School Work Sample Packets

To simplify the submission of the "official" fall and spring work samples, I have created/compiled work sample packets.  You can download and print these to submit to me at our LP2 meeting, or earlier if it is convenient.

School Work Sample Packet Instructions: 

1. Download and print the appropriate work sample packet below*
2. Have your student complete the worksheets
3. Grade/comment in a different color than the student worked
4. Please do not put dates or LP#s on worksheets
5. Please leave upper right corner blank for label
6. Submit to me at LP2 meeting or earlier if it is convenient

*If  you can’t download and print, let me know and I will print and mail the packet to you. Color printing is not necessary.

If you would rather submit samples from your own curriculum, feel free! Just remember:

1. Samples cannot be from a religious publisher (handouts, worksheets with 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
2. Samples must be of the same state standards as listed on your semester plan
3. Samples cannot be a test or multiple choice, they must show student work (Samples where student just matches, underlines, circles items is not sufficient, there must be some written work on the page)
4. All instructions above apply

TK/K Work Sample Packet
1st Grade Work Sample Packet
2nd Grade Work Sample Packet
3rd Grade Work Sample Packet
4th Grade Work Sample Packet
5th Grade Work Sample Packet
6th Grade Work Sample Packet
7th Grade Work Sample Packet
8th Grade Work Sample Packet

9-12 Work Sample Folder

Please let me know if you have questions, comments or see any errors. Thanks!

Online Attendance

Attendance is now handled online. Try it now, it's easy!
How to record your attendance:
1) Sign in to Launchpad.

2) Click on the School Pathways icon.

3) Click on "Activity Log"

The information on the top of the activity log page defaults to the LP we are in. You won't need to change anything here unless you are reporting attendance for a different LP. (For example: We are in LP2 but you are recording attendance for the last few days of LP1) And even then, you would just change the "Select a Learning Period" drop down menu.

4) Scroll down to the calendar

Check the boxes to record attendance. Or even easier, click on the "Check All" box at the bottom!

5) Scroll back up a little to find the "Save Changes" button. Click it and voila, you are done!

Let me know if you have any questions or need help.

This Week's Meeting Schedule

Monday 9/4
Labor Day - School Closed

Tuesday
Ione
Wesley - 11:00
Austin - 12:15
Grace & Faith - 1:30
Plymouth
David - 3:30

Wednesday
Jackson Library
Billy - 11:00

Isabeau & McKenna - 12:05
Emily - 2:30

Thursday
Ione - Clark's
Leila - 11
Lucas - 12:05
Charles & Ella - 1:30

Friday

Office Day - Available for questions!

Semester Plans

When working on your semester plans, don't worry too much about the drop down menus for the standards. They look way more complicated than they actually are, and I can help you choose them at our first meeting.

If you have questions about how to fill out your semester plans, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Here is a document with links to the pacing guides for the supported curriculum.

This Week's Meeting Schedule

Monday 8/28
Office Day - Available for questions!

Tuesday
Ione
Joseph & Alex - 11:00
Tiffany, Madison & Logan - 1:00

Wednesday
Ione - Clark's
Jaxon - 12
Ione - Home

Charlotte - 1:30
Khloe & Sadie - 2:35

Thursday
Ione - Home
Jasmine & Roxie - 11
Luke, Alex & Jacob - 1

Friday
Office Day - Available for questions!

Welcome Back!

Hello Everyone,
I hope you had a wonderful summer and are excited for a new school year!

School doesn't officially start until Tuesday, August 29th, but there are a few things you can do to get ready.

1. Order your curriculum if you haven't done so already. 
2. Start your semester planning. Semester plans went out on Friday. Let me know if you didn't get yours, or if you have any questions.
3. Email, call or text me about any days and times that you can't meet, as well as preferences,  so I can work on scheduling meetings. I'm trying to get an initial meeting schedule set by Wednesday evening.
4. Contact me with any questions or concerns.

That's about it for now. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone.

New This Year

School Pathways
As most of you know, we have a new student information system this year. You will still be using Launchpad for ordering, but all other student records will be handled by School Pathways.

What does that mean for you?

• Better access to student information
• Online attendance records
• Electronic MAs

Don't worry. We can walk through anything you need to know about it at our first meeting. The only thing that has to be done before school starts is to sign the electronic MA and most of you have done that already!

State Standards included in the Semester Plans
Your semester plans look a little different this year. Instead of Learning Units, the State Standards have been added to the drop down menus.

Science, SS, PE and Exploration are not that different than the Learning Units used to be, so you should be able to correlate them with your materials. The main difference is in Language Arts and Math, those are more complex. We can do them together at our first few meetings, if you like.

