NETWORKings
Antioch Charter Academy
Newsletter for Antioch Charter Academy/TLCS Families and Staff Volume 27, Issue 19, January 17, 2023
Hello ACA Families!
We hope you enjoyed your 3-day weekend!
Next week, January 23-27 is an exciting and busy week at ACA!
We will be participating in The Great Kindness Challenge AND National School Choice Week.
The Great Kindness Challenge is one week dedicated to creating a culture of kindness and compassion on campuses worldwide. National School Choice Week shines a spotlight on effective education options for children and is the world’s largest celebration of opportunity in K-12 education.
To celebrate the week, our students have planned an entire week of spirit days!
Monday, January 23-I DREAM OF KINDNESS (PAJAMA DAY)
Tuesday, January 24-SHARE THE KINDNESS (TWIN DAY)
Wednesday, January 25-SCHOOL SPIRIT (WEDNESDAY/BLUE SHIRT DAY)
Thursday, January 26-GROOVIN’ WITH KINDNESS (70’S DAY)
Friday, January 27-KINDNESS FOR ALL (FREAKY FRIDAY)
On Wednesday, January 25, all ACA families are invited to come watch the Primary and Elementary students perform the National School Choice Dance for 2023. The dance will be performed on the black top at 8:35ish.
The staff will be posting pictures and videos from the week on our private social media accounts. Since the accounts are set to private, you do need to request to join our Facebook and Instagram groups.
Antioch Charter-https://www.instagram.
Facebook-
ACA Family & Friends- https://www.facebook.com/
Sarah McLean
Montessori Elementary Teacher
Co-Administrator
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS 
First Fridays: First Fridays take place every 1st Friday of the month during the school year, at Skipolini’s in Antioch at 4pm. Come join and have dinner with your family while making new friends from our ACA community! Let us know if there is another restaurant you would like to try out for these meetups!
2023-24 Lottery: The ACA lottery for the upcoming 2023-24 school year, will be held on March 7, 2023. If you have a student, or know of a student who is interested in our school, an application must be submitted by March 6, 2023. To qualify for Transitional Kindergarten, students must turn 5 by April 2, 2024.
FYI: No student is automatically accepted into the school because he or she has a sibling already attending ACA. All new students, including TK & Kindergarten, must submit an application by March 6th, to be included in the school’s lottery. Applications for ACA & ACA II can be filled out online at https://antiochcharteracademy.
FAMILY NETWORK (FN) HAPPENINGS 
The ACA Family Network is made up of ACA adults who volunteer for fundraisers and social events for the enrichment of our children. The money we raise goes back to our school for study trips, family activities, assemblies, and classroom supplies. If you have a child/grandchild/niece/nephew/
Coin Wars!!! Coin Wars FUNdraiser now until January 31st; the students are challenged to bring in the most points for their levels to win the war by bringing in coins & bills! See attached flyer for details.
FN Family Fun Night…Spaghetti Feed & Dessert Auction: On Thursday, February 16th, we will have a family FUN night involving food! Details will be coming home soon!
Family Network Meetings are usually the second Tuesday of each month. The board welcomes and encourages all ACA families to attend the meetings. Check with the calendar below to find out the next meeting.
Pasta Fundraiser: Order Fun Pasta all year long and ACA will get 35-40% of the proceeds! Order online and make sure to select Antioch Charter Academy I as who you are supporting! https://funpastafundraising.
Annual Give: Would you like to support whole school activities, all the classrooms, and have less fundraisers??!!! Then make a tax deductible donation…donate here via PayPal → https://www.paypal.com/us/
AmazonSmiles: Shop at Amazon? Shop at Amazon’s fundraising site, smile.amazon.com and they will donate back to ACA. We are registered as The Learner Centered School, Inc.
