The Annual City Schools High School Fair will take place Saturday, November 21, from 9-2 at the Poly/Western complex. This is an opportunity to get more information on a wide variety of public high schools and speak to representatives from each of the schools.

We highly recommend that 7th and 8th grade parents attend the fair, as this is a great opportunity to begin your high school decision-making process (7th grade parents and kids) or get those final pieces of information in your decision (8th grade parents).

If you have any questions, please contact Mike or your child’s advisor.

Starting Wednesday, items will be in tubs at the entrance to Hightman Hall. All unclaimed items will be donated on Wednesday, November 25th.

Annual School Photos will be taken on Thursday, November 19, 2009 by Irvin Simon Photographers and we would like to encourage all CNCS Families, Teachers and Staff to consider participating for the following reasons:

1. To capture memories of our children and school family at milestone years;
2. This is a CNCS Fundraiser and any purchases (no matter the photo size or packet) supports our school;

Please note there were some concerns raised about the quality of photos taken in 2008 and we have done our best to address those concerns.

Order forms are attached to this Monday Mailer. Please have your child bring them with him/her on Thursday for Picture Day!

The next Greening Committee Meeting will take place this Wednesday, November 18th at 7 pm.

The Rain Barrel Workshop was a success! Many thanks to all who participated.

The CNCS Greening Committee would like to thank the Kovacevich, Cullen, Isackson, Seidl/Sheehan and Holcomb families for donating rain barrels to CNCS/Epiphany Lutheran Church. These five rain barrels will capture and redirect roof water to irrigate the school’s vegetable gardens.

We still have 4 rain barrels available for sale at the bargain price of $40 each! Please contact Tracy Holcomb at 410/319-8841, tracy.holcomb – at – comcast.net or Dorothy Valakos at 410/444-1649, dvalakos – at – verizon.net if you would like to purchase one.

Our first Community Conversation of the year will be held Tuesday, December 1st. This program, sponsored in partnership with the Maryland Humanities Council, is an opportunity for the adults of the City Neighbors Community to come together, read a text related to a topic of diversity, and engage in meaningful conversation.

As always, dinner will be served at 6 pm. The conversation will begin at 7. Lydia Woods, from the Maryland Humanities Council, will facilitate again. We have room for 15 adults (so please RSVP). More information to come on topic and room location!

Dear City Neighbors Families,

Your help is needed and this is a PLEA for folding paper (into boxes for the Origami Lights) for our upcoming fundraiser. Here are quick details:

1. There will be a box in the parent room on Tuesday, 11/24/09 to collect ALL folded boxes to date
2. If you can fold paper into boxes for the origami lights (remember this can be part of your volunteer time) please take paper from the Fundraising Mailbox in the Office this week
3. A Folding Paper/Putting the Lights together party is being scheduled during the week of 11/30 – 12/5 and we will be providing more details and the location in an upcoming Monday Mailer
4. If you are able to donate a string or two of lights for our fundraiser we would appreciate that also. They can be dropped off in the parent room designated box on Tuesday, 11/24/09.

Many thanks for your kindness and consideration,
The Fundraising Committee

(Please contact Gwendolyn at gunoko – at – cityneighbors.org or at 443-977-0024 for more information)

In the atelier we are working on lots of papier mache’ projects. So that means we need lots of newspapers. During the next 2-3 weeks, if you have any newspapers you can donate, please place them on the rack outside of the atelier. THANKS!

On Wednesday, December 2nd, we have invited our first graduating class back to City Neighbors Charter School. We invite all 8th grade parents and students to join us at 7 pm that night for a round-table discussion on high school life. Come here about life after City Neighbors, the challenges and expectations, and about specific schools.

This evening is designed to help your students think about their next steps and may also help them in their high school decision-making process.

We have seen an increased number of late pick-ups at the end of the school day. We all understand that an emergency arises once in awhile, and we are more than happy to be in partnership with you when that happens. However, late pick-ups (especially repeated ones) impacts on the life and work of the staff and the school —- as many important meetings, collaborations, or attempts to go home are impeded when a student is picked up late.

Our Afterschool Pick-up Policy, as stated by our Handbook is:
Children must be picked up at dismissal time. It is imperative that your child be picked up no later than 15 minutes past the dismissal time.

If your child is not picked up by 3:30 (or 1:15 on Wednesday) more than once in a trimester, you will be required to register your child for Aftercare, your child will be sent to Aftercare and you will be required to pay the drop-off fee.

