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NEWARK CHARTER SCHOOL

WEEKLY BULLETIN
December 12, 2016

Junior/Senior High School News

December Calendar
12/12 ~ Orchestra Concert Grades 4-12 (6:30pm NCHS Cafetorium)
12/15 ~ Band Concert Grades 7-12 (7:00pm NCHS Cafetorium)
12-19~ PAC (Boosters) 6:30-7:30 NCHS Library
12/19 ~ Holiday Piano Recital Grades 9-12 (6:30pm NCHS Chorus Room)
12/20 ~ Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors (7:30pm NCHS Library)
Board of Directors Meeting (immediately following Annual Meeting NCHS Library)
12/22-1/2/17 ~ School and Offices Closed Winter Break

January Calendar
1/3 ~ School Resumes
1/11 ~ Project Citizen Presentation (5pm-8pm NCHS Atrium)
1/11 ~ Open Enrollment Closes
1/16 ~ MLK Day Schools and Offices Closed
1/17 ~ Board of Directors Meeting (7:30pm NCHS Library)
1/23 ~ PAC (Boosters) 6:30-7:30 NCHS Library
1/24 ~ School Council Meeting (7pm-8pm MCHS Library)
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Kudos
Kudos to the following students for helping, performing, or contributing at our Barnes & Noble Event: NCS
Friends and Families - Patrick Carman, Sophia Cherouri, Shealyn Imgarten, Wyatt Whittle, Kojo OtchereAddo, Emme Whisner, Sarah DelPercio, Tara Cain, Ben Bolan, Sam Bolan, Chow-Fong Kust, Shu-Jin Kust,
John Qian, Kun Qian, Ankita Prasad, and Katie Sudimak.

Senior College Application Procedures

Please visit tinyurl.com/NCScollegeApps to learn about the specific procedures for applying to colleges from
Newark Charter. These steps were reviewed with all seniors during college application training sessions.
Important Notice About SAT Scores and the University of Delaware
The University of Delaware is recommending that if a student scored an 1150 or higher on the SAT (or an ACT
of 23 or higher), he/she should submit the test score officially to the University of Delaware for review. If a
student has not reached the 1150 mark or 23 ACT, he/she is a candidate to apply test optional to the University
of Delaware.
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If you scored an 1150 or higher on the SAT (or 23 or higher on the ACT) you should send your SAT
or ACT score to the University of Delaware. After applying, you will receive a notification email that
asks you to indicate whether or not you want your test score to be reviewed during the admission
evaluation. You should select to have the score considered.
If you did not score an 1150 or higher on the SAT (or 23 or higher on the ACT) you should
withhold your test score (do not send it officially) and also do not self-report the score in your Common
Application account for the University of Delaware application. After applying, you will receive a
notification from the University of Delaware asking if you wish to be considered a test-optional
applicant. You should select to not have the score considered (thereby applying test optional).

Upcoming Exams for Underclassmen (held at Newark Charter)

All freshmen and sophomores will now take the PSAT on the same day that juniors take the free school-day
SAT, on April 5th, 2017.

The News Journal High School Report

From Makenna Higgins for Newark Charter High School
The News Journal High School Report
12.11.16
Newark Charter won its first state championship on Dec. 3 with the NCHS Patriots Unified Flag Football team
win over McKean High School. The Students in Action Club, led by senior Megan McCormick, is sponsoring
a blanket drive from Dec. 12 to Dec. 16. Students are encouraged to donate gently used T shirts which will be
used to make blankets. Blankets will be donated to The Owens Foundation to help the homeless in our
community. The Global Contexts for Leadership I class is commencing their annual food drive to benefit the
Newark Welfare Committee. Nonperishable foods will be collected until Dec. 14, and we are hoping for a goal
of 1,700 items. True Patriot Award is given to athletes that lead their team and demonstrate excellent decorum
and academic capability. Junior Dana Wilkins of the field hockey team and senior Nic Krusko of the soccer
team received the award for this season

AP Research Student Surveys

Students in grades 9-12 brought home a short consent form this week regarding their participation in AP
Research student surveys. The surveys will enable the AP Research students to collect anonymous data on
various subjects for their class projects. The surveys need not be returned unless you do not want your child to
participate.

Hour of Code at Newark Charter School

December 5th kicks off the start of the Hour of Code event at all 3 buildings of Newark Charter School.
During December, all students, K-8 and some high school students will spend time engaging in computer
programming coding activities.
In the Primary Building, the K-3 students will be participating in Hour of Code during their regularly scheduled
Technology classes with Mrs. Samuels.
Students in the Intermediate Building will be going to the Tech Lab with their math teacher to work with Mrs.
Cornett on coding activities.
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Ms. Orzechowski and Mrs. Myers will be working with the 7th and 8th grade students on Hour of Code activities
during the Introduction to Finance course and the Computer Science Exploratory. Additionally, high school
students in the Business Ed courses will be participating.
While the Hour of Code is promoted as a week long event, held in conjunction with Computer Science
Education Week, at NCS it actually extends over 2 weeks, in order to give every K-8 student a chance to
participate.
The thinking and problem solving skills developed in coding can be applied to many aspects of life.
Additionally, studies show that in our country there is a critical shortage of computer programmers, so for some
students, it might be in introduction to their future career.

Global Leadership Food Drive

Global Leadership Year 1 will be hosting the annual food drive for Newark Welfare Committee. All nonperishable food will be collected from Dec 5-14. If we meet our goal of 1700 items we will have a building
wide dress down day.

