Click the headline for a PDF of the January Parent Newsletter including upcoming calendar events: a visit from Governor Branstad, student performance in professional production, and semester grades, scheduling and upcoming conference dates.
Des Moines Public Schools invests in students everyday, while making sure to contribute to a sustainable environment for their future. And so our Operations Department is no stranger to awards for great work in conserving energy. The chart …
Downtown Elementary School Engineers designed and built tools for the Academy Potters to use in their creations. After consulting with the artists, the engineers went to work and then taught the artists how to use their tools! The artists have been busy using the tools and will unveil their creations next month. Click headline for pictures of the project so far!
SPEAK, the student organization to promote emotional wellness, organized a Holiday Party as part of Academy After Hours. They had face painting, ornament making, cookie decorating, games, popcorn, graham cracker house building, and gratitude & encouragement writing! Click headline for pictures from the event!
Studying German has never been so tasty! German Gingerbread project combines language acquisition with cultural lessons as students build gingerbread “cat-thedrals” and entire village scenes! See more pictures on our flickr site by clicking headline!
Zakiya McPherson is a 7th grader at McCombs Middle School. And as of this month she’s also a published author. What started as a teacher’s encouragement to participate in a program called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and work towards a word count goal kept going and going until it became 20 Days, a 185 page, 25k word+ thriller about Jade, a 13-year-old girl. Click headline to learn more about this new author.
The Central Academy studio gives authentic experiences in innovation, persistence, and creation to DMPS High School students through the exploration of the ceramic arts. It is so popular, we have outgrown our current studio space. Our goal is to raise $500,000 to renovate a currently unused space at Academy into a state-of-the-art studio. Please consider making a donation to Renovate to Innovate by contacting Kim Kinney at 515.242.7888.
Closure of the pool at Central Campus threatened to sink an annual tradition, the Prep Academy Regatta. But thanks to the hospitality of North High School, the cardboard fleet took sail on December 20 for the 14th year in a row, this time in the Polar Bears’ pool. The event, which involves more than 100 7th graders from all DMPS middle schools, combines teamwork, engineering skills, and more than a little fun. Click headline for more!
7th Grade Prep Academy students planned, designed, and built cardboard and duct tape boats. Then in an act of bravery and creativity, got in and raced them in the North High Swimming Pool! Click the headline to see more pictures from the event! Congrats to Champion Team, Torpedoes Rule!
On Saturday, December 10, Central Academy mathematicians earned 2nd place in the Great Plains Math League Contest at City High School in Iowa City. Nine Academy students qualified for the state math meet. They are 12th graders Jared …
