Graduation Season is Here!!

Good Morning Parents,

Spring is here (minus the 5 inches of snow expected Friday!) and that means graduation season. Here are some important events that you may want to circle on your Calendar.

Graduation:

Peabody High School will hold it's graduation on Friday June 2nd at 5 pm. The Academy will have an additional ceremony on Friday June 9th at 10 am here at the Mall. Our event it the highlight of the year. We have guest speakers, dignitaries, scholarship presentations, and each graduate has the opportunity to give a short speech. You do not want to miss this event!  

Senior Events:

Attached below is the Senior brochure which includes all of the Senior upcoming Senior events. Please do not hesitate to reach our to me if you have any additional questions. 

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College Trips:

We will be taking all of our expected graduates to North Shore Community College on Wednesday April 12th. Students will tour the Danvers campus and take the college placement test. The results of this test will help determine which classes students are eligible to take next year. The results will also be honored at any other college/ trade school. 

Community Service:

We are wrapping up some date foe our annual Habitat for Humanity trip. I will inform you all of the dates when they become available.

As always, contact me at any time if you have any further questions.

-Mr. B

3rd Quarter Interim Reports

Good Morning Parents! 

I hope you all had a chance to enjoy the nice weather we had last week. Hopefully, the warm weather served as a wake up call that the school year is starting to wind down and graduation is right around the corner. In fact, next week marks the halfway point of the 3rd quarter. I wanted to take a minute and catch you all up on some important dates and events.

Parent Teacher Night: We will host our second parent teacher conference of the year on Thursday March 16th from 6-8 pm. I would strongly recommend taking some time and visiting with teachers. We have some students that need to complete a lot of work in order to graduate. I would like all parents to be aware of what needs to be completed and by what date. 

College Visits: Students interested in attending Endicott College will be taking a field trip to the school tomorrow, March 2nd. Students will meet with staff, complete the application and  financial aid. This is a great school and a great opportunity for students to receive a quality education next year. 

Graduation: The High School graduation will be held on Friday June 2nd at 5 pm. The Academy will also hold a graduation ceremony Friday June 9th at 10 am. here at the mall. It is an amazing event that has many special guest speakers. I hope you all can attend

Community Service: I a in the process of wrapping up a trip in which our students will work with Habitat for Humanity. Students will spend two days at a work site helping to paint and clean a house that will be donated to a less fortunate family. This is our teachers most favorite trip of the year!

Attendance: We have several students that are having issues with getting to school on time. Students receive a 40 minute detention each day they are late. Please speak to your child and discuss a routine in which they have plenty of time to get to school. 

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Report Cards and More....

Good Morning Parents,

I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend (I know I did!). We have lots of thing coming up within the next few weeks. I thought I would take a few minutes to fill you all in.

Report Cards:

At the end of each grading quarter, students at the Academy receive progress reports in place of the traditional Report Card. Our teachers are mostly grading on how much academic progress the students are making rather than a number grade. Today, I mailed home a copy of your child's 1st quarter progress report. The report is broken into several categories. At the top, you will find your child’s name, grade, and other school related information. Next, you will see the attendance record followed by the Educational Assessment. The assessment is broken into four categories; subject, instructor, progress, and target completion. The target completion column should read 50%. This means that your child should be 50% of the way through the course at this point in the school year. The progress column indicates how much work has actually been completed in relation to the target. For example, if your child’s progress is 35%, this means that your child has completed 35% of school work assigned by the Edgenuity program. In this case, this would mean that your child is 15% behind. This is followed by a brief comment from each of the teachers. Lastly, you will find a grid that includes all of the courses your child needs in order to graduate. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Parent Night:

This Thursday, November 17th from 6-8 pm is parent teacher night. I encourage all of you to come in and meet with myself and the teachers. This is a great way to really see what is going on during the school day. 

