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February 5, 2021

Feb 5, 2021Newsletter

REMINDER:

FEB 15TH – FEB 19TH IS ICADEMY BREAK WEEK.

SCHOOL RESUMES ON FEB 22ND.

THANK YOU!

Thanks to all of you who were able to connect with your child(ren)’s teachers this week for a student/parent/teacher conference! We loved seeing all of you! If you were unable to make it, please contact your child’s mentor/teacher to set up a time to connect.

NEW INFORMATION

ATTENTION ALL 8TH GRADE FAMILIES

Are you an 8th grader and wondering what high school will be like? Are you wondering if you should attend high school at iCademy? We would love to answer these questions and more with our High School Information Night – Thursday February 11th @6pm. It will be hosted virtually by our school counselor, Ms. Laura. All your favorite middle school teachers will be there, and you will have an opportunity to meet our amazing high school teachers and staff. Stay tuned for a zoom link closer to the day!

WEDNESDAY IS COUNT DAY

Thank you, in advance, for helping make sure your child(ren) logs in to every single one of their classes for at least 1 minute on Wednesday. We need to “count” all of our students and report to the State of Michigan. Students logging into their courses is exactly how we do that. And they can win PRIZES!! For all students completing their logins by 10am, they receive 3 entries into our drawing. Students completing all of their logins by noon will receive 2 entries and students logging in by 2pm will receive 1 entry! Please connect with your child’s mentor/teacher with any questions.

BREAKFAST/LUNCH SIGN UP/PICK UP – FEBRUARY 12th

  • THIS SIGN UP is open for next week’s breakfast/lunches
  • Sign ups are for any iCademy family
  • Deadline for sign-up are TUESDAYS AT NOON. Late responses cannot be accepted.
  • Pick up will be at iCademy on FRIDAY AFTERNOONS from 2:00 – 2:15pm
  • Please contact Ms. Stacy at hot.lunch@innocademy.com with questions.
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CLUB OPPORTUNITIES – OPEN TO ALL MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS – DEADLINE IS TODAY TO SIGN UP!

Sign up by Friday, February 5th for ANY ICADEMY CLUB YOU’D LIKE TO JOIN

Included with our other awesome opportunities, STEAM Club is a BRAND NEW club with our partners at Hope College!

Other clubs that you can join by using THIS LINK are…

  • K-12 Buddy Reading
  • Harry Potter
  • Digital Yearbook, Journalism & Photography
  • Dungeons & Dragons
  • Cooking & Baking
  • Running Club
  • Hiking Club
  • All Things Wheels
  • Diversity Club
  • Club Build – It
  • Drawing Club

PLANNING TO TRAVEL FOR BREAK WEEK?

On THIS PAGE you will find the most up to date guidelines, restrictions and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control.

ATTENTION SENIORS!

Please take note of the important dates, below:

May 28th – Last day for Seniors. All semester coursework and requirements must be met for graduation.

June 7th – GRADUATION. To be held at the Holland Civic Center – Marketside Room. At this moment each graduate will receive 4 tickets.We may be able to give out more tickets as the event gets closer. Take a look, below, to see the event space.

OLD INFORMATION (In Case You Missed It =)

CAREERLINE TECH CENTER INFORMATION – 10th and 11th Graders

It’s only the start of 2021, but when it comes to the Careerline Tech Center, it is time to start thinking about the 2021-22 school year now! CTC is a great place to not only earn high school credit, but get real hands-on experience in a potential career.

If you know that you are interested in applying to CTC for *next school year* online applications for CTC are open and are due Friday, February 19th. You are welcome to return the application to Laura Verkaik at laura.verkaik@icademyglobal.org or directly to CTC with some additional information. Please be in touch if you have more questions or help in this process!

COVID-19 VACCINATION INFORMATION

For those hoping to receive the Covid-19 Vaccination, you may learn more about when you are able to receive the vaccination as well as how to schedule an appointment when the time comes. Please visit THIS LINK .

MY COVID-19 RISK

As we think about engaging safely the next several months, this chart may helpful in assessing the Covid-19 risks associated with different activities.

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COVID POSITIVE DIAGNOSIS?

In the event your child receives a positive COVID diagnosis, please make sure to contact us, immediately. We must continue to update the COVID transparency page on our website and be able to work with the health department in their contact tracing efforts.


CAMPUS VISIT BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

If you need to visit campus in order to exchange a device or charging cord, please make an appointment with your mentor as there may not be someone on campus readily available to help you without an appointment.

  • IMPORTANT LUNCH INFORMATION: Being a virtual school it seems a silly request, but if you have not yet filled out a free/reduced lunch application at lunchapp.com, please do so prior to Thanksgiving break. You will select HOLLAND CHRISTIAN as the district as they are our food service provider. 