*Vendor Insurance*
Visions has required all of our vendors to have insurance. This is a hardship for many, and as a result we have lost many vendors.

The good news is that Visions is going to allow families to spend up to $500 of student funds on non-approved vendor classes and activities. All of the information has not been provided yet, but here is what I have been told:

• You can now receive services from outside vendors as long as you pay out of pocket and submit a reimbursement form
• All activities will need to follow the regular "voucher" rules. (Approved activities that are on the master agreement)

For example, if you would like to take a Karate class for PE, but the provider is not a Visions vendor, you will be able to pay out of pocket for those classes and get reimbursed up to $500 from your student account. (I'm not sure yet if that is a yearly or semester limit, or if there will be limits on how much you can spend on one vendor.)

*This is breaking news and I will provide specifics as I get them! We are supposed to get more clarification at our professional development session tomorrow.

This Week's Meeting Schedule

Next week will be the first school meetings. Please make sure to call, text or email me with days and times you can NOT meet, as well as preferences, so I can try to set up a tentative schedule on Wednesday. Thanks!

Monday 8/21
Office Day - Available for questions!

Tuesday
Ms. Bryon in Carmichael for PD

Wednesday
Office Day - Available for questions!

Thursday
Ms. Bryon in Carmichael for PD

Friday

Office Day - Available for questions!

Semester Plans

I started working on next year's semester plans, but due to some new requirements, they won't be finalized until the beginning of next year.

If you would like a draft copy so you can plan over the summer, please email me by Wednesday and I'll share.

Upcoming & Notable

• Last Day of School - Wednesday, June 7th
• Book Return - Thursday, June 15th - 9:00 to 11:30, Grace Church in Jackson
• Virtual Book Sale - Friday, June 23rd (Spreadsheet to be shared via WIRE post June 21st)
• Early Ordering Ends - Thursday, June 29th

Tuesday, August 29th - CTs will begin contacting returning students on Friday, 8/18

Have A Great Summer!

Virtual Book Sale

From the WIRE...

NEW VIRTUAL BOOK SALE!

Visions will be holding a Virtual Book Sale next month on June 23, in order to provide an equal opportunity for all continuing Home School families to obtain various returned items at discounted prices. In the past, this event was hosted at our Carmichael Resource Center and therefore it was limited to those families who resided nearby or wanted to make the drive. This new “virtual” format will allow everyone in our nine-county region to participate online via a Google spreadsheet and Google form!

Details:
Items for sale

• Miscellaneous used items in only good to very good condition.
• Readers, novels, manipulatives, kits, supplies, resource materials, etc.
• All items are “as is” and not returnable

Previewing items

• A Google spreadsheet will be populated with the ISBN # or SKU #, title, description, and price, as well as a link to the item currently sold online.
• Families will have access to this spreadsheet at least two days prior to the sale.

Day of the sale

• A Google form will be shared with families via a Wire post, allowing them to enter the information of the items they want to purchase on the day of the sale. Each submission will have a time and date stamp verifying who “claimed” the items.
• The quantities in the Google spreadsheet will update in real time, so families can see what items are left when they are submitting their claim requests.
• Parents will be able to select “pick up” or “ship to” for the items they claimed.

After the sale

• Staff will process the orders in Launchpad with the amounts charged to the student’s 2017/18 budget.
• “Visions Book Sale 2017” will be listed as the vendor.
• Staff will sort, box and mail items to families.

Timeline

• June 21 – Google spreadsheet shared via Wire post for families to view
• June 23 – Date of the Virtual Book Sale
• June 23 & 26 – Orders posted and processed in Launchpad
• Orders will be mailed out as soon as possible

Early Ordering Extension

Early Ordering has been extended to June 29th.

Upcoming & Notable

• Memorial Day - No School - Monday, May 29
• High School Graduation Ceremony - Wednesday, May 31st

• Last Day of School - Wednesday, June 7th
• Book Return - Thursday, June 15th - 9:00 to 11:30, Grace Church in Jackson
• Virtual Book Sale - Friday, June 23rd (Spreadsheet to be shared via WIRE post June 21st)
• Early Ordering Ends - Thursday, June 29th

Tuesday, August 29th - CTs will begin contacting returning students on Friday, 8/18

This Week's Meeting Schedule

Monday 5/29
Memorial Day - No School

Tuesday
Placerville Library
Gage - 1:00
Alex - 2:00

Wednesday
High School Graduation Ceremony in Sacramento

Thursday
Ione
Justin - 2:30
Plymouth
David - 3:45

Friday

Office Day

Curriculum Ideas

What have been your favorite curriculum choices? What has worked well for you? If you know of something that you'd like to share with other home school families, just shoot me an email with the info and I will add it to the new "Curriculum Ideas" page that you can access from the link above.

