New Century Charter School

A Brand New Day!

2010-01-06T10:33:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year! We are deep into the 2nd Trimester at school. Kids are working on projects, classes are well into their curriculum, and activities are hopping here.

Our sports club is starting Volleyball next week. Our Seniors are planning their Senior trip to Miami - hopefully to get a little warmth! Our new Parent-Teacher Association is up and running - we are so grateful for the parents that are taking an active role in our school and their child's education.

New Century Drama is rehearsing for our 2010 Theater Production - "A Company of Wayward Saints". Eric Ljosenvoor is our director. Eric has extensive professional theatre experience - we are so happy he is leading our troop this year. The cast and crew is working hard on sets, costumes, and rehearsing lines. Performance dates are March 25, 26, and 27 at 7:30 PM and March 28 at 2:00 PM.

Our Prom committee is making plans for a gala event on April 17th at the Event Center - watch for more details coming soon.

And best of all, kids are learning and growing every day. They are preparing for upcoming testing and presentations. A busy time for all.

Holiday Bazaar Tomorrow night!

2009-12-07T08:01:00.000-06:00

NEW CENTURY CHARTER SCHOOL INTERNATIONAL HOLIDAY BAZAAR
Tuesday, December 8th 4 PM – 8 PM
1000 5th Ave SE, Hutchinson, MN

New Century Charter School is sponsoring its fifth annual International Holiday Bazaar in December. It will be held Tuesday, December 8th from 4 PM – 8 PM.

We will be hosting a variety of activities ranging from display tables with foods, crafts, and information about various countries such as Germany, Japan, Mexico and France. Food samples will be offered and there will be crafts for sale.

A unique attraction is our authentic Old World Santa. Parents may purchase a keepsake photo of their child with Santa.

Ethnic baked goods will be offered for sale along with holiday favorites. Entertainment will be provided on the half hour with a variety of musical groups, soloists, and entertainers.

Come and enjoy a cup of homemade Chili along with a Grilled Cheese Sandwich and beverage for only $6.00 per person. Students and children are only $4.00. Call the school to purchase tickets for the luncheon at 320-234-3660.

There is no admission fee. Come and get your holiday shopping and festivities off to a wonderful start!

Glencoe H1N1 Vaccination Clinic

2009-11-17T08:04:00.001-06:00

McLeod County Public Health will be offering a H1N1 Vaccination Clinic on Saturday, November 21st, 2009 from 9am-12pm.

The clinic will take place at the Health and Human Services Building at 1805 Ford Ave., Glencoe, MN 55336

There will be no charge for the H1N1 vaccination.

These are the groups that vaccine will be available for:
Children age 6 months through 9 years.
10-18 year olds with chronic medical conditions.
Parents/primary caregivers of infants less than 6 months of age.

All “healthy” persons in the groups above will be receiving Flu Mist.
Children age 6 months up to age 2 years and those with chronic medical conditions will receive the H1N1 shot.

We will also offer Seasonal Flu Vaccine. Seasonal Flu Vaccine is $20.00 per shot.

Our vaccines will be given on a “First Come, First Serve” basis. Forms will be available at the clinic and on the McLeod County Website under Public Health/H1N1 Resources.

Please call McLeod County Public Health at 320-864-3185 if you have questions or concerns.

e-term 2009 symposium offerings

2009-11-10T08:41:00.002-06:00

Students should all be registered for their fall e-term classes by this time - we have some great offerings! Payment is due for those symposiums that had fees. e-term is November 16 - 21 and we will have another week in February and 2 weeks in May.

Here are some of the exciting symposiums available for students this time: Tourist!, Games by Woodworking, Doodles, A Healthier You, Recreational Skating and Hockey, Multicultural Art, Power Volleyball, Exercise Science, Lego Creations, Sinister Minds, Yoga, Brrrrrave the Cold, Pearl Harbor, Criminal Justice, Environmental Science, Reading Seminars, Journalish, and a Firearms class.

Volunteer symposium leaders are always welcome - just give us a call!

H1N1 Vaccination Clinic

2009-11-05T08:10:00.000-06:00

McLeod County Public Health will be offering a H1N1 Vaccination Clinic on Monday, November 9th, 2009 from 3pm-6pm.

The clinic will take place at the Health and Human Services Building at 1805 Ford Ave., Glencoe, MN 55336

There will be no charge for the H1N1 vaccination.

These are the groups that the vaccine will be available for at this time:

H1N1 shots:

6 months-2 years of age

2-4 years old with chronic medical conditions

H1N1 Flu Mist-

Healthy 2-4 year olds

Parents/Caregivers (primary caregivers) of children less than 6 months old.

Our vaccines will be given on a “First Come, First Serve” basis. Numbers will start being distributed at 1:00pm. Forms will be available on the McLeod County Website under Public Health/H1N1 Resources.

I will keep you informed of the next H1N1 flu clinic which will target K-4th grades.

Also, remember if you have not yet recieved the "seasonal" flu vaccine, it is availble at McLeod County Public Health for $20.

Thanks and stay healthy!

Update with the Director -

2009-10-05T12:22:00.003-05:00

Dear NCCS Families,

The kids are doing great and we are making progress here at New Century! We are already gearing up for initial NWEA assessments to analyze where our kids are at in reading and math, and then will break down that student data in teacher teams to drive our instruction for individuals and the school as a whole.

Additionally, some important dates are coming up - this Wednesday, October 7, we will have a late start where students report to school at 9:45 AM, then a teacher workshop day this Friday, October 9(no students), conferences next Tuesday evening, October 13, and Wednesday morning/afternoon, October 14(no students), and finally, MEA break with no school next Thursday and Friday, October 15, 16.

During this professional development time allocated above, our staff will be working on our MCAII reading and math preparation, book studies, and revisiting our mission/vision/purpose. We look forward to another great month in October, and appreciate all NCCS students and families greatly!

Sincerely,

JJ Vold

ACT Test Dates - sign up online!

2009-09-25T08:10:00.003-05:00

All Juniors and Seniors should be thinking about taking the ACT test - this is required for college entrance. You can register online at www.actstudent.org. It is a simple procedure.

