Share your Talents

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

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

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!"

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!

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!