HOMECOMING 2018 EVENTS....

Homecoming is upon us. We are in our 10^th year of operation and are excited to welcome back all of our alumni to celebrate school spirit. The basketball team has been working hard and are ready to follow up last year’s performance which saw them go to the 1^st playoff game in school history. Please note the festivities for the week.

Spirit week – Students dress up K-12 to show school spirit (Attached flyer for your convenience or distribution ***Thanks Student Council)

Marvel Monday: Come dressed in your favorite superhero costumes and memorabilia in honor of Stan Lee! 12/10

Timeline Tuesday: K-8TH: Come dressed as a decade of your choosing! HS Themes - 9th=90’s 10th=80’s 11th=70’s 12th=60’s! 12/11

Wake Up Wednesday: Come dressed in your PJs 12/12

Tacky-Tourist Thursday: Come dressed in your hawaiian shirts, fanny packs, and cargo shorts. Don’t forget sunscreen and shades! 12/13

Fan-tastic Friday: Come in your favorite Gateway apparel & rock that green and orange for the homecoming basketball game. 12/14

Homecoming Pep-Rally (Students Only)

December 14^th – 9am. We will celebrate in the new gym with a K-12 pep rally for the ages. There will be performances by cheer, dance, and choir. We will celebrate the basketball team’s successes and wish them luck in the big game. Please note, that due to space, this will be a student and staff only event.

Homecoming Game

December 14^th vs. Bartlett – JV-A 5:00pm / Varsity 6:30pm. Game in the new gym.

Homecoming Dance

December 15^th in the Auxiliary Gym – 8:00pm – 11:00pm HS Students only.

Want to Save $$ on Yearbooks?

Do you want to save $5 on the 2018-19 yearbook?

If so, you will want to buy one before the prices go up after Friday, December 14th. Click on the links for pricing information. Be sure to use the correct link for your student. For example, if you have students in both elementary and high school, you will order from the elementary link AND the high school link.

Elementary (K-4th grade) - http://jostensyearbooks.com/?REF=A07631373

Intermediate/Middle (5th-8th grade) - http://jostensyearbooks.com/?REF=A07631374

High School (9th-12th grade) - http://jostensyearbooks.com/?REF=A07631375

Email questions to beth.kelly@orendaeducation.org.
 

Oh No, Is it That Time Again?

Mid-Terms are coming up soon for grades 5-12 on December 19-21st. Please view the schedule below. It is important to note that December 20th and 21st are half days.

Elementary Students (K-4) will be released at 11:50am and will be attending lunch.

Secondary Students (5-12) will not attend lunch and will need to be picked up at 12:35pm. There will be a limited number of sack lunches available.

After School Care will be available for students in grades K-6.

It is very important to note that attendance is required during mid-terms. A high school student may not exempt an exam unless they are present during mid-terms.

Here is the exemption policy per the Student Code of Conduct:

Students in grades 9-11 who meet all the criteria below are eligible to exempt up to 2 midterm or final exams per semester.

Seniors (grade 12 students) who meet all the criteria below are eligible to exempt up to 3 midterm or final exams per semester.

Students must meet all eligibility requirements below

Midterm and Final Exam Exemption Eligibility:

• 85 or above for semester cumulative average
• No more than 3 absences (excused or unexcused) per semester (excludes absences due to
school-sponsored field trips and UIL events)
NOTE: 3 tardies = 1 absence under this exemption
• No disciplinary referrals

Gateway College Prep accepts enrollment application throughout the year, however, it is only during the Open Enrollment period that ALL applicants have an equal opportunity for admission to the school.  Texas charter school law requires Gateway to hold an “Open-Enrollment Period” for students and families seeking admission for the next school year.

The open-enrollment period is the entire month of January each year.  If the number of applications during the open-enrollment period exceeds the number of available student seats for any grade level, a random lottery is held to determine who is admitted.  For families who enroll after the open enrollment period, admission is based on a first come basis and Kingsland must have a seat available and still be accepting new enrollment applications.
 
Please note:  Submitting the enrollment application form only indicates your interest and places your name on the potential-student list. Families offered an enrollment seat will be sent a registration packet with instructions for registering. A formal registration will need to occur demonstrating your acceptance of the enrollment offer. If you do not accept the enrollment offer by registering your student by the communicated deadline sent with your registration packet, your seat will be offered to the next potential student on the waiting list.
 
Enrollment Notification: Families who submitted an enrollment application during the open- enrollment period will be notified (at a time to be determined) that their student will be offered an enrollment seat for the upcoming school year.
 
Registration:  After the initial open-enrollment period, students are enrolled on a first-come, first-served basis until all seats are filled. When an enrollment application is received after all seats for that grade have been filled, the potential student’s name is placed on a waiting list.

 Funds for New LED Vision Board for New Gym Being Sought

(Nov. 12) -- FUNDRAISING ALERT.....Orenda Education is attempting to raise monies to fund an LED video display board to be mounted in the new Main Gymnasium on the Gateway College Prep campus. Donations totaling $50,000 are required to purchase the 6.6 foot-tall by 11.48 foot-wide pixilated board and control system.

The LED board would enhance a K-12 school community experience by promoting all the activities that occur in the gym... from athletic events to pep rallies to fine arts performances to graduation exercises.

“We feel this is a great opportunity to showcase our students and our school environment to all who will view content on this state-of-the-art media tool, including students, families and visitors to the campus” said Tommy Turner, Director of Community Relations.

Turner said much of the content for the display board also would be created by students studying video production and broadcasting courses now offered at the secondary school level. The video board will need to be staffed during events and student volunteers would help in those roles.

Eventually, advertising space could be sold with revenue helping to underwrite a portion of the cost of the board. Multi-year contracts could be sold to larger advertisers or local businesses with smaller budgets could purchase digital announcements during a single athletic event, for example, Turner said.

Persons interested in making pledges or donations to this project should contact Mr. Turner at tommy.turner@orendaeducation.org or call 512-869-3020.

Gateway Earns "A" Grade From TEA

The Orenda Charter School District, which operates Gateway College Prep, is among the very few Central Texas school districts that received an “A” rating in overall performance by the Texas Education Agency’s new “A-F” grading system that was published August 15th.

Gateway College Prep enjoyed a “met standard” rating while earning 6 out of 7 distinctions. The one distinction missed was by one indicator, attendance. The school earned an overall score of 95.

School districts earned an “A” grade by “serving most students well, encouraging high academic achievement and/or appropriate academic growth for almost all students,” according to the TEA website.

District scores are based on three main indicators: “student achievement,” which is primarily based on standardized test performance and includes other measures like graduation rates for high schools; “school progress,” which compares test performance year-to-year and between comparable school districts; and “closing the gaps,” which includes performances in special groups of students based on socioeconomic status and other factors.

The only other surrounding independent school district earning an “A” rating was Round Rock ISD. Georgetown, Pflugerville and Leander ISDs all earned a “B” rating.