Tests are offered every month at different locations such as Hutchinson High School, Willmar, New Germany. See the online site for more details.

Here's where to find the info you need: www.newcenturycharter.com Click on "school life"

Area Health Clinics

2009-09-22T08:39:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone -

Our Nurse, Heidi Tydlacka is encouraging everyone to get their flu shot! Here is a list of local area clinics:

Glencoe Regional Health Services Seasonal Flu Clinics

Tuesday, September 29th 4:30-7:30pm Glencoe Clinic
Thursday, October 1st 4:30-7:30pm Glencoe Clinic
Tuesday, October 6th 4:30-7:30pm Glencoe Clinic
Wednesday, October 7th 3:30-7:00pm Stewart Clinic
Thursday, October 8th 4:00-7:30pm Lester Prairie Clinic
Tuesday, October 27th 4:30-7:30pm Glencoe Clinic
Thursday, October 29th 4:30-7:30pm Glencoe Clinic
Tuesday, November 3rd 4:30-7:30pm Glencoe Clinic
Wednesday, November 4th 3:30-7:00pm Stewart Clinic
Thursday, November 5th 4:00-7:30pm Lester Prairie Clinic

In partnership with Hutchinson Medical Center, ISD 423 will be offering flu shot clinics during Parent-Teacher conferences. These clinics will provide the regular seasonal influenza or flu vaccination and will be open to anyone in the community ages 6 months and above. Here are the dates, times and locations for the clinics:

Park Elementary
October 8, 2009
4:00 pm to 5:00 pm, clinic open to the community

Middle School
October 12, 2009

4:00 pm to 5:00 pm, clinic open to the community

High School
October 13, 2009
4:00 pm to 5:00 pm, clinic open to the community

West Elementary
December 3, 2009
4:00 pm to 5:00 pm, shots available to the community

Most health plans cover the 100% of the cost of the flu shot. In order for Hutchinson Medical Center to bill your insurance, you must bring your insurance card with you to the clinic. If you are not covered by a health plan, the out of pocket cost will be $53. There will be posters, flyers and newspaper ads letting the community know about these opportunities. You can still go to your primary health care provider to receive your flu shot(s) if that is your preference. You do not need to sign up ahead of time to attend the clinics, just show up!

At this time, it is unknown when H1N1 novel influenza vaccine will be available. Stay tuned for more information on H1N1 vaccine.

Hutchinson Medical Center
Wednesday, September 23
Tuesday, September 29
8 AM - 4:30 PM

Welcome Back to School!

2009-09-22T08:32:00.001-05:00

Dear NCCS Families,

The students are working hard and we had an excellent first week of school here at New Century! For Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors, we will be presenting assessments and opportunities for all high school students to prepare for the ACT exam. Also, in preparation for college applications, we will get out information on actual ACT exams within the coming week. We encourage all high school students to take the ACT, as they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Additionally, MCAII tests will be given in April to all seventh and eighth graders in reading and math, tenth graders in reading, and eleventh graders in math. The Science MCAII will be given to all grades throughout the end of April and early May. More information will follow closer to the assessment, but every day is an important learning and growth opportunity for all. Further, students have shown excitement to enroll in various clubs/intramural sports/etc. as extra-curricular activities, and we promote this as it is healthy and compliments learning. Look for more information on that within the coming weeks as well. Thank you all kindly for everything, we appreciate all of you as New Century families.

Be Well,

JJ Vold

NCCS Director

Kudos for Students

2009-05-04T10:07:00.002-05:00

We recently have had a lot of reasons to celebrate! Our students are receiving many honors and awards as we come to the end of the school year. It's so nice to see their involvement in various activities and we're proud of how well they do.

Congratulations to Dylan Mulenburg for receiving a Merit Award at a recent Math Competition at Minnesota State University in Mankato.
6 Students advanced to the State Competition of National History Day after receiving medals at the regional in Marshall, Minnesota. Rita Allen, Micalie Kempfert, Tyler Hruby, Kirsten Akkerman, Colby Richards, and Luke Bobier all entered the performance category this year.
Taylor Nordin was inducted into New Century’s National Honor Society last Thursday at our town meeting. Congratulations Taylor! She joins Luke Jensen, Marshall Kohls, Tiffani Espinosa, Kelsey Michel, Heather Sickmann, and Maia Coyle as this year’s inductees.
We had our first round of Senior Presentations on Thursday, April 30^th. The students did a wonderful job! This is a great opportunity for our younger students to see some exemplary projects being presented – our second Senior Presentation Night will be on May 14^th starting at 6:00 PM. All are welcome!
Tiffani Espinosa recently received an Honorable Mention for her Digital Photography at the Ridgewater Art Exhibit – congratulations Tiffani!
Congratulations to our Senior Students of the Month! (Considerations are made in the following areas - respect and attitude, project process, growth and progress in academic areas, responsibility and ownership to school and community. All areas are considered when nominations are made. Faculty selects monthly – student is recognized at Town Meeting and with a certificate.)

Rita Allen – October Senior Student of the Month
Micalie Kempfert – November Senior Student of the Month
Leah Olinger – December Senior Student of the Month
Jill Field – January Senior Student of the Month
Bekah Conrad – February Senior Student of the Month
Alex Larson – March Senior Student of the Month

Cell Phone Second Thoughts - Nancy Gibbs

2009-04-07T13:50:00.002-05:00

How many parents insisted after Columbine and Sept. 11 that their children be reachable at all times? How comforting to give kids cell phones, so that urgent reassurances were never more than 10 digits away. And how handy, as we juggled jobs and meetings and soccer matches, to be able to rearrange deployments on the fly. Their phones served our needs so well; too bad we didn't factor in adolescent ingenuity.

Unfortunately it's too late to legislate that no one should be allowed a cell phone until he or she is at least 18 and fully licensed to use it. Every parent understands that handing over the car keys marks a fateful passage, so much more freedom and possibility, so much more risk and temptation. But cell phones took us by surprise: so small, so innocent, so powerful in the hands of a bored or twisted teen who now has an extremely efficient tool for wasting time, cheating on tests, organizing fights, bullying classmates, phoning in bomb threats, arranging drug deals and, more commonly, vamping in a junior-varsity version of Girls Gone Wild.

