Creative Technologies Academy
Cedar Springs, MI  49319

Open Enrollment Period
for the 2012-13 School Year

January 15 – February 15, 2012

January     27     Boys and Girls Bball @ Grattan Academy, Greenville, MI 6:00PM & 8:00PM
31     Boys and Girls Bball @ Fremont Home School, Fremont Christian Middle School 6:00Pm & 8:00PM

February    3    Boys and Girls Bball @ Wellspring Prep, Grand Rapids, MI 4:30 PM and 6:15 PM
7    Boys and Girls Bball @ WMAES, Grand Rapids, MI 5:30 PM and 7:00 PM
9    Daddy/Daughter Dance (K-6th Grade) CTA Cafeteria 7:00 – 8:30 PM
10    Boys and Girls Bball @ Lakeshore Christian, Grand Haven, MI 6:00 PM and 7:30 PM
13    Boys and Girls Bball @ Grand Rapids Prep, Grand Rapids, MI 5:30 PM and 7:00 PM
17    Boys and Girls Bball @ Waypoint Academy, Muskegon, MI 5:30 PM and 7:00 PM
22    Boys and Girls Bball Tournament @ WMAES, Grand Rapids, MI 5:30 PM and 7:00 PM
22-24    No School for Students and Staff – Mid-Winter Break
27    No School for Students Teacher PD Day 9 AM – 3:30 PM
28    Boys and Girls Bball Tournament @ WMAES, Grand Rapids, MI TBA

Cedar Springs Parent/Community P.A.S.E. Meeting

(Parent Advisors for Special Education)

What:      Parents of students with disabilities learning together about special education processes and services

When:     January 31, 2012
7:00p.m.-8:30 p.m.

Where:      Conference Room C
(upstairs at Hilltop)

Light refreshments provided

CEDAR SPRINGS PUBLIC SCHOOL CELEBRATES OUR SCHOOL BOARD LEADERS

January is School Board Recognition Month, and Cedar Springs Public Schools is joining 552 local and 57 intermediate school districts across the state to thank these community volunteers for their untiring dedication to public education.
Serving on a school board has been described as the toughest volunteer job in America.  Yet Michigan’s public school board members dedicate countless personal hours to attending meetings, school functions, and hours of preparation for the decisions they make. On top of that, many pursue their own professional development to stay on top of the ever-changing education landscape. School Board members are dedicated individuals who are committed to the continuing success of our schools and students.  We applaud them for their vision and voice to prepare today’s students to be tomorrow’s leaders.
Showing appreciation for the important work of school boards should be a year-round process, but too often we neglect to recognize the dedication and hard work of these men and women who represent us. This January, the staff and students of our district are asking all members of the community to take a moment and thank a school board member.

The men and women serving Cedar Springs Public Schools are:

Since its inception in 1986, the Cedar Springs Public Schools Foundation has raised over $2 million in contributions from individuals, organizations, and businesses to support quality education in Cedar Springs Public Schools.
The Cedar Springs Education Foundation is a nonprofit organization that is independent from the Cedar Springs Public Schools. The Foundation works in partnership with the school district to support educational programs that are above and beyond what the district could otherwise provide such as access to new technology as well as strengthening existing programs.
The Cedar Springs Education Foundation is looking for members to positively impact every student and enhance educational opportunities and instruction.  Anyone interested in learning more about the Cedar Springs Education Foundation and would like to get involved please contact Bill Tucker at 616-340-2839.
Thank you from Cedar Springs Education Foundation Board of Trustees:

Bill Tucker, President    Matt Shoffner, Trustee
Deb McIntyre, Secretary             Tom Noreen, Trustee
Elizabeth Marckini, Treasurer     Ben Kacprzyk, Trustee
Beth Blades, Trustee     Ron McDermed, Superintendent

Your support of the Foundation makes a difference in the lives of Cedar Springs Public Schools students.

Kent School Social Network has been very busy over the last few months.  In addition to providing counseling services to over 75 clients, we have been busy working on many other programs.  A wonderful service we will be offering to our community is FREE tax preparation.  VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) is a Community Partnership between United Way and the Kent County Tax Credit Coalition.  Tax preparers will be available on Mondays from 4:00 – 8:00 beginning Feb. 6th through March 26th by appointment only.  To schedule an appointment you must call United Way’s 2-1-1 helpline or (616) 459-2255.
Another United Way Program that will be offered for our students is Schools of Hope.  This program is for students grades 1-3 to practice and improve their reading skills.  There are two parts to this program.  The After-School Program is an intensive after school program for students that are a year or more behind in their reading.  Twenty-five students will be chosen to participate in this program by their teachers.
The In-School Tutoring Program is a volunteer based program.  Volunteers read with students for 30 minutes each week.  Volunteer training is provided.  If you are interested in volunteering for this program, please contact Caroline Geist at 696-1204 ext. 6298.
Community School Team
A Community School Team is a group of community members, businesses, parents, and school partners who meet on a regular basis throughout the school year.  The team works closely with the Community School Coordinator(s) to set priorities, plan activities, bring in new resources, and evaluate the community school.
The team helps connect the school with the community, act as a sounding board, sponsor and support school events and advocate for the school.
•    The team focuses on:
•    After school activities
•    Parent/Family involvement
•    Community involvement
Interested in learning more?
Our next meeting is Jan. 17, 2012
1:30 pm -3:00 pm in the library at Red Hawk Elementary.  Come join the team!!!
For more information about these programs or how to access any of KSSN’s services please contact: Jennifer Willette at 696-1204 ext. 6295 or Paul Cole at 696-7326.

