Inspire Insider
Bringing families together, one newsletter at a time!
Monday, April 27, 2020
Quote of the Week
School News and Important Dates
- Teachers will still be available to meet you virtually and will still be monitoring student progress
- EOS orders will still be approved and processed
- Curriculum and Technology orders will continue to be processed
- CPA will still continue to offer learning opportunities for high school
- HQT's will hold office hours for high school students and families
- High school students, particularly seniors, are strongly encouraged to keep up with their school work and completion of assignments
- A special website of open and free resources is available at this link
- Support videos, lessons, and tools compiled by our intervention team are available here
Inspire Virtual Art Fair
Click the link below for the full details.
New Resource Site For All Parents
We worked together to create a resource site for our families and for parents who are now faced with homeschooling their children. Please share with anyone who you feel could benefit from the site!
Community Connections
Community Connections is offering a wide variety of VIRTUAL workshops for all students. Check out the calendar and newsletter that comes out each week!
CC Virtual Community Connections Newsletter for April 27th - May 1st
If you have any questions about a particular workshop, please contact that teacher or the Regional Community Coordinator, Gina Garland (gina.garland@cabrillopointacademy.org).
High School
8th Grade High School Transition Information Sessions
High School Counselor Support
Career Exploration From Home
Student Support
Open to Parents/Guardians: Intervention Support Website
Exciting News!
All students now have access to our recorded outstanding direct instruction (ODI) classes on our Intervention Website! Parents/Guardians can sit with their students and watch as our teachers guide them through the lessons.
Reading videos focus on: beginning phonics, decoding, blending and Reading & Comprehension classes
Math Videos focus on: foundation skills, operations, multiplication and division, factors, multiples and fractions, expressions and algebra.
Office hours will be posted soon on the Intervention Website!
Special Education
Your student’s case manager will be contacting you if your child is due for an initial or triennial evaluation. Most of these assessments will not take place while schools are physically closed, as they require direct contact between students and staff. Instead, these assessments will occur once schools physically open. However, some types of speech assessments may be completed virtually. Your child’s case manager will contact you if your child is due for an assessment at this time.
If your child’s IEP includes extended school year (ESY), we will be offering ESY services this summer. Your child’s case manager will contact you in the next few weeks regarding your child’s service(s).
English Learners
English Learners Newsletter
Please read this resource to find a wealth of information about English Learners and the programs we offer to support our students.
Enrichment
Enrichment Ordering System: Amazon Punchout
We hope you are enjoying the ease in creating orders that the Amazon punchout system provides. Please take a moment to watch this brief video for some updated tips and important information!
Important highlights from the video:
You are only able to access your A-Punchout account through the EOS; you cannot access it by visiting Amazon.com
Be sure to enter your child’s name when setting up your account.
Do NOT adjust the default email address that is associated with the account. Doing so could result in your account needing to be reconfigured and may lock you out of it.
The system requires you to set up a password, but you will never need to use it. Again, you cannot login through Amazon.com, and the EOS will never prompt you for it.
Please do not request more than 5 items per order. This helps avoid price fluctuations for items.
FAQs:
Q. I forgot to add an item to my punchout order. Can I add it to the EOS order?
We are unable to add items to existing EOS punchout orders. However, it’s easy to enter a new order request for additional items.
Q. I changed my mind about an item. Can I cancel it from my order? It hasn’t been processed, yet.
Items can be cancelled from punchout orders prior to processing them, but please be aware that removing items will void the 7-day price guarantee from Amazon.
Q. Am I able to purchase educational magazines through the punchout system?
Unfortunately, magazines have recurring billing associated with them and are not able to be purchased through the punchout system. It may be possible to purchase them directly from the publisher; please check with your HST to see if this might be possible.
Q. Can I purchase Kindle books through the punchout system?
Kindle books are not able to be purchased through the punchout system. However, they CAN be purchased with your child’s enrichment funds. To do so, please enter an order request for approved product vendor Kindle. Please enter only one book per order!
Inspiring Parents
The same holds true for math. A strong foundation for future math learning in fractions, decimals, percents, proportions, word problems and algebra is built upon on how well students know their addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts. Join our magnificent math support team to learn their successful math strategies.
Wednesday, May 6th from 1-2 p.m. at this link: http://bit.ly/InspiringLink
Questions? arlene@inspireschools.org
Educational Tools
Love for the Elderly - Write a letter to an elder
"We need your help. We want you to write letter(s) that will uplift an elderly stranger!
We’re not all Hemingways, but we can all make something beautiful for ourselves and others by putting pen to paper.
According to a Pennsylvania State University and UC Irvine study, “small gestures in everyday life,” like showing compassion and performing random acts of kindness, help us feel loved.
In the digital age, words on paper are a novelty that we overlook. Letters are something to cherish: to set on a desk, to stick to a fridge, to bind in a scrapbook.
That’s where we come in.
We’re collecting cards and mailing these to elders in senior communities across the globe. These include nursing homes, assisted living facilities, hospices and senior centers with whom we’ve connected. Over the years, you’ve sent us tens of thousands of letters from 66 countries, and the numbers keep growing!
You can write by yourself, with friends, or even at school or the office.
Take a few minutes right now, sit down, and write a letter to an elder (a stranger) telling them about yourself, maybe say a joke or a riddle and let them know that they are loved. Making a difference can be so simple, yet it can be incredibly impactful!"
Learn more about writing a letter to an elder here.
Virtual Spring Faire at the Environmental Nature Center
Free Audible Books
Homeschooling Advice
How To Make Your Homeschool