Is this the dark side of the parental imagination? Yes. But a study released last December found that one in five teens had sent or posted a naked picture of themselves, and a third had received such a picture or video by text message or e-mail. One school principal suspects that a random ransacking of the phones in his school would find indecent pictures on half to two-thirds of them. Three out of four teens say posting suggestive stuff "can have serious negative consequences," which means they know it's dumb--and they do it anyway.

But there's nothing quite like the image of your child on a registry of sex offenders to concentrate the parental mind. It now has a catchy new label, but "sexting" has been around, as a prank and a problem, for years: in 2004 a 15-year-old Pittsburgh, Pa., girl was charged with sexual abuse of children and dissemination of child pornography when she posted nude pictures of herself online. This seemed like a confounding twist in prosecutorial philosophy, since the victim and the villain in this case were the same child. But just in the past year, more than a dozen states have followed suit, arresting kids as young as 13 for sending or receiving smutty pictures on their phones. For parents, these cases have suddenly raised the prospect of retirement savings melted down to pay legal bills, college dreams deferred, scholarships lost--all because their kids were caught doing what kids do, and were prosecuted aggressively in hopes that others would notice and clean up their act.

The rush of prosecutions, however, just reminds us that the law makes a lousy parent. A legal system naturally depends on deterrence; you make an example of those you manage to catch, so that potential offenders think twice. But to many a teen, danger is as likely to feed desire as to frustrate it. The qualities required to shape their behavior, the humor and patience mixed just a certain way with clarity and resolve, are too much to expect from laws written to apply equally to everyone. Don't we need to exempt them from prosecution for being idiots and to find some better way to punish conduct that we didn't manage to prevent?

Especially since sexting might actually be the least of our worries. Compared with what they are actually doing, teenagers' virtual sex lives may be less a mirror than a mirage, an image of how they see themselves that vanishes as you get up close. The research suggests that even as they get more electronically immodest, they are delaying actual sex, having fewer partners and generally behaving more responsibly than many of their parents did. By all means, come down hard on the kid who uses a phone to cheat or bully or harass or cause harm. But when it comes to baring all, remind them that even if they escape the law they'll never erase the trail, when they decide to apply for college or a job or run for President: indiscretion lives forever, their naked teenage ghost in cyberspace.

Just don't imagine that you can prevail by brute force. You can block websites, limit time online, screen e-mail, unplug the webcam. But kids are more nimble than wise; they will find a work-around. Teachers know that students can text under the desk without glancing down, their phones set with a ringtone pitched too high for adults to hear. We are fighting on their turf. They are up in the trees and underground and in caves while we march around in our bright red uniforms trying to defend their dignity and virtue. Not a fair fight.

This article was published in TIME Magazine March 16, 2009

Statewide Assessments

2009-04-03T13:37:00.001-05:00

The statewide assessments will be taking place on Tuesday 14 April and Wednesday April 15th. The 9th graders will be taking the writing test required for high school graduation. The 10th graders will be taking the reading test required for graduation, and the 11th graders will be taking the math test required for graduation. These are what we call ‘high stakes’ meaning that they must be passed in order to graduate. There will be other opportunities should someone not pass this month, but we would like to get all of our students through this process the first time. Parents can help by making sure that all students are in school and well rested on these days. Thank you very much for helping our students understand the importance of these state assessments.

Hutchinson kids worked valiantly to fend off flood

2009-04-03T12:39:00.003-05:00

Reader Letters - Praise, criticism, and other insights - Hutchinson Leader, April 2, 2009.

From Tony Cain
Oxbow, N.D.

On behalf of all the residents of Oxbow, N.D., we would like to send a truly heartfelt thank you to the bus load of high school kids from Hutchinson that left home at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 30, to come to our aid during the recent flood fight.

Oxbow is a small community of about 125 homes, 15 miles south of Fargo. On Wednesday morning, all of us were up against some pretty long odds. At the same time, the Coast Guard showed up with three air boats to rescue the 10 families of the homes already lost. The national Guard showed up with heavy equipment and a busload of your kids showed up. It was 19 degrees with 15-mph winds and snowing. With the combination of people from Oxbow, college kids and your kids, they worked outside, without rest, filling, delivering and stacking 20,000 sandbags.

When the flood levels finally leveled off at 4 a.m. the next morning, we had lost only one more house. That entire day was pure madness, but at no time did one of your kids complain about anything and believe me there was plenty to complain about.

Today is Saturday morning and we are completely surrounded by a frozen lake of ice, mud and snow but we are relatively safe as the flood bears down on Fargo today. Many, many times yesterday comments were made on what would have happened if the help including your kids had not arrived exactly when it did. We did not get your names, your ages or how your little bus got from there to here, but we do remember the smiles, the effort, and most of all the character of those kids to decide on their own that they wanted to help people that they did not know and get on a bus at 5:30 in the morning and head north.

I can't say what the kids are like in a lot of other towns around, but I can say that you have some really good ones in Hutchinson with parents who have obviously brought them up the right way. If you know one of those kids please tell them how grateful we are.

Thanks again from all the residents of Oxbow, N.D.

Social Studies Students of the Block

2009-03-31T10:41:00.007-05:00

We are proud to announce our Social Studies Students of the Block for Block 3. Here are Mr. Kraft's selections.

Taylor Nordin: Having had the opportunity to evaluate Taylor on numerous projects I have consistently been impressed with her passion and depth of knowledge regarding her topics of choice. From a social science perspective Taylor specifically invites her audience into her projects as she raises questions about the logistical significance of each. Students such as Taylor are always rewarding to work with.

Kelsey Michel: Kelsey stands out as a natural student leader who always puts her best foot forward. Most recently I have been impressed with the level of knowledge that Kelsey has demonstrated during her Westward Expansion project. This multi-part project drove deeply into the interlocking connections and issues that past leaders/explorers had to juggle while strengthening and expanding the United States. It is always a pleasure to learn from students such as Kelsey and I am looking forward to what the future will bring for all of us here at NCCS.