Family Network Volunteer Opportunities
Popcorn Fridays Volunteers Needed 
We need volunteers to help out with popcorn sales each Friday 2:30pm – 3:30pm
Help set up, make popcorn, sell candy/popcorn and clean-up
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Jan 19 Family Network Meeting (all welcome) – 3pm
Jan 19 Charter Council Meeting (all welcome) – 4pm
Jan 19 ACA & ACA II Middle School Dance @ ACA from 4 – 6pm
Jan 23-27 Great Kindness Challenge Week & Spirit Days
Jan 24 Prim/Elem EE Trip – Ice Skating
Jan 25 National School Choice Dance – 8:35am
Jan 26 MS to Farm (EE) – small group
Jan 25-27 Celebrate School Choice
Jan 31 MS Study Trip – San Jose Tech Museum
Feb 2-3 Minimum Days – dismiss at 12pm
Feb 3 First Friday at Skipolini’s – 4pm
Feb 9 Charter Council Meeting (all welcome) – 4pm
Feb 10 Minimum Day – dismiss at 12pm
Feb 16 FN Family Fun Night – Spaghetti Feed & Dessert Auction
REMINDERS & FYIs 
Parking Lot Safety – Let’s Keep ALL Our Students, Staff & Families SAFE!
SLOW DOWN
Everyone needs to use crosswalks!
Listen to the staff’s instructions – they are trying to keep everyone safe, and to keep drop off/pick up running smoothly.
Do not tell your students to cut through the parking lot to reach you – cars that are backing up may not see your student. Students should be picked up using the carpool lane, or using the crosswalk, they can walk to their cars which are parked on the street/in front of the park.
When it is your turn to enter the carpool lane, pull all the way forward, so up to 6 vehicles can load/unload their charges at a time.
Do not move forward in the carpool lane until all children have entered/exited their vehicles in front of you – a fender bender could severely injure a child who is partially in a vehicle.
When leaving the parking lot, please drive the speed limit so our students walking to school are safe.
Thank you for keeping everyone safe – remember picking up/dropping off is only a few minutes out of your day, but an injury could last a lifetime!!
Remind: This is another way for the school to quickly inform you on what is happening on campus. Never miss another minimum day schedule, or a whole school event. You can receive messages through email or through texting – you decide! If you have not signed up yet, please contact your student’s classroom for the code – each grouping has their own code!
Charter Council: The Charter Council is our governing board. The board meets usually on the second Thursday of the month @ 4PM. Please check the calendar for the next meeting date/time, or call the office at 925-755-7311 to confirm. These meetings are open to the public – all are welcomed!
School Lunch Order Form – https://forms.gle/
You MUST order meals in advance in order to receive them or else we may not have a meal available for your student. Breakfast and Supper will be the same for all students, while lunch has a menu that you can choose one entree from.
Absences, Tardies, Leaving Early – Daily Attendance is expected: If your student will be absent, or tardy, please call the office at 925-755-7311, or email your student’s classroom, before 8:00am. Please make sure to check into the office if your student arrives late. If your student needs to depart early, the person picking up the child must call the office at (925) 755-7311 so the office can retrieve the student prior to walking into the office to sign out their student.
CONTACT INFORMATION
School Phone – 925-755-7311
School Address – 3325 Hacienda Way, Antioch 94509
School Website – www.AntiochCharterAcademy.org
School Lunch Order Form – https://forms.gle/
ACA Office – ACAOffice@
ACA Family Network – ACAFamilyNetwork@
ACA Elementary – ACAElementary@
ACA Intermediate – ACAIntermediate@
ACA Primary – ACAPrimary@
ACA Middle School – ACAMiddleSchool@
ACA I & II Special Education – SPED@antiochcharteracademy.org
ACA Newsletter – ACANewsletter@
ACA Memories – ACAMemories@
Twitter & Instagram Accounts – #AntiochCharter; @AntiochCharter
Parent Network Board & Contact Info
Co-Chairs: Corey Cruz
Secretary: Brooke Farrington
Treasurer: Sarah Glenn
School Volunteer Coordinator: Salena Killion
Social Chair: Yessika Berrios
Fundraising Chair: open…can you help???
