Thursday, January 29th, 2026

 

Dear American Academy Parents,

Can you believe 2026 is here? I am in shock that another year has gone by so quickly! The weather is certainly proving that Winter is finally here and I know I can’t be the only one not ready for it! Below find all the important information regarding February activities and fun at AALM.

Thinking of Traveling:

If you are planning on traveling, please keep in mind that it is important to know and understand our Attendance Policy, which can be found here.  If an extended absence of 3 or more school days is planned, parents must provide written notification to the American Academy registrar at [email protected], as well as the Dean - Mallory Silva at [email protected]. Please keep in mind that teachers may provide class work ahead of time, but it is not required.  Usually all make-up work is assigned on the day the student returns from the absence. 

American academy character:

During the month of January our character focus was on Courage. Over the course of the month, teachers will incorporate lessons on courage into their planned lessons and activities. Staff throughout the building will encourage students to be courageous and model the behaviors we expect to see from our students. 

• Courage

• Begins by knowing what is good, true, and right.
  
  

• Building courage comes from thinking through what you should do in specific situations.
  
  

• To master this trait, one must start with the little things:

• Know the truth

• Get help when one is afraid

• Do what is right

• Be willing to stand alone

• Help those who are bullied or abused

During the month of February our character focus will be Humility. 

• Humility

• Recognizing the people and factors that have shaped one’s life.

• To master this trait one must start with the little things:

• Be thankful

• Be happy for other’s accomplishments

• Be able to forgive

• Be willing to learn

Trimester 2 Hero Celebration for Middle School

To reward our middle school students of their hard earned hero points in Trimester 2, we would like to treat them to a special celebration as well. But we need your help! Please consider signing up to donate items so that we can make this celebration for our students happen. Please label your donations with “Attn. Ms. Silva-Middle School”. 

The middle school hero celebration will be on Tuesday, February 17th. Please drop donations off no later than Thursday, February 12th.

Thank you for your continued support of our Hero Program.

Click here to donate items!

Middle School Doughnut Social- February 12th

We're gearing up again for our student MS Doughnut Social on Thursday, February 12th, and we need your help to make it a sweet success! Please consider donating a box (or two!) of doughnuts to ensure we have a great selection for all the students. Drop-offs can be made in the main office any time on Thursday morning before carpool begins at 7:20am.

**If you have a student with a gluten, dairy, or egg allergy. Please send me an email with items that can be purchased for your child and I will provide that for them! 

Thank you for your support in making this a fun treat for our middle schoolers!

Click Here to "Dough"nate Doughnuts

 

February 6th-10th (Candy Grams-Middle School Only)

Our middle school students will have the opportunity to spread a little sweetness by purchasing Candy Grams for their friends from February 6th–10th during morning carpool and lunch. Candy Grams will be cash only and priced between $1–$2.

Candy Grams will be delivered to students during their 9th period on February 12—just in time to brighten their day! Money raised will go towards Student Council events.

Dates to note:

February 12th -Valentine’s Day Events

• Valentine theme dress: Valentine top with uniform bottom

• Middle School Lip Sync Battle (Middle School Only)

• MS Doughnut Social (7:25-7:50am) (Middle School Only)

February 18th- 6th Grade Stemapalooza

February 20th- End of trimester grades due

Sports & ECA Eligibility

Students who participate in an ECA or sport at American Academy are required to maintain acceptable grades to participate. Per the Extracurricular Activities Policy, students who have an “F” in a core subject will be ineligible to participate the following week in their activity. Students and parents will receive notification from the Dean or Athletic Director with regard to their eligibility.

CMAS Grades 3-8

Are you looking to add a bit of excitement to your family game night time?  If so, I have just the thing for families with students grades 3-8!!  Family game night CMAS practice.  Below are the links if you want to help your child prepare for the CMAS assessments which will occur on April 7, 8, 9 and 14, 15, 16. Grades 3, 4, 6, & 7 will all take the CMAS Math and ELA assessments and grades 5 & 8 will take Math, ELA, and Science.

