September 17, 2018

Sep 16, 2018Newsletter

Ms. Deedee enjoys some Live Lesson time with her K/1st kiddos!

Mark Your Calendars, Please! NEW items in BOLD=)

September 18th – Middle School Parent Meeting – 6:30pm
September 20th – High School Synergy Session – Escape Room
September 25th – Art Prize Trip
October 3rd – State of Michigan Count Day
October 12th – October 21st – iCademy Break Week
October 22nd – School Resumes
November 19th – 25th – iCademy Break Week – Happy Thanksgiving!
November 26th – School Resumes
December 21st – 1/2 day for students – Break begins at 12:30pm
December 24th – January 6th – Holiday Break Weeks
January 7th – School Resumes
January 18th – All 1st Semester coursework due at 11:59pm
January 21st – Records Day for Teachers – No School for Students
February 13th – State of Michigan Count Day
February 18th – 24th – iCademy Break Week
February 25th – School Resumes
March 29th – April 7th – iCademy Spring Break
April 8th – School Resumes
May 8th & 9th – 1/2 Days for Tulip Time – Break begins at 12:30pm
May 24th – June 2nd – iCademy Break Week
June 3rd – School Resumes
June 7th, 14th, 21st – Enjoy your Fridays – No School for Students
MiJune 20th – All 2nd Semester coursework due at 11:59pm

NEW Info For This Week!

Middle School Parent Meeting – Tuesday, Sept 18th – 6:30pm

If you are a middle school family, last week you should have received a few announcements about a training just for parents that is coming up on Tuesday. See the flyer attached to this email 😊 We know that continued learning and conversations about virtual learning will only help us be the best team for our students. You can join us onsite at 3:00 or virtually at 6:30 for the “Tools for the iCademy Parent” short informational meeting. Here, we will talk about expectations, checking progress and grades along with other important things for you, as a parent, to know. Here is the link if you choose to join virtually: https://icademyglobal.zoom.us/j/5103419624

Hot Lunch Payments

Just a friendly reminder to add money to your students’ lunch accounts if they are planning to order hot lunch. You may utilize sendmoneytoschool.com or send in cash or checks to school in a labeled envelope with your child and deposited behind Ms. Heidi’s desk. Checks can be made payable to Holland Christian Food Service.

If you haven’t yet had an opportunity to see if you qualify for free/reduced cost lunch, please fill out this confidential, online form at lunchapp.com . For school district, select Holland Christian and Innocademy will be listed as a school under that district.

If you’ve qualified in the past and are hoping to qualify again this year, you must fill out the form in order to receive benefits. If you applied last year and have been receiving free/reduced lunch yet this year, the benefits are scheduled to end on September 30th if you do not reapply.

Stewardship Opportunity – Aid For The Carolinas

As you all know, Hurricane Florence is hitting the Carolinas hard. At iCademy Global, stewardship (thinking outside of ourselves) is a foundation of ours. Not only do we intentionally learn this but we want to also intentionally LIVE this. Attached you will see a few images of ways that we can help. Partnering with International Aid and The Tin Roof Market- we would like to provide you and your family a stewardship opportunity to donate items for International Aid to send to the Carolinas. The Tin Roof Market of Holland is an official drop off for these items and we will be collecting items at Homestead starting Tuesday the 18^th and delivering them to The Tin Roof on a weekly basis. Any donation helps! For more information, send Ms. Mel a zoom!

MAPs Testing Information

MAPs is a computer adaptive assessment that happens 3 times each year; September, January and June and not only helps us determine the “just right” placement and progress of your student, but is a requirement from our authorizer Lake Superior State University.

Please see, below, for testing options for your student’s grade level:

K-5

Students that come onsite for the next 3 Thursdays should plan to bring a fully charged device to campus as they will test on campus. Students that do not come to campus will test in the virtual classroom (zoom) at a pre-arranged time between the teacher and parent.

