APRIL 2014 SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
ACCPA Elementary
African-Centered College Preparatory Academy
6410 Swope Parkway
Kansas City, Mo 64132
UPCOMING EVENTS
MONTH OF APRIL
Phone: 816-418-1175
Apr. 3 – Dads, Dinner & Dialogue
Volume 1, Issue 9
Apr. 18 – No School, Good Friday
MESSAGE FROM THE PRI NCIPAL
CLAIRE THORNTON-POKE
“BLACK HISTORY DID NOT BEGIN WITH
SLAVERY”
When asked to name a famous black person, many people can quickly
spout off the names of Martin Luther King , Harriett Tubman, Rosa Parks, or
Booker T. Washington, to name a few. These are all African Americans, born in
the USA, in the post-slavery era. But if you were asked to name some famous
and notable black historical figures, prior to slavery, how many would you be
able to list?
Black history in the United States began with slavery. Slavery is a part of
American History, but it interrupted black history. You have to study (subSaharan) African history if you wish to learn about black people before they
crossed the middle passage into slavery in the USA. Black people in the
United States have always been presented as suffering and heroic, but
certainly not as conquerors, university builders, architects and scientists. For
example, the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus of ancient Egypt estimates Pi to be
3.16. This was done more than a thousand years before Archimedes.
Most American slaves were brought from West Africa--Senegal, Gambia,
Ghana, and other areas. Many African Americans cry when visiting the Island
of Gorée, in Dakar, which was the holding station for slaves before boarding
the ships to the Americas and the Caribbean.
Senegal was inhabited in prehistoric times. Islam established itself in the
Senegal River valley in the 11th century; 95% of Senegalese today are Muslims.
In the 13th and 14th centuries, the area came under the influence of the
Mandingo empires to the east; the Jolof Empire of Senegal also was founded
during this time. You'll want to investigate the historical empires of Ghana,
Mali, and Songhai, as well as groups such as Wolof, Pulaar, Dahomey, Hausa,
Apr. 22 – MAP Testing Begins
Apr. 22 – SAC/ Parent Meeting
MONTH OF MAY
May 10 – Dads, Dinner & Dialogue
May 16 – 6th grade Graduation
and Gala
May 23 – Last Day of School!
DON’T FORGET!
is every Tuesday morning at 8:35 AM.
Parents and guardians are welcome
to attend!
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Mandingo, Aka, Ashanti, Ga, and Ewe (among others). You can look online to
see the incredible architecture of Kush or Great Zimbabwe.
If you ask people in the United States, if ancient Africans were as capable as
Europeans of developing advance cultures of art, education, and
architecture, most would say, absolutely not. But when confronted with the
reality that they (ancient Africans) in fact did have those advanced cultures,
they would be totally surprised. This is disturbing and it is a testimony to how
what we have learned in schools has been Euro-centric in nature.
This is the reason and the need for African Centered Education.
Most people in this country have the idea that Africans never did anything all
that amazing because that is what we have, in this country traditionally been
taught. No one, of course, said that pre-colonial Africans were big dummies
or that they had been done a favor by being brought over to the
sophisticated way of life in America. But if you have never been explicitly
taught otherwise, and if you start Black history with the victimized American
slaves, that is the message being conveyed. Many have grown up thinking,
slavery was awful and all, but it’s not like black people were ripped away
from thriving, sophisticated cultures. If they had sophisticated cultures equal
to or better than the familiar European cultures that we have studied and
been exposed to in the curriculum, then surely we would have heard about
some of that culture. We would have heard about:
Mansa Musa, the 14th century king of the Malian empire. He is reported to be
the wealthiest man the world has ever known. On his
trip to Mecca, he gave away so
much gold to the poor when he
was in Cairo, that the metal
became devalued until he
Timbuktu
borrowed the gold back at a higher interest rate. He
built up Timbuktu to be an intellectual center that rivaled
any other on the planet at the time.
Lalibela, home to a series of stunning churches carved from solid rock in the
12th and 13th centuries. Lalibela is one of two holy cities in Ethiopia, designed
by the Axum king whom the city was named after. Scholars
believe he designed the town to replicate Jerusalem, which had
recently been conquered by Muslims.
Ancient Africans who developed calendars, estimated Pi to be
3.16, and utilized medicine more advanced than that used in
Europe. The structure of the pyramids is equal to the
circumference of o circle.
