IC Imagine,
August has been an exciting month as we embark on Year 11 at IC Imagine! All our Kingfishers have come together to DIVE into the new school year. Our faculty and students are working hard to ensure our community lives out our core values of inclusivity, academic excellence, strong relationship, well-being, creativity and exploration.
We will host our first Imagine Parent Organization (IPO) meeting and Parent University on Monday, September 9th at 5:30 pm. This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with other parents, learn more about IPO, and gain valuable information from each school team.
We have exciting plans for this fall and are looking forward to seeing you all here on campus, whether it is to cheer on our Kingfisher athletes, see students perform, or engage with families at an event.
September 15th - October 15th is Hispanic Heritage Month. We will use this time to recognize the achievements and contributions of Hispanic American champions who have inspired others to achieve success.
Plans are underway for our annual Fall Festival, scheduled for Friday, October 18th from 3-6 pm. This is a wonderful community-building event for our school. Highlights include games, music, food, and fun! More information will be shared this fall about ways to pre-purchase tickets. Volunteers are vitally important for this event. If you would like to join the planning committee please email Imagine Parent Organization.
The Fine Arts 5K is on Saturday, November 16th starting at 9:00 am. We believe the Fine Arts are an integral part of our comprehensive curriculum. Fine Arts education is associated with gains in math, reading, cognitive ability, critical thinking, and verbal skills as well as improvements in motivation, confidence, and collaboration. Register to run or volunteer at this fun event that supports all of our Fine Arts programs.
We have formed a partnership Be SMART, a non-profit, non-political, non-partisan education program whose goal is to reduce the deaths, injuries, and trauma that result when children, teens, and unauthorized users gain access to unsecured firearms. This program emphasizes that secure storage is an adult responsibility and encourages individuals to take simple steps to keep kids and communities safer. These efforts are not meant to advocate for or against guns, but rather, for the safety of our school district and community. Be SMART stands for:
S - Secure Guns in Homes and Vehicles
M - Model Responsible Behavior Around Guns
A - Ask About The Presence of Guns In Other Homes
R- Recognize The Role of Guns in Suicide
T - Tell Your Peers to Be SMART
Be SMART is neutral on the topic of gun ownership; it does not encourage or discourage individuals from owning guns. It also does not advocate for changes to gun laws. Rather, it emphasizes the power of each adult to take agency over the safety of children and teens.
As parents, educators, and members of the Imagine community, we are all responsible for keeping our families and schools safe. By committing to the Be SMART framework, we can all take an important step towards protecting our kids and our school community. You can learn more about Be SMART by visiting the program website, https://besmartforkids.org/, or by registering for the Asheville volunteer mailing list at http://tinyurl.com/besmartavlsubscribe.
Lastly, as we look forward to Labor Day, remember this Friday, August 30th, is a Faculty Work Day. This first teacher workday will include faculty meetings, professional development, teacher team collaboration, and time for teachers in their classrooms. There will be no school for students on Friday and Monday, September 4th we observe the Labor Day Holiday. If you are going on a trip and will pass by a College Campus, think about taking your child to visit, even if it's just a walk or lunch. It is never too early to begin talking about and exposing your child to college campuses.
Warmly,
Jenn Townley