Here are the students selected by Mrs. Moore:

Cody Freyholtz - 7^th/8^th Social Studies:

Cody improved his pre and post test scores by over 48%. He improved his work and study skills immensely during this block, and was really a leader in the class.

Aisha Fernandez - Government:

Aisha always puts her top effort into the work in Government. I can always look forward to some very intellectual insight and observations on her papers. She is quiet, but when she does have something to add to discussions, it is always profound. I appreciate her work ethic and her willingness to go above and beyond what is required!

Megan Hofteig – Government: Megan improved dramatically during this block in Government. She is a very deep thinker and could be counted on to add depth and clarity to our Paedeia Seminars. She has a gentle way of getting her own points across, while also respecting the opinions of others. I appreciate her willingness to share her thoughts and to bring others into the discussion!

2009-03-25T10:12:00.003-05:00

12 students and two staff members from our school traveled to Moorhead yesterday (Tuesday) to help with flood relief. They were called to help a private homeowner to form a line and stack sandbags to keep the rising river from flooding their yard.

Today a whole bus load of students and adults left at 5:30 AM to help with the effort. They arrived at 9:30 - driving through a blizzard to get there. When they arrived at the coordination point, a representative asked "Are you the group from Hutchinson?" and gave Sheila Hendricks a big hug. They are so glad we are there. They are heading to an area near Shanley High School in South Fargo to begin sandbagging.

We are so proud of these volunteers who are so willing to give their time and energy to help those in need.

New Century Community Open House

2009-03-20T15:14:00.001-05:00

We will be hosting a community Open House on Thursday, April 2nd from 6 PM - 8 PM. The public is encouraged to attend and see what Project-based learning is all about! Our Faculty and students will be on hand to give school tours, do project and video presentations and answer any questions you may have. Please come and enjoy some refreshments while taking a look at our school.

Cooperative Agreement

2009-03-08T06:39:00.002-05:00

On Thursday evening, the 5th of March, the NCCS board of directors had a special board meeting in order to gather input on the upcoming decision as to whether or not to continue with the cooperative agreement which allows NCCS students to participate in extra curricular activities through the Hutchinson Public Schools. The cost of this program has grown considerably over the years. It is based on a formula which takes into consideration the actual costs to provide these services and then determines a per participant cost. This is then applied to the number of students in NCCS, assuming that all could participate. There is no cost for 7/8 graders. The individuals who attended Thursday's meeting provided valuable testimony for both continuing and severing the relationship. The NCCS board is very desirous of hearing input from all individuals connected with NCCS prior to a decision being made at the 18 March board of director's meeting. Please take the time to contact a board member. Your input is necessary in order for the board to make an informed decision.

Thursday Performance cancelled due to weather

2009-02-26T17:39:00.003-06:00

Our evening performance of Into the Woods tonight (Thursday, February 26) is cancelled due to weather. We will have additional performances on the dates and times listed below - thank you for your consideration!

Into the Woods - Theater Production

New Century Charter School will present our production of Into the Woods - a 2-act Broadway Musical by Stephen Sonheim on the following dates - the public is invited to attend! Performances will take place at Maplewood Academy Auditorium at 700 Main Street North in Hutchinson, MN.

Thursday, February 26 - CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER

Friday, February 27 - 11:00 AM Matinee - public is welcome.

Saturday, February 28 - 7:00 PM Evening Performance

Sunday, March 1 - 2:00 PM Matinee Performance

Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for students. Refreshments, flowers, awards for the actors, etc. are all available at the auditorium for purchase during the performances. Thank you for supporting our Theatre group!

College Planning

2009-02-16T07:57:00.002-06:00

In responding to parental input asking for more information on how to go about preparing for college, NCCS will be holding its second college night on Tuesday, 17 February. We will have a representative from Ridgewater who will spend some time on all of the things to think about and act on while juniors and seniors in high school. In addition, there will be information on PSEO presented. This is designed to help students understand what PSEO has been created to do and how to plan collaboratively with NCCS advisors so that this experience enhances the overall secondary educational experience. There is a 30 March deadline for participation in PSEO. By this date, PSEO participants for the 09-10 school year need to inform the secondary school of their desire to participate. Since PSEO is a cost to the district, this deadline has been imposed by the state to assist districts in budgeting for the upcoming school year. Parents of all sophomores and juniors please plan on attending this information session.

New Century Presents "Into the Woods"

2009-02-12T10:57:00.000-06:00

You are invited to attend New Century's annual spring musical - our production this year is "INTO THE WOODS" - a two-act musical by Stephen Sonheim.

It is a delightful story intertwining the plots of several Fairy Tales including Little Red Riding Hood, Jack & the Beanstalk, Rapunzel and Cinderella - tied together by a more original story involving a Baker and his wife and their quest to begin a family. It also includes references to several other well-known tales.

There are 28 cast members and 20 additional students involved in the technical aspects of our production. Our student matinee is on Friday, February 27th.

Our performances will be at Maplewood Academy Auditorium at 700 Main Street North on Thursday, February 26th at 7:00 PM, Saturday, February 28th at 7:00 PM and Sunday, March 1st at 2:00 PM. Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for students.

Great Turnout - Charter School Day at Capitol

2009-02-12T10:29:00.000-06:00

Tremendous Turnout for 3rd Annual Charter School Day at Capitol

Yesterday, over 350 parents, school administrators, board members, teachers and students from across the state participated in the 3rd Annual MACS Charter School Day at the Capitol. (This year's turnout was about a 50% increase over last year.)

Those who participated had over one hundred scheduled meetings with legislators - and there were a number of impromptu meetings that occurred as folks moved around the Capitol complex.

The response to our three key messages...

Charter Schools are Public Schools that make a difference in kids’ lives
Charter Schools Support Real Accountability and Enhancing Innovation
Lease Aid Reductions will mean cuts in funding for the classroom, as charters have no other funding source for facilities

...seemed to be well received by most legislators. In fact, a couple of legislators indicated that they wanted to sign on our bill - the Charter School Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2009.

