Our blog
Family Update 10.20.21
Announcements and Reminders Harlan Brownlee, local Kennedy Center teaching artist is collaborating with AFIA classroom teachers in integrating dance into classroom instruction. In these pictures you can see students representing their learning through movement. This work is funded by the Missouri Arts Council. No School on Friday! October 22nd is a professional day at AFIA. You can see AFIA's [...]
Literature Prompts Discussion, Sparks Creative Expression, and Builds Community
What is LACES? LACES is anchored in critical literacy: the ability to analyze, evaluate, and act on information, as a critical member of society. LACES is an enrichment class and gives students opportunities to practice responding to literature through discussion, writing, doing, and making. Often times, students use recycled materials to create an artistic response to a high quality shared [...]
Weekly Update 9.16.21
September Breakfast Menu | September Lunch Menu Announcements and Reminders No School Tomorrow (Professional Development Day) As a reminder, there is no school tomorrow, Friday, September 17th as this is a professional development day for our staff. Big Smiles Dental Services @ AFIA We work with Big Smiles Dental to provide free dental services to AFIA students. The dentist will [...]
Weekly Update 8.25.21
August Breakfast Menu | August Lunch Menu What is social emotional learning? At AFIA, we know that social emotional learning is just as important as academic learning. Social emotional learning helps students develop the skills necessary to lead purposeful lives, such as: understanding and managing emotions setting goals demonstrating empathy for others making responsible decisions maintaining positive relationships Social emotional [...]
Midsummer Family Update
We hope you are having an amazing summer! Please read the information below and if you have questions don't hesitate to reach out. We will send another family update at the end of the summer. Enrollment: If you have not completed your enrollment for the 21-22 school year, please do so immediately. If you have questions or need assistance you [...]
End of Year Reminders
A few reminders for our last few days: Today's Classes: As a reminder, there is no live instruction today as we are in the process of collecting devices. Students were sent home with work packets to complete today. Summer Learning Packets: We've made a few changes to the distribution of Summer Learning Packets. If you would like your child to [...]
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
We want to take a moment to acknowledge that May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. We recognize that within the Asian American and Pacific Islander community there is much diversity and many strengths to celebrate. At AFIA, we strive to celebrate the diversity and strengths all of our community members bring to our school all year long. [...]
Weekly Update May 21, 2021
It is hard to believe that this school year is coming to a close. Please read below for some important announcements. Spirit Week We will have a Spirit Week next week. Monday, May 24: Made in the Shade (Wear your favorite hat!) Tuesday, May 25: Travel Tuesday (Wear travel attire: floral shirts, beach attire, comfortable clothes etc.) Wednesday, May 26: [...]
Field Expert Interviews Help Students Deepen their Understanding
At AFIA, we use the project approach as way to facilitate deep learning in the classroom. An important component of project work is providing opportunities for students to learn from field experts (Helm & Katz, 2016). One of the amazing things about young students is that they are always curious about the world around them. Questions often come up that [...]
Unfinished Work From Gettysburg to Troost: Teaching Students About Complex Equity Issues Through The Troost Divide Project
By Keyonia Cobbins and Tricia DeGraff At AFIA, we believe children's questions should be central to learning and project work. We also believe it is important for students to learn about complex issues so that they are better positioned to make change. We often use high quality read-alouds by diverse authors to build content knowledge and provide opportunities for students [...]
Weekly Update 1.15.2021
Announcements Task Force Update: Please read this letter from Dr. DeGraff regarding important updates to our Return to School Plan. Friday Schedule Update: Friday will continue to be a remote day for all students, but we do have a few schedule adjustments to share. Please read this letter for more information. Harambee: We enjoyed seeing many of our students for Harambee [...]
Family Update 12.14.2020
The first virtual art classes were a success. Check out this amazing color wheel created by two AFIA brothers! Announcements Virtual Art Class: The first round of virtual art classes was a success. The primary art class (PK - 2nd grade) is on Fridays from 11:30AM-12:20PM and the 3rd - 6th grade class is on Mondays from 11:30AM-12:20PM. [...]