Thank you for your cooperation!

If you have borrowed any books from the Aftercare book cart, please return them.

And, if you have any good books for young adults that you might be willing to donate, Aftercare is looking for donations! Please connect with Ms. Trinisa.

Our next meeting of our Inclusion Committee will be held Wednesday November 18 at 9 am. In addition to discussing the general progress of the school toward our ideals of Inclusion, we will also be planning the next Parent Information Night. Whether you’re an official member of the committee or not, please consider joining us!

City Neighbors Charter School, through a grant submitted by the Greening Committee, has received a grant of up to $1,000 from the Office of Partnerships, Communications and Community Engagement at Baltimore City Schools for a Greening Project of our School.

The Greening Committee will be partnering with Mr. French with the efforts of his students (during our Food, Air and Water theme) to positively impact the environment. They will also be sponsoring a lunch waste-reduction program (details to follow).

Congratulations to the Committee!

This Wednesday, in partnership with One World Cultural Arts Society, we will host a family dance workshop with dance instructor Sheena Black. Parents and students will participate together for an evening of movement, fun, and connection. A sign-up sheet is attached to this Monday Mailer and should be returned to the main office if interested. Come on out and dance with your kids!

This Saturday, we will be hosting our monthly Workday. It will begin at 8 and end at 12 (or whenever the long-list of tasks is completed). Please come, if even for only an hour. We have tasks for everyone—from building to cleaning to fixing!

The Mad Scientist Club begins Friday. You will receive notice before then as to whether your child is enrolled. One correction from the flyer: the club is being run by Adilah Harris and Tyesha Jones (not Kate Seidl and Carolyn Hayes). Sorry!

So, what happens in the life of City Neighbors on a Saturday? This Saturday, if it was any indication, reflected a vibrant community that is alive and thriving.

Just in one Saturday:

• The Student Council at City Neighbors met for a two and a half hour retreat. It was an opportunity to set some priorities, make some decisions about projects to pursue, and connect as a team. Thank you to Ms. Jeffers, our student council advisor, for leading that effort.
• While Student Council was meeting, the City Neighbors Flag Football team was playing in the first round of playoffs in the Charter School League. The players were there. Parents were there cheering them on. Thanks to Mr. Fitz and Mr. Wilson for their on-going coaching of the team.
• Then, in the afternoon, there was a team of parents and students in the courtyard building rain barrels—an initiative sponsored by the City Neighbors Greening Committee. Thanks to Dorothy Valakos and Tracy Holcomb for the leadership on the Greening Committee.
• The day was topped off with an International Potluck Dinner, sponsored by the Community Relations Committee. The food was AMAZING. And, with a great turnout, members of the CNCS community dined together, talked with each other, connected, and built community.

I was proud of City Neighbors on Saturday. The richness of the day reflects on our community.

Now, next Saturday is WORKDAY! We hope to see everyone there!

Annual School Photos will be taken on Thursday, November 19, 2009 by Irvin Simon Photographers and we would like to encourage all CNCS Families, Teachers and Staff to consider participating for the following reasons:

1. To capture memories of our children and school family at milestone years
2. This is a CNCS Fundraiser and any purchases (no matter the photo size or packet) supports our school

Please note there were some concerns raised about the quality of photos taken in 2008 and we have done our best to address those concerns. As always thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely, The Fundraising Committee

We would like to invite parents to join us for the 2nd Parent Information Night of the year this Thursday, November 5th. The topic of this workshop will be “Everyday Mathematics”. Led by Ms. Mercier and Mr. Chalupa, we will provide an overview of the program and the underlying philosophy which guides it. To help illustrate the program, parents will be engaged in hands-on activities that their students may experience.

And, we will be teaching parents the algorithms for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division as taught through the program.

Please join us! Thank you to the OPG for sponsoring these Parent Information Nights!

We want to encourage all families to attend our annual International PotLuck this Saturday, November 7, from 5-8. This is one my favorite events of the year. Everyone brings a dish and then spends the time eating amazing food and connecting with folks in our community! This year, there will also be entertainment.

Thank you to the Community Relations Committee for their efforts in pulling this event together.

This Saturday, November 7, from 2:30-4:30, the Greening Committee will be sponsoring a Rain Barrel Workshop for any interested CNCS families. There will be a sign-up table at dismissal this week.