
Dear RA Families,
Thank you for participating in our orientation and for providing valuable information for our survey. While reviewing the internet portion of the survey, several families indicated that they had internet access and also requested a hot spot for their student(s).
At this time, Renaissance Academy can only provide hot spots to families who DO NOT have internet access and/or are utilizing their cell phone as a mobile hot spot with limited data. We are diligently working to obtain hot spots for our families and hope to begin distribution the week of September 1, 2020. Thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Mrs. Felton at 225-4200 x209.


Greetings RA Families,
Below is a message from KidsOutAndAbout. Enjoy!
This back-to-"school" season is stretching all of our parenting skills to the max, making us apply our strengths in new and creative ways, demanding that we take a hard look at how we're doing what we're doing, challenging us to optimize and simplify. You're taking what you already know and making it go farther. A lot farther. So are we. KidsOutAndAbout.com releases The Ultimate Parent Survival Guide to 2020-2021!
COVID-19 has turned the 2020-2021 school year upside down: How are you going to work and your kids get educated at the same time? You can't do it ALL, right? Fortunately, each local community has quickly developed resources to help, and virtual and online education options have exploded: Even in the midst of craziness, creativity reigns. This is KidsOutAndAbout.com's portal to what every family needs this year: Over 1000 well-organized links to local resources, virtual classes and tutoring, tips and tricks to keep kids entertained, and more. And get creative with 250+ activities to keep your family sane!
https://rochester.kidsoutandabout.com/content/ultimate-parent-survival-guide-2020-2021



STRONG SCHOOL CLUB
September 14–November 20
2, 3, 4, or 5 day a week options available
New! The Strong museum is excited to offer a program for working parents in need of a safe, supervised space for their child’s remote learning. The Strong School Club offers students in grades 1 through 5 an environment to attend their virtual school lessons, work on assignments and projects, and complete their homework in socially distant settings adhering to the museum’s Play Nice and Safe Play policies.
The Strong School Club also provides:
Supervision by museum staff
Dedicated, socially distant workspaces
Free Wi-Fi access
Activities in the museum after 3 p.m.
Additional pre-care and after-care options
Apply for Enrollment:
CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW.
https://www.museumofplay.org/school-club/application
Schedule
The Strong School Club offers 2, 3, 4, or 5 day a week options for families for the 10-week period from September 14 to November 20. The club runs daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Early Drop-off at 7:45 a.m. and after-care pick-up until 5:30 p.m. is available for an additional fee (see fees below).
The specific daily schedule for each student will depend on their school district needs but will include time for their virtual lessons and project work, along with breaks, lunch, and activities in the museum.
Daily Pricing
Strong School Club: $50 for members, $55 for nonmembers
Pre-care (7:45 a.m.): additional $5 per day
After-care (until 5:30 p.m.): additional $5 per day


Hello RA Families,
As you prepare for your students to head back to school, you may find the following information helpful.
The Greater Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce has done a backpacks for school drive with their membership. Various companies put together backpacks and they were subsequently distributed to the organizations below for distribution to students. It is unknown what the numbers or the status are of the backpacks. Please feel free to reach out to the organizations to inquire about the backpack distribution and if they are still available.
Cameron Community Ministries
Bivona Child Advocacy Center
Flower City Habitat for Humanity
Baden Street Settlement
Catholic Family Center
Lewis Street Child Care Center(YMCA of Greater Rochester)
Mission Share, Inc.
The Community Place of Greater Rochester
The Salvation Army of Greater Rochester
Volunteers of America
Sojourner Home/ Pathstone
YWCA
Center for Youth
Friendship Children's Center
NEW_ Hope Hall


Choice Boards! Have your student pick one to do each day!



Dear RA Families,
The leadership of RA hosted two virtual town hall meetings to review our school reopening plan. If you were unable to attend we will be hosting one more virtual town hall to answer any questions families have about RA's reopening plan this Wednesday evening. The information on accessing the meeting is below, we will also stream live on Facebook.
Please note: Questions posted on Facebook will not be viewed until after the event but any questions posted on the chat in Zoom will be answered in real-time.
You are invited to a Zoom meeting.
When: Aug 12, 2020 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYrcOGrrzsoGNFFOqgiRcSDIpKWzam7je_k
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
You may also watch the replay of last week's meeting and feel free to read through the Frequently Asked Questions that have been compiled from the previous two meetings.
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/9_JJIJHJ1FxIc5GOt374aoImBYLbX6a8hHIZ-6ALyUukFbZKPWqv_QDHWEvCJC82?startTime=1596146572000

Hello families! We are looking forward to the start of the 2020-2021 school year. Please be on the lookout in the mail next week for a letter from RA. In that letter we will let you know your child/ren's teacher for the upcoming school year. It will also tell you the day and time you will need to come to school for a 1 hour mandatory orientation the week of August 24th. We will be doing very small groups to ensure social distancing in order to keep all parties safe.
At the orientation your child will receive a resource bag for virtual learning. In the bag we'll include a Chromebook, uniforms, masks, school calendar, and other materials that are necessary for virtual instruction. Live virtual instruction will begin the week of August 31st. Thank you and we are looking forward to kicking off the year strong at RA!

