Letter from the MC Principal
Hello MC families,
I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend. Before I get further into this Courier letter I want to circle back to ANCS being named Georgia Charter School Association (GCSA) Charter School of the Year! This is a tremendous honor that would not have been possible without the hard work of our teachers and staff. They put a lot of work into creating quality constructivist/inquiry based learning experiences for our students, and into creating a safe learning environment. Our kids come into the building each day and do great work, and we work in partnership with our parents to create something special. Thank you for your support as we work together for the benefit of our students.
We are in the midst of Educator Appreciation Week this week and there are several things planned for our teachers. Also feel free to reach out and send them a note of appreciation if you are so inclined.
During Morning Meeting yesterday we celebrated Women’s History Month with a Brain Smart Start led by the 6th grade members of The Brotherhood which included some trivia. Next there was a dance performance from Andrea Dickinson, Emerson Pennywell, and Reign Cowthorn; and a poem read by Dr. Leymarie. This was an extended morning meeting that included students going to breakout groups to hear from various invited guests; powerful women who shared about their career journeys. We introduced the breakouts with a video interview from my wife Dr. Omeka Sanders who talked about her career as a pharmacist. In the Round Table Talks students heard from Que’Anna Morris Jackson, Founder/Executive Director of One Wellness Project Inc.; Lia Santos, Partner at Mercer Consulting; Dr. Cassie Leymarie (ANCS); Andrea Lewis, Co-Founder of Groundwork Creatives; Ja’saiah Young, Teaching Artist/Actress at Alliance Theatre; Victoria Rodgers, Founder of Centered Soul Consulting; Nakia Echols Founder of Neptune Consulting (Empowering businesses in the financial, technology and retail sectors.); Dana Lupton Co-Founder/Executive Director of Moving in the Spirit; Rachel Ezzo, Certified Fundraising Executive; and Jennifer Guynn Founder and Executive Director of Pebbletossers (Empowering and leading youth through service). It was an informative day and seeing some of our young women hang on every word of some of our speakers made it well worth it.
In Morning Meeting I also talked to the students about the various things that are coming up as we close out the year. We have a lot of academic targets to hit and many opportunities for students to show how they’ve grown over the course of the year.
Pre-Break/Spring Break
- March 31 – April 4: Educator Appreciation Week
- Saturday, April 5th – Sunday, April 13th: Spring Break
Post-Spring Break
- April 14th-18th: 8th grade Exhibition Prep
- April 21st-25th: 8th grade Exhibitions
- April 25th: Student Pep Rally
GA Milestones Testing
- April 28 – May 2: 6th and 8th Milestones
- May 5 – 9: 7th and 8th Milestones
Monday, May 12th – Friday, May 16th
- M-W – Milestones Make-Ups
- M-F – 6th/7th Exhibitions
- T-F – 8th Savannah Trip
Wednesday, May 21st – 8th Grade Celebration
Friday, May 23rd – Last Day of School + Field Day; Noon Dismissal
There’s a lot going on as we close out the year; a mix of work and celebration. I am looking forward to the experiences that our kids will have. Please encourage them to finish strong and to reach out for support if they need it.
I was told that our 7th graders had a great trip to Jekyll Island last week. During the trip they dissected sharks, walked through the salt marsh, went saltwater fishing, and played games using their other senses on a night walk on the beach amongst other things. It was great to see the 7th graders and the chaperones back in the building on Thursday and Friday. Not every school gets their kids out of the building to have educational experiences and I’m glad that it’s a big part of what we do. Along those lines we are going to have some students out on Friday who are heading to the Dominican Republic for international service learning during spring break. Heidi Goodwin (8th grade Language and Literature teachers) has been serving as our International Service Learning Coordinator and she and Ms. Afzal will be taking a group of twelve students to the Dominican Republic. We are wishing them safe travels and we look forward to them having a great trip.
Our commitment to service is a big part of who we are as well and it was great to see the way that our kids dove in on Friday during our Service as Action Day. From the 6th and 7th graders who got out of the building to the 8th graders who worked on the EC and MC farms we had students working hard, engaging, and collaborating to impact their community. Major thanks to our IB Coordinator Dale Scott for the work that she has put into Service as Action at the MC.
MAP scores from the Spring administration of the test will be uploaded to ManageBac by the end of the day today. Spring Advisor reports will be uploaded to ManageBac by the end of the week. You can login to ManageBac to see everything. Once you login, click “Portfolio” in the bar on the left, and you will see your student’s MAP scores. if you have trouble logging into ManageBac try resetting your password, if you still have trouble after that reach out to Dale Scott, our MYP Coordinator at dscott@atlncs.org.
As always, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Have a safe and enjoyable spring break!
Kind regards,
Mark
Mark Sanders
Mark Sanders began teaching at ANCS in 2011. Before coming to the school, Mr. Sanders worked in New York City. He spent three years teaching 7th and 8th grade mathematics at Middle School 50 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and two years at Harlem Village Academies teaching Geometry and Algebra 2/Trigonometry. He taught 8th grade Math/Science/Technology at ANCS for five years.