Community Service:

We will be going to the Greater Boston Food Bank on Wednesday, November 16th. The bus will leave at 6:45 am. I ask that all students be here by 6:30 am. I understand that this can cause an inconvenience. However, it is a great trip for the students and a great way for our kids to help those in need. Students will be handing out Thanksgiving Turkeys, and meals  to the homeless population. Last year our students served 1,000 families. I will serve the students breakfast and lunch. Also, in December, the Academy will team up with Blankets for Love and Hope. This is a program that makes and collects non-sewing fleece blankets and donates them to the patients at Boston Children's Hospital. These blankets are given to kids unable to be home for the holidays. Last year, Academy Students made and donated 70 blankets. For more info, please visit their Facebook page at 

https://www.facebook.com/BlanketedwithLoveandHope/?view_public_for=1253806118003941. 

The Academy has funds to purchase some blankets, but we also welcome donations as well. Please share and drop off any donations to Mr. Bedard.

I look forward to seeing you all Thursday Evening! 

End of Quarter 1

Good Morning Parents,

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. Friday marks the end of the 1st quarter of the school year. We have accomplished quite a bit in the first few months of school and we have a lot of exciting things coming our way. I thought I would take a few minutes to fill you all in.

Report Cards/Progress Reports:

As I stated, Friday marks the end of the first quarter of the school year. This means several things. First, students should be ( or be close to being) 50% of the way through their current courses.. I would recommend looking at the weekly progress e-mails sent out by Edgenuity and make sure that your son/daughter is close to or at 50%. If not, I would strongly urge you to start having a conversation with them. As always, students are encouraged to log on and do wok at home each night. I also stay after school each day until 3 and our staff is here a minimum of 1 day each week until 3 for extra help (Ms. Murray's day is Thursdays and Mr. Tanglis' day is Wednesday). Also, the end of the quarter means report cards are issued to students. Because of the nature of our program, we issue students progress reports. These reports indicate student progress as well as personalized comments from each teacher. I will email as well as snail mail you a copy of your son/daughters progress report next week. I will also email and send out instructions on how to read these reports. Please feel free to contact me if you are confused or simply just have a question. 

Attendance:

Daily attendance has been fairly strong. However, we still have a small number of students coming in 5-10 minutes late on a consistent basis. Please talk to your son/daughter about leaving early enough to get here on time. Once a student is late 4 times, they will be assigned an after school detention. I would like to avoid this as much as possible. Your help on this matter is greatly appreciated.

Community Service:

 October's community service event involved our students participating in the Read for the Record initiative. Each year, Pearson Publish promotes this event that requites people to sign up and read a particular children's story to as many elementary students as possible with hopes of breaking the Guinness Book of World Record for most people reading a particular story. On Thursday October 27th, our students spent the day at their former elementary school's reading to kindergarten-3rd grade classes. This was a real treat for the elementary school students as well as our students former elementary school teachers. Next months activity will be held at the Greater Boston Food Bank. On November 16th, we will spend our morning giving Thanksgiving meals to the less fortunate. The bus will depart the Academy at  6;45 am. Because of the early departure,  I ask students to be at the Academy no later than 6;30. I understand that this may cause an inconvenience on your and I really appreciate your help with getting the students here early. This is a great trip and a great way for out students to help our community. 

Social Media:

Please "Like" the Peabody Learning Academy Facebook page, Instagram page, YouTube page, Blog, and Twitter accounts. You can find the like to each at Peabodylearningacademy.com. The icons are located at the top of the web page. I frequently update each of these sites with pictures and announcements. It is a great way to see all of the amazing things your son/daughter is doing! 

Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Halfway Through The 1st Quarter!!

Good Morning Parents!

It is hard to believe that next week marks the halfway point of the 1st quarter. I thought that this would be a good time to reach out and inform you of what is happening at the Academy.

Halfway point of 1st Quarter:

Next week marks the halfway point of the 1st quarter of the school year. At this point, students should have (or be in the process) of completing 25% of their current classes. I would recommend looking at the weekly progress e-mails sent out by Edgenuity and make sure that your son/daughter is close to or at 25%. If not, I would strongly urge you to start having a conversation with them. Students are encouraged to log on and do wok at home each night. I also stay after school each day until 3 and our staff is here a minimum of 1 day each week until 3 for extra help (Ms. Murray's day is Thursdays and Mr. Tanglis' day is Wednesday).