Dr. Elizabeth Stolle

Ms. Jenny Yonkman

Dr. Elizabeth Petroelje Stolle, a reading professor in the College of Education at Grand Valley State University, is collaborating with Ms. Jenny Yonkman’s sixth grade students at Creative Technologies Academy and Ms. Lisa Campbell’s students of Cross Creek Charter Academy on an exciting opportunity. Ms. Yonkman, Ms. Campbell, and Dr. Stolle have been working on this collaborative project for three years now, connecting adolescent readers around texts through online discussions. The project will continue in January and February of 2012 as the students read and discuss the novel, Phantom Tollbooth.
It was important to the three educators that they establish a project that is beneficial to all involved. In that way, Ms. Yonkman, Ms. Campbell, and Dr. Stolle have established clear goals for the students within the project and have collaborated extensively to insure that their goals will be met. The hope is that the sixth grade students will: (1) experience honest talk about texts, that is, that students can share their ideas and opinions about the novel; (2) understand the various aspects of communication, that is, students come to experience how audience and purpose play important roles in the ways by which we write and communicate; and (3) make a true connection to their reading and writing as they engage in an authentic reading and writing experience.
With these established goals, the sixth graders will be placed into groups and asked to communicate online for four weeks discussing the chosen novel. In the discussions, all individuals will be responsible for framing discussion questions, sharing insights and ideas, and exploring the text in terms of language use, theme, etc. During this time, the sixth grade students will access an educational website, nicenet.org, in order to post responses, questions, and reactions to the text. Nicenet.org is a secure site where only our students will have access to the discussions by using usernames and passwords. Therefore, each student will be issued a username and password to this project’s discussion board only. With that, all posts will be monitored by Ms. Yonkman, Ms. Campbell, and Dr. Stolle. Usernames and passwords will be made available to the parents of students, as well so they can see the exciting discussions unfold. Data will be collected through both the online discussions and classroom observations.
Participation in this study is voluntary and will not influence student grades or their standing at school.  If a student chooses not to participate or to withdraw from the study at any time, there will be no penalty. All collected data will be coded and name and identity will be removed. The results of the research study may be published, but student names will not be used to protect confidentiality. There are no direct benefits from participating in this study other than the benefits of adding to the knowledge base regarding online discussions and 21st century literacy skills.
All data collected through the online discussions will only be accessible to the researcher with a password.  All online discussion interactions and threads will be saved to an external harddrive at the end of the four weeks. Dr. Stolle will code all names on the online discussion transcripts and the written observations.  After three years all data will be deleted, keeping student confidentiality.
CTA is pleased to work with Dr. Stolle once more in research to improve middle school language arts instruction and enhance student reading experiences.  Plans are underway to expand collaboration with Dr. Stolle to the high school language arts in the near future.

Tuesday’s win over West Michigan Academy of Environmental Science (WMAES) evened the Chargers record on the season to 2-2.
The boy’s varsity team from Creative Technologies Academy executed a near-perfect defensive game as they held a competitive WMEAS team scoreless in the first, third, and fourth quarters. After jumping out to a 16-0 lead after the first quarter, the Chargers were challenged by WMAES as they played even with the Chargers, matching score for score to end the first half with a 27-10 Charger lead. Unfortunately for WMEAS, their scoring run would end there, as CTA charged on to a 52-10 victory.
A big reason for the successful night was the 33 combined offensive and defensive rebounds, as well as getting a team total of 18 steals.  Junior, Austin Armstrong lead statistically for the Chargers with 6 steals, 6 rebounds, and 13 points.  It was a great performance from the junior, but the Chargers victory was a team effort. Twelve of the fourteen Chargers scored at least two points to lead to balanced scoring.
The CTA boys hope to improve their record as they head to Fremont to face the Fremont Home School Mustangs for one last game before taking a break for the holidays. For a complete CTA Charger’s schedule, please visit the athletics page at www.ctaschool.com.

Sophomore captain Alicia Beck scores two on a layup following a steal.

Junior captain Grace VanEnk shows perfect form in boxing out a WMAES player.

The Lady Chargers’ season is off to a great 3-0 start this year following their most recent win over West Michigan Academy of Environmental Science on Tuesday by a score of 27-18.  Coach Mae Hill writes, “The team appreciates the support of our teammates, coaches, parents, teachers and fellow students.  Team captains, Grace VanEnk and Alicia Beck, have elevated their level of play this year and have done a great job of instilling team values within the organization.  We look forward to making the most of our time together, on and off the court.”

December    16    Last Day before Winter Break
19-January 02    No School for Students and Staff – Winter Break

January     03    Classes Resume
06     Boys and Girls Bball @ Lakeshore Christian, Grand Haven, MI 6:00PM & 7:30PM
10     Boys and Girls Bball @ Wellspring Academy, Grand Rapids, MI 4:30PM &  6:00PM

13     Boys and Girls Bball @ Grand Rapids Prep Academy, Grand Rapids, MI 5:30PM & 7:00PM
14     CTA Dance (8th-12th) hosted by Senior Class, Kent City TBD TBA
17    Boys Bball @ Brockway Christian Brockway Christian School, 5:30PM
19    Parent Teacher Conferences (High School Only – by appointment)
20     Boys Bball @St. Mary’s School , Sutton’s Bay, MI 7:30PM
21     Boys Bball @ Traverse City Home School, Traverse City, MI TBA
24     Boys and Girls Bball @ Waypoint Academy, Muskegon, MI 5:30PM & 7:30PM
27     Boys and Girls Bball @ Grattan Academy, Greenville, MI 6:00PM & 8:00PM
31     Boys and Girls Bball @ Fremont Home School, Fremont Christian Middle School 6:00Pm & 8:00PM