Virtual Learning Resources

Many museums are offering virtual tours of their galleries for free! Other companies are providing learning resources as well. Here are just a few...

Science
The Monterey Bay Aquarium has some online courses and family friendly science activities.
The Nature Conservancy has lots of online field trips with teacher guides.
Take a tour of the International Space Station.
Explore the world's largest cave with National Geographic.
Check out the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History webinars and teaching resources.

History
Studying Ancient Egypt? Take a virtual museum tour of The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum.
Learning about Immigration? Scholastic has a page of fun things to see and do.

Art & Music
Recording Academy Grammy Museum has some amazing music resources including a music fundamentals series and a mini lesson on vocal training.
Interested in animation? Check out the Boston Museum of Science's Science Behind Pixar Exhibit.
Or visit the Van Gogh Museum and the Art Institute Chicago both have exhibits to share and activities to do.

Have a source you'd like to share? Just let me know an I'll post it on the Blog.

Upcoming & Notable

Veteran's Day - School Closed: Wednesday, November 11
LP4 Begins: Monday, November 16
Thanksgiving Break: Tuesday, November 24 - Friday, November 27
Virtual Scholastic Book Fair - Monday, November 30 - Friday, December 4

LP5 Begins: Monday, December 14
Virtual Spelling Bee - Tuesday, December 15
Winter Break: Monday, December 21 - Friday, January 1

Martin Luther King Jr. Day - School Closed: 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

This Week's Meeting Schedule

LP3 Agenda - Standards Review

Monday 11/9

Office Day/Teacher Meetings

Tuesday

Office Day/Teacher Meetings

Wednesday

Veteran's Day - No School

ThursdayVirtual
11:00 - Jaxon, Sarah & Paul

3:30 - Jezreel

Friday
Office Day/Teacher Meetings

Election Day Tomorrow!

This is such a great opportunity to discuss ideas such as: government, history, environment, immigration, law, equality, freedom, wealth, handling confrontation & disagreement, as well as the concepts of power and control with your students. Here are some online resources that might have something of interest:

How to talk to kids about election 2020 - William & Mary College

Teacher Planet - Election Day

Free Elections Worksheets from Teachers Pay Teachers

PBS Learning Media - The Election Collection

10 Activities That Teach the Presidential Election Process - We are teachers.com

Scholastic Election Collection

Education World - Primaries, Voting & Elections

PLP Technology Goal Resources

Many students and parents are choosing to increase Keyboarding Skills as their technology PLP goal. Here are some resources shared by other teachers to check out:

Free Resources
typing.com
typingclub.com
Dance Mat Typing
https://www.learntyping.org/

Paid Resources
Keyboarding Without Tears (K-5, $9.99 for a year license)
Learn to Type Typing Skin - covers the keys so you aren't tempted to look

Another common technology goal is Internet Safety. Here are a few resources to help with that:

Common Sense Education's Digital Citizenship Curriculum - Free Lessons for K-12

If you have others that you would like to share, please email them to me and I will add them!

Cool Things - Science

Last week two really cool things happened...

For the first time ever, a Ram's Horn Squid was filmed in it's natural environment

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/31/science/rams-head-squid-cephalopod.html

A giant coral reef, taller than the Empire State building, was found in Australia's Great Barrier Reef

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/30/science/great-barrier-reef-new-coral.html

This Week's Meeting Schedule

LP3 Agenda - Standards Review

Monday 11/2
Office Day/Teacher Meetings

Tuesday
Virtual
12:00 - Uriah

3:00 - 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/Teacher Meetings

Spring Classes for High School Students

(High School Students Only)

It does seem early, but it is LP3 already! So, at our next meeting, we will go over your current schedule and start talking about your spring semester classes. 

See the Courses Catalog and Offerings page on the Wire for: 

• Course Catalog
• High School Graduation Requirements
• Online High School Classes
• Community College Classes

Have questions? Contact me :)

This Week's Meeting Schedule

LP3 Agenda - Standards Review

Monday 10/26
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

Household Income Data - Did you fill out your form?

Action Required: Submit Household Income Data by Oct. 23!

Note: If you completed your application after July 1, 2020, or you have already completed this form this year, you do not need to complete it again.

If you are a returning student or if you enrolled before July 1, we need your help!

The State of California requires all schools to collect Household Income Data from families each year. Visions uses this information to qualify for funding that is used for tutoring, field trips, bus passes, support for foster children, low income families, teen moms, families in transition, and more. This funding is very significant to our school. By submitting the electronic form, you ensure that Visions continues to provide the following resources and benefits:

• Student budgets

• Tutoring

• Curriculum

• Technology/computers

• Teacher support

• Field trips, field days and other academic enrichment activities

• College course reimbursements

To qualify for this funding, Visions needs to receive a completed electronic form by a parent/guardian for each student. Please know that this data is kept confidential and is only used to report data to the State for school funding purposes. We know that you want every resource possible available for your child’s education.