In schools we learn a little bit about Egypt, but there is
always a not-so-subtle implication that Egyptians weren’t
really African. Egypt is in Africa. The original Egyptians
were black or Nubian, not Arabic, just as the original
(native) Americans were red and brown and not
Anciet Pyramid
European.
Black history did not begin in slavery, and despite the peculiarity, horror
and duration of enslavement of Africans, slavery occupies a minor timeframe
in African history. A mere 0.5% of African or black history is devoted to slavery
in the Americas, to be exact. In the last 50 years much has been done to
combat the false and negative views about the history of Africa, Africans and
descendants of Africa in the Americas and the Caribbean.
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DR. GREEN SUPPORTS OUR TECH, AT AC PREP!
ACCPA DIGITAL LEARNING INITIATIVE: SCHOLAR LAPTOPS
"What became of the Black People
of Sumer?" the traveler asked the old
man, "for ancient records show that
the people of Sumer were Black.
What happened to them?"
On Thursday, March 27 2014, Superintendant Dr.
Green along with staff, visited ACCPA Elementary
during the Parent Meenting to discuss Scholar
laptops and digital learning. The Kansas City
Public Schools (KCPS) is providing laptops to each
scholar at AC Prep as part of its Digital Learning
"Ah," the old man sighed.
"They lost their history, so they died."
- A Sumer Legend
Initiative.
The laptops are pre-loaded with a special curriculum that will be used to
connect directly to classroom lessons and instruction.Our Scholars were
able to show their families around the school,and also take their families to
their classrooms to show them how they use their laptops. Some of our first
grade Scholars gave their interpretations of
some famous Black entrepenuers, by
researching information about them on
their new laptops.
The LINC Drill Team
and Drummers entertained us with some steps and
cadences, that were helped learned through
Digital Learning. Also, scholars sung a song
entitled “Yes We Can”, to encourage our families
that
though
technology, we
LINC Drummers and Drill Team
can
members
accomplish higher learning
education and
achieve many goals with
Digital
Education.
"The events which transpired five
thousand years ago; Five years ago
or five minutes ago, have
determined what will happen five
minutes from now; five years From
now or five thousand years from
now. All history is a current event." Dr. John Henrik Clarke
"Forgetting the names of ancient
centers of importance was nothing
compared to the tragedy of the
blacks in forgetting-almost
completely forgetting-the very art of
writing which they themselves
invented! This is one of the most
tragic losses, to repeat, that was
ever suffered by a whole people." Dr. Chancellor Williams
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Preparing For the Map Test
TEST TAKING TIPS FOR PARENTS
M.A.P. stands for Missouri Assesment Program. It is a series of assessments
for Enlish Languagge Arts, Mathematics and Science at grades 3-8. These
assessments are designed to see if students in Missouri are meeting the
Show-Me-Standards. Below are some tips to help assure that you Scholar
does well on this important statewide test.
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LINC – Caring Communities Learning
Center
Make sure that your child does all their homework and reading
assignments.
Encourage your child to space out their studying and homework
assignments so that they won’t be forced to cram the night before.
If you are anxious about your child’s test, it’s ok, but try to keep cool
around your child so they won’t get anxious.
Encourae your child to do well, but don’t pressure him/her.
Keep a positive attitude about tests.
Provide a quiet, well lit area with liitle distractions when studying.
Mark down test days on your calender so you and your child are
aware of test taking dates.
Make sure your child gets enough sleep the night before the test.
Ensure that your child eats a healthy breakfast and avoid heavy
foods that may make him/her hyper.
Make sure that your child gets up early enough so that he/she will
be on time for school.
Let your child relax for a few hours before bedtime, it can be
stressful for a child to study all night.
Talking about the test with your chid can relieve stress about taking
tests.
If your child is struggling on their tests, talk to them about it and
meet with their teacher to find out the best ways to help your child.
Praise/Reward your child when they do well on a test for their hard
work preparing for a test.
Encourage them to better if they don’t do well.
ACCPA Elementary LINC Program
is having an ABC Summer Program!
The Program lasts from
June 4th – July 18th.
For more information contact our
LINC office and speak to Mrs.
Newsome or Ms. Camille at 816418-1207.
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Review the test with your child when they have taken it and go
over any mistakes they have made and make sure that they
understand what they did wrong and how they can improve fro
the next test.
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