African American History Month

If you are looking for some resources to help you teach this topic, check out this link: 

African American/Black Heritage Month Resources

Sibling Enrollment Opens Today

Priority applications for sibling enrollment and academy transfers open today for next school year.

The deadline to have all required documentation is Friday, March 26 at 11:59 pm.

Enrollment lottery for new incoming students is on Thursday, April 1st.

See the Wire post for more information.

COVID-19 Update - Meetings and Enrichment Services

We have been informed by Visions superintendent, Gary Bowman, that we will continue to work virtually with no face-to-face services for the month of February.

The current plan is to re-evaluate at the end of February. I will keep you updated with information as I receive it.

This Week's Meeting Schedule

LP6 Agenda - Spring Work Samples

Monday 2/1
Office Day

Tuesday
Virtual
11:00 - Tiffany, Madison & Logan

2:00 - Jasmine, Roxie & Fiona

Wednesday
Virtual
11:00 - Charlotte

12:00 - Wyatt
1:00 - Willow H.

3:00 - Ella

Thursday
Virtual
11:00 - Jaxon, Sarah & Paul
2:00 - Savannah

3:30 - Jezzy

Friday
Office Day
Virtual
11:00 - Hailee & Lyla

Ordering Deadlines

I know this seems a little early, and I will post reminders about as the deadlines get closer, but I have had a few families ask about the ordering deadlines for this year.

Here is the current information from the WIRE:

Home School Academy – End of Year:
All 2020/2021 Students

• March 12, 2021: Last day to add a new Community Partner.
• April 9, 2021:
• Last day to order curriculum.
• Last day to order a computer or eVouchers.
• April 19 – June 30, 2021: Early ordering for 2021-22 school year. Curriculum and eVouchers (July and August services for eVouchers up to a total of $600).
• June 3-9, 2021: Year-end book returns at offsite locations.
• June 30, 2021: Last day to submit a community college, parent field trip reimbursement.

Don't forget the restrictions on enrichment subscriptions. Most subscription services (Kiwi Co. Raddish Kids, Bitsbox, Art for Kids Hub, etc.) have 12, 6 or 3 month options and need to be ordered for only for the remainder of this school year (that means you'd need to order a 6 mos. subscription now). Some do have individual kits, but not all. See the Ordering Information Google Doc for descriptions, costs, and details of partner offerings.

Upcoming & Notable

Lincoln's Birthday - No School: Monday, February 8
President's Day - No School: Monday, February 15
LP7 Begins: Monday, February 22

Deadline to Add a new Community Partner: Friday, March 12

Add/Drop Deadline (High School): Friday, March 19

LP8 Begins: Monday, March 22
Spring Break - No School: Monday March 29 - Friday, April 2

Ordering Deadline for Curriculum, Computers & eVouchers: Friday, April 9

LP9 Begins: Monday, April 19

Semester 2 Work Samples - Reminder

I will be collecting Semester 2 samples at our LP6 Meeting. Here is the K-8 Spring Work Sample Packets Google Folder.

Important things to remember when compiling work samples:

• Please provide one written sample from each subject. (Don't forget PE and Electives!)
• Samples cannot be from a religious publisher. (i.e. handouts, worksheets with the publisher’s name on them). Handwritten work on blank or lined paper that is from religious curriculum, but is not addressing religious themes, is fine.
• Samples should be a representation of your student's best work. They should be proud of what they submit.
• Samples cannot be a test or multiple choice, they must show student work. (Except for some instances in TK, samples where student just matches, underlines, or circles items are not sufficient, there must be some written work on the page.)
• Please grade and/or comment on each sample in a different color than your student worked.
• Please make sure that the samples match your LP6 assignments and standard drop downs on your semester plan. You can make your best guess about the standard. I will help you when I collect the samples.
• Please don't put dates or LP#s on work samples.
• Please try to leave the upper right hand corner blank when possible. (The school attaches a label in that area.)
  
  

Thank you!

Please don't hesitate to call, text, or email with questions about work samples.

This Week's Meeting Schedule

LP6 Agenda - Spring Work Samples

Monday 1/25
Office Day

Tuesday 
Virtual
11:00 - Willow H.