    Even if you think you may not qualify, our school receives credit for each form submitted. What is “credit”? Having our families complete these forms allows us to participate in grant opportunities and funding that directly impacts student learning and academic support. Not only that, but should there be another time where schools are not in session, if your family DOES qualify for benefits of any sort, you will be sent an EBT card in the mail to be able to assist with purchasing food for your family. If you end up qualifying and do not wish to take advantage of any benefits associated with the program, you do not have to participate.
    
  • iCademy Clubs: We are so excited to be able to offer 11 clubs to our high school and middle school students. Below you will find information on what clubs are being offered as well as a little description. Kids can join as many clubs as they wish! None are mandatory, but all are fun!!!
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Reminders:

  • 2-1-1: This service provides access to food, health, mental health, and various other needs. For assistance, call 2-1-1 on your mobile phone or dial 877-211-5253. Texting is available by texting your zip code to 898211. To access online, go to www.call-211.org.  
    
  • Feeding America: Mark your calendar and share these dates with friends and neighbors! Feeding America Mobile Food Distribution takes place at Zeeland Public Roosevelt School’s west parking lot (175 W. Roosevelt Ave., Zeeland, MI 49464). This is a drive-thru, no contact distribution. All are welcome. No income guidelines or proof of residency required.  Event runs 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm on February 16, March 9, and April 13.
    
  • NOT LOCAL? LOOKING FOR FREE MEALS FOR YOUR FAMILY?
    • Contact your local ISD: If you are out of range, but would like to take advantage of the week’s worth of free meals for your children, please connect with your local Intermediate School District for information on receiving free meals. As long as your local ISD has a virtual school program, you can qualify for free meals.
    • Meet UP and Eat UP: This is another incredible program (sponsored by the United Way) providing meals for families throughout Michigan. Please view the interactive map HERE for more information on food distribution near you.  
      
  • COVID-19 DASHBOARD FOR iCADEMY: iCademy Global will share updated COVID-19 data each Monday afternoon.  Due to HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) laws, no personal information will be shared. When iCademy receives communication of a positive case, we will notify the county health department who traces and directly connects with those in close contact of the positive case.  iCademy will notify the school family of the case and the actions taking place as necessary. https://icademyglobal.org/covid-19-dashboard/
    
  • Engagement & Attendance: In a traditional brick and mortar school when students show up for the day or for a class, the teacher takes attendance and that is submitted to the State of Michigan. At a virtual school like iCademy Global, three factors play a role in engagement and attendance.  Two-way communication, participation in Live Lessons/check-in with Mentors and adequate time and progress lets us know that you are engaged in your school work and are counted as being present at iCademy Global.  When a student is not meeting the expectations, they are flagged as being absent.  
    
  • Truancy: In order to meet the state expectation of 1098 hours engaged in coursework each year, it is required that iCademy Global students spend an average of 420 minutes per day doing school work – Monday through Friday. In many cases, absences from school are unavoidable due to health problems or other circumstances. However, chronic absenteeism can have a drastic impact on your child’s education. Children chronically absent in kindergarten and first grade are much less likely to learn to read by the end of third grade. By sixth grade, chronic absence is a proven early warning sign of drop-out. By ninth grade, good attendance can predict graduation even better than eighth grade test scores.

    When we see that a student is not completing his/her coursework within the coursework and/or participating in required Live Lessons, not attending mentor meetings or lacking in two-way communication, parent/guardian will be contacted via an attendance letter indicating multiple absences and requesting a virtual meeting to create a personalized Learning Plan. Parents are a huge player in the success of the students as well.  Parents will be required to walk alongside the student for accountability purposes to ensure success.  If a student does not adhere to the personalized Learning Plan, the Learning Team will begin the Truancy process which may result as a formal file to Truancy through the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District.  
    
  • Got Questions? We’ve got answers! Whenever you have questions, big or small, we are here to answer them! Your first point of contact for all questions is your child’s MENTOR. Can’t remember who that is? When your child is logged-in to their Student Portal (https://portal.icademyglobal.org) with their Microsoft 365 credentials, their Student Dashboard has their mentor’s contact information. The quickest way to reach your child’s mentor is for the student to connect with them in Zoom. From there, they can direct you to the right place if they personally can’t answer your questions.  
    
  • Master Staff Contact List: To contact any staff member, please reference this updated master staff contact list. Thank you!  
    
  • Email List: Do you have another family member you would like added to our email list for school-wide communication? If so, please contact Ms. Leisa Lobbezoo at leisa.lobbezoo@icademyglobal.org to be added.
    
  • Follow Us on Facebook & Instagram! We love to keep you connected to the iCademy community on our Facebook & Instagram pages. If you haven’t already done so, follow us today! @icademyvirtual (FB), @icademyelementary (FB), @icademyvirtual (IG), @icademyelementary (IG). You can even request to join the iCademy Global Parents Facebook page!

Upcoming Events:

  • February 10th – State of Michigan Count Day
  • February 15 – 19th – iCademy Break Week
  • June 7th – High School Graduation

Important iCademy Resources: