-child discounts are available.

7th & 8th Grade Sexual Health Unit

Dear Families of 7th and 8th graders,

Your student will begin their sexual health unit in Health class in May. We will use Sex Ed To Go lessons provided by Planned Parenthood. This is a medically accurate, age-appropriate and comprehensive sexual health education curriculum aligned with the national health education standards. The goals of the curriculum are to prevent teen pregnancy, STDs and sexual violence, and to increase family communication about sexual health related topics such as anatomy, puberty, dating and sex.  

The program builds skills to support young people in remaining abstinent, as well as teaching about other methods of disease and pregnancy prevention. It promotes respectful communication, and builds skills for healthy relationships. Students will be guided through creating an individual account and will then work through teacher assigned lessons on their chromebook during class.  This account will be accessible outside of school. In addition, there will be a teacher-led introduction lesson and a Q/A summary lesson. 

7th grade will be assigned the following lessons:

  • Connect and Respect, Relationship Skills for Tweens
  • Understanding your body: Reproductive Anatomy
  • Introduction to Puberty
  • Relationship Basics
  • Online Safety

8th grade will be assigned the following lessons:

  • Understanding your body: Reproductive Anatomy
  • Relationship Skills
  • Pregnancy Prevention, including abstinence
  • STIs
  • Consent
  • Sex in the media
  • Online Safety
  • Handling Breakups

Sex ed to go offers a series of short, free courses for parents that can help you feel more confident in speaking with your children about sex and reproductive health. 

If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact Ms.Hinton, Coach Prather or Ms.Lee

If you do not want your child to participate in this curriculum, please fill out this form by May 2, 2025. Any student who is opted out by their parent or guardian will be provided an alternate assignment and location during the sexual health unit.  

Run with the Wolves is this Saturday, May 3!

The 2025 Run with the Wolves 5K and 1 Mile races are this Saturday, May 3! If you’ve already registered for the race and/or you ordered a race t-shirt, please check your email inbox for more information about race bib and t-shirt pick up. If you haven’t yet registered, don’t worry–you can still register on site at the ANCS middle campus on race day starting at 7:15 am.

We do have some remaining volunteer needs the day of the race.  Help us make this a great event by signing up for a shift!

More details about Run with the Wolves can be found on the event website.  If you have any questions, email runwiththewolves@atlncs.org.

Join Us for Music, Community & Fun: The Last PTCA Gathering of the Year

Listen to the songs of the ANCS chorus and connect with the School Family on Tuesday, May 6th at 6:30pm. Option to pre-order food from Grant Park Coffee House or bring your own!

We would love to see you there!

6:15 Chorus students report – parents and caregivers can drop them off at the front doors of the school

6:30 Chorus concert and PTCA updates in the Auditorium

6:45 Food and Fresh air on the farm- Bring Your Own Food or Pre-order from GPCH

Bring your own blankets or whatever you need to be comfy on the farm! Pre-order food HERE and it will be waiting for you. Online pre-ordering ends Monday, May 5th at 5 p.m.

You are also welcome to pack your own grub. Soft drinks will be provided by the PTCA!

Calling All Bands in the ANCS Family!

We’re thrilled to announce the first-ever ANCS Music Fest coming this September, and we’re looking for adult bands made up of members from our school community!

If you’re in a band — or know one made up of ANCS staff, parents, or alumni — we’d love to hear from you! Please complete this form below to submit your band for consideration.

Not a part of a band but want to help with the event? Email musicfest@atlncs.org.

We can’t wait to celebrate the talent in our community!

 

Field Day Volunteers Needed

Field Day at the Elementary Campus is Friday, May 16th. Coach Daniel is seeking volunteers to help make it the best day ever! Please sign up for a shift or two by following the link below. Reach out to Coach Daniel with any questions at kdaniel@atlncs.org

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508054CA4A72EA02-56102682-field

Family Reading Night & Book Character Parade

Tomorrow is Family Reading Night- April 23

Join us for Family Reading Night at the Elementary Campus tomorrow from 5:30-7:30! It will be an evening of read-alouds, bookmark creation, reading together on the farm, and a visit from author (and former ANCS teacher) Cara Reese!

Three Days Left to Shop the Book Fair

Little Shop of Stories Book Fair is happening this week at the Elementary Campus! We are offering the option to purchase Book Fair Bucks online to be spent by students or teachers at the Book Fair. Book Bucks can be purchased until 7 AM on Friday, April 25. The Book Fair will also be open tomorrow (4/23) prior to and during Family Reading Night from 3:00 pm-7:30 pm.

