Dear Altura Prep Parents and Guardians,
HAPPY NEW YEAR! We had a wonderful short week back at Altura Prep. It was fantastic to see our classrooms and playground filled with the joy and laughter that only students, teachers, and faculty can bring to a school.
As we look ahead to 2023 and all of the exciting moments we know it has in store for us, we must also face the reality that schools across the United States are entering a high-risk period with the spread of COVID-19 variants, the flu, and other respiratory illnesses. We ask for your continued support to ensure that all our students and staff have a safe and healthy environment. In addition, to ensure that our students and staff can be fully present each day, we ask that you review the following safety measures as a family:
- Please remind your child to wash their hands or to use hand sanitizer often, especially after coughing or sneezing.
- Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing by burying your nose and mouth in your inner elbow.
- Do not come to school if you are sick with a fever of 100.0° F or higher.
- Get vaccinated and boosted!
- Need a COVID-19 rapid test at home? Let us know, and we can send one home for you! Also, you may always call the school and ask us to test your child on campus. Click here to have four free COVID-19 tests mailed directly to your home.
- Remind your child not to share food and drinks with others.
We thank you in advance for your support as we continue working together to make this year the most successful our school community has ever seen!
Mark Your Calendars! Important Dates for January and February
Monday, January 16, 2023: No School in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Tuesday, February 14, 2023: Kindness Day
Monday, February 20, 2023: No School in observance of Presidents' Day
Thursday, February 23, 2023: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Oratorical Showcase (schoolwide)
Core Value for January: Responsibility
When we ask parents what traits they would like their children to develop now and have as adults, one of the most common responses we hear is for their child/ren "to be responsible." Responsibility means many things, including:
- Being dependable so people know they can count on you,
- Keeping one's word and agreements,
- Meeting one's commitments,
- Doing something to the best of one's ability,
- Being accountable for one's behavior,
- Accepting credit when you do things right and acknowledging mistakes,
- Being a contributing member of one's family, community, and society.
Being responsible is key to children's success in school and becoming productive members of society when they grow up. However, we want to distinguish being obedient from responsibility.
As parents and educators, we would love it if all of our children would do what we ask of them the first time, such as following directions, not questioning authority, or persevering through a non-preferred activity. However, this is not being responsible as much as being obedient.
Our goal as educators is that, over time, our students will learn to accept ownership for non-preferred tasks asked of them at school. As parents, you would love for your child/ren to come home each day after school and do their homework and chores nightly without complaining. Can you imagine it?
Collectively, as an educator/parent team, we want our students to get to a point where they initiate doing a task simply "because it needs to be done" — not because they are being instructed to do it. When your child begins to do this, they are demonstrating responsibility.
When we consider the shift that a child must make from obedience to responsibility, we must also consider how involved we must be as parents in helping our children to learn to meet their commitments and complete tasks. Not wanting our children to fail can lead us parents to do too much for our children. When this happens, our children will not learn to take responsibility for themselves. But, on the other hand, there are times when our children need guidance, support, or information to learn how to be responsible.
As parents, we must navigate the many pieces that make up the complicated parenting puzzle in order to support our children's social and emotional growth. Healthy parenting occurs when we raise our children in a home with unconditional love, clear boundaries, limits, rules, and consequences. To do this well, we must learn to play two roles: nurturing/caring and structured/executive.
At times, we will need to play the nurturing/caring role. When carrying out this role, we communicate our unconditional love for our children, letting them know that no matter what happens, we love them just because they exist and are ours. We listen to them, support them, spend time with them, and are affectionate with them. This parenting role allows our children to learn to take risks, make mistakes, and fail forward, knowing they have their parents' unconditional support and love.
The other role we must play as parents is the structured/executive role. In this role, we are setting limits and boundaries, imposing discipline, teaching children how to behave, passing on your values as a family, and giving them guidance on being good human beings.
By not meeting your child's needs immediately and not giving them everything they want, you are providing them with an opportunity to learn to tolerate frustration, delay gratification and become less impulsive and less self-centered. You are helping to set standards of behavior that you expect your children to meet. You establish consequences for breaking the rules and follow through on those consequences. You are teaching your children to be appreciative of what they have. Through this structured/executive role, you are holding your children accountable for their behavior, fostering the development of responsibility.
Our children need us to carry out both roles! Children are more likely to accept the limits you set, meet your expectations, and become responsible humans when you provide a warm, caring, and supportive relationship that underlies the discipline you impose. We may not be able to prepare the future for our children, but together we can prepare our children for the future.
Inclement Weather Reminders
With the winter season upon us, we wanted to remind our Altura Prep families and caregivers about weather delays and closure protocols this year. We will follow Albuquerque Public Schools for all inclement weather delays and cancellations.
Please note that delays and cancellations will be publicized on the school's website, KOB-TV (Channel 4), and KOAT (Channel 7). We also ask that all families download the Edlio School News App, which is available for iOS and Android mobile devices, the fastest way to get updates. Need help? Find the quick start instructions here.