I want to express my appreciation to everyone who participated, and also to our lobbying team - Peg Larsen, Lynne Osterman, and Bill Hoffman - and to our MACS staff - Margaret Uttke, Shad Cooper, and our volunteer interns Carolyn Westra, Stacy Lahr and Max Sirianni - for making the day a tremendous success.

While we have a long way to go in the session - and there will be up days and down days as the legislative process unfolds - yesterday was an up day. We heard good things from both legislators and legislative staff about the students and folks who participated; they did the individual schools and the charter school movement proud.

Everyone in the charter school movement shoul thank the participants for taking the day to come to the Capitol and to help tell the story of Minnesota's charter schools, especially in what is a critical session for the future of charter schools in Minnesota.

I am extraordinarily grateful for everyone's participation and work.

Gratefully,

Eugene Piccolo

Executive Director

2009-02-10T06:17:00.002-06:00

09-10 Budget - These will be difficult times for the NCCS board as they structure a budget for the upcoming school year that is responsive to student needs while facing less funding from the state. While nobody, including the legislators themselves, know right now the outcome of the funding session in May, it is pretty well expected that there will not be a lot of new funding for education. All business organizations, including the one that NCCS employs, are recommending that the budget be built with no increase. While all of the unexpected expenses that came with a move into a new building will be slowing, and some of the expenses will now have a track record which will allow the board to be able to predict, money will still be tight. The NCCS board finance committee is hard at work looking at areas in which money can be saved and will be bringing various proposals to the full board over the next few months. A budget must be in place by June 30th as per state statute. Please feel free to contact NCCS board members with your thoughts.

2009-02-07T06:00:00.000-06:00

Drug Sweep

As many of you know, on Thursday 5 February we invited a team of law enforcement officers in to conduct a search of NCCS using a dog trained to uncover illegal substances. We are pleased to be able to report that while the dog showed interest in a few work stations, there were no illegal drugs discovered on the premises. While this is good news, we are not naive enough to believe that this means that our school is drug free and that none of our students are involved in this activity. We will continue to work in helping staff and students understand the importance of avoiding this type of destructive activity and will continue to implement procedures to eliminate this in our school. On the day before this took place, our staff were trained by county workers in the identification and detection of illegal substances and in effective ways to talk with students whom they suspect are involved in these activities. We had the same session for parents on the night of the search which unfortunately was not well attended. Parents, we need your help in this area. We as school employees have responsibilities to detect and eliminate this type of activity during students’ time at school, but as you all know, this activity takes place outside of the school doors as well. Please be vigilant and be willing to challenge your child if you see activity that would be indicative of illegal substance abuse. As partners we will be able to help our students better avoid the negative spiral that takes place when adolescents get involved in this type of destructive activity.

2009-02-07T05:58:00.000-06:00

Cell phones and text messaging

We have been having an ever increasing amount of student use of cell phones during school hours. NCCS has a policy that prohibits students from using cell phones during school hours because of the distracting qualities inherent in their use. Added to this is the increase use of negative communication that takes place between students, at times referred to as cyber-bullying. We are seeing increased activity in this area and it is becoming increasingly more difficult to fulfill our responsibility of maintaining students’ safety while this happens so quickly and easily out of sight of a school employee. Quite often when we take phones away we hear that students want them returned or are in immediate need of their phone in order to keep in touch with parents using the text message component. While we recognize that there are times when parents and students need to communicate with each other during the day, we ask for your help in keeping these to times of actual emergency. When we take phones away and hear that we are depriving students of their need to communicate with parents, we let them know that they are free to use the school phones for this purpose at a time when it is not disruptive to the educational process. We need to be able to curtail cell phone use during school hours as it is our responsibility to maintain a safe and undisrupted educational setting. Please help us by refraining from text messaging your child during school hours and letting them know that they should follow school procedures to contact parents during the day.

New Century Presents "Into the Woods" - Spring Musical

2009-01-27T13:06:00.000-06:00

NEW CENTURY CHARTER SCHOOL ANNOUNCES IT’S
SIXTH ANNUAL THEATRE PRODUCTION
“Into the Woods”
music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
and book by James Lapine

The students of New Century Charter School in Hutchinson, MN are presenting the musical “Into the Woods” at the Maplewood Academy Auditorium on Thursday, February 26th and Saturday, February 28th at 7:00 PM, and Sunday, March 1st at 2:00 PM.
“Into the Woods”, produced and directed by Sheila Hendricks & Terry Kempfert is starring 35 local 7th – 12th grade students. Inspired by Bruno Bettelheim's 1976 book, The Uses of Enchantment, the musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales and follows them further to explore the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. The main characters are taken from the stories of Little Red Ridinghood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, and Cinderella, tied together by a more original story involving a Baker and his wife and their quest to begin a family, most likely taken from the original story of Rapunzel by the Brothers Grimm. It also includes references to several other well-known tales.
Production of this sixth-annual theatrical experience for the school will not only challenge students’ drama and musical skills but also incorporate many additional roles in the design and creation of sets, costumes, props, lighting, sound, and additional tasks involved in producing a musical of this type.
Doors will open at 6:15 PM on performance nights and 1:15 PM on Sunday. Location is changed this year and all performances will be held at the Maplewood Academy, 700 Main St. N. in Hutchinson, MN. Tickets are available beginning February 9th at New Century Charter School, 1000 5th Ave SE. For more information please call the school at 234-3660.

Finance Award

2009-01-10T08:35:00.000-06:00

New Century Charter School was recently awarded the Minnesota Department of Education Finance Award once again. This is given in recognition of having achieved excellence in financial oversight of the school's public funding. The criteria include a positive fund balance, responding to all state mandated reports in a timely manner, publicly reporting all financial statements and procedures in place that provide for responsible oversight of the school's finances. The NCCS board of directors deserves recognition for their commitment to responsible spending of public funds in the operation of the school.

