Rest of the Week Includes Assessments, Presentations and Family Conferences

Our 2nd cycle and 1st Semester end on January 26th. The remainder of the
week (Jan. 27-30) is officially the State�s Regents Testing week. As
explained in an earlier issue of The Vox,  LACS is one of a select number of
New York schools that has been granted a Regents testing waiver from the
State�s Department of Education�essentially allowing us to offer alternative
assessments to the battery of high school Regents exams. Our middle school
students are not exempt from any of the New York State standardized tests,
and our high school students are still required to take the ELA
(English/Language-Arts) Regents exam. Attendance for these required tests is
very important to our school, as we must demonstrate a minimum 95%
percentage of successful participation.  If we don�t reach that percentage,
regardless of how students actually perform on the tests, the State and
Federal governments could cite LACS as a school in need of improvement. With
the enrollment in each of our grades 2 students being absent would pull us
below the necessary participation required. So, again please DO NOT SCHEDULE
family trips or other events during or on these testing dates.
 
Although spared from the bulk of these high stakes tests, the school still
uses the Regents weeks in January (and June) to conduct our own
teacher-generated assessments and final projects and presentations, as well
as allowing time for portfolio presentations, as well as scheduling
conferences and to go over evaluations with students and their families to
review progress and learning goals. On a practical front, what this will
mean for our students at both the middle and high school levels will be that
they do not have a regular schedule during these weeks in January and June,
but more likely will have some work assigned to do at home, and may also be
required to come into school for a scheduled assessment or presentation�as
well as their scheduling and evaluation review conference with their
parent-caregivers and Family Group Leader. Again, While this is not a
regular week of school, we ask that families do not schedule vacations
during this time. 

The LACS band and orchestra will have a concert Tuesday, January 13, at 6:30 pm in the LACS gymnasium.

Friday, December 19

On Friday, December 19th, LACS will host another installment in its series of Infusion Days for all students to participate in. Infusion days have been an essential part of the experience at our school for many years. They are designed to ‘infuse’ culturally and socially relevant ideas into an experience that students will enjoy. This Infusion Day has been coordinated by a team of seniors as part of their Senior Interdisciplinary Project and will offer students several workshops and learning opportunities from a variety of firsthand sources. Most, if not all, of the 2009 graduating class will be helping out with the running of the Infusion Day and making sure the day runs smoothly.

The focus of the Infusion Day will be on immigration issues, as well as the coming together of cultures that shape who we are as a society in the United States, and more specifically as a community in Ithaca.  Examples of workshops being offered include: Karen Weaving, Roberta Wallitt’s movie research-based movie on English Language Learners in our schools, cooking workshops with parents of LACS students (Raf Chew & Erina Azis), Chinese Acupuncture, Romani Dancing, and many more.

This Infusion Day coincides with a time-honored LACS tradition, the Solstice Lunch. Students will enjoy a festive lunch with their family groups followed by the ritual bonfire. Adding the fun will be a special musical performance by Richie Stearns & Friends.

The senior team of Bon Sam, Devin Martin, Gabbi Seidman-Zager, Nellie Gagnon, and Bela Stearns has put a lot of effort into this Infusion Day, but it wouldn’t have been possible without the combined support of so many others… so thank you to:  Jen Heise, Joe Greenberg, Meggin Rose, Sophie Huntington, Thamora Fishel, Steve Hoffman, Richie Stearns, Erina Azis, Raf Chew, the LACS senior class, and everyone else who will be helping to make this Infusion Day happen.

Ithaca City School District will be closed for Winter Break from December 20-January 4.

The French Trip Family Group is selling Gimme! Coffee as a funraiser.  The sale will end on December 10, and orders will be delivered before the break.  If you’re interested, email Therese at taraneo@icsd.k12.ny.us - include “Gimme” or “Coffee” in the subject line.

