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Ask
a Question/FAQ about Nova and Enrollment
FAQ
| Kindergarten FAQ |
Ask a Question
FAQ
How
was Nova Classical Academy started?
What is a Charter School?
Who Sponsors Nova?
How many students
attend Nova?
What are the class
sizes?
Does Nova charge
tuition?
What is the difference between Kindergarten and Enrichment?
What
are the school hours and calendar?
Do
St. Paul students get preference for enrollment?
Does
Nova have any admission requirements?
Does Nova
have a gifted program?
Does
Nova provide Special Education services?
Does
Nova have band and/or orchestra?
What specialists
does Nova have?
Does Nova have
computers?
What
foreign languages are offered at Nova?
Does Nova have a gym?
What
extra-curricular activities are offered?
Does Nova offer busing?
Does
Nova have a hot lunch program?
Do Nova students
wear uniforms?
How
was Nova Classical Academy started?
Nova Classical Academy was founded by three St. Paul
parents: Elisa Knudson, Simon Fung and Teresa Schulte.
These parents saw a need in the public school system
for the kind of rigorous classical education typically
found only in private schools. They also saw a need
for a school that acknowledged parents as the primary
educators of their children and which sought to assist
them in that task. Nova Classical Academy opened in
the fall of 2003 with approximately 165 students in
grades K-6. Grades 7 and 8 were added in 2004 and 2005
and we will eventually educate students in grades K-12.
Please
see our History
page for further details.
(back
to top)
What
is a Charter School
A
charter school is a public school that receives public
education funding and is open to all children in the
state in which it is located. In general, a charter
school is independent of the local school district,
nonsectarian, tuition-free, and governed by a board
of directors elected from among the parents and staff
of the school as well as interested community members.
In return for increased accountability for results,
charter schools are free of many regulations governing
traditional public schools. Charter schools must have
a sponsor to oversee these accountability efforts. Minnesota
passed the first charter school law in 1991 and saw
the opening of the first charter school in the nation
in 1992. Now, 40 states and the District of Columbia
have laws allowing the creation of charter schools.
In Minnesota, charter schools are part of the state's
system of public education.
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to top)
Who
Sponsors Nova?
Charter
schools may be sponsored by schools boards, institutions
of higher learning and certain nonprofit corporations.
Contracts with sponsors must be examined and renewed
every three years. Nova is sponsored by Friends of Education,
a nonprofit corporation organized specifically to sponsor
knowledge-based charter schools. Friends of Education
sponsors a number of other charter schools in the Twin
Cities.
(Back
to top)
How
many students attend Nova?
We
currently enroll approximately 570 students in grades
K-9. We have three sections each of grades K-3 and two
sections each of grades 4-9..
Nova holds a K-12 charter. Our current growth plan will
have Nova at three sections of K-8 and two sections
of 9-12 in 2015.
(Back
to top)
What
are the class sizes?
20
students in kindergarten, 24 in grades 1 and 2, 26 in
grades 3-9.
(Back
to top)
Does
Nova charge tuition?
No.
Nova Classical Academy is a public school and is funded
by general education revenues just like any other public
school. We do expect parents to participate in fundraising
activities, and some non-required programs are fee-based.
(Back
to top)
What
is the difference between Kindergarten and Enrichment?
Kindergarten
at Nova is a half-day program. Nova does offer an optional
afternoon enrichment program for enrolled kindergartners
on a fee basis. The fee for the enrichment program for
the current year (2009-10) is $2,700 for the full year
($900 per trimester). A kindergarten student may enroll
in the afternoon enrichment at the beginning of the
1st, 2nd or 3rd trimesters.
(Back
to top)
What
are the school hours and calendar?
Classes
begin at the Lower School at 9:00 am and continue through
3:40 pm. Kindergartens begins at 9:00 am and ends at
11:30 am (unless students remain for the optional enrichment
program which also ends at 3:40 PM).
Classes
begin at the Upper School at 8:40 am and continue through
3:50 PM
(Back
to top)
Do
St. Paul students get preference for enrollment?
No.
With limited exceptions, charter schools do not have
geographic preference areas. Any Minnesota child in
the offered grades is eligible to enroll, but parents
must apply for admission for their children. Charter
schools DO have sibling preference. Please see our handout
on the application process
for further information regarding deadlines and lottery
procedures.
(Back
to top)
Does
Nova have any admission requirements?
There
are no academic or geographic admission requirements,
but, as stated above, application must be made in writing.
In addition, applicants who are admitted MUST come to
an orientation interview and sign a partnership agreement
to be enrolled. Grade placement and promotion will be
determined on the basis of skills assessments.
(Back
to top)
Does
Nova have a gifted program?
We
are committed to providing appropriately challenging
studies to gifted students within the framework of our
classical curriculum. Our core curriculum is accelerated
and enriched and meets the needs of most moderately
gifted students. In addition, we use ability-grouping
to ensure that all students are comfortably challenged.
Parents, and students themselves, share a large part
of the responsibility for making this successful.
(Back
to top)
Does
Nova provide special education services?
Yes.
We contract with ISES, as well as employ two full-time
special education teachers, for the provision of all
special education services for our students.
(Back
to top)
Does
Nova have band and/or orchestra?
Playing
an instrument is not only personally enriching, but
research indicates that it helps with academics, especially
math. Instrumental instruction and band are offered
at Nova through the Hill-Murray Parish Band Program.
This is a fee-based program.
(Back
to top)
What
specialists does Nova have?
We
employ specialists in the areas of Art, Music, Physical
Education, and Latin.
(Back
to top)
Does
Nova have computers?
Computers
are an essential part of schools today - for teaching,
research, communication and presentations. It's important
to keep in mind, however, that computers are not an
end in themselves, but a tool to help accomplish other
goals. Nova's students have access to computers in all
classrooms as needed.