Audit

2008-12-30T06:28:00.000-06:00

At the December NCCS board meeting, the CPA from Larson-Allen presented the 2008 audit. He praised the NCCS board for their strong financial oversight which took the projected fund balance from approximately 62,000 at the end of 2007 to 92,000 at the end of 2008. This was done with much attention to spending and constant monitoring of the approved budget. He also commented on the projected spending being well within the recommended ratio of amount budgeted to amount spent. This was all done within the context of moving from projected deficit spending in October 2007 to increasing the fund balance by June 2008.

Teachers Licensed

2008-11-21T13:11:00.000-06:00

There has been much bad press about charter schools recently. It seems that some charter schools have taken it upon themselves to determine which state rules and statutes to follow. A recent report by KSTP has unearthed many charter schools around the state that are operating with unlicensed teachers. We at NCCS are following state statutes on teacher licensure, and all of our teachers either are fully licensed for their subjects or have received the appropriate variance or special permission from the Board of Teaching to be in the classroom.

E-term Next Week

2008-11-13T13:04:00.001-06:00

Our Fall e-term experience runs from November 17 - 21. Students may choose from over 30 seminars - half day or full day to enrich their learning experience. Options include Recreational Skating, Paper Crafts, T-Zone Recycled t-shirts, Furry Frenzy knitting, Doodles v.2 (art), Hybrid Craft Projects, Wall Mural painting, Dancin' through the Decades, Basketball & Fitness fun, Fleece Hat-making, A Healthier You, Exploring the Twilight Zone, Environmental Science, Statistics, Tickets, Please - Humphry Bogart Seminar, Odds n Ends Construction, and Milton Bradley 101.

Our students look forward to these week-long experiences 3 times per year - they learn skills and concepts not found in everyday school work. Instructors enjoy the variety as well. Stop by and see all that's going on - you may learn something new!!

We're Here!

2008-09-18T10:50:00.001-05:00

Greetings everyone!

We are getting settled into our new school! It's good to be here. The advisory space keeps 'morphing' a bit, but the kids seem to know where to go and are settling into their studies. Please watch for information coming about our upcoming events.

We will be hosting a community Open House on Thursday, October 2nd from 4:30 - 8 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 6 PM. Please stop by!

Help needed to complete our move

2008-07-30T09:04:00.000-05:00

Greetings Family and Friends!

The semi showed up at NCCS on Tuesday and was almost filled by night's end. Now we need your help to move the remaining goods! Please gather friends, family, all the pickups and trailers you can find, and report to New Century on Friday, August 1st at 8:00 AM. We will be moving items all day so come when you can.

We will then need all hands on deck on Monday, August 4 to unload the semi. Please report to the new school at 1000 5th Avenue SE.

The school looks great - plenty roomy with big windows and fresh paint, carpet and tile! It will be exciting to see the kids adapt to their new home.

Thank you so much to all that have helped to this point - and to Laurie McCleskey for taking charge as our moving coordinator!

Moving to the New School

2008-07-14T08:01:00.000-05:00

Our new school on 5th Avenue is very close to being ready for occupancy. We are planning to move the weekend of August 1 -3. We will need every able-bodied person within range to help us with this monumental task!

If you are willing, able, and possibly have a large vehicle - please contact Laurie McCleskey at 320-864-3231 (mccleskey@embarqmail.com) to volunteer your services!

Our present school is packed up and ready to go! It looks like a bit of a war zone, with everything in boxes, torn apart, and littering the hallways - a little bit like the "forgotten toy", but we are grateful for this place we have called home for the last 6 years - it has served us well.

We look forward to co-habiting with our Montessori friends - we will be sharing the new school with this K - 6 group. It will provide friendship and great opportunities to share resources and give our students ways to collaborate.

Stay tuned - and don't forget to volunteer!

The new school

2008-05-04T13:48:00.000-05:00

Work is coming along quickly now that the weather is cooperating. The concrete has been poured on the NCCS side and the inside stud walls are going up. The electricians arrive soon and then the sheet-rockers. To be present when the workers are going about their business gives one the sense of progress being made, as there is a constant flutter of activity and noise. The rooms look like they will be a nice size and the windows in the classrooms, albeit small, will be a nice addition. It seems as if there are many decisions to be made, and now that they are working quickly, these quite often need to be made before another worker arrives. It is truly an exciting time for NCCS as we anticipate this move.

Senior Projects

2008-05-02T07:56:00.000-05:00

We had our first round of senior presentations on Tuesday evening. There was great variety as seen in presentations on theatre, small business building, animal rights, dairy farming, rock bands and more. This is truly the essence of our project based curriculum where students have the opportunity to explore in depth something which has grabbed and captivated them in their school career. There was also evidence of significant preparation among all of the presenters. This is another tribute to the students who took this charge seriously and came ready with a capstone project. This is the first full year of implementation of senior projects, and the faculty has been taking copious notes in order to implement changes that will make these even stronger in years to come.

National Honor Society Induction Ceremony

2008-04-27T08:27:00.000-05:00

New Century Charter School held its fourth National Honor Society Induction Ceremony on Thursday, 24 April. Previous inductees took responsibility for the ceremony. Talia Peipmeier was inducted into this national organization which as as its core service, leadership, scholarship and character. All students must meet an initial requirement of a 3.25 overall GPA. All who meet that requirement are invited to apply. At this time they must present evidence of having demonstrated high moral character, providing service to others and providing leadership within and outside of the school. Congratulations to Talia.

Exracurricular Agreement with 423 agreed to for another year

2008-04-27T05:26:00.000-05:00

At the April board meeting, the New Century board of directors agreed to enter into the same agreement with district 423 to provide extracurricular activities for NCCS students for the 08-09 school year. It was difficult decision with much conflicting testimony during the month or so of gathering information. The end result recognizes a sense that these types of activities are good for students and have been a part of NCCS since the beginning, and therefore should continue at least for the upcoming year. There was also a consensus that a year from now there should be in place a program that develop an extracurricular program that is unique to NCCS.

annual meeting

2008-04-21T18:57:00.001-05:00

NCCS had its annual meeting on Thursday, 17 April. There were many people in attendance as it came at the end of our rescheduled open house. There were many student displays on projects that gave visitors and families a good sense of what NCCS is all about. Jim Bobier and Chris Kraft were elected to the board and we look forward to their positive contributions on behalf of students at NCCS.