The Ithaca Alternative Gift Fair once again offers holiday shoppers a vareity of meaningful gifts that support local charitable organizations.  Gifts range from $5 to an unlimited donation, and include items such as healthy meals for school children who may otherwise be hungry, materials to build affordable housing, support for community discussions on racism, shelter for abandoned pets, and many gifts that support at-risk youth and families.

This year the Akwesasne Freedom School will have a table at the fair through the LACS Service Class.  Please support the mission of sustaining the Mohawk language and culture, as well as supporting our on-going cultural exchange. 

This year’s Fair will be held from 11 am to 7 pm, Saturday, December 6, at the First Presbyterian Church, 315 North Cayuga Street, Ithaca. Thirty-one organizations will participate in the event. Please make sure to look them all over, but be sure to stop by the LACS / Freedom School table, too. 

There is also a website you can check out if you cannot make it to the event — www.ithacaaltgiftfair.org <http://www.ithacaaltgiftfair.org/> .

Peace,
Jon Raimon & the LACS Service Class

If you haven’t picked up your pecan orders yet, come and get them.  They have all been packed and are quietly waiting to go home with our industrious sales team. 

The Ithaca Alternative Gift Fair once again offers holiday shoppers a variety of meaningful gifts that support local charitable organizations. This year’s Fair will be held from 11 am to 7 pm, Saturday, December 6, at the First Presbyterian Church, 315 North Cayuga Street, Ithaca. Thirty-one organizations will participate in the event.

NOTE:  LACS/Akwesasne Freedom School, Multicultural Resource Center is participating in this event.

Gifts range from $5 to an unlimited donation, and include items such as are healthy meals for school children who may otherwise be hungry, materials to build affordable housing, support for community discussions on racism, shelter for abandoned pets, and many gifts that support at-risk youth and families.

Now in its fifth year, the Fair has earned more than $90,000 and has reduced the impact on the environment of conventional gift-giving. All of the money earned at the Fair goes to the participating organizations. New this year is an online store at www.ithacaaltgiftfair.org for those who can not attend the event.

This year’s Gift Fair organizations are: Cancer Resource Center of the Finger Lakes, Catholic Charities of Tompkins County, Challenge Industries, Community Building Works!, CRESP Center for Transformative Action, Dispositional Alternatives Program of Family and Children’s Services, Dream Factory of Central New York, Finger Lakes Independence Center, Foodnet Meals on Wheels, Franziska Racker Centers, Greater Ithaca Activities Center, Human Service Coalition 2-1-1 Tompkins, Ithaca Alternative Gift Fair 2009, Ithaca Public Education Initiative, Ithaca Health Alliance, Ithaca Youth Bureau, The Learning Web, Loaves and Fishes, LACS/Akwesasne Freedom School, Multicultural Resource Center, Natural Leaders Initiative, New York Coalition for Health School Food, Opportunities Alternatives and Resources (OAR), Planned Parenthood of the Southern Finger Lakes, SewGreen, SPCA of Tompkins County, Sustainable Tompkins, Southern Tier Advocacy and Mitigation Project (S.T.A.M.P.), Tompkins Community Action, Tompkins County Public Library Foundation, and the Women’s Opportunity Center.

The Ithaca Alternative Gift Fair is sponsored by the CRESP Center for Transformative Action and Tompkins Community Action with support from the Alternatives Federal Credit Union.  

Students can retake their school photos on Wednesday, November 19, 2008.

Advanced Learning Strategies
Wednesday, November 19, 7:00 pm

Wally Woods, a Learning and Systems Facilitator and the author of Climbing Out of Our 20th Century Box, will lead the discussion.  Learn how to move past the usual linear thinking model of rote memory and venture into the world of complex thinking to develop knowledge and wisdom.  Learn several simple, fun ways to activate both sides of your brain for improved thinking, planning, reading, and note-taking engagement.  This workshop is for the whole family.  Please RSVP by calling the school (274-2183).