Jefferson Awards Donation Drive

The Jefferson Awards committee is asking for donations of blankets and t-shirts for the homeless. We are
planning on making blankets out of t-shirts that will be donated to the Owens foundation and will eventually be
used by homeless shelters. The Owens foundation promotes awareness for world poverty. We are asking for
donations of old t-shirts and blankets. There will be bins set up in the office and can also be delivered to Mrs.
Westerfield's room 236. We will be accepting donations from December 2nd to December 13th. Thank you in
advance!

After Prom Committee Meeting

The next After Prom Committee meeting is Wednesday January 4, 2017 at 7:00pm in the HS Library. Please
join us! If you would like to be involved but cannot attend the meeting, please contact Junior Class Advisors
Mrs. Cynthia Munro at cynthia.munro@ncs.k12.de.us and/or Ms. Diane Wurst at diane.wurst@ncs.k12.de.us.

NCHS Softball Team News

On Saturday, December 3rd the Newark Charter High School softball program participated in the Salvation
Army's Red Kettle Campaign. Thirteen members of the JV and Varsity softball teams rang the Salvation
Army bells at the Food Lion on route 72. Donations received at the kettles not only provide assistance during
the holiday season, but also help support Salvation Army programs and services throughout the year.

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NCS Open Enrollment

Newark Charter School began accepting applications for grades K-12 for the 2017-2018 school year on
Monday, November 7, 2016. The open enrollment period will end on Wednesday, January 11, 2017. The online
application is available on our schools web page www.NewarkCharterSchool.org. Families are able to apply to
multiple schools but it is the parents responsibility to send the application to ALL schools selected.
Enrollment is open to all Delaware residents. In the event that the number of applications exceeds the number of
openings, a lottery will be used to select students, with preference given to founders, employees, siblings of
current students and to students living in the 5-mile radius of the school. Students who have been placed on a
waiting list for Newark Charter School in the past must reapply for the 2017-2018 school year.
Siblings of current students and staff members children must submit an application during the open enrollment
period to be considered for admission.

Inscripcin abierta NCS

Newark Charter School comenzar a aceptar aplicacines para los grados K-12 para el ao 2017-2018 en el
lunes, 07 de noviembre de 2016. El perodo de inscripcin abierta terminar el mircoles, 11 de enero de 2017.
La aplicacin en lnea estar disponible en la pgina web de www.NewarkCharterSchool.org de nuestra escuela
el 7 de noviembre. Las familias son capaces de aplicar a varias escuelas, pero es responsabilidad de los padres
para enviar la aplicacin a todas las escuelas seleccionadas.
La inscripcin est abierta a todos los residentes de Delaware. En caso de que el nmero de solicitudes excede
el nmero de aberturas, se utilizar una lotera para seleccionar a los estudiantes, con preferencia a fundadores,
empleados, hermanos de los estudiantes y a los estudiantes que viven en el radio de 5 millas de la escuela. Los
estudiantes que se han colocado en lista de espera para la escuela chrter de Newark en el pasado deben volver a
aplicar para el ao 2017-2018.
Hermanos de alumnos actuales y nios de miembros de personal deben presentar una aplicacin durante el
perodo de inscripcin abierta para ser considerado para admisin.

Follow-up on the settlement letter

This will provide additional information and clarification about the recent settlement of the lawsuit filed by
NCS and 14 other charter schools over what we considered to be funding errors which cost charter schools - and
their students - a fair amount over the years. Because we are satisfied with the agreement reached over local
funds and pleased with the new level of transparency created by the agreement, we are happy to offer the
following clarifications:
- We stated that the general idea is that the property taxes paid by residents, which are initially held by the local
school districts, should follow the child when families choose to enroll their children to a public charter or
choice school in Delaware. We believe that, for whatever reasons, in the case of Christina School District
(CSD) that was not being done. But we also concede that, as in most settlements, the district admitted no
wrongdoing.
- We stated that the August decision was made by the Secretary of Education. Actually, the August decision was
made by other Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) executives and Secretary Godowsky was not
involved until later. In September, he reversed his Department's earlier decision and we sued.
- Finally, we said that "both CSD and DDOE agreed to cover the cost of the charter schools' legal costs." Let
us clarify. In the complaint filed in court, we demanded an award of attorneys fees. During the negotiations,
we pressed that same demand. The resulting agreement, while not mentioning the subject of attorneys fees,
provides for a one-time payment of $150k from each defendant. Naturally, the plaintiffs are free to spend that
one-time payment as they see fit and have decided to pay their legal fees with it, and we have been told that
both DDOE and CSD are paying that amount directly to the charter schools attorneys. We are told, in CSD's
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case, that payment is funded from "true-up" funds created by a switch in the method of calculating the share
going to charter schools.
We hope these clarifications resolve any confusion about the settlement and want to reiterate its essence: both
sides agreed to a sharing of local revenues that each believes represents fair compromise and charters will now
be given the information in coming years to assure that fairness continues. We are pleased that the Department
and CSD have approved the settlement and look forward to working with each in the future.

Lost and Found

Has your child misplaced something recently? Is there a chance that your child may have lost it? If you can't
find your winter apparel, water bottle, lunch box, athletic wear, school books, etc. encourage your child to visit
the Lost and Found, located in the Cafetorium. We might just have what you've been looking for.
In addition to the items in the cafetorium, there are many items of value that have been found and brought to the
main office. These items include eye glasses, contacts, watches, cell phones, retainers and jewelry. If your
student is missing any of these things, please have them stop in the office to look through what is there. Thank
you.

Activity Period
Each day from 10:31-11:01 there is a 30-minute activity period where students have club and activity meetings,
extra help with teachers, study halls, and other activity options. To best keep families informed of the choices
and help their children make the best use of this time, the schedules for both the Jr. and Sr. High School will be
posted on the NCS website each week. You can access these schedules on the Jr./Sr. High School homepage
under Links or click the following link https://www.newarkcharterschool.org/schools/jr-sr-highschool/.

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