Attendance:

Overall, student attendance amongst most students has improved. HOWEVER, We are having a small problem with several students arriving to school late on a consistent basis. I ask that you please talk to your son/daughter about going to bed at a good time and getting up early enough to get here on time. Also, the cold and flu season is vastly approaching so please encourage your son/daughter to dress warm, drink plenty of fluids and get sufficient rest so we can all stay healthy!

School-to-work

Like Peabody High School, we offer a school to work program. This is an opportunity for students to leave school one hour early in order to go to work. Students must have part time job that is "on the books", work a minimum of 10 hours per week, and complete a quarterly project each school quarter. Students will receive 5 credits towards graduation for completing this course. This is a great program and I would like to include more students. Each week I have a representative from the North Shore Career Center come into the Academy and help students that are currently unemployed find a job so they too can participate in the program. Shaws Supermarket and JC Penny are all currently hiring. If your son/daughter is looking for work, please encourage them to fill out an application and I will gladly help place them in a job.

 Community Service:

September's Community service day was strictly for our Seniors. They had the opportunity to spend the day working Mayor Ted Bettencourt's 3rd annual Senior Citizens Day at Brooksby Farm. Students helped over 500 Seniors enjoy a large picnic at the apple farm. October's Community Service Day will include all students and will be on October 26th. Students will spend the day reading the children's book  "The Bear the Ate my Sandwich" to all K-3rd grade students at each of the elementary schools in Peabody.

Social Media:

Please "Like" the Peabody Learning Academy Facebook page, Instagram page, YouTube page, Blog, and Twitter accounts. You can find the like to each at Peabodylearningacademy.com. The icons are located at the top of the web page. I frequently update each of these sites with pictures and announcements. It is a great way to see all of the amazing things your son/daughter is doing! 

Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. Enjoy the long weekend! 

Welcome Back!!

I hope you all had a very smooth transition into the school year. Each month, I will be sending out an email with a newsletter keeping you all up to date with happenings here at the Academy. I would like to first review a few important things as we begin the new year.

Orientation:  Parent orientation is Thursday September 15th from 6-8 pm. This is a great opportunity for you to visit the school and meet with the staff. Teachers will review class expectations and I will gladly meet and go through schedules and talk about graduation requirements.

Academic Progress: Each Monday you all will receive an email from noreply@edgenuity.com. This email will contain a weekly progress report. The report will show you each class your son/daughter is in, how much work has been completed, how much work should be completed, and current grade. I created a timeline that requires all students to finish their current classes on January 28th   ( the 1/2 way point of the school year). For example, if your son/daughter has 5% of the coursework complete and the target completion is 3%, that indicates that your son/daughter is ahead of schedule. I have attached a picture below that clearly demonstrates this. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. 

Community Service: Students are required to participate in 10 hours of community service each year as part of graduation requirement. Here at the Academy, your son/daughter will do approximately 10 hours each month. Our first event will be on September 14th. All Academy Seniors will volunteer at the City of Peabody/Brooksby Farm Senior Citizen Day. Students will assist elderly Peabody Residents at this annual cookout. 

I look forward to working with you all this year. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns that you may have. 

The Home Stretch!

We are entering the home stretch of the school year and graduation is right around the corner. Attached is information for graduation along with the senior exam schedule. The Academy graduation will be held on Friday, June 3rd at 10 am in the mall. I encourage all families to attend. Each graduate will have an opportunity to speak and we will award scholarships. Seniors will then participate in PVMHS graduation at 5 pm a the high school. Students do NOT have to come into school during finals week if they have completed 100% of their courses.  Students MUST come if they need to finish up courses or turn in work to teachers.  Please contact Mr. Bedard if you have any questions.