(Back
to top)
What
foreign languages are offered at Nova?
All
students study Latin beginning in 3rd grade and continue
through grade 8. Once students enter into the School
of Rhetoric (grade 9) and also demonstrate proficiency
equivalent to Latin III, they have the option of continuing
with Latin or beginning a Romance language.
(Back
to top)
Does
Nova have a gym?
Nova's
Lower School campus has both indoor and outdoor facilities
for recreation and physical education.
Nova's
Upper School campus has a full-sized gymnasium and uses
nearby Palace Park for outdoor activities and games.
(Back
to top)
What
extracurricular activities are offered?
Nova
currently offers students the opportunity to participate
in many athletic, scholastic, and non-scholastic activities.
The following is a sample: Chess Club, Drama Club, Book
Club, Art Club, Junior Classical League Club, Math Team,
Volleyball Team, Newspaper, Soccer, and Mythology club.
(Back
to top)
Does
Nova offer busing?
We
provide transportation at no cost to any St. Paul resident
who lives more than two miles from school. We also offer
some bus service for a fee to some students who live
within the two-mile limit or outside of the city limits.
In addition, we will assist in matching families who
are interested in carpooling.
(Back
to top)
Does
Nova have a hot lunch program?
Yes.
We contract with Caravan Kids for daily catered lunch
services.
(Back
to top)
Do
Nova students wear uniforms?
Yes.
We believe that orderly classrooms begin with orderly
students. We have a clear uniform code and offer three
vendors from which to choose.
(Back
to top)
Kindergarten
FAQ
How
long is the day for Kindergarteners?
What are the age requirements for kindergarten?
What is the kindergarten class size?
What is the kindergarten schedule?
What is the Enrichment Program schedule?
What does Classical Education look like
in Kindergarten?
Do kindergartners have homework?
What is the cost of the full-day Kindergarten
Enrichment Program?
What do the students learn in the Enrichment
Program?
Do you have kindergarten classroom volunteers?
Where do you go on field trips?
What skills does a child need to have
to be ready for Kindergarten at Nova?
How
long is the day for Kindergarteners?
Kindergarten at Nova is a half-day, running from 9:00-11:30
am.
Nova also offers an afternoon Enrichment program for
Kindergarten students which runs until 3:40 PM
What
are the age requirements for kindergarten?
State law requires that Kindergarten students must attain
the age of five prior to September 1 of the enrollment
year, unless the local school board has adopted a policy
for early enrollment in select cases. The Board of Nova
Classical Academy has adopted Early Admission to Kindergarten
Guidelines.
What
is the kindergarten class size?
20 students.
What
is the kindergarten schedule?
9:00 School Begins, Morning Circle Time
9:15-10:15 Reading and Writing Instruction
10:20-10:50 Art or Music
10:50-11:25 Math
11:30 Kindergarten dismissal
What
is the Enrichment Program schedule?
11:40-12:20 Lunch and Recess
12:30-1:30 Rest time, read aloud and discussion of chapter
book
1:30-2:15 Gym or Recess and snack
2:15-3:30 Science or Geography
3:40 Enrichment Dismissal
What does Classical Education look
like in Kindergarten?
The curriculum is language intensive with a primary
focus on reading. Individual reading instruction is
provided for all students. The students are also given
many opportunities to memorize facts. The curriculum
is very rigorous and the teachers have high expectations
for all students. We provide the kindergarten students
with a balance of whole group instruction, independent
work time, and learning lab time. The academic needs
of all students are met through a multisensory, direct
instruction approach to reading, writing, and math.
The students also learn about the virtues of Justice,
Temperance, Prudence, and Fortitude.
Do
kindergartners have homework?
Yes, daily homework is mandatory for all students. Homework
is a review of the letters or phonograms the students
practiced in class that day. Homework is not meant to
be difficult for the students and it should not take
more than five minutes. Parents are also expected to
be reading out loud to their children every single day.
What
is the cost of the full-day Kindergarten Enrichment
Program?
The fee for this program for the 2009-10 school
year is $900 per trimester.
Kindergarten
students may only move into the Enrichment Program in
at the beginning of each trimester.
What
do the students learn in the Enrichment Program?
The full day students delve deeper into the subjects
of reading, geography, and science. They also have lunch,
recess, rest time, physical education, snack, and extra
learning lab time. Kindergarten students gain exposure
to science and geography topics in the morning, but
it is explored in greater depth in the afternoon.
N.B.
The Kindergarten curriculum is designed for all students
to complete satisfactorily without participating in
the Enrichment program.
Do
you have kindergarten classroom volunteers?
Parents and grandparents are welcome to volunteer their
time and talents in the classroom, especially as reading
volunteers.
Where
do you go on field trips?
We take educational field trips during the year. We
will go to the Carpenter Nature Center in the fall and
the Minnesota Zoo in the spring.
What
skills does a child need to have to be ready for Kindergarten
at Nova?
| Your
child should be able to |
use
developmentally appropriate small motor skills:
hold a pencil, use scissors, color inside the
lines, etc.
|
separate
from his/her parents without becoming emotional
|
dress
self (put on a coat, zip, snap, and button)
|
follow
verbal directions without numerous reminders
|
work
with other children in a cooperative manner
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demonstrate
engaged concentration for a minimum of 15 minutes.
|
be
self motivated towards learning
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sit
and maintain attention while you are reading
and be able to answer questions when the story
is complete (recall details, sequence of events,
etc.)
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Ask
a Question
If you have a further question, please contact our
Enrollment Coordinator, Jan Beebe, at jbeebe@novaclassical.org.
Nova
Classical Academy welcomes you!
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