Middle School 6-8

Because of how valuable this data is and because we believe in healthy test taking environments, we would like you to sign up for a day and time when your child/ren will complete the MAPS tests next week. Please indicate below what day you would like your child to come onsite and which tests you would like them to complete and when.

There will be a total of three tests to take (Math, ELA and Science). Please note: you may sign up for more than one test in a time slot. It is your choice if you would like to do them all on one day or spread it out between two days!   

If your family is unable to come onsite for testing, that is ok! We still want to provide a healthy test taking environment for them. Your child/ren will need to still sign up below and indicate the time they wish to begin testing. Here, we will pull them into a breakout Zoom room where they will share their camera and screen as they complete the tests in order to have high integrity during the test taking time.  Sign UP HERE-https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0b44aba82ea5fa7-fall

High School 9-12

Because of how valuable this data is and because we believe in healthy test taking environments, we would like to offer a couple of options to best fit your child’s needs. We have two testing options:

Onsite testing: Tuesday, September 11, and Thursday, September 13 from 9a-3p (2p is the latest start time)
- Benefit: More natural standardized testing environment
- Drawback: Students are still responsible for course work assigned on those days.
- Virtual testing: Monday, September 17, through Wednesday, September 19.
  Benefit: Course work for specific subjects on their test days (Monday-ELA, Tuesday-Math, Wednesday-Science) has been removed to allow students to put their focus on doing their best for MAPs.
- Drawback: Students may be more prone to distractions which takes away from their performance

Students who plan to take the test on site need to follow this SIGN UP GENIUS link and indicate when they plan to attend. Students who plan to take the tests virtually do not need to do take any immediate action. Information on the virtual testing process will be posted in Connexus Announcements in addition to being shared via email as the time comes closer.

REMINDER: Students can take practice tests by opening the NWEA icon on their desktops.

As always, if you have any questions, please contact your mentor or teacher. We are happy to help!

High School Synergy Session

You asked…we listened!   While we do enjoy getting together with other age-group friends at iCademy, sometimes it is nice to just hang out with fellow high schoolers. Your first opportunity to do this is Thursday, September 20. We have booked a spot at Escape Out of the Box in Zeeland. You and up to 15 of your peers will work together on various clues and puzzles in an attempt to escape before time runs out (60 minutes). Following your escape (or their generous release of you), we’ll spend time browsing and sampling the other games in the store and then stay downtown for lunch. Here are some key details: Lockdown begins promptly at 11a. You are welcome to meet at the school (leaving around 10:30a) or meet at Escape Out of the Box. Please indicate what you’ll be doing in the notes of the Sign Up Genius. Browsing/playing/lunch will last until approximately 1:30p and then we’ll head back to campus. COST: iCademy is paying for your attempted escape, but you are responsible for food and other purchases. There is room for 16 iCademy students so if you’re interested then sign up quickly. We’d love to have more and will work to make additional arrangements (i.e. another escape room) if needed.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080B4DA5A92BABF94-hsescape

K-12 Art Prize Field Experience – September 25th

Would YOU Like To Work At Our Campus?

Daycare: We have an opening for 2-3 days per week in our staff daycare. Responsibilities include caring for children 3 months – 4 years old including feeding, changing, playing with them inside and outside. Hours are approximately 8:30 – 4:30 pm (Mondays till 5:30 pm)

Afterschool Enrichment: We have an opening for a 2 day per week Afterschool Enrichment Coordinator. Responsibilities include supervising school-aged kids in a structured after school program that includes group games/activities, outdoor play, and reading /homework time. Hours are 3:30 – 5:45 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

If interested in either position, please contact Sara at sara.vereeke@innocademy.com

Ms. Kris’ Corner

For those of you who haven’t yet met her, Ms. Kris Kennedy is our iCademy Counselor! She will be sharing all sorts of helpful information in the Newsletter each week. Here’s her first tidbit for you:

Did You Know?

When students improve their attendance rates, they improve their academic prospects and chances for graduating (according to research done by the University of Chicago). Please check-in with your student daily to ensure they are engaged in school.