Morning Drop-Off Reminders
Morning arrival starts at 7:30 am. Students may arrive for breakfast from 7:30 am to 7:50 am before classes begin at 8:00 am. We ask that all families have their students ready to exit their vehicle as you pull forward to stop in the car line for your designated grade level(s). Please remember that we have 225 students dropped off each morning before 8:00 am, so please do your part to help the line move quickly. We appreciate your assistance with this.
If you arrive late, we ask that you use the Alameda entrance and have your child walk on the sidewalk to the front door. Please do not park in front of the fire hydrant and leave your vehicle unattended. If you call the school's main line, 505.539.5369, we will meet your child outside and escort them into the building.
Uniform Reminders
Please check the website here if you have questions about appropriate clothing or shoe choices for school. For example, we have had many questions about boots and rain boots. If it is raining or it looks like there will be rain, students may wear rain boots to school and bring tennis shoes in their backpacks to change once inside the building. We want to make sure that students can run and play safely during recess, and we have found tennis shoes with multichannel tread and rubber soles to be safest for the schoolyard. Please continue to send your child to school with tennis shoes each day.
MySchoolBucks Reminders
If your child pays for school meals, please continue to monitor their MySchoolBucks account and replenish any funds before the balance goes below $5.00. We can only continue providing meals to students who pay for meals if their accounts have sufficient funds. You will need to bring your child lunch if they have insufficient funds to purchase a meal.
Birthday Celebration Reminders
Please remember to consult with your child's homeroom teacher for any celebration requests at least one week before your child's birthday, as we want to be thoughtful about the students in your child's class who may have special dietary needs or food allergies. In addition, you can find all staff emails on the school website or your child's weekly grade-level-specific newsletter.
Yearbook Orders
You are guaranteed a better price when you order your child's yearbook before February 5, 2023! You may order your child's yearbook now using this link. You may also access Josten's Order Page can also be found on our website under the Student Life tab- and click "Yearbook." The price is $33.00 per book, which will increase the price on February 4, 2023. Therefore, we recommend placing your order today!
New Student Enrollment for 2023-24
Parents may apply to enter their child for the 2023-24 school year lottery. As a current Altura Prep family, you are our best ambassadors for new families! If you have relatives with school-aged children or rising kindergarten students, please share Altura Prep with them. We love having cousins and siblings join our Altura Prep family! New families can also learn more and submit an enrollment form through the school website.
Do you have a sibling ready to join your Prepster at school? Siblings of current students will need to submit an enrollment form. Please check the box to show that your new student has an enrolled sibling, as we have a sibling preference. A sibling preference means that siblings move to the top of the enrollment priority list in a lottery.
Note: Students currently enrolled at Altura Prep and who will be returning do not need to submit new applications! Returning student re-enrollment and registration will happen in late January/early February through your existing SchoolMint account. You will receive an email with a link providing more information and directions to reset your password and access the re-enrollment paperwork. Please do not log in to submit a new application for your current Altura Prep student.
3rd Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Oratorical Showcase
We are so excited to finally be able to bring back our annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Oratorical Showcase to Altura Prep! In honor of the great orator, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Altura Prep students will have the opportunity to showcase their oratorical skills in a public speaking competition.
This year's theme has roots in Martin Luther King, Jr's famous sermon, "The Drum Major Instinct," which was given on February 4, 1968, just two short months before his assassination on April 4, 1968. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered this sermon to the congregation at Ebenezer Baptist Church. He concluded by imagining what he would like to be said at his funeral one day. He urged the congregation not to dwell on his life's achievements, including his receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize, but instead to remember him as one who "tried to give his life serving others." Excerpts from this famous speech were played at Dr. Marin Luther King, Jr.'s nationally televised funeral service on April 9, 1968.
Students may write an original monologue, poem, or speech that reflects Dr. King's message. They may also give a famous monologue, poem, or excerpts of a speech that share Dr. King's quest for civil rights, equity, and progress. Choose from the following themes:
- "I'd like for someone to say, Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others… I'd like for someone to say that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody… I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity." (King, Jr., "The Drum Major." 1968)
- "If you say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter." (King, "The Drum Major," 1968)
- Dr. King addressed a wide range of social problems he saw around him, including poverty, elitism, racism, and war. Think about the Albuquerque community at large. What specific issues do you think are most important to address?
- Some of the most extraordinary individuals in black history have delivered some of the most significant speeches in American history. Share a famous poem, speech, or monologue from one of these iconic individuals.
This oratorical competition's categories are as follows:
Individual Performer – One Performer on Stage
- Monologue- original or published in a script (3 min)
- Poetry- published poetry (3 min)
- Poetry- original poetry (poet performing poem they wrote, 3 min)
- Speech- famous & not so famous – (3 min)
Groups- Two or More Performers on Stage
- Poetry- published (up to 3 min)
- Poetry- original (written by the performing poets, (up to 3 min)
- Speech- famous & not so famous (up to 3 min)
If your child is interested in participating in this year's Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Oratorical Showcase, please have them pick up a form from the office.
As always, thank you for your support in making Altura Preparatory School a beacon of learning in our community. Have a fantastic January!
In Partnership,
Lissa and Meaghan
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