Old Man Winter Wins Again

2008-04-11T13:13:00.000-05:00

We had a delightful evening planned - displays, entertainment, tours, refreshments - all the makings of a perfect Open House - and Old Man Winter intercepted and threw us a curve. Anyway - we have rescheduled our New Century Open House for next week - Thursday, April 17th from 5 PM - 7 PM. All of the same activities will be anticipated.

To all the families that did come out in the storm - thank you! I hope we gave you a taste of what our school is all about, but please come again- this time there will be more students, staff, and goodies. Let us show you the whole deal.

Terry Kempfert
Student & Family Services

Student of the Month-February

2008-03-09T17:31:00.000-05:00

Brittany Schultz has been chosen as the February Elks Student of the Month at New Century Charter School. Brittany is a senior and has just arrived at New Century this year. She has rapidly gained notoriety as a student who knows how to explore her interests and create quality projects. She walks the hallways with a smile on her face and greets all students and staff alike with her infectiously positive attitude. Brittany is performing her service learning at the Southwest Minnesota Initiative offices. We have received rave reviews on her work there. Congratulations Brittany for serving as such a positive role model and for embodying the concept of project based learning at New Century Charter School.

Honk

2008-03-09T17:28:00.000-05:00

New Century Charter School just completed a run of its spring musical, Honk. Over 40 students involved in either the performance or stage crew putting on 8 total performance for students and the public have made this one of the big events of the year. Creating positive activities in which all students can get involved and try something new is what NCCS is all about, and Honk is yet the latest example of opportunities for New Century Students.

E-term excitement

2008-03-01T09:33:00.000-06:00

One of the hallmarks of New Century Charter school is referred to as e-term.(Exploratory term). It is a recognition that a week of in depth hands on activities is an effective way to awaken excitement and increase learning opportunities for students. We just finished one week of e-term and to walk through the building and see the excitement is, well, exciting. Students were designing and creating camping equipment to be tested in a future spring e-term, creating digital scrapbooks which required learning a significant amount about software programs, learning about submarines from local experts, learning a variety of ballroom dances which seconded as an incredible exercise program, tours to other charter schools in the state and photography. This has become an incredible opportunity for instructors to demonstrate areas of interest that they have and to excite students about all of the possibilities that life has to offer.

Probability and Statistics

2008-02-24T07:25:00.000-06:00

Tuesday evening of this last week saw a number of students and parents enter the building to see student project presentations on the use of probability and statistics, a class that Diane Ehr teaches. Students needed to study the theoretical aspect of these concepts and apply them to some real life situation in which we see probability applied. For example we saw black jack, children's games, adult games and others. The students then had to develop tables and charts which showed how the activity itself supported the theoretical. Students chose some interesting projects and learned some interesting things, such as: It is no wonder that Las Vegas is thriving: it offers the possibility of immediate wealth and the probability that the house will always come out on top. Both sides have something.

Students of the Month

2008-02-19T16:14:00.000-06:00

Every month we award a senior the "Elks student of the month" award. The person is recognized at out weekly town meeting in addition to having a letter sent home to inform parents. The award winner also receives a savings bond from the local Elks club and is invited to a banquet at the end of the year. January's award winner is senior Chris Doughty. Chris has been a student at NCCS for 12 1/2 years and can frequently be seen out in the hallways helping someone. He was chosen to participate in the Hutchinson Area Leadership Institute this year and has represented the school very well. Congratulations from all of the staff at NCCS.

Accountability

2008-02-18T07:18:00.000-06:00

The word accountability is one that appears virtually everywhere in this day and age. It seems that everybody wants to hold someone accountable for his/her actions. In an of itself this is certainly not a bad thing to want to do. At times in education we wonder about the amount of time and resources put into demonstrating accountability. That being said, NCCS is now in the process of demonstrating accountability to Hamline Graduate School of Education, our sponsor. We are in the process of requesting a 3 year renewal of sponsorship. We have spent quite a bit of time with folks from Hamline in addition to independent contractors whom they have hired take a look at us. These reports can be viewed on our website. They see NCCS as a good place where good things are happening, and being done in fiscally and educationally sound ways. We will be finishing this process in the next month or so as the board redirects goals for the next three years.

The political season begins

2008-02-10T12:32:00.001-06:00

Not only are we in the midst of a presidential political season that appears to be generating a lot of interest, but the Minnesota legislature goes into session on Tuesday as well. The legislative session has all of the components of an interesting session: a rather large projected budget shortfall, the state moving into or already in a recession, a governor whose attentions are at least temporarily focused on the national presidential scene, and both Republicans and Democrats alike firing opening salvos that at least give the appearance of having sme of the same acrimony that we have seen as of late. NCCS students were able to talk with Ron Shimanski, R-18A, who visited the school on Friday the 8th of February. He talked about his political journey and then delved into some of the upcoming issues: hold the line on taxes, ask educators to use the money they have been given wisely, and make the climate friendly to business. Students were pleasantely surprised to find that Representative Shimanksi is a strong supporter of charter schools. He answered questions from the students, and talked after the session of how impressed he was with the level of questions from students: They wanted to know about state support for education in general and charter schools specifically, and most of their questions stayed focused on education. We will be getting a group of students together to attend the Minnesota Association of Charter Schools lobby day in March. We believe that it is important for students to know that they are part of the political process, and that what happends in St. Paul during the legislative session has a direct impact on our daily lives.

Mixed Blood Theatre

2008-02-05T18:11:00.001-06:00

NCCS students had a tremendous opportunity on Tuesday. Due to a generous grant from the Hutchinson Foundation, Mixed Blood Theatre from Minneapolis brought one of their multicultural performances to New Century. The performance was entitled Black Eagle, and was based on the life of Dr. Ronald McNair, an African American astronaut who was on board the Challenger space shuttle that exploded 73 seconds into its flight on Jan 28 1986. The play consisted of recounting the day of the Challenger explosion, preparing to launch. He responded to questions posed by students at an elementary school, and in responding, told his story of coming from a segregated town in South Carolina to go on and graduate with a PhD in physics from the MTI. His inspiration was his mother and a high school principal who told him to never quit. He persevered in spite of many setbacks, and went on to become one of a select group of astronauts.
NCCS students were fortunate to have had this experience of professional theatre right here in the building. This is one of many ways that the faculty and staff of NCCS go to great lengths to bring to students a variety of learning experiences.