CMAS Practice

Student Uniforms

As you all know, part of American Academy attendance includes our Student Uniform Policy. All uniform tops and bottoms must be purchased through Tommy Hilfiger or Educational Outfitters. Please note that with cold weather and snow, students who choose to wear boots to school MUST have a change of shoes to wear throughout the school day. 

Important student uniform reminders:

• Students MUST wear approved Uniform sweatshirts.

• Students MUST bring a change of shoes to wear throughout the day when they enter the building in snow boots.  Students will be asked to call home if they do not have a change of shoes.
  

• On dress of choice days, students MUST follow the guidelines of the uniform policy. 

• On dress of choice days, students who choose to wear leggings MUST have shirts that fully cover their bottom and front areas. If their shirts are too short, they will need to call home for a change of clothes or they will be provided with a school approved bottom.
  

• Students are NOT allowed to wear smart watches, including Fit Bit, Gizmo, Apple, Garmin, etc.
  

• Students are NOT allowed to wear shoes that light up.
  

• Students CANNOT have any colored hair dye in their hair. We understand that some sports teams have their players color their hair to rally for a big game; please be sure to have this dye washed out by the next school day.
  

• MAKE-UP: Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade girls may wear lightly-applied mascara (brown or black), blush (pale neutral or pale pink), and lip-gloss (clear or pale pink).

What’s Happening Outside of Campus:

As technology continues to advance, so do the outside pressures that our students face. From YouTube Challenges to marketing of hazardous items to today’s youth the only way to stay abreast of all of it is through daily research. My hope is that the information provided in this section can give parents a starting ground of what is going on and open communication lines in regard to social media, hazardous items, and how to lead by example versus following the “cool” new trend. By no means am I able to list everything that is going on through social media, but hopefully this acts as a starting point.

Internet & Social Media Awareness

Currently, the internet has many different challenges that are tempting kids to make very unsafe decisions. Active conversations with your children regarding social media and internet awareness are a great starting point to protecting their personal information and the content they are exposed to.

Research shows that attention spans of children are being drastically reduced by the excessive use of technology. Below is an article that dives into attention spans, executive function skills, and age appropriate technology time and usage.

Here are some fantastic articles on the negative effects of cell phones, social media, and gaming on young children and teenagers.

Attention, Media Use, and Children

10 Harmful Side Effects of Mobile Phones on Teenagers

Concerns About Getting Cell Phones for Kids and Teens

Unhealthy Video Gaming: What Parents Can Do to Prevent It

Helpful Tips & Apps

• Poison Center

• The Poison Center is a free public service that people can call for help in determining if the challenge their little one did is harmful and needs immediate ER care, or if it's just irritating and they can stay home. We are very much up to date on the current challenges and get calls all the time. When people call this free number, they are speaking to RN's and Pharmacists for medical advice.
  
  

• Parents can Google Rocky Mountain Poison Center, or Poison Center to get more information on the services they provide.
  
  

• Their phone number is 1-800-222-1222

• Rethink App

• This is an app that was created to assist in the prevention of cyber bullying. By installing this app, a new keyboard is utilized that catches trigger words before sending. When the words are caught a pop-up appears on the screen asking the user if they would like to “rethink” what they wrote. For more information click here.

• OurPact

• This app is a catch-all family locator and screen time management application. For more information click here.

• Screen Time

• For those families who are all iOS Apple families, the newest update to the operating system has an application built in called Screen Time.  With this you can monitor your 

• child’s usage, set permissions, and much more.

Parents, I truly hope that this newsletter has been informative and helpful. If there is additional information that you know of that would be fantastic to share with families, please reach out to me via email with details, links, etc. and I will add them to next month’s newsletter. As we all know, it takes a community of partnership and communication to ensure the safety and success of our students. 

Thank you in advance for allowing me to positively impact their educational journey.