If you’re interested in an open position please email ACAFamilyNetwork@
We need help to make this year amazing for OUR KIDS, the school families, teachers and staff
Members at Large: Everyone!
Private Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/
Email: ACAFamilyNetwork@
Need Assistance – it is OK to ask!
Antioch Charter Academy: call the school office (925-755-7311) if you need help finding school supplies, figuring out how to get school lunches, and/or need to talk with someone regarding any struggles your student(s) may be facing.
Contra Costa Crisis Center (call 211): https://cccc.
Contra Costa Health Services: Mental Health Wellness & Education on how to address “Disappointment,” reduce “Stress” and maintain a “Positive Attitude”
Mental Health Wellness & Education :: Behavioral Health
888-678-7277 [available 24/7]
Contra Costa Crisis Center: Services and Resources for Teens
Coping With Stress During Infectious Disease Outbreaks – What You Should Know
Services and Resources for Teens :: Behavioral Health
800-833-2900 (24/7)
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network:
Fact Sheet on COVID-19 along with Age Appropriate Coping Strategies
Parent/Caregiver Guide to Helping Families Cope With the Coronavirus Disease 2019
Parent Anonymous:
Statewide Online Tutoring Program: Students in California, with or without a library card, will be able to access HelpNow through links on their local library’s website or through the State Library’s. Go to Digital Resources | Contra Costa County Library (ccclib.org) Click “Brainfuse HelpNow”.
VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS
Our Vision To provide a learning environment where students of all socio-economic levels and ethnic backgrounds embrace education, exhibit compassion, and accept personal responsibility
Our Mission: The mission of the Antioch Charter Academies is to facilitate academic and personal growth of TK-8th grade students of all socio-economic levels and ethnic backgrounds. ACA enables 21st century students to become literate, self-motivated, innovative, lifelong learners, and compassionate, collaborative active citizens. We nurture and support a partnership of students, teachers, families and the community; embrace individual strengths; and build upon research informed educational best practices including Montessori, multiple intelligences, brain-compatible teaching, and multi-age groupings with small class sizes.
Antioch Charter Academy is Fully Accredited for Grades K-8 by the Schools Commission of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Primeros viernes: los primeros viernes se llevan a cabo cada primer viernes del mes durante el año escolar, en Skipolini’s en Antioch a las 4 p.m. ¡Únase y cene con su familia mientras hace nuevos amigos de nuestra comunidad ACA! ¡Háganos saber si hay otro restaurante que le gustaría probar para estas reuniones!
Lotería 2023-24: La lotería ACA para el próximo año escolar 2023-24 se llevará a cabo el 7 de marzo de 2023. Si tiene un estudiante, o conoce a un estudiante que esté interesado en nuestra escuela, debe enviar una solicitud antes de 6 de marzo de 2023. Para calificar para el kínder de transición, los estudiantes deben cumplir 5 años antes del 2 de abril de 2024. Para su información: Ningún estudiante es aceptado automáticamente en la escuela porque tiene un hermano que ya asiste a ACA. Todos los estudiantes nuevos, incluidos TK y Kindergarten, deben presentar una solicitud antes del 6 de marzo para ser incluidos en la lotería de la escuela. Las solicitudes para ACA y ACA II se pueden completar en línea en https://antiochcharteracademy.
ACONTECIMIENTOS DE LA RED FAMILIAR (FN) La Red familiar de ACA está formada por adultos de ACA que se ofrecen como voluntarios para recaudar fondos y eventos sociales para el enriquecimiento de nuestros niños. El dinero que recaudamos vuelve a nuestra escuela para viajes de estudio, actividades familiares, asambleas y útiles escolares. Si tiene un hijo/nieto/sobrina/sobrino/
Donación anual: ¿Le gustaría apoyar las actividades de toda la escuela, todas las aulas y tener menos eventos para recaudar fondos? Luego haga una donación deducible de impuestos… done aquí a través de PayPal → https://www.paypal.com/us/