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August 2024 Newsletter

Published on Thursday, August 15th

 

 

“Intelligence plus character — that is the true goal of education.” Martin Luther King Jr.

This powerful quote speaks to the mission and vision of Revolution School. Intelligence and character are equal in our work each and every day. Like Maria Montessori and John Dewey, Martin Luther King viewed school as an essential arena for critical thinking and compassionate actions “The complete education gives one not only power of concentration, but worthy objectives upon which to concentrate.”

This summer has been a busy time at Revolution School:

We have been meeting, touring and interviewing many interested families. As a result, we have almost doubled our enrollment and we will begin the year with over 40 students in grades 9–12!

Just as our enrollment has grown, so has our space. Revolution School is now on the 19th and 20th floor at 230 South Broad Street. Many thanks to Joel Dankoff and Chris Renehan for leading this effort. Our new space is beautiful!

The REVchat team launched and hosted two fantastic sessions of the REVchat Summer Program for Revolution students as well as students from other schools. We look forward to hearing what is to come this fall.

Our Revolution geckos, Blair and Sinclair, have been enjoying their relaxing summer and cannot wait for students to return!

I know that I speak for everyone when I say — we look forward to welcoming everyone back, and we wish all of our Revolution families a wonderful 2024–2025 academic year!

With gratitude,

Justine Hoffman

Head of School

GREAT NEWS TO SHARE

Thanks to our Founder Gina Moore, Revolution School was invited to join a task force with Councilman Anthony Williams to focus on Parent & Student Engagement & Youth Violence. Chrisma Tucker and Anthony Bracy were selected as student participants, and proudly represented Revolution School!

Please click this link to watch the full Fox 29 newscast and read the related article.

PHILADELPHIA – A city hall round table overflowed during the first meeting of city Councilman Anthony Phillips’ Parent and Guardian Engagement Task Force Tuesday. At the round table sat everybody from high school students to high achievers in life, all hoping to find a way to help those raising kids in Philly keep them out of trouble and out of the awful kids and crime headlines. “Parents definitely need support as we address years and years and years of systematic disinvestment primarily in Black and brown neighborhoods,” said Kenyatta Johnson, City Council President.

“What advice do you give the government in terms of helping kids in this day and age in Philly?” Keeley asked.

“Help mothers, fathers be involved with their kids as much as possible,” said Anthony Bracy, Revolution School senior .

“I think the strongest way to get to a teenager nowadays is through a parent but parents don’t have the mental capacity most of the time or the money to be too involved with their kids so I feel like a lot of teenagers these days are raising themselves,” said Chrisma Tucker, Revolution School senior.

“In today’s age we have so many grandparents aunts uncles raising children today I think that’s one of the barriers with our children’s cause they’re a little older and they truly don’t understand we need to get out there and work with them too,” said Wallete Carter, Philadelphia Home & School Council President.

Keeley: “Are parents the key to having good kids?”

“I think kids are the key to having good kids,” said Gina Moore, Revolution School Founder. “I think it’s about the family structure… but the kids are gonna lead us there.”

We are thrilled to announce that Ivy Harris is our new Director of Community Life. With 15 years of experience in education and 7 years in business marketing and communications, Ivy Harris brings a unique blend of expertise to Revolution School. Ivy is a dedicated and compassionate professional, mom of three boys, and passionate about literature and beauty & wellness.

Her diverse interests and holistic approach to student development make her an asset to the Revolution School community. Ivy holds a Master of Science in Educational Counseling and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a focus on Marketing/Communications.

Ivy will leverage her extensive experience in academic administration, policy development, and program management to enhance the community life of Revolution School and the Future Ready / REVchat Program. As a trained and experienced school counselor, Ivy will collaborate with our students, families, educators, and community partners to ensure success and well-being for all.

Please join me in welcoming Ivy, and please reach out to ivy@revolutionschool.org to say hello!

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS

2024-25 School Year

New Family August Meetings

All new families are invited to Revolution School for a one-on-one meeting to complete forms, review student schedules, and set goals. If you are a new family who has not yet scheduled a meeting — or you are a returning family who would like to meet prior to the school year — please schedule your back-to-school meeting.

Back to School Night for All Families

Mark your calendar! On Tuesday, Sept 10 from 6–8pm, we will host a Back to School Night for all of our parents at Revolution School. Meet Antonio Williams (Associate Head of School) and Ivy Harris (Director of Community Life) — as well as other Revolution School parents, teachers, and staff. On the agenda will be our curriculum, special projects, and a report about the growth of our school, including a tour of our new classroom/office space on the 20th floor! Please do not miss this important 2024-25 orientation where we will detail how best to engage with the school.

Important – Health Forms

Students must return to school with a completed health form and immunization record from your physician. Please return to carolyn@revolutionschool.org asap or bring it to your back-to-school meeting. Health forms are state mandated. Therefore, students will not be allowed back to school without a completed form or a note from the doctor with a confirmed appointment.