School Supply List


Reopening Letter for the 2020 -2021 School Year Dr. Cozine, Dr. Loury, and Mr. Eichmann will be presenting the two-stage roll-out plans to our families. We invite you to join us at a Virtual Town Hall meeting this Thursday at either 1:00 p.m. or 6 p.m.



Mindfulness in the Home Webinar
The School Mental Health Resource and Training Center is excited to bring you the latest installment in the Family Education Webinar series, Mindfulness in the Home.
This 30 minute webinar will highlight the physical and emotional benefits of mindfulness, such as enhanced whole body wellness, improved sleep, increased focus and attention, and stress reduction. Join us to learn the basics of Mindfulness practice; simple strategies to utilize mindfulness techniques and activities in the home and as part of your family's daily routine. Please note, the intended audience for this specific webinar is family and caregivers, professional development credit is not available.
Friday, July 31, 2020 from 11:30 AM to 12:00 PM
REGISTER HERE.
Funding for the family webinar series is provided by Mother Cabrini Health Foundation.
To view recordings of previous webinars in this series, please go to our Family Education Webinar Series page https://www.mentalhealthednys.org/family-education-webinar-series/.

Hello RA Families:
The Summer Meals Partnership is excited to be able to share updates regarding summer meals distribution.
Both Foodlink and RTS have been incredibly adaptive and strategic in making changes to better meet needs of families. The updates are listed below and have been made on www.SummerMealsROC.org.
Click on the link for more information.
Mobile Site Updates:
Avenue Black Box Theater, 780 Joseph Ave. 14621, 11:15-12:00Brothers & Sisters Unisex Salon, 1274 Dewey Ave. 14613, 12:00-12:45Conkey Corner Park, 92 Conkey Ave. 14621, 12:00-12:45Green Knolls, Green Knolls Drive 14620, 12:15-12:45St. Stephen's Episcopal Church 14611, 12:00-12:45Troup Street Park, 210-266 Troup Street 14608, 11:30-12:15
RTS Meal Delivery Updates:
Charlotte route was adjusted to reach more housing/apartment complexesSouth Wedge route was adjusted to help cover some of the areas that East would have coveredMaplewood, Lyell-Otis and 19th Ward remain the same--
For more information:
www.SummerMealsROC.org.
Have a safe and fun summer!


Dear RA Families,
As we are crafting our back to school plan we would like to receive current feedback from our families. Please access the survey via the following link and do your best to reply by tomorrow by 3:00. If we do not get a high return we will be reaching out to families to record their preference.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/W6CVZGH
Thank you,
RA's School Reopening Committee.

Dear RA Families,
We hope this message finds you well. Attached for your review is the approved 2020-2021 school calendar. Please be advised that as things change due to the COVID pandemic, this calendar may be adjusted. We are following the NYS Department of Health's, the NYS Department of Education's, and Governor Cuomo's guidance very closely to ensure we are providing the best possible school year for our children.
If changes to the calendar need to be made we will provide as much advanced notice as possible.


Good Morning RA Families,
The NYSED Charter School Office
recognizes that parents and guardians play a vital role in your children’s education and therefore we are seeking to learn from you what went right and what can be improved with regard to your children’s education
during the Covid-19 pandemic. In order to learn directly from you, we have created a brief survey. Please complete the brief survey: Click here to enter the survey or you may copy and paste following link
into your browser: https://tinyurl.com/csoparentcovid19 and enter the password: csoparent
We believe your input is essential to inform both policy and practice as we move toward the re-opening of our schools.
Thank you



Hello RA!
Please read the following letter from Mr. Koch regarding trimester 3 report cards. Thank you and have a great summer!


Don't Forget Your RA Charter School Renewal
Letter of Support
Greetings RA Families,
This is a reminder to bring your letter of support when you come to the school to pick up your student's belongings, return library books, and drop off the school's Chromebook and charger this Friday (6/26) or next Monday (6/29).
Please see the attached letters for further instructions regarding the letter of support and the schedule to drop off Chromebooks.
Please show your support and take action. Thank you in advance for your cooperation and thank you to the families that have already submitted their letters.
On behalf of Renaissance Academy Charter School of the Arts, have a safe and fun summer.


This organization is funded by the UR School of Music. This organization brings upwards of 100 classically trained musicians of African descent to Rochester to perform fundraising concerts in private homes and a grand concert at Kodak Hall, as well as, conduct workshops for minority students in local area schools. It’s a wonderful music festival that is supported by the Rochester Community.


School's out. Summer's in.
SUMMER MEALS
Free for kids 18 and under.
Find a site near you!
Click on the link below for a list of locations and times. You can also access the information on RA's website or Facebook page. Have a safe and fun summer!
https://www.summermealsroc.org/


New York State Charter Parent Council
SAVE THE DATE!
Dear RA Families,
Thank you to all who joined us last month for our first-ever New York State Charter Parent Council meeting! As a reminder, on July 1, 2020, at 6 pm we will be holding our second meeting. We are hoping to see the size of our original group double by our meeting next month!
You can join the July 1 meeting using the information below:
Join by link: https://nycharters.zoom.us/j/95289904440
Meeting ID: 952 8990 4440
Join by phone: +19292056099,,95289904440# US (New York)
I am so excited to watch this group grow and evolve as we work together to make a difference for our kids!
In partnership,
Ashara Baker
Community Engagement Manager
abaker@nycharters.net
