Back to School Events

Lemonade Party

ECE, Begindergarten, Junior Kindergarten, Kindergarten

This is an opportunity for new and returning families to meet their children’s teachers, see their new classrooms and enjoy lemonade and cookies. Children and parents are encouraged to explore the classrooms and chat briefly with the teachers. The Lemonade Party interactions help children overcome their "jitters" before classes begin, making the first day of school more relaxed, fun and productive.

Lunch Bunch

Elementary (1st-5th grade)

This informal gathering is a BYOL (Bring your Own Lunch) activity. It’s held at Graystone Park adjacent to the school and offers students and parents a chance to reconnect with familiar friends and meet new ones while enjoying lunch and treats.

Middle School Swim Party

Middle School (6th-8th grade)

The swim party is held at a local neighborhood association pool and welcomes our sixth graders into Middle School. Students get a chance to catch up on their summer happenings, swap stories and discuss classes for the coming year.

New Family Orientation

After parents drop children off for their first day of school, ACS hosts our New Family Orientation. There is a brief presentation where administrators and Parent Service Auxiliary (PSA) board members then address FAQs and parents enjoy refreshments, meet and mingle with other parents and sign-up for a variety of volunteer opportunities.

New Family Ice Cream Social

This informal event held in the early evening during the second week of school acquaints new parents and students with their host families, ACS administrators and PSA board members.

Back-to-School Family Dinner

This theme-based event is held each fall to welcome the ACS community back to school. It’s a very relaxed and fun event and a great way to reconnect with friends and meet our new families.

Fund Run Events

Spirit Week

Spirit Week takes place in the fall and events are organized to promote school spirit. Each day carries a theme — you might find students with crazy hair one day and dressed in the uniforms of their favorite sports teams another day! Spirit Week is a festive and lively tradition at ACS.

Fund Run

Children from all of our classes, Begindergarten-8th grade, participate in the Fund Run, the major fundraiser for the PSA that supports all the whole-school activities we enjoy each year. Children enlist sponsors and then run/walk laps on our playing fields, of a distance appropriate to their grade level. You’ll see our Begindergarten, Junior Kindergarten, Kindergarten and first grade students partnering with their older Big Buddies as they loop around the track to the cheers of teachers and parents!

School and Family Social Events

Back to School Night

Parents are given the opportunity to experience their child’s day by touring teachers’ classrooms. Separate nights are dedicated for parents of ECE, Elementary and Middle School. Teachers discuss classroom procedures and expectations, instructional plans for the year, curricula and homework.

Halloween Parade

It just wouldn’t be Halloween without a school-wide Halloween parade! In this popular ACS tradition, the central blacktop area on campus is filled with ghosts, goblins, famous athletes, cartoon characters and princesses as students from every grade level get to participate — you’ll also witness decked out teachers and administrators who get into the spirit!

Pumpkin Carving

This school-wide event is a festive evening of pumpkin carving that includes creativity, costumes and camaraderie. The campus is transformed with pumpkins scattered across the garden, a spooky Halloween tunnel and costumes of every sort running about campus. After dark, families enjoy refreshments and magic or comedy shows in the candlelight of hundreds of freshly carved pumpkins.

Special Persons Day

Every person at ACS is special, but this day is meant for students to bring a special person in their life to campus to share lunch together. From grandparents and uncles to neighbors and old family friends, the school comes alive as newcomers get to come on campus and catch a glimpse of the ACS experience.

Thanksgiving Feast

The Thanksgiving Feast is a hallmark event at ACS with more than 400 students gathered together around tables to share a meal. This feast isn’t a catered event or a parent-cooked extravaganza — it’s the product of every student at ACS. As part of the school’s “Character and Competence” curriculum, students roll their sleeves up to join parent volunteers and participate in chopping, stirring, seasoning and spicing, creating a multiple-course feast together that helps bring the meaning of Thanksgiving to life.

Volunteer Appreciation Brunch

ACS understands and values the role volunteers make in creating a campus that’s teeming with energy, education and passion. The school hosts dozens of parent volunteers every day who are helping in classrooms, preparing for an event and supporting our close-knit community. To thank our tireless volunteers, each spring ACS hosts Volunteer Celebrations where parents and guardians share a slice of gratitude together with the students, administration and teachers.

Teacher Appreciation Events

Teacher Hospitality Luncheons

Several times each school year, the faculty room is transformed from a workspace filled with paper, glue and scissors, into a lovely diner filled with tasty treats and cool drinks on long tables topped with flowers. Teachers and staff are highly valued at ACS and the Hospitality Luncheon program is just one way that parents give thanks for the faculty’s dedication. A parent volunteer coordinates the luncheons and parents cook and provide the meal for our beloved teachers and staff.

Teacher Appreciation Holiday Luncheon

This is the largest and most formal luncheon of the year — an annual tradition complete with a sit-down meal at a carefully selected site off campus, honoring the faculty with a touch of holiday elegance.

Teacher Appreciation Week

During National Teacher Appreciation Week (ACS will celebrate from May 1-4 while the national week is May 7-11), the entire ACS community celebrates our beloved faculty with handmade cards and gifts from the children, favorite treats and other personalized expressions of gratitude.

End of School Events

All School Student Exhibition and Talent Showcase

ASSETS is our All School Student Exhibition and Talent Showcase — a popular ACS tradition for more than a decade and a lively celebration of student success and skills. ASSETS exhibits highlight some of the students’ best classroom artwork, enrichment projects and live talent performances by individual students and groups across the grade levels. 

End of the Year Carnival

On the last day of school, the expansive outdoor play space is transformed into a festive carnival by a team of dedicated parents. Hundreds of students run between carnival games, face painting, teacher dunk station and a jump house. Laughter fills the air while students enjoy their friends and anticipate a care-free summer ahead.

End of the Year 6-7 Grade Party

The 6-7 grade year end party is held at a nearby site at the same time as the carnival, giving the Middle School students an opportunity to sign yearbooks, hang out together and say goodbye to friends.

Great America for 8th Grade