Arcadia This Week 3/16/2022

Hello, Arcadia families, students, and friends,

There are some exciting things happening that I can’t wait to share with you! There is also a LOT to share. Here is an outline of the topics:

  1. Arts Residency

  2. HS Literature and Theater classes field trip

  3. Arcadia Rubric

  4. Strategic Planning

  5. Student Intent to Return

  6. COVID Update

  7. Gertens Fundraiser Reminder

  8. Feminine Product Donations Needed

  9. Rice County Chemical and Mental Health Coalition Message

 

Arts Residency: Chris Koza 

Chris Koza will be here today to perform a concert with his band–just for us! Students can then sign up to participate in an arts residency with Chris. Over the course of the next month and a half, students will have the opportunity to play, sing, dance, write, and create art together as part of the residency. The final performance will be the evening of April 22nd–save the date!

Chris’s website appears to be under construction, but here is a link to the “About” page, which still seems to be working! He can also be found on Spotify and YouTube.

 

HS Literature and Theater Field Trip: The Tempest at the Guthrie

Next week, students in Scott’s literature class and Bob’s theater class will travel to the Guthrie to see their production of The Tempest, by William Shakespeare. The Guthrie requires that students wear a mask, have proof of vaccination, and show an ID (we will make school ID cards for them). All students heading on this field trip, we will check to make sure you have all of these things before we leave.

 

Arcadia Rubric 

The Board has nearly completed the Arcadia Rubric, a tool that will help us to measure our progress toward our mission and alignment with our vision. Students and families, if you would like to add any final input, please take a look and send me an email! 

Here is a link to the latest draft of the Arcadia Rubric!

 

Strategic Planning and Contract Process

The Board is working on our strategic plan for the next five years! The parent survey will be coming out soon with a question about your priorities. The rubric may be a useful tool to help you consider where you feel we should focus our energies! I will also be putting together two focus group opportunities (online). The theme that is emerging so far is “sustainability.” I will send a separate message with more information!

Northfield Public Schools, our Authorizer, will be visiting on March 31st! They like to meet families, so in the email, I will also ask for volunteers to come meet the NPS team.

 

Student Intent to Return

All current students have a spot for next year automatically, but we are getting lots of applications, so to help us determine how many of those students may have a spot next year, we’d like you to let us know if you are planning to return or not. We hope you will all be coming back! :)

https://forms.gle/KkJW37hFcKo1rk5z8

 

COVID Update–New Information about Masking (One More Time)

The Board discussed the newest information from the CDC and the criteria we will use to make decisions about masking. 

The CDC is now recommending that community and individual decisions around prevention strategies, like masking, are based on “COVID-19 Community Levels.” Here is a link to the page at the CDC that explains this metric: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/community-levels.html

In consultation with the Board, we will now base masking and other mitigation strategy decisions on two criteria:

1) The Rice County COVID-19 Community Level is low for fourteen consecutive days, based on the CDC’s COVID-19 County Check tool.

2) Our Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) rate in the school is 5% or lower. (We have generally stayed below 5%.)

Masks will become optional if the COVID-19 Community Level is low for fourteen consecutive days, they will be recommended if the level rises to medium at any point, and they will be required if it rises to high at any point. 

We would also require masks if the ILI was above 5%.

Rice County’s COVID-19 Community Level is currently high. 

I will include the case rate in my newsletter for the time being, because it is a more familiar metric. Using the case rate metric, most of Minnesota, including Rice County, is still dealing with a high level of community COVID transmission, even if their Community Level is low based on the whole set of CDC criteria. 

The Rice County case rate from the CDC for the one-week period ending Tuesday, March 15, 2022 is 220.99/100,000. 

 

Gertens Fundraiser

Another reminder, we have until April 7th to sell plants! This fundraiser helps support active learning opportunities (things like field trips, May Term, and student projects). Previous newsletters include a template letter for you to use to send to your neighbors, friends, and relatives.

To access the site and place an order:

  1. Go to www.gertensfundraising.com

  2. Enter the Store ID code provided into the text field and click ‘Enter ID to Continue’.

Store ID code for Arcadia Charter School: 43

 

Feminine Products

If you would be willing to donate feminine products, we try to keep our bathrooms stocked at all times, and would love your help! We can use pads and tampons of various sizes and levels of absorbency. Donations can be dropped off at the front desk.

 

A message from the Rice County Chemical and Mental Health Coalition

Talk to your teens about the risks of using marijuana.

Transitions Can Be Hard.

Help youth avoid the pressures of trying marijuana and other drugs by being a good source of information. Though marijuana laws are changing in some states for adults, all forms of marijuana can be harmful for growing brains. Start talking with your teens early about the risks. For more information, visit samhsa.gov/talk-they-hear-you/parent-resources/

Hable con sus hijos adolescentes sobre los riesgos de consumir marihuana.

Las transiciones pueden ser difíciles

Ayude a los jóvenes a evitar las presiones de probar la marihuana y otras drogas siendo una buena fuente de información. Aunque las leyes sobre la marihuana están cambiando en algunos estados para adultos, todas las formas de marihuana pueden ser dañinas para los cerebros en crecimiento. Empiece a hablar con sus hijos adolescentes temprano sobre los riesgos. Para obtener más información, visite samhsa.gov/talk-they-hear-you/parent-resources/

Upcoming Events

Mar. 17: Chris Koza Arts Residency Kick-Off

Mar. 22: HS Field Trip to The Tempest at the Guthrie

Mar. 25: End of 3rd Quarter

Mar. 28: No School

Mar. 29: Beginning of 4th Quarter

Mar. 31: Authorizer Site Visit (Northfield Public Schools is our charter authorizer, and they come visit us for a day to see what we do.)

Apr. 4: Asynchronous Learning Day

Apr. 7: Gertens Fundraiser Ends

Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,