Please review the instructions by clicking the link below and complete the necessary steps by October 23rd, so that we can meet the State’s deadline of October 31st. You will also receive an email with this information.

Access the Household Income Collection Process HERE

Spelling Bee

Home School Spelling Bee is Dec. 15; Register by Oct. 30!

We are happy to announce that we will be hosting a virtual Spelling Bee on Tuesday, Dec. 15. 

Students in grades 2-8 who wish to participate must sign up by Friday, Oct. 30. Families will receive spelling study lists via email upon signing up.

Scripps mandates the format and rules of hosting a Spelling Bee and is still deciding the details of how the virtual format will work. Once that information is made available to us, we will let parents know.

Visions will hold one Bee in which all grades will participate. To be thoroughly prepared, students should study words from all grade level lists.

The declared winner of our school’s Bee will be eligible to compete in the Central Valley Spelling Bee, the champion of which will win an all-expense paid trip to Washington D.C to participate in the National Scripps Spelling Bee in May 2021.

To register your student, please fill out the Spelling Bee Sign Up Form by 10/30. For more details, visit our Spelling Bee events page on the Wire.

This Week's Meeting Schedule

 LP3 Agenda - Standards Review and Spring Classes for High School

Monday 10/19
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

Upcoming & Notable

Notable: 

Visions will continue to support VIRTUAL ONLY meetings and enrichment activities for the fall semester. The board will revisit this policy for the spring semester depending on the COVID-19 situation.

Add/Drop Deadline: Friday, October 16 (high school students only)

Household Data Collection Deadline: Friday, October 16

LP3 Begins: Monday, October 19

Daylight Saving Time Ends: Sunday, November 1st at 2am (turn your clocks back on Saturday night)

Veteran's Day - School Closed: Wednesday, November 11

LP4 Begins: Monday, November 16

Thanksgiving Break: Tuesday, November 24 - Friday, November 27

LP5 Begins: Monday, December 14

Winter Break: Monday, December 21 - Friday, January 1

iReady Pilot Students

 

Please make sure to complete your initial assessment before Friday, October 16! For planning purposes, please know that the assessment can take up to an hour per subject (math and Language Arts) to complete.

iReady goals:

• Complete the initial assessment during LP1
• Aim for 45 minutes per week of instruction
• Complete another assessment in spring

If you have questions, or need help, just reach out!

This Week's Meeting Schedule

 LP2 Agenda - Fall Work Samples

Monday 10/12

Office Day/Teacher Meetings

Tuesday

Office Day/Teacher Meetings

Wednesday

Virtual
11:00 - Tiffany, Madison & Logan

2:00 - Camryn

ThursdayVirtual
11:00 - Jaxon, Sarah & Paul

2:00 - Savannah

3:00 - Akira

Friday
Office Day/Teacher Meetings

This Week's Meeting Schedule

 LP2 Agenda - Fall Work Samples

Monday 10/5
Office Day/Teacher Meetings

Tuesday
Virtual
12:00 - Uriah

3:00 - 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/Teacher Meetings

Free School Meals

From the WIRE:

Many locations throughout our service area are offering free meal services for students. These locations offer pick up and drive through options. These services will be offered through December 31, 2020.

https://wire.viedu.org/free-school-meal-information/

Virtual Community Partner (Vendor) Fair

From the WIRE:

This year, due to COVID-19, our Community Partner (Vendor) Fair is virtual! Select partners have provided Visions with fun and exciting videos showcasing their virtual enrichment services! 

• Enjoy learning more about the services our Community Partners offer virtually on your time with an On-Demand viewing experience. 
• Pick and choose the partners you are interested in learning more about! 
• Gain special access to exclusive promo codes and discounts 

This resource features select partners who provided Visions with an informative video experience. To view a complete list of over 600+ partners providing virtual services available for eVouchers during this time, please visit our Community Partnerships (vendors) webpage.

This Week's Meeting Schedule

 LP2 Agenda - Fall Work Samples Due

Monday 9/28
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

Something Cool for LP2

Illustory Book Making Kits

Have you seen these on Amazon?

These book making kits:

• feature a writing guide
• earned the 2017 Mom's Choice Gold Award
• include ready-to-use cover template pages, story and illustration template pages, guide book & instructions, a set of color markers and a postage-paid envelope and order form

Lulu Jr. Illustory Book Making Kit, Multicolor

Lulu Jr. My Comic Book Making Kit, Multicolor

StoryBook Kit

Not into writing? How about making your own game board?

Blank Game Board Kits

Or maybe making your own game pieces using Sculpey?