We are so excited to start our school year on Tuesday. September 8th. Our teaching team and staff have been busily preparing to welcome children to school both virtually and in person. We had our new student orientation yesterday and got to meet some of our new students. We have a lot of information to share in this email.
Teaching Staff Updates
We are excited to announce our teaching staffing for the upcoming school year. We have added new teaching staff to our team and there has been some restructuring as well. We will be working on collaborative grade level teams with a K/1 Team and a 2/3 Team. These teams will work with both in-person and virtual learners.
Our K/1 Team consists of:
Kindergarten: Marci Francis (Mrs. Francis)
Mrs. Francis is returning this year as our kindergarten teacher. To meet our COVID safety plan requirement of small group cohorts, Mrs. Francis is excited to be teaching both Kindergarten and First Grade students language arts. She will also be teaching science along with the rest of the K/1 Team.
First Grade: John D'Antonio (Mr. D)
Mr. D is returning to our school as our first grade teacher. Mr. D is excited to be teaching math to all 3 of our Kindergarten/First Grade cohorts. He will also be teaching science along with the rest of the K/1 Team.
K/1 Teaching Assistant: Jasminique "Isabella" Harris (Ms. Bella)
Ms. Bella is joining us as a teaching assistant. She will assist with lunch and recess as well as teach science, lead a morning meeting, and assist students on their academic work. Ms. Bella will also be assisting Mrs. Boyden in our Early Morning Program.
Our 2/3 Team consists of:
2nd Grade: Ms. Sol
Ms. Sol will be teaching 2nd grade for both in-person and virtual students. She is excited to join our team and has many great ideas to bring to our school along with a passion for agriculture and knowledge of Spanish. Having taught Spanish at the middle school level, she is excited to be working with younger children and getting to teach a variety of subjects through projects.
3rd Grade: Jennifer Hull (Mrs. Hull)
Mrs. Hull is returning this year, but will be moving up to 3rd grade with our returning students from 2nd grade. She will be teaching all subjects to 3rd graders in-person and virtually.
Grade 2/3 Teaching Assistant: Jessica Fallon (Ms. Jess)
Ms. Jess will be returning and will primarily be supporting our 2nd and 3rd grade students this year working with Ms. Sol and Mrs. Hull. She will be providing some support to students in our K/1 cohorts at some points in time.
Other Teaching Staff:
Physical Education: Heather Boyden (Mrs. Boyden)
Mrs. Boyden will be returning as our PE Teacher and is excited to do even more PE classes outside. She will also be supporting students in our Early Morning Program and as a teaching assistant in classrooms at times.
Spanish: Jasmine Jahangir (Senorita Jasmine)
Senorita Jasmine will be joining us as our new Spanish teacher. She is excited to be joining our team. She is a recent graduate of SUNY Cortland with a dual degree in early childhood and childhood education Spanish. Having learned Spanish from a young age, she understands what it’s like to be introduced to a language so early in life. She plans to take the experiences she has had and share them with Truxton Academy students in hopes of expanding both their linguistic and cultural knowledge.
Special Education Coordinator/ Co-teacher: Ashley Martin (Mrs. Martin)
Mrs. Martin lives in Cortland, with her spouse and three children. She got her bachelors in English Education at Roberts Wesleyan College, and her Masters degree with a focus in Special Education at Binghamton University. Teaching for over a decade, Ashley brings expertise in advocacy, special education services, and working with students with behavioral challenges. Joining us from Dryden, Ashley is looking forward to starting the new year and getting to know all of our learners at Truxton Academy Charter School.
Daily Schedule
The school day schedule will be different for our in-person students and our virtual students on Monday, Tuesday, Thursdays, and Fridays. On Wednesdays, all students will be learning from home. On these days, we will have an All School Meeting via Zoom at 11:00.
Beginning in October, we will have monthly projects to complete at home during these Wednesdays as well. For the first 4 weeks, teachers will be sending home work, or assigning virtual work for students who are attending in person to be completed on these Wednesdays.
For students attending virtually, your child's teacher or grade level team of teachers will be reaching out with schedule information.
After School Program at the Truxton Community Center
This year, Truxton Community Center is partnering with the JM McDonald Center for an afterschool program located in our building. We are very excited about this program. You can enroll in this program through the JM McDonald Sports Complex website.
Cafeteria Update
We are excited to have Ms. Brigette returning as our school chef this year.