Author: Marsh Family (Dell)

The Shooting STAR

Sarasota Academy of the Arts

March 6, 2017

2016 - 2017, Volume 4, Issue 27

Principal’s Corner: Congratulations to our middle school students who spent March 3 and 4 at Universal Studios for "America Sings". Ms. Julie reported that it was a very successful event, a unique opportunity for our 33 students "to work with some incredible, well-known musicians in workshops, make 3000 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the homeless, prepare filled backpacks for 700 students who attend a school where 100% are on free and reduced lunch and 48% are homeless, perform in a non-competitive environment, and sing and dance with 1100 students from all over the United States in a grand finale that also stressed the reason that America Sings began 28 years ago. Their motto is 'For those who have no hope from those with hope to share.'" Sounds like they had a busy two days! She went on to say that this is an annual event most often held in Washington DC but this year, with the event in Orlando, we could not pass up the opportunity for our students to experience it. The students had to do extra work "preparing to perform the mass numbers, gathering food and goods to donate individually to organizations in need, and doing their own community service projects which at SAA is performing for nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and retirement centers." The students were accompanied by Ms. Julie, Mr. Bryan, Ms. Lauren Nielsen, and 19 parents who were also able to participate in the experience. Ms. Lauren, who spoke on stage as Miss Orange County, "did a wonderful job presenting the founder and leader of the group, John Jacobson." She not only represented Orlando but also our school in front of 2000 people. "This was a memorable event that will impact the lives of our students forever. We feel very fortunate to have been able to participate in this wonderful, worthwhile event." Thank you to all of the staff, parents, and students who gave up their time and shared their talents to participate. Watch for the video of the students as they sang and danced as part of the group of 1100 students. This Tuesday the 6th and 7th graders will be visiting the Fruitville Library to explore and secure their own library cards. We hope this will encourage them to make use of this resource and read, read, read. The Asolo Players will visit SAA Tuesday afternoon to prepare the 8th graders for their trip to the Asolo later this month for the performance of "Born Yesterday." We are fortunate to have these resources close to us. Thursday is Skate Night. Check the website for details. We finished the FSA-Writing assessment Friday and have no more testing until March 28 when the third graders take their reading assessment. Then we have a break until April 10 when the big push begins. You can help your child to prepare for the math and language arts FSA by visiting www.fsassessments.org to complete a practice test. As with anything, practice helps the students feel more confident in their ability to navigate the test successfully and hone their skills. Students also have access to many math and reading sites used by their teachers to supplement the textbook. They have the IDs and passwords so they can get to the sites at home. Next week, of course, is Spring Break (March 13-17). Some of the students and their parents will be traveling to New York with Ms. Julie for a few days to see the sights and several Broadway productions. I know they'll have a great time. Because of the holiday, the March Governing Board meeting will be moved from March 13 to March 20. Have a great week. See you at the skating rink! Cecilia Blankenship

Upcoming Dates:
Be sure to check the SAA Calendar on the school website frequently as that has the most current information!
Monday, 3/6/17 - 4:15pm Student Council Meeting Tuesday, 3/7/17 - 6th & 7th Grade to Library Thursday - 3/9/17 - 6pm - 8pm SAA Skate Night Friday - 3/10/17 - Spirit Day (Wear your SAA school shirt)
______________________
SPRING BREAK:
3/13/17 - 3/17/17

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2016 - 2017
Volume 4, Issue 27
March 6 2017

Voice Lessons
Miss Lauren is offering to set up voice lessons on a regular basis if your child is interested. She has a degree in musical theatre and has been singing since she was three years old. She has worked professionally and still works around the community as well. She has been in over 30 musicals and worked with broadway professionals such as Ben Vereen, Liz Callaway, Faith Prince, and Ann Morrison. If you would like to start voice lessons with her, she charges 25 dollars for a half hour and 40 dollars for a 45 minutes lesson. It is recommended for kids in elementary to stay with the 30 minute lesson. She would teach them during the week at the school preferably. You can contact her through her school email Lnielsen@sarasotaacademyofthearts.com

Upcoming PTO Events
March is a busy moth here at SAA. We just wanted to send out a few reminders about upcoming events. More information will be coming home about each of these events in the coming weeks.
The next PTO meeting will be on April 6 at 6:30pm. This meeting will feature a supervised playground for the kids while the meeting is going on. There will be pizza for the whole family after the meeting.
Our next skate night will be next Thursday, March 9th at 6:00 at Stardust.
We have a family fun night coming up at Sky Zone Trampoline Park on March 21 at 6:30pm.
Hope to see you all soon at one or more of these events!

1st Annual Career Showcase
We want YOU to participate! All 7th and 8th grade students are completing a curriculum in Career Planning in their social studies classes. The central focus of this curriculum is to support our students in developing an awareness of their own talents and design a range of career paths for the future. To support our curriculum, we would like our students to have the opportunity to be informed on a variety of professions from the professionals! We invite parents to come out and speak to our 7/8th graders about key information regarding your careers. Our students would like to know more about education requirements, special skills needed and the day to day activities that are done on the job. We look forward to welcoming you on March 23 or the 24th to aid in this wonderful endeavor. Please click the link below to sign up and if you have any questions please email Mrs. Farmer at cfarmer@sarasotaacademyofthearts.com Click the Link Below to Sign Up!
http://www.sarasotaacademyofthearts.com/

Pansies for Sale
Stop by this week after school and pick up some beautiful pansies from our Agriscience Department.

Sarasota Academy of the Arts

THE Shooting Star