End of Year Newsletter
Dear Central Academy Students and Families,
SENIORS
What a beautiful day to kick off our graduation celebrations of our senior class of 2022! I am so proud of the remarkable people in our senior class! Enjoy your graduation that you have worked so hard to achieve! Please come back and visit us. Maybe you can be part of our alumni panels over the next few years!
MEMORIAL DAY
I hope you take some time on Memorial Day to remember those members of our military who have died in service to our country. We do not have classes on Monday for that reason. If you personally do not know someone, you can always visit the Iowa Veterans Cemetery or make a donation.
SCHEDULE FOR LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL
Tuesday, May 31, is a regular 7-period day. .
Wednesday, June 1, and Thursday, June 2, are block schedule days. Most middle schools will have their last Academy classes on one of these days so that students may participate in end-of-year celebrations at their home schools.
Friday, June 3, is a partial day and the last day of school. Academy will have periods 1 – 3 and students will eat lunch at their home schools. Teachers must finalize grades by June 6.
ATTENDANCE CALLS
Because of some staff absences, we have not been able to update Infinite Campus attendance as quickly as typical. We have been recording all the calls that parents have made, and are entering the data as quickly as possible.
However, when we do not complete the data entry corrections by the end of the day, our system will send confusing automated calls home about student absences– even after the parents or guardians have called in. We’ve even had some seniors get absence calls after their last day! (I think it is because we miss you so much already!)
We have been keeping accurate records and we will update Infinite Campus with those corrections as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience as we work to enter the backlog. And thank you for calling when your child must be absent.
CLAT
Community Legislative Action Team (CLAT) sent this message to their mailing list today. Contact them to be put on the mailing list if you’d like to receive regular updates of DMPS’ legislative action team.
Iowa’s 2022 legislative session came to a close this week. As you might have heard, the House did not take up the private school voucher legislation.
While we fully anticipate the issue to resurface next year, we’ll take a brief sigh of relief and pause to thank all of you who fought so powerfully and persuasively against this dangerous initiative.
Your phone calls, emails, social media posts, and conversations all made a difference.
Thank you and we’ll be in touch soon.
DMPS CLAT Team
Stay updated all year long:
Visit: CLAT.dmschools.org
Facebook: @DMCLAT
Email: dmpsclat@gmail.com
SCHOOL SAFETY
There has been a lot of upset in the wake of recent shootings both locally and nationally. I know that many of you participated in DMPS’ townhall meetings around school safety last month. But with the recent shootings at a school in Texas and a grocery store in New York, the sense of fear, loss, and anxiety can be potent.
The National Association of Gifted Children (NAGC) has curated some resources to support gifted children and teens in very difficult times. Their recent LETTER contains a link to those resources.
School safety is something I think and read about nearly every day. I am very grateful for our counseling team, Kris Hilton, Amy Cummings, and Suleyma Reyes, for our Restoration and Safety Coordinator, Mr. Neil Issa, for Academy’s excellent teachers and staff, and to our families and students who keep the lines of communication open between home and school to ensure a safe and orderly learning environment.
If you have strong opinions about what we should do as a community to keep ourselves safe, I urge you to reach out to your representatives at the State and federal levels and our US senators Grassley and Ernst to share your ideas.
Have a safe, healthy, and wonderful 3-day weekend!
Sincerely,
Dr. Gogerty