Dear DHAA Families,

We are quickly approaching the end of January and 2024 is off to a great start for our kids! Our 6th grade team recently brought home three state awards at the "Future City" competition in Ft. Wayne, our robotics students are gearing up for their first tournaments, and our third and fourth graders are kicking off their high ability projects for this year's showcase. In addition to all this, we have brought in over 500 canned food items for our food drive (and still have a week to go)! We are so thankful to get the chance to work with such amazing kids and see their potential in action.

As we get ready for February watch your ParentSquare messages for information on other exciting things here at the DHAA (field trips, dances, midterms, etc...). ParentSquare is one of the primary ways we contact families throughout the day. If you are not receiving our messages please feel free to reach out to us so we can help you get it fixed.

The year is going fast and spring will be hear before you know it! Please remember to share information about our school to other families with children that might qualify to attend. We cannot wait to see what awesome things these kids do next!

Best wishes,

Mr. Apollos & Mrs. Nesbit

DHAA Coordinators

Decatur High Ability Academy is hosting a Robotics Tournament on Saturday, January 27th at Stephen Decatur Elementary. We would love to see some friendly faces there cheering on our teams! Qualification matches will be from 9:30A-11:30A and from 1P-2:30P. We hope to see you there!

Our DHAA PTO is hosting their annual "Someone Special" dance in February. The theme for this year will be "Love You to the Moon". This is an opportunity for a DHAA student to invite a special adult(s) in their lives to spend the evening with. Admission is $5 per person and includes games, snacks, music, and more (early registration discounts will apply starting January 31st).

In order to make this event as spectacular as possible, we are asking for donations of the following Little Debbie snacks:

• Star Crunch
• Moon Pies
• Heart Cakes

NEW THIS YEAR - we will be hosting a scholastic book fair the week & night of this event!

DHAA is now involved with BoxTops, if you download the app and search “Decatur High Ability Academy” you can upload pictures of receipts to support the school!

Media Balance & Well-Being (Spanish)

• Technology and media, ranging from phones and tablets to streaming services like YouTube have become the new normal in the lives of adults and children alike. Here are a few ideas on how to talk about a healthy balance of being online with your kids.

At the DHAA we LOVE to do projects, build things, and experiment with the world around us. This requires us to have a large amount of consumable items on hand for each project we participate in. Many of these items are common materials found stored around a home, garage, or workplace. As you work, complete spring cleaning, or notice some materials you just need taken off your hands, we hope you would consider making a donation to the DHAA MakerSpace. Please feel free to share this list with your family & friends if you think they could benefit from it as well!

The list below offers just a SAMPLE of items that our students could use for the various projects & problems they work to solve. Some items we are in need of at the present time include:

• Legos
• Scrap wood
• Wood working tools
• PVC pipe
• Plastic Containers
• Props/Decoration/Costumes (used in video productions)

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS A LINK TO OUR DONATIONS LIST

The Decatur Township Education Foundation (DTEF) has partnered with the Indiana Pacers to provide you and your family with a fun night at a game, while also helping supply scholarships to future graduates. Our school's night is on Thursday, March 7th when the Pacers face the Minnesota Timberwolves! Can't attend that night? There are three other games that tickets may be purchased for.

Students received packets this week. Sales end February 2nd.

Thank you for your support!

Here are some questions you can ask your child about things happening at school:

• What was your favorite part about attending the DHAA this week?
• Tell me about the specials classes you are taking.
• Have you set any goals for yourself this semester/quarter?
• How many cans has your class collected for the food drive so far?
• How did you show kindness this week?
• What is something that made you smile or laugh this week?
• How have you followed HAWKS expectations?

Email: rnesbit@decaturproud.org
Website: https://www.decaturproud.org/decatur-high-ability-academy
Location: 5106 South High School Road, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Phone: 317-426-8226
Twitter: @DecaturHAA

Facebook: Decatur High Ability Academy