2:00 - Wyatt

Wednesday
Virtual
11:00 - Lucas & Elias
2:00 - Camryn

Thursday
Virtual
11:00 - Skyler

12:00 - Jacob

1:00 - Baruch & Ana

Friday
Office Day

Upcoming & Notable

Semester 1 Ends: Wednesday, January 20
End of Semester Teacher Workdays - No School - Thursday & Friday, January 21 & 22
LP6 (Spring Semester) Begins: Monday, January 25

Lincoln's Birthday - No School: Monday, February 8
President's Day - No School: Monday, February 15
LP7 Begins: Monday, February 22

Add/Drop Deadline (High School): Friday, March 19

LP8 Begins: Monday, March 22
Spring Break - No School: Monday March 29 - Friday, April 2

This Week's Meeting Schedule

 LP5 Agenda - Report Cards & Spring Plans

Monday 1/19
Martin Luther King Jr. Day - No School

Tuesday
Virtual
1:00 - Charlotte

2:00 - Savannah

Wednesday - End of LP5
Teacher Meetings
Virtual

2:00 - Billy & Ari

Thursday
Teacher Work Day - No School

Friday
Teacher Work Day - No School

CAASPP Testing

The most recent information provided by the state is that students in grades 3 - 8 and 11 WILL be tested this year. The state is planning for testing to take place in a virtual environment. 

What does this mean for you?

Well, no one is sure right now. I can honestly say that I have no idea what is going to transpire. However, I do believe that practicing for the state mandated testing would be beneficial to you and your students no matter what ends up happening. 

Why bother practicing for standardized testing?

Because practice testing gives you information about how your student is mastering the grade level standards that are expected. This lets you know what standards your student might need extra help in mastering. How could that be a bad thing? 

It also gives you, as a parent educator, practice in administering the tests. It allows you to troubleshoot technical difficulties, assist your student in understanding the types of questions that may be asked, and also allows you to assess your curriculum to see if it it truly addressing all grade level standards.

In order to support you in this endeavor, I will be setting up official practice tests over the next few weeks through the Caaspp system. You will need a computer, but you will not need a "secure browser" that was required in previous years. Keep looking at future Blog posts for more information.

Until then, you can access the Caaspp practice tests at: https://www.caaspp.org/practice-and-training/index.html. Click on "Student Interface Practice Training and Tests" and log in as a guest user and guest session. The challenge with these practice sessions is that they don't provide immediate scores, or hold your place in the testing. However, they are a good way to get an idea of what kind of questions will be asked. 

Practice test scoring guide is available here: https://www.caaspp.org/ta-resources/practice-training.html

Please feel free to contact me with questions.

This Week's Meeting Schedule

 LP5 Agenda - Report Cards & Spring Plans

Monday 1/11
Office Day

Tuesday
Virtual
12:00 - Uriah

2:00 - Billy & Ari

Wednesday
Virtual
11:00 - Hailee & Lyla
1:00 - Hunter

2:00 - McKenna

Thursday
Virtual
11:00 - Elijah & Hazel

1:00 - Akira

2:00 - Jonah

4:00 - Jette

Friday
Office Day
Virtual
11:00 - Jaxon, Sarah & Paul

Report Card Information

Fall semester report card information for our LP5 meeting:

Grades K-5:
Remember, there are no real "grades" for K-5. Report cards just track progress through the grade level standards - based on curriculum and standard completion.

3 = Proficient/At Grade Level Standard (Typical at the end of the year)

4 = Advanced/Exceeds Grade Level (For students who are working at least one grade level above)

2 = Approaching Grade Level Standard (Typical for end of 1st semester)

1 = Beginning/Not Yet Covered (For topics that are not being covered until 2nd semester) 

Plusses and minuses can be used when the numbers don't quite match progress. 

Most students will get 2s in most categories.

• Download (or just view) sample report cards below. Look over the categories and see if you have any questions. 
• Decide if you would like to add optional effort grades and if so, have them ready.
• Write up your overall comments and either email them to me or read them to me at our meeting/check out.
• Have your progress grades ready. (If it is easier, just let me know which ones, if any, are NOT 2s.)
• You don't need to fill out the LP5 progress tab on the semester plan. The report card will count for that.

