At Almond Acres Charter Academy, our scholastic mission is to help students succeed academically and socially by educating the whole child: heart, mind, body and soul. We believe an education that addresses all aspects of a child’s life creates balanced, happy learners. And we kick it all off — in kindergarten.
Kindergarten is a special time. Kindergarten introduces every child to the world of school and learning; and, kindergarten helps each kid to grow and develop their physical, emotional, and mental capabilities. We can’t wait to welcome our kindergartners this fall so we put together a round-up of a few of the fun things we do in our Almond Acres Charter Academy (AACA) kinder classes each day. Our two kinder teachers teach, explore, and engage our kids in so many creative and energetic things each day — here’s a glimpse:
From the importance of capitalization to high-frequency words to all the basics of writing… Mr. Smith has it covered. Check out his YouTube channel or watch him in action here:
Almond Acres Charter Academy kindergarten teachers in funny costumes on a bus to a field trip
Ms. Brabenec is a teacher shark! Can you believe it??? Math has never been more fun. And her ideas on how to keep trying will have every kinder laughing and laughing;
Almond Acres Charter Academy kindergarten class drumming lesson
When we’re not learning math, or writing, or going on field trips — we might get hands-on with drums. Or run around together in our PE class. Or showcase our creativity for our all-school Maker Faire. Or sing together in music. We create self-portraits, learn to read and start to learn about metacognition. Every kinder supports our classroom with special jobs, too. We do lots of fun things each day at AACA, and we can’t wait to share them ALL with you and your great kids!
Almond Acres Charter Academy teacher Miss Birch
And last but FAR from least, Ms. Birch. Ms. Birch has taught at AACA previously but not in kindergarten. She taught fifth grade. Ms. Birch will be new to this kinder class this year, taking over for Ms. Brabanec — and she can’t wait! Check out this video of one of her students explaining why she is such a special teacher:
About Almond Acres
Almond Acres is relocating to Paso Robles! Almond Acres Charter Academy is a public, tuition-free K-8 school that employs credentialed teachers and administers state-mandated testing to provide families in northern SLO County an additional choice in public education. Open to all students in all communities, the school is currently located in San Miguel and moving to Paso Robles for the 2021-22 school year. AACA’s mission is to help students succeed academically and socially by educating the whole child: heart, mind, body and soul. We grow great kids!
Lights. Camera. Action! The pandemic didn’t stop our annual talent show or theatre efforts.
Instead of our annual theatre production, our eighth graders filmed a movie. We were thrilled to work with Paso Robles Youth Arts Center and are grateful for their partnership during COVID restrictions to make this movie happen. Our movie is called, “ Precisely the Right Price” and with a small donation, anyone can watch it. Download your copy today!
We love it when we get to work with local businesses, organizations, and individuals to support our youth and community. A special thanks to the talented Claire Fundaro who wrote and directed the show and the creative Ryan Flores for making magic with tech and lights! Our students are so fortunate to learn from both of these talented and generous humans.
Also, we’d like to give a shout-out to Eileen Higgins and Amy Baker for believing that the arts belong in school and helping make this production happen.
“Almond Acres offers a unique opportunity for its students through the process of production. The lessons that are taught in theatre will impact all aspects of these students’ lives. They’re given the chance to grow their confidence from auditioning, to rehearsing in front of their peers, and to the final product which creates a strong character within them. The process is invaluable, and I’m so grateful to be a part of the magic that only theatre can create.”
~Claire Fundaro
Almond Acres’ Got Talent!
Over 30 submissions this year! Our students submitted a two-minute video showcasing their talents. Once all the videos were submitted, we released them for viewing and commenting. Many classes had a “Talent Show Viewing Party”! Our AACA students have so many talents: from singing and dancing, to horseback riding and crafting!
Every child is unique. At Almond Acres tuition-free public charter school, we serve grades K-8 and we educate the whole child: heart, mind, body, and soul. Our focus on meaningful educational experiences within our community embraces service and project-based learning. We also emphasize character development and strong citizenship standards alongside our robust curriculum. We are enrolling now. We grow great kids!
A Maker Faire is a celebration of invention, creativity, and resourcefulness. It’s a place to show what we’ve made and to share what we’ve learned with others. Our Maker Faire is a great sharing opportunity for our Almond Acres Charter Academy (AACA) educational community.
We did not want the school year to slip away without highlighting the amazing creativity of our AACA students. AACA students once again used the flipgrid platform and showcased their creations, inventions, and crafting ability for all to see virtually. Standout projects included a cardboard car, a bird-feeder, stop-motion legos, yummy food crafting, and even a grabbing tool!
Over 30 of our K-8 public charter school students participated in our annual event and they did not disappoint. These students all had an “ounce of courage” and stepped up to highlight what an amazing mind they are growing at Almond Acres.
More about our STEAM Offerings
At the core of Almond Acres Charter Academy is the belief that all children have the inherent ability to learn and succeed. We help our K-8 students identify their individual learning styles and their innate intelligences, while providing settings in which they are most capable to excel.
Unique to North County schools, and in previous non-pandemic years, many AACA students have participated in Destination Imagination, a competitive, international STEAM based after-school enrichment program. In 2019, the majority of our teams made it to the State Finals, and two years in a row we had a team compete at Global Finals (2018 & 2019)!
Meaningful & Creative
Our tuition-free charter school is proud to offer Personalized Learning Portfolios (PLP) for every student, small class sizes in a small school environment, contemporary technologies, and a high level of family and community interaction.
We integrate service and project based learning units of study at all grade levels because students learn best when their work is meaningful and creative. Cultivating future leaders is also an essential part of growing great kids. Our students develop their leadership skills through the Leader in Me system, which is based on Stephen Covey’s work, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
New School Coming Soon!
Our new school home in Paso Robles is underway. We specifically designed our school to incorporate ideal design elements for K-8 learning and collaborating. For making and building. For creating and exploring. What a way to honor our 10 years as a charter school!
Opening this fall, our Kindergarten and first grade classes have slightly larger classrooms allowing for room to move. Our second and third grades and fourth and fifth grades will be side-by-side with a collapsible wall in-between to integrate subject areas and share teacher expertise and passions.
Our middle school encompasses two wings at the front of our new school. These two areas will be academies that focus on humanities classes like language arts and social sciences. We’ve designed a learning space that mimics a college library. The second middle school wing will have STEM and STEAM classrooms — including a creativity lab. This project-based learning space will be used for science and art classes. We can’t wait to open our new school doors and start creating, together! We grow great kids. Join us and enroll today!
About AACA
Almond Acres Charter Academy is a public, tuition-free K-8 school that employscredentialed teachers and administers state-mandated testing to provide families innorthern SLO County an additional choice in public education. The school is located inSan Miguel and is open to all students in all communities. AACA’s mission is to helpstudents succeed academically and socially by educating the whole child: heart, mind,body and soul. We grow great kids!
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