Tip: Ask your student to tell you about one thing they learned or found interesting each day to spark a conversation about their learning.

Old Info…Just in case =)

September Lunch Menu

Inno Homestead Sept 2018

Pizza Extra Slice Price = $1.50

Each day that pizza is on the menu, your student has the opportunity to order two slices or 1. If your child opts for the additional piece of pizza, their lunch account will be charged an additional $1.50. Questions? Please email Nancy at nmccarthy@hollandchristian.org

Observer (Parent) Accounts And Access

Each of you has an observer account so that you can stay connected and informed of your child’s progress with his/her schoolwork. Please take a peek at the short video for more information on how to access. https://youtu.be/qR2F5gYmv60

Don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher/mentor, listed below, with any questions you may ever have.

K/1 – Ms. Deedee – deedee.defrell@icademyglobal.org

2/3 – Ms. Katelyn – katelyn.vandyke@icademyglobal.org

4/5 – Mr. Brett – brett.heppler@icademyglobal.org

6th – Ms. Mellissa – mellissa.zoerhof@icademyglobal.org

7th – Mr. Andy – andy.merideth@icademyglobal.org

8th – Mr. Ryan – ryan.martinez@icademyglobal.org

9th – Ms. Janece – janece.ellers@icademyglobal.org

10th – Mr. Reid – reid.nicholson@icademyglobal.org

11th – Ms. Amy – amy.baragar@icademyglobal.org

12th – Ms. Kris – kris.kennedy@icademyglobal.org

IMPORTANT: Attendance Information

Congratulations on completing Session #1 at iCademy Global! It’s been an exciting start to another year helping your child learn and grow! As we know, regular school attendance is extremely important to the overall success of your child. Increasing school attendance can be a very complex issue that requires a team effort and a systematic approach. The collaboration of the community, families, schools, courts and other agencies is essential if we are to increase school attendance.

iCademy Global, like Ottawa County, believes in the value of regular school attendance and the impact that it has on student achievement and the overall success of each child. We are shifting our mindset away from focusing on whether an absence is excused verses unexcused to focusing on being in school on a regular basis. It is our goal to help provide supports and resources so your child can be engaging in school every day. If you are struggling to get your child to engage in school on a daily basis, please let us know so we can start to collaborate and assist in any way possible.

Below, you will find the Attendance Policy for Ottawa County; keeping in mind that our goal is regular attendance. The new Attendance Policy was adopted by the County to help provide common language and attendance coding for each district. The policy also clearly defines chronic absenteeism and truancy. Please take note of these definitions as well as the other definitions in the policy. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. We look forward to working with you to make this a successful school year!

OttawaCounty AttendancePolicy

Learning Environment Expectations

Please take a moment and watch this 7 minute video from Ms. Mellissa regarding learning environment expectations.

https://youtu.be/q5Z5t-Uj3UM

Shopping Amazon? Consider AmazonSmile!

Did you know that for every purchase you make on AmazonSmile, our school receives a donation? That’s right! AmazonSmile works EXACTLY like Amazon. Same great deals and shipping! When you login, be sure to select INNOVATIVE EDUCATION SERVICES as your designated organization and we will receive a percentage of each purchase. Easy!

Family Resource Guide

For all of the information you ever could wish to know about iCademy – – and MORE, please see the Family Resource Guide. iCademy Family Resource Guide 18-19

Hand 2 Hand

Such a great FREE program! If your family is in need of food support, please take a peek at the information and application, below. Backpacks are delivered to campus every Thursday for students to take home for the weekend.

Hand2Hand Food Program

Calendar for 2018-2019 School Year

Please see the attachment for the 18-19 School Year.

iCademy 18-19 Calendar

Live Lesson Schedule

2018-2019 Schedule

Reminder that live lessons happen each Monday and Wednesday of the school year!!

Having Tech Troubles?

If you are having issues with your computer and need technical assistance, Mr. Kevin, our offsite tech team lead, has said the smoothest way to get solutions in place would be to call 616-502-2572 or 866-629-8005. support@vectortechgroup.com