Newsletter ARISE Virtual Academy November 23, 2020
Message from Dr. Parr
Dear Arise Families, I cannot believe it is almost December. We appreciate the hard work your children have put in so far this year. We know that the switch to virtual learning has been an adjustment for most families, but we hope that by now you have gotten into a rhythm and will finish out the semester strong. Your child’s education is of utmost importance to us and we are working everyday to make this a great experience for your family. Please continue to reach out to your teachers when you are in need of support.
Dr. Parr AVA
Upcoming Important Dates
- 11/25-27 No School Thanksgiving Break
- 12/23-1/3 No School Winter Break
- 1/14 End of First Semester
- 1/18 No School MLK Day
Counselor’s Corner
Please check out the resources for Remote Learning.
End of Semester Information
Semester I ends January 14th. All work (assignments) must be completed prior to students taking their Semester I exams. Semester exams are not allowed if students have not completed all required work. Please work with us to make sure your child is in a position to complete their semester exams. (Does not apply to Elementary)
Time Management
Virtual Learning can be hard if you do not manage your time well. Below are 7 tips for managing your time while learning virtually from Northeastern University. The tips here are great for all levels of education. You can view the full article here.
1. Plan Ahead- Use a calendar to plan your daily and weekly assignments.
2. Don’t Multitask- Focus on one task at a time and arrange your tasks in order of importance.
3. Set up a Virtual “Office”- Make sure that your space is comfortable with good lighting, close extra tabs, and put away your phone.
4. Block Out Distractions- Avoid surfing the web, stay focused and stay away from social media during your work time.
5. Reward Yourself- Celebrate your accomplishments.
6. Create a Balance- Find balance between school and your other obligations. Many students are working while participating in online learning. Be sure your hours at work are not interfering with your studies.
7. Get a Good Night’s Sleep- Sleep is so important to make sure your mind is ready for learning.
Zero Policy
All late assignments are now marked as zeros. This will give you as parents the ability to know where your student's grade is when missing assignments are accounted for. Assignments marked as zeros will be reset so that students can complete them and improve their grade. In fact, assignments scored as a zero must be redone.
All assignments still need to be completed (with scores other than zero) prior to taking the final exams (grades 6-12) and completing the course (all grades). All final exams (6-12) must be passed in order to pass the class, elementary students do not have final exams. A student can take the final exam up to 3 times. The first time, they can take the exam when the teacher clears them for the final exam. Prior to the second attempt, they must call the teacher and discuss the final exam before retaking the exam. Prior to the third attempt, the teacher will review all of the student's notes before they take the final exam for the third and final time. Courses (including final exam retakes) must be completed by the end of the semester. Students should aim to complete final exams with time to complete a retake if needed.
Grade |
Range |
A |
92-100 |
A- |
90-91 |
B+ |
88-89 |
B |
82-87 |
B- |
80-81 |
C+ |
78-79 |
C |
72-77 |
C- |
70-71 |
D+ |
68-69 |
D |
62-67 |
D- |
60-61 |
F |
(Fail) |
TechTools Kami
Many students are already using Kami to open the assignments in Buzz. If you haven’t done so already, add the Kami extension to Chrome and you will be able to open all documents in Buzz and type or write your answers right on the document. Don’t forget to share your Kami folder with your teacher and manually save your work in Kami so all changes are saved!
OpenDyslexic
You do not need to have dyslexia to benefit from adding this extension to Chrome. It will change all of the font you read to OpenDyslexic font. This font style was created to increase readability for people who have dyslexia. The letters are weighted at the bottom to indicate direction and there is also increased letter spacing.
How does it help?
- Your brain can sometimes do funny things to letters,
- OpenDyslexic tries to help prevent some of these things from happening.
- Letters have heavy weighted bottoms to add a kind of "gravity" to each letter.
- You are able to figure out which part of the letter is down which aids in recognizing the correct letter.
- It helps to keep your brain from rotating them around
- Consistently weighted bottoms help reinforce the line of text
- The unique shapes of each letter can help prevent confusion through flipping and swapping.
Co:Writer
This extension should already be added to your district Chromebook. All you have to do is click the icon to turn it on. Co:Writer can help when you are typing with word prediction, flexible spelling, and speech to text.
Physical Education Reminder
Physical Activity is important to your child’s well being. At AVA we believe it is important to get up and GET MOVING daily! Please make sure your 1-12 students are completing their Physical Education Logs! Here is an example log you can copy!
- Middle & High School: Students are required to complete 72 hours of physical activity for the semester and write 2 paragraphs about incorporating physical activity into their daily life and how it made them feel. ○ MS-Turn in to your teacher ○ HS- Sherri Torrison: storrison@janesville.k12.wi.us
- K-5: Students must complete 60 minutes of physical activity per week. PE Logs should be turned in to your teacher.
Breakfast & Lunch for AVA Students
Did you know you can still get a school breakfast and lunch? Families can pick up meals from 11-1 at Franklin, Marshall, and Edison. You will receive lunch and breakfast for the next day. Check out the menu.
Snow Days @ AVA
Parents have recently received information from the district regarding snow days. ARISE does not have snow days because you are all already working from home. Whether you are a full time AVA student or a hybrid student, you will still have work due if the district cancels school due to inclement weather
Bags of Hope Information/ Donation
Box Tops - How to add a receipt if you shop online