Arcadia This Week 4/19/2021
Hello, Arcadia families,
Here’s what’s happening at Arcadia this week!
Monday, 4/19: Day 6
Tuesday, 4/20: Day 1
Wednesday, 4/21: Day 2
Thursday, 4/22: Day 3
Friday, 4/23: Day 4
Model Update and Upcoming Schedule
Rice County COVID case rate numbers are continuing to rise, and are now at 54.13/10,000 in a two week period. Please be vigilant around masking, distancing, and taking other precautions to control the spread of COVID. We want to be able to stay open!
May 7 and 14: Asynchronous Days (online school only, no in-building)
April 27: Midterm
May 28: Last day of Fourth Quarter
June 1: First day of “May” Term
June 10: Last Day of School and Graduation! (Graduation will be held in the backyard at Arcadia the evening of June 10 for graduates and their families.)
General Announcements
Racial Equity Leadership Institute and Resources Available
In response to systemic racism and inequities in education that continually harm Black people, Indigenous people, and People of Color, the Minnesota Department of Education invited schools to send teams to the Racial Equity Leadership Institute facilitated by FREC. Arcadia has a team of seven staff members attending, who will then bring the conversation back to the whole staff. If you are interested in joining this conversation, the session descriptions and the materials for each session are available here: https://overcomingracism.org/programs/leadership-institute/
Last summer, the staff also read a set of books to inform our equity work, and all families are welcome to borrow these materials. Books available include:
So You Want to Talk about Race, by Ijeoma Oluo
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, by Jason Reynolds (a remix of Ibram X. Kendi’s Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which is also available)
My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Healing our Hearts and Bodies, by Resmaa Menakem (a local author, and I cannot say enough good things about this book!)
Rethinking Multicultural Education: Teaching for Racial and Cultural Justice, edited by Wayne Au
The school also purchased a large number of books last year--fiction, poetry, graphic novels, etc.--written by Black, Latinx, and Indigenous authors. We have some amazing titles available! Students are welcome to borrow these from the Arcadia library.
If families are interested in a reading group, please let me know, I’d be happy to set something up!
MCA and ACCESS Testing
We will be doing MCA testing at the end of April/early May. If you are doing distance learning and prefer not to participate, please indicate that here: Participation in Spring Testing
Attendance Form
Please report attendance-related information (appointments, illness) through our website, even during distance learning! Go to “Current Families” and then “ Report an Absence.” You can fill out as much as is relevant. If your child is ill, please make sure to report symptoms, as we are required to track a lot of information on illness this year! If you’d rather just save a link to the form somewhere accessible to you, here is a link to the form.
Upcoming Events
April 20, 6:30-8:30pm: Arcadia Board meeting
(online: https://meet.google.com/tmk-nfcx-szi
Or join by phone: (US) +1 513-796-6467 PIN: 493 475 105#)
May 7 and 14: Asynchronous Days (online school only, no in-building)
Sincerely,
