Thank You Parent Volunteers

We appreciate our parent volunteers! Thank you Lisa Schultz for keeping our school looking good and getting local businesses to donate items that enhance our nature based learning. If you have a passion and would like to share your time and talents, please reach out to your student’s teacher. You must complete a background check in order to volunteer at IAC.

* Bird feeder courtesy of Huntree Nursery in Fennville.

Shared by our friends at South Haven Public Schools and holds true for us at Innocademy: As we continue through the school year,Innocademy is committed to providing healthy, wholesome meals to our students each day. As with many districts locally and across the nation, we are facing extraordinary issues with food supply chains. While our food service department is diligent in ordering needed items, oftentimes of late, the fulfillment of those orders is unpredictable with missing products. We are actively working with our distributors and vendors to secure food items and supplies that best serve our students and maintain the integrity of our nutrition programs. Unfortunately, due to delivery schedules, when shortages occur, our kitchens have little to no notice. Because school food programs are highly regulated, the amount and type of food we are allowed to store (even frozen) is limited, so we cannot “stock up” to help alleviate some of these shortages.
While it is our intention to serve the posted menu each day, supply issues may cause variances in our menus until this is resolved. As you know, the supply chain is affected by many factors, from weather and transportation to labor shortages across the country. We will make every effort to substitute a similar item as often as possible.
Please know that your student’s health, safety, and wellbeing are our top priorities. 
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A medida que continúa el año escolar, Innocademy se comprometen a proporcionar comidas saludables a nuestros estudiantes todos los días. Al igual que otros distritos en todo el país están enfrentando, nuestro distrito enfrenta problemas extraordinarios con las cadenas de suministro de alimentos. Si bien nuestro departamento de servicio de alimentos es diligente en ordenar los alimentos necesarios, últimamente los pedidos no se pueden completar o están incompletos con artículos faltantes.  Estamos trabajando con nuestros distribuidores y proveedores para obtener alimentos y suministros saludables que apoyen a nuestros estudiantes y mantengan la calidad de nuestros programas de nutrición. Desafortunadamente, debido a los horarios de entrega, nuestras cocinas reciben poco o ningún aviso cuando los pedidos están incompletos. Debido a que los programas de alimentos escolares están altamente regulados, la cantidad y el tipo de alimentos que podemos almacenar (incluso congelados) son limitados, por lo que no podemos acumular reservas para ayudar a aliviar algunas de estas escaseces.
Si bien es nuestra intención servir el menú publicado todos los días, los problemas de suministro pueden causar variaciones en nuestros menús hasta que esto se resuelva. Como saben, la cadena de suministro se ve afectada por muchos factores, desde el clima y el transporte hasta la escasez de mano de obra en todo el país. Haremos todo lo posible para sustituir un artículo similar con la mayor frecuencia posible.
Tenga en cuenta que la salud, la seguridad y el bienestar de su hijo/a son nuestras prioridades.

As the summer comes to a close and school is getting back into session, here are a couple quick reminders to help make the transition from the beach to the classroom easier for you and your child.

Validation: Let your child know that his nervous or apprehensive feelings about the start of school are normal. All kids (and adults!) have a hard time getting back into the routine of the school year. The knowledge that he is not alone in this experience will help your child feel he’s being heard and understood.

Morning Routines: A common change that occurs as we begin the school year is a new morning routine.To help your child be successful, discuss what her morning routine will look like during the school year. This way, your child knows what will be happening and has clear expectations that are valuable to her under the time pressure of getting ready for school. Provide your child with simple, well-defined, and easy steps for her routine so that she has a clear idea of what you expect and so that it’s easy to follow along with you! Having an easy-to-reference schedule, maybe with pictures, can engage your child and provide a wonderful visual guide for what she needs to do next. Giving specific praise when she completes each lets her know that you love what you’re seeing. This will increase your child’s chances of success in the future, and helps build his/her self-esteem.

Homework: Another transition that can be rough after a summer break ishomework completion. Like the morning routine, providing your child with a structured schedule can help him stay focused and motivated. Completing homework as soon as school is over and with continuous parental support will take advantage of the daylight hours and provide encouragement, motivation, and assistance when needed.  Snacks are a great way to keep your child’s energy up while he works through those tough math problems. Of course, some children have active schedules, with team sports, music classes, or afterschool clubs, which can make engaging in homework more difficult. Letting your child know that you understand the hard work he is putting in and being ready with frequent positive feedback for his effort can help motivate him to get homework done.

Bedtime: Bedtime is one of the hardest transitions. Children may be accustomed to going to sleep later and/or waking up later during the summer, so the new school schedule can be difficult to get acclimated to.  As with the morning routine, having a nightime routine can assist in creating a structure for your child. Set your child up for success with clear expectations, simple step-by-step instructions, and praise at the completion of each step. Additionally, visual reminders can help your child have something to refer to as she goes about her routine. Most kids want more time watching their favorite TV show or finishing that last level of a videogame, and setting time limits can be a great way to put a boundary around the winding down time that they need each evening.

Article Source: https://childmind.org/article/helping-kids-back-school-routine/

September Lunch Menu

Is Your Student Sick? Should They Come To School? Please Follow This Flowchart
You can also use this super helpful INTERACTIVE FLOWCHART, if you prefer.