How about local field trip recommendations? Local co-ops or activities? Books your child/children love? I'd love to create a page for those, too.

Thanks to Shelly Zabawa for the first idea!

Field Day Information - This Friday!

If we are counting the field day as our LP10 meeting, please bring work samples and your filled out draft report cards (K-5). I will have a black crate of folders with student names on them near the sign-in area. Attendance forms will be inside. Please initial the attendance form(s) and place your work samples and draft report cards inside. Grades 6-12, please update your progress tab (grades) and PE log on your semester plan prior to the field day. Remember, you can update grades until the last day of school, just notify me if that is the case so I record them correctly. Thanks!

Field Day in Jackson

Date: May 26, 2017

Time: 9:30 to 12:30

Where: Detert Park

(Information copied from the WIRE)
One of the highlights of Visions’ annual events is Field Days, a fun day of field games and activities organized by Visions staff and held at a variety of parks throughout our service area. This is a great opportunity for students and families to get to know and network with other home school families. And for kids to expend some energy!

Games are supervised by Visions CTs and staff, and the day ends with a family barbecue of hot dogs, chips, and lemonade.

You won’t want to miss this day of fun and activities!

Important Details
Come Prepared to Play

• WEAR ATHLETIC SHOES! Students will compete in a variety of field games, so it’s important they come prepared to play. All participating children must wear closed-toe, sports shoes.
• Adults are also asked to wear athletic shoes for a planned child-parent activity.
• Visions will provide water and snacks for participating students.

Networking & Family Barbecue

• While your kids are playing, take advantage of the opportunity to network with CTs, Administrators and other Visions home school families.
• A family barbecue will be offered from 12-12:30. Vegetarian option is available. Please RSVP your food choice in Registration Form below.

Home School Curriculum Preview

• Visit with a Visions curriculum expert and preview some of the newest Home School curriculum for 2017-18.

How to Enroll

• Field Days are FREE for all students, siblings, and family members to attend.
• So that we may appropriately plan for food and staffing, please register your student(s) by filling out the Field Day Registration Form.
• To save time on the day of the event, bring a completed permission slip (one per household).

This Week's Meeting Schedule

Monday 5/22
Ms. Bryon at Professional Development in Carmichael

Tuesday
End of Year Prep

Wednesday
CT Meetings

Thursday
End of Year Prep

Friday
Field Day in Jackson

Student Budget Update

From the WIRE...
Posted by Jody Graf

Over the last few weeks we have received great feedback regarding what our families value in support of their homeschooling journey. Overwhelmingly, our parents shared that they value their teacher and they want the maximum amount of funding and flexibility available to support their child’s education. In addition, we heard that our families wanted more control in how they manage their student budgets within a family budget.

As a result of this feedback and fine tuning of our budget, we are excited to share that we will be making the following enhancements to support our Home School families:

• TK-8 students will receive $2,600
• 9-12 students will receive $2,800
• A Family Budget (ability to move money between students with no limits)
• Ability to use your student budgets to cover costs for approved conferences you may want to attend (up to $350)

Previously announced enhancements that will remain the same:

• No Retention or Transfer fees for curriculum items families wish to retain over the summer after the school year ends
• Purchasing Matrix has been simplified to provide greater purchasing options
• Expansion of our enrichment/service vendor providers (est. of 1,200-1,300 vendors for next year) to include driver’s training and gym memberships
• Extension of our purchasing deadlines to later in the school year

We want to let you know we are doing our best to listen to the needs of our families. We also heard that our families wanted these funds with fewer strings attached, as a result, these new funding amounts will replace the Parent Educator Bonus, Student Assessment Bonus and free community college which was discussed earlier this spring.

Thank you for allowing us to serve your family.

Upcoming & Notable

• LP9 Ends - Friday, May 19
• Field Day - Friday, May 26 - Detert Park in Jackson, 9:30 to 12:30 (See information below)
• 8th Grade Promotion Ceremony - Wednesday, May 17, 12:30 to 1:30 - Grace Church in Jackson
• Memorial Day - No School - Monday, May 29
• High School Graduation Ceremony - Wednesday, May 31st

• Last Day of School - Wednesday, June 7th
• Book Return - Thursday, June 15th - 9:00 to 11:30, Grace Church in Jackson