Here is a link to our Physical Examination Form (use our form)

Here is a link to our Student Permission Slips (complete our form)

Educate

Prior to the opening of school, please visit the Educate portal and update all of your information for the 2024-2025 school year.

Summer Enrichment

All students are required to read two books of their choice and complete their math assignments before we return to school! For full details on your summer work, please see the full Summer Enrichment assignment here.

Our Revolution School Store is Open

We are partnering with Print Your Cause to offer Revolution School merch! Show your school pride with a REV school t-shirt, hoodie, water bottle, or hat! Please visit our school merch store and order today!

College & Career Counseling for Seniors

On August 1st, Joel sent an email to all 12th grade students and their parents. It covered the SAT, summer assignments for seniors, as well as information about financial aid and scholarships.

Please mark your calendar for the NACAC College Fair at the Convention Center on Saturday, November 2 from 11am to 3pm. All students (grades 9-12) are welcome to attend.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Tuesday, Sept 3 — New Student & Family Orientation Day

We look forward to welcoming our new students and families at 8:30am for orange juice and bagels, and for students and parents to mingle. At 9:30am, the parents will depart — our student orientation ends at 3:15pm. Please bring your health forms if you have not already sent them to Carolyn.

Wednesday, Sept 4 — First day of school

The doors will open at 7:45 am for our students, and we will start our day with a pancake breakfast and morning meeting at 8:30 am.

Tuesday, Sept 10 — Back to School Night for all families, 6–7:30pm

Here is a link to our complete 2024-25 Academic Calendar.

WELCOME NEW STUDENTS & FAMILIES

We have had our most robust admissions season to date and are welcoming many wonderful new families/students across multiple grades. We are delighted that as of 8/15, the following students and their families are joining us in September:

Grade 9: “KK” Khabirah Custis-Miller (Russell Byers), Ava Laforest (Wyomissing Jr High), Daeshawn Quinones (Hope Partnership), Cassie Stewart (Frankford Friends), Yasmeen Taylor (Quadrat Academy), Janelly Walton (Hope Partnership), Ali Washington (Russell Byers), Naasirah Washington (Hope Partnership), and “Olivia” Jingheng Zhang (Curtis Institute of Music).

Grade 10: Zafirah Acuna (Davao Chong Hua HS, Philippines), Itai Bravato (Quadrat Academy), Michael Glick (Quadrat Academy), Luca Harper (West Philadelphia HS), and Asher Jayawardena (Quadrat Academy).

In addition, our partnership with Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia continues to grow. Last year, we welcomed four new students — and this year six Curtis families will join Revolution. To learn more about these students, check out this wonderful NYT article, At This School, the Students Live Entirely for Music.

REVCHAT INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Special congratulations to Anna Goldman (REVchat Fellow/Advisor) and our Class of 2023 alums: Tasneem Abdullah, Maria Moore, Tasneem White, and Sodd Whitehead for successfully leading our inaugural REVchat summer session program. We look forward to sharing more details in the months ahead about this amazing opportunity for our students.

PARENT & COMMUNITY SERIES

We are delighted to announce that we are partnering with Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools (PAIS) and Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS) to bring you their Parent & Community Series 2024-2025. This will consist of (6) one hour zoom webinars for parents and caregivers — as well as our faculty and community members.

September 25, 7:30-8:30pm Back-To-School Momentum: Prepping Children of All Ages for the Challenges (& Successes) of a New School Year

November 19, 7:30-8:30pm Never Enough: When Achievement Pressure Becomes Toxic—And What We Can Do About It

January 15, 7:30-8:30pm How to Raise Socially Skilled Tweens & Teens Who Can Navigate Friendship Challenges

February 12, 7:30-8:30pm Squish the Peas: Life Lessons from Toddlers on How to Live a Happier, Healthier Life

March 11, 7:30-8:30pm Raise Your Children & Adolescents to be Authentically Successful, Emotionally Healthy & Prepared to Thrive

April 9, 7:30-8:30pm Planning for Summers of Growth & Joy

I firmly believe that schools of excellence emerge as a result of the collaborative efforts of staff, students, parents, and community. Perhaps one of the most important resources — and the source of most of our success here at Revolution School — is our dedicated and talented staff of professionals. It is my privilege to share with you our Revolution School/REVchat staff for the upcoming school year in this link: Revolution School Team 2024-2025.

All of these details can be overwhelming, but our intent is to provide you with as much information as possible to set everyone up for success this school year. Setting up your child for a successful school year is one of the most important things we can do together.

We look forward to seeing all of our students on Wednesday, September 4: First Day of School! The doors will open at 7:45 am, and we will start our day with a pancake breakfast and morning meeting at 8:30 am.

Here’s to a wonderful 2024-2025 academic year!

 

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