Thank you so much for your overwhelming commitment to iCademy Global not only this week Wednesday for Count Day…but each & every day! We could not do this without each one of our students, their parents, and our incredible staff. A huge thanks to each and every person in the iCademy community. We are truly grateful for the incredible partnerships!
The ‘iCademy Global Blog’ is a weekly communication of important reminders, announcements, and upcoming events that will be posted at the close of each week.
Need-to-Know Information:
- COUNT DAY SUCCESS! This year we had the most successful Count Day to date at iCademy Global! A HUGE thanks to all students, parents, and staff for their dedicated efforts to get students logged in to each of their classes on time! Now that’s something to CELEBRATE!
- ½ Day of School on Friday, Oct. 16 (Teacher Professional Development) & BREAK WEEK (No School) Oct. 19-23. Please note these upcoming days off from school. As always, we encourage our staff and students to find time during these days off to relax and rejuvenate. Keep in mind that students should reach out to their teachers prior to break week to ensure that their questions are answered before that time away from school.
- LUNCH/BREAKFAST PICK UP: BREAKFAST/LUNCH PICK UP OPPORTUNITY
- If you are in need of breakfast/lunches for your child(ren), you may sign up each week for FREE!
- Children you register for this service do not need to be students at iCademy, but can also be siblings, ages 0-18, who also live at the home.
- Sign up no later than 1:30pm on SUNDAY each week. Please CLICK to register for pickup on MONDAY, OCTOBER 12TH between 2:15-2:30pm.
- Questions? Please contact Stacy at hotlunch@innocademy.com
- PLEASE NOTE: Breakfast/Lunch pick up will continue on break weeks as well. Please look for October 19th sign up in the blog next week Friday!
1. Arrive at the iCademy door in the east lot (see map below) between 2:15pm-2:30pm on MONDAY.
2. Stay in your car and your lunches will be delivered to you.
3. Repeat each week you wish.
4. Questions? Please contact Nancy at nmichaels@hollandchristian.org
- P-SAT/SAT (Spring 2020 Make-Up Dates) NEXT WEEK: WED., OCTOBER 14 for 9th & 12th Grades & THURS., OCTOBER 29 for 10th & 11th Grades! Details below…
- Crane’s Orchard Synergy Session #2: A Grand Success! It was a perfect morning at Crane’s Orchard in Fennville this Thursday. Thanks to the many families who made the drive (one family even traveled all the way from Marquette, MI!!!) to enjoy apple-picking & corn-mazing. #icademysynergysession
- 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 October 13 (NEXT TUESDAY!!), November 17, December 8 and January 12, 2021.
- 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.
Reminders:
- FUNDING GRANTED!!! Great news for iCademy Global and all other schools serving students in unique ways during this pandemic! If you remember, a few weeks ago, there was a proposal to cut per pupil funding significantly. Part of that proposal included language that would not extend funding for students who were part of a school like iCademy that increased enrollment exponentially during this time of COVID-19. We asked you to contact your legislators – and you did! THANK YOU!! The Governor signed the legislation late last week, keeping per pupil funding stable from last year, as well as extending funding for those schools who grew in attendance. If you were one of the many people who contacted a legislative official to make sure your voice was heard on this topic, please consider dropping that official a note of thanks. Of special note, Senator Theis, the Senate Education Committee Chair, really fought for us to make it happen. Please consider sending her a note of thanks as well. ltheis@senate.michigan.gov Thank you again. We appreciate the amazing support of our iCademy Families!
- 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!
- iCademy FERPA: Please click this link to view.
- iCademy Annual Asbestos Notification: Please click this link to view this annual notification.
- iCademy Pest Management: Please click this link to view.
- 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:
- Wednesday, October 14 – PSAT/SAT Spring 2020 Make-Up Date (9th & 12th Grade)
- Thursday, October 15 – K-5 Synergy Session: Outdoor Discovery Center Partnership – Nature Challenges/Play
-
Friday, October 16 – ½ Day (Teacher Professional Development)
-
Monday, October 19-23: BREAK WEEK → No School!
-
Monday, October 26: School Resumes
Important iCademy Resources:
- 2020-2021 iCademy Family Calendar
- 2020-2021 K5 Live Lesson Schedule
- 2020-2021 MS Live Lesson Schedule
- 2020-2021 HS Live Lesson Schedule
- 2020-2021 iCademy Elementary K5 Synergy Session Calendar
- Coming Soon! 2020-2021 iCademy Middle & High School Synergy Session Calendars
- VECTOR TECH SUPPORT: Have a tech issue with your child’s computer? Please contact Vector Tech Support at 1-866-629-8005 or support@vectortechgroup.com.
- LINCOLN LEARNING LOG-IN TECH SUPPORT: 1-866-990-6637
Enjoy the beautiful weekend!
– iCademy Global Staff