Book Character Parade This Friday

This Friday we are having our annual Book Character Parade! We would love for you to join us for the parade from 1:30pm to 2:15pm here at school. Each class will be dressed up as characters from a book they have read together and then parade through the halls and around the school so all the students can see their costumes. Parents and guests can view the parade from the front lawn and around the school.

Address Verification for Rising 6th Graders

Good morning 5th Grade families, 
I hope everyone is doing well and had a great weekend.
We are excited for your children to join us at the middle campus next year.
Atlanta Public Schools requires us to do a complete address verification for all students who are entering 6th grade.
I have attached the required documents here for you to reference what is needed. There are a couple of important changes to note in this process.
*If you are listed on the lease/mortgage statement/deed, you NO longer need to complete a notarized affidavit.
*If you are listed on the lease/mortgage statement/deed, you only need to provide a statement/lease/deed*, a CURRENT (within 30 days) Georgia Power Bill, and photo identification. NO additional documentation is required. Additional documentation can be requested if needed. *If you lease, you must complete a Lease Verification Form.
*If you are NOT listed on the lease/mortgage statement/deed (living with family, friends, etc.), you do need to complete a notarized affidavit AND provide additional documents with YOUR name and the address on them. All documents need to be current (within 30 days).
Completed packets can be scanned and emailed to me at mmcfeeley@atlncs.org OR dropped off at either campus front desk. 
If you completed a full address verification for an incoming kindergartener, please let me know so that you do not have to complete the process again.
The deadline for submission of the address verification is May 23, 2025. If the documents are not received by this date, your child’s enrollment at the middle campus may be rescinded.
If your child is not returning to ANCS for middle school, please let me know as soon as possible so that we can enroll students from our waitlist. This allows us to schedule them appropriately and include them in summer activities.
If you have any questions, please let me know.
Take care, 
Maria McFeeley
Registrar
Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School (Middle School Campus)
820 Essie Ave., SE
Atlanta, GA 30316
Voice: 678-904-0051 Ext. 504
Fax: 678-904-0052

Join Us for Music, Community & Fun: The Last PTCA Gathering of the Year

Listen to the songs of the ANCS chorus and connect with the School Family on Tuesday, May 6th at 6:30pm. Option to pre-order food from Grant Park Coffee House or bring your own!

We would love to see you there!

6:15 Chorus students report – parents and caregivers can drop them off at the front doors of the school

6:30 Chorus concert and PTCA updates in the Auditorium

6:45 Food and Fresh air on the farm- Bring Your Own Food or Pre-order from GPCH

Bring your own blankets or whatever you need to be comfy on the farm! Pre-order food HERE and it will be waiting for you. You are also welcome to pack your own grub.

Summer Therapy Day Camps!

Emotions Explorer Camp At Intown Family Therapy!

Participants will embark on a fun and engaging journey to better understand and manage their emotions. Through interactive activities, creative expression, and social play, campers will build emotional awareness, develop coping skills, and gain tools to navigate big feelings—all in a supportive and welcoming environment.
 Dates: Week of June 9th, 2025 8:30 AM-4:00 PM

Brave and Balanced Middle School Camp

Designed for middle school girls looking to build confidence, manage stress and anxiety, and strengthen social skills—all while incorporating mindfulness and yoga. Through engaging activities, movement, and guided discussions, campers will develop tools to navigate friendships, handle challenges, and cultivate inner calm in a supportive and empowering space. We are trans and non binary inclusive
 Dates: Week of June 16th, 2025 8:30-4:00 PM

EC Principal Letter

Dear ANCS Elementary Families,

Last Thursday I joined Ms. Derichsweiler, Dr. Pullen, Ms. Laurent and Mr. Sanders at an awards ceremony to receive a Math Masters banner from Superintendent Richard Woods for our achievement on the 5th grade Milestones from last year. The middle campus received a Math Masters banner for their achievement on the 7th and 8th grades Milestones. We continue to be very proud of our students and teachers! 

We are excited about the spring book fair in the library this week. Don’t forget that this Wednesday, April 23rd we have Family Reading Night from 5:30-7:30pm. This is a fun evening for the whole family to come and enjoy lots of activities centered around reading and literacy. This is not a time to drop your child(ren) off at school without a parent/guardian. Then on Friday, April 25th we will have our annual Book Character Parade. We hope that you will be able to join us for all of these events. The parade is from 1:40 to 2:25 here at school. Each class will be dressed up as characters from a book they have read together and then parade through the halls and around the school so all the students can see their costumes and have some fun. Parents and guests will view the parade on the front lawn and on the sidewalks around the school. Please leave the sidewalks clear so students have room to walk around the building. Students will be coming through the front doors around 1:55(ish). Please cheer and celebrate the students as they parade! This really is such a fun week of celebrating reading! 

Please be aware that our third, fourth and fifth graders will be engaged in taking the Milestones state assessment from April 28th to May 14th. Even though it is only the upper grades testing, Milestones impacts the whole school, as we must cover instructional materials and displays around the building and we will have an adjusted related arts schedule. Please note that there are no visitors allowed in the building during testing, even in the lower grades. Families are still welcome to join us for morning meetings. However, once the meeting is over, guests need to exit the building so testing can get underway. 

For those students who are testing, please encourage them to get a good night’s sleep and please get them to school on time. Testing begins right after morning meeting and once a testing session is underway, nobody can be admitted to the classroom. Getting your child to school and having him/her/them here on time is important. Thank you for helping us with this. Additionally, we want students to take a breath and not stress about this test. They are prepared, and getting stressed out is not helpful. 

As always, I am happy to answer any questions you may have. Have a wonderful remainder of your week.

 

Wishing you well,

Lara

 

Run with the Wolves Early Registration Ends this Week!

The 2025 Run with the Wolves 5K and 1 Mile races are on Saturday, May 3 and this is the final week of early registration. While you can register up until race day, why wait and risk it (especially since the registration price will be higher on race day). Learn more and register at atlncs.org/5k. We are also in need of volunteers to help us put on a great event. Consider giving a little bit of your time in the week leading up to the race or on race day itself on May 3–you can view the volunteer needs and sign up here. 

If you’ve already registered for the race and/or if you ordered a race t-shirt, keep an eye out for more details.  In the meantime, see below for dates/times when you can pick up your race bibs and t-shirts. You are strongly encouraged to pick up your items before race day to avoid waiting in line right before the race!

  • Thurs, 5/1: 2 pm to 6 pm at ANCS elementary campus (688 Grant St SE)
  • Fri, 5/2: 7:30 am to 8:30 am at ANCS elementary campus (688 Grant St SE)
  • Fri, 5/2: 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm at ANCS middle campus (820 Essie Ave SE)

 

Empower Youth Voices: Apply Now for the Youth Advocacy Internship

We’re excited to share an incredible summer opportunity for students ages 13–18—the Youth Advocacy Internship (YAI), a 12-week program designed to help students turn their passion into action. Whether your student is passionate about mental health, gun violence prevention, poverty, or other important issues, this internship gives them the tools and support to lead meaningful change.

ABOUT YAI: 

This 12-week program is designed to empower youth to address the issues that matter most to them. Some of our past interns have created advocacy initiatives dealing with mental health, bullying, maternal health, gun violence, poverty, and more. As an educator, you know firsthand how powerful student voices can be in driving positive change, not only here in Georgia but throughout the world.

Our internship provides a unique opportunity for students to transform their passion into meaningful action. Interns will collaborate with mentors, faith leaders, and advocacy experts to develop the skills they need to lead and inspire change. Along the way, they’ll earn community service hours, build leadership experience, and gain valuable insights that will help shape their future.

To give you a glimpse of the impact our interns have made, have a look at our recap videos from our 2023 and 2024 cohorts as well as our promo video for this year!

Whether students are motivated by a desire to improve their communities or making new friends, this internship offers a powerful platform for them to do both!

WHO’S A GOOD FIT? 

  • Students who are curious about civic engagement or want to get more involved in making a difference in their communities
  • Students who are interested in building confidence and improving their public speaking skills
  • Students who are drawn to student leadership, debate, or advocacy work and want to explore those interests more deeply
  • Students who are motivated, thoughtful, and eager to grow both academically and personally

Please let me know if you have any questions or would like additional information. Thank you for helping us empower the next generation of changemakers!

The application deadline for our 2025 Cohort is May 1st, and students can apply HERE today!

Visit icmgeorgia.org/yai to learn more and make your voice heard! 

Letter from the MC Principal

Hello MC families,

Last Thursday both the Middle Campus and the Elementary Campus were presented with Math Masters banners from Superintendent Richard Woods for our Milestones Math performance last year. I joined Ms. Zelski, Dr. Pullen, Ms. Laurent and Ms. Derichsweiler at the awards ceremony where we accepted our banners as a group representing ANCS as one school K-8. At the Middle Campus we received our banner for growth in 7th grade Math, 8th grade Math, and in the Algebra I course. Regarding Algebra I, a subset of our 8th graders, who qualify based on MAP, Milestones, and their performance in Math class, are invited to take this online course in addition to their 8th grade math class. These students put in a lot of work on their own. Additionally, our 8th grade Math program and the growth it inspires also contributes to the growth of our 8th graders in Algebra. My hat goes off to our teachers and students for the work they have put in, and for the results we have produced. 

We’ve got 5 weeks left in the ‘24-’25 school year and things are quickly coming to a close. This week 8th graders are conducting their Portfolio Exhibitions. We are also making preparations for the 8th grade Celebration in May. Eighth grade families please take a look at your email for various updates that I’ve sent about the 8th grade Celebration. Seventh graders are currently thinking through their arts selection (Performing Arts or Visual Arts) for next year so parents please take a look at the email that I sent regarding this as well.

While there is a lot going on, teachers are still working hard and creating great learning experiences in classrooms. Last week as Dr. Showers and I popped into classrooms, 8th graders performed musicals that they wrote and produced in Performing Arts; 7th graders finalized drafts of their chess piece drawings (drawings of chess pieces with various backgrounds using the techniques they’ve learned in class) in Visual Arts; and in Individuals and Societies 6th graders are working on a summative in which they take on the role of being a “History Guide” tasked with helping students learn how Europe changed after World War I via either an Interactive Museum Exhibit, a Storytelling Presentation, or a Digital Timeline Showcase. The summer is close, but we’re not done in the classroom and there is still a lot to learn.

Milestones testing is coming up next week for our 6th and 8th graders. Seventh graders will test the following week. Please encourage your students to get proper rest, eat well, and get to school on time during Milestones so that they can put their best foot forward. Note: Morning Meeting will be at the end of the day at 2:35pm on Monday, April 28th and on Monday, May 5th (NOT in the morning), since we will start the day with Milestones testing. The testing schedule for each grade level is below:

6th Grade

  • Mon. 4/28 ELA sec. 1
  • Tues. 4/29 ELA sec. 2
  • Wed. 4/30 ELA sec. 3
  • Thurs. 5/1 Math sec. 1
  • Fri. 5/2 Math sec. 2

7th Grade

  • Mon. 5/5 ELA sec. 1
  • Tues. 5/6 ELA sec. 2
  • Wed. 5/7 ELA sec. 3
  • Thurs. 5/8 Math sec. 1
  • Fri. 5/9 Math sec. 2

8th Grade

  • Mon. 4/28 ELA sec. 1
  • Tues. 4/29 ELA sec. 2
  • Wed. 4/30 ELA sec. 3
  • Thurs. 5/1 Math sec. 1
  • Fri. 5/2 Math sec. 2
  • Mon. 5/9 Science sec. 1 & 2
  • Tues. 5/10 Social Studies sec. 1 & 2
  • Thurs. 5/12 Algebra I (for students enrolled in online Algebra I)

Between Portfolios, Exhibitions, Milestones, and wrapping things up in classes our kids are doing a lot. Please remind them to take a breath and try their best – that’s all that we ask for. 

Finally, we are also having a Spirit Week this week, culminating in a pep rally on Friday, and the students are really excited. The themes are listed below:

  • Monday – Mono-chrome Monday (6th grade – white, 7th grade – gray, 8th grade – black)
  • Tuesday – Twinning Tuesday
  • Wednesday – Wacky Wednesday (crazy outfits, mismatched, tacky, backwards, inside out, crazy hair, etc.)
  • Thursday – Thursday Night Lights (hats, jerseys, etc. to represent your favorite team from sports, movies, or tv)
  • Friday – Blue Out (Wear your Wolf Blue in support of Exceptional Kids Week and Autism Acceptance Month.)

Have a great week, and as always if you have any questions please feel free to reach out.

Kind regards,

 

Mark

Interested in a Leadership Role with the PTCA Next Year?

We’re looking for enthusiastic parents and caregivers to join our team as Advisory Council members or Event Chairs for the upcoming school year. It’s a great way to get involved, make a difference, and help shape our school community.

If you’re curious or ready to jump in, email the current PTCA Co-Presidents (Wakita Jacobs & Sinéad Quinn) at ptca@atlncs.org for more information—we’d love to connect with you!