Grades 6-12:

• Check in on your student's grades and progress, keep close track between now and our LP5 meeting.
• Write up your overall comments and optional effort grades to give to me at our LP5 meeting. 
• Have your final grades updated in your Semester Plan for our LP5 meeting.
• If you student needs more time to finish assignments or improve their grades, they have until January 20th to do so. We just need to keep in close contact so I don't miss anything when submitting report cards.

You can download/view samples here:
Sample Report Card Google Folder

If you have any questions, or need any help, please contact me.

This Week's Meeting Schedule

LP5 Agenda - Report Cards & Spring Plans

Monday 1/4
Teacher Work Day

Tuesday
Virtual
11:00 - Tiffany, Madison & Logan

2:00 - Jasmine, Roxie & Fiona

Wednesday
Virtual
11:00 - Charlotte

2:00 - Savannah

3:00 - Ella

Thursday
Virtual
11:00 - Jaxon, Sarah & Paul

3:30 - Jezzy

Friday
Office Day/Teacher Meetings

Winter Break

Warmest wishes for a wonderful Winter Break!

 Winter Break begins next week and extends through January 3rd.

School Calendars 2021-22 and 2022-23

Visions school year calendars for the next two years are finalized and ready in case you would like to see them for planning purposes. 

Calendars are also always available on the Blog...look at the column on the right side...under "Quick Links" you will see a link to school year calendars.

*Note - These are published from the Wire, so you will need to sign in to Launchpad to view.

School Year Calendar 2021-2022
School Year Calendar 2022-2023

This Week's Meeting Schedule

LP5 Agenda - Report Cards and Spring Plans

Monday 12/14
Teacher Meetings

Tuesday 
Virtual
11:00 - Willow H.
12:00 - Sterling & Allie

2:00 - Wyatt

Wednesday
Virtual
11:00 - Lucas & Elias
2:00 - Camryn

Thursday
Virtual
11:00 - Skyler

12:00 - Jacob

1:00 - Baruch & Ana

Friday
Office Day
Virtual
2:30 - Savannah

Visions Writing Classes Open for Spring

Attention 3rd - 8th Grade Families!

From the Visions Curriculum Team...

We are delighted to offer Visions Families English Language Arts classes for a second semester this year. Our team welcomes students and parents who have not attended fall classes, as well as Credentialed Teachers serving Visions families to attend. We hope that our courses will assist students in learning new skills and Parent Educators in developing additional teaching strategies as we learn together.  

All courses will meet virtually, and students will access materials, links to classes and recordings, and other resources through Writable and a Google Classroom account that we be set up for each registered student with their Visions email. 

After registering your students on this form you will receive a confirmation email from Michelle Sweezey letting you know if you have been enrolled, or placed on a waitlist. We can only take a maximum of 50 students per course to ensure quality offerings. No charges for the writing courses will be posted to your student account until registration is confirmed. Courses will be offered as follows:

Here is the full flyer.

Upcoming & Notable

  

LP5 Begins: Monday, December 14
Virtual Spelling Bee - Tuesday, December 15 (Wire post has been updated!)
Winter Break: Monday, December 21 - Friday, January 1

Martin Luther King Jr. Day - No School: Monday, January 18
Semester 1 Ends: Wednesday, January 20
End of Semester Teacher Workdays - No School - Thursday & Friday, January 21 & 22
LP6 (Spring Semester) Begins: Monday, January 25

Lincoln's Birthday - No School: Monday, February 8
President's Day - No School: Monday, February 15
LP7 Begins: Monday, February 22

This Week's Meeting Schedule

 LP4 Agenda - Report Card Prep

Monday 12/7
Office Day/Teacher Meetings
Virtual
3:00 - Billy*

Tuesday
Virtual
12:00 - Uriah

2:30 - Billy & Ari

Wednesday
Virtual
11:00 - Hailee & Lyla
1:00 - Hunter

2:00 - McKenna

Thursday
Virtual
11:00 - Elijah & Hazel

1:00 - Akira

2:00 - Jonah

4:00 - Jette

Friday
Office Day/Teacher Meetings
Virtual
2:30 - Savannah