Lock-In

2008-02-05T14:46:00.000-06:00

On Friday night a total of 68 students attended a lock-in at New Century Charter School. This was a student initiated activity designed to provide students a safe and fun place to be on a weekend evening, in addition to building more of a sense of community among NCCS students. NCCS students also invited guests. Thanks to all of the adult chaperones who made this event such a positive way for NCCS students to spend an evening.

Testing Season

2008-02-01T08:53:00.000-06:00

Testing season is upon us - As sure as the NBA finals arrive in June, the Superbowl in February and the swallows return to Capistrano in February, the spring testing season in Minnesota schools will arrive. New Century participates in all of the state mandated testing in addition to computerized assessments that allow us to track academic progress. There are two types of state mandates testing: NCLB tests which are used for determining Adequate Yearly Progress, and the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments/GRAD assessments which must be passed in order to graduate. We are transitioning into a time when these assessments will become one, but we are not there yet. New this year will be a state mandated assessment in Science, added to the required tests in Math and Reading. All of this means that the month of April will be a busy one for assessments. In spite of the fact that not all of us like all of these assessments, we need to remember that they are 'high stakes', meaning that some significant decisions ride on their outcomes, not the least of which is high school graduation for students and our being able to demonstrate that we are doing what we said we would. We need to encourage students to take these seriously so that the results can be an actual reflection of where we are, which will determine decisions on where we need to go.

Share your Talents

2008-01-29T13:40:00.000-06:00

So many times we are willing to help out when a special request comes our way. It might be a long lost talent, skill, or interest that we once shared. It might just be the need to be needed. Whatever it is, it feels good when we reach out and share with others.

Those of us working with students sometimes forget how many people there are out there that would like to help us out when the need arises. The problem is, we don't always think to ask.

This message is to bring those two entities together. We need willing volunteers to work with our students in various ways - and both parties will benefit from the experience. Here is a short list of upcoming events and needs that our school has for able-bodied volunteers -

Help provide e-term transportation
Work with our Tech Crew for the play - supervision, creative ideas, building props
Videotaping presentation and our upcoming Musical
Allow a student to job-shadow with you
Do a career presentation for our kids
Lead a Book Circle - materials provided
Organize the college materials that come to us - publish important dates
Donate Juice Boxes/snacks for test days

Call us at 234-3660 or send an e-mail to info@newcenturycharter.com for more information.

We hope to see MORE of you!

Positive Happenings

2008-01-28T12:39:00.000-06:00

I recently sent out a request for positive happenings around NCCS. I will be interviewed on the radio this Friday and wanted some staff input. What a response! All of the events and activities reminded me of the tremendous place NCCS is. Student driven activities such as lock ins and fundraisers; Senior projects which allow seniors an opportunity to present a capstone presentation; Service learning which provides students the essential opportunity to serve others; a wonderful musical offered every year; many student activities such as math league, student counsel, prom, yearbook; E-term which allows students to explore areas of interest which are not typically present during the traditional school day; a policy governance school board made up of dedicated board members; the 7/8 grade advisory with two talented advisors; students having a safe place to be all day every day.
We have a lot going for us here at NCCS.

David Walsh

2008-01-24T04:34:00.000-06:00

I had the opportunity to go to a talk by David Walsh, world recognized expert in adolescent brain behavior and the impact of the media on adolescents. His organization, Media Wise, researches this topic and provides information to parents, teachers and policy makers. His findings provide all of us with valuable insight as to how adolescents operate in this fast-paced electronically stimulated world of today. He also has developed some ideas on how we as parents and teachers could be doing some things which might be detrimental in the long run. One finding that has some significant implications for us in schools is this: A long term study has demonstrated that individual discipline has twice as much impact on student achievement as does intelligence. So while we work hard on content knowledge in order to demonstrate competence, could students be better served by focusing more on developing skills which lead to self-discipline? We are New Century strive for a balance in these areas. While we know that academic performance is important, we also are aware of the fact the the character of the student, which is able to be molded by what we do and how we interact with students, is extremely important to the overall development of students.

New Century Drama presents "Honk!"

2008-01-23T08:22:00.000-06:00

New Century Charter School Drama department is working hard to present the broadway hit "Honk!" to our audiences on March 6 - 9, 2008. It is our annual theatre performance and we have over 40 kids involved in the production.

"Honk!" is the story of the Ugly Duckling. Written by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe (dubbed “The brightest hopes for the future of the British musical” by The London Daily Telegraph), “Honk!” is the story of Ugly, whose odd, gawky looks instantly incite prejudice from his family and neighbors. Separated from the farm and pursued by a hungry Cat, Ugly must find his way home. Along his rollicking and harrowing journey he not only discovers his true beauty and glorious destiny, but also finds love and acceptance in all its forms.

Witty and hilarious, but also deeply moving, “Honk!” will delight our audience to equal amounts of laughter and tears. Its charm, humor and message of tolerance is perfect for a family audience… and every audience.

Veteran Producers Sheila Hendricks and Terry Kempfert join together to both produce and direct the show this year. Dede Hard is our singing coach, and Nancy Massman our choreographer. Students are busy rehearsing lines and songs, building the stage and props and gathering costumes. Production dates are March 6, 7, and 8 at 7:00 PM and March 9 at 4:00 PM.

Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for students and will be available at the school and at Cash Wise starting February 11th.

A New Wave of Communications!

2008-01-22T13:16:00.000-06:00

Welcome everyone!

In the spirit of "keeping up with the kids" we are launching a blog for New Century Charter School. Subscribing to this tool will give you all the latest and greatest news from our school! We will be posting upcoming events, updates and school happenings here. Please send us your comments and let us know how we are doing - your input is important to us!

Happy January - stay warm!