Letter from the MC Principal

Hello MC families,

That was quite an interesting week last week. Snow, ice, asynchronous days, delayed start, and a regular day. It was great to see our children back in the building on Thursday. We postponed Friday’s Service as Action Day in order to prioritize a return to routine. This week will be our first full 5-day week of the second semester so we’re looking forward to creating some more continuity for our students.

As you know, February marks the beginning of Black History Month. We seek to access multiple perspectives when we teach, and we seek to celebrate Black historical figures throughout the year, however we seek to be even more intentional about this work in February. We highlight Black history from past to present during Morning Meetings and during classes, and this culminates with our Black History Month Celebration and Teach-In at the end of the month. I’ll write more about this event in subsequent Courier letters. 

On Monday and Tuesday of next week (2/3 & 2/4) we will be doing Data Talks with students. Several years ago we began a process of having one-on-one conversations with students about their MAP and Milestones data so that they could reflect on the connection between their testing data, their performance in class, and how their personal habits and approaches impact all of these things. Every student in the school will have an individual 15-minute conference time set up with an adult who will review their data. Students will be given a pass during Advisory with their appointment time on it, and they will come down to the Media Center on a rolling basis. Data Talks allow students to analyze how things are going, and at the end of the conversation we encourage students to make a plan for improvement or continued growth. These data talks have been very successful in the past (students would come into their final MAP test thinking about the goals they set and hoping to reach them), so we are looking forward to doing this again this year. 

On Tuesday, February 4th our 8th graders will be going on a visit to Maynard Jackson High School. We will walk to Jackson rain or shine, so students should dress accordingly. Since most of our students are zoned for Maynard Jackson High School all 8th graders will attend this trip. During this visit they will hear from the Principal, learn more about programs that the school has to offer, hear from current students, and tour the building. We’ll leave the MC around 9:15am and be back in the building by about 12:15pm for lunch and recess.

Finally, we have another Prospective Family Information Session on Tuesday, February 4th from 6:00-7:30pm here at the Middle Campus. If you know any families who may be interested in having their children come to ANCS next school year, please encourage them to attend. This is ONLY for families that do not currently have children at ANCS. We have information sessions dedicated to rising 6th grade families in the spring.

As always please reach out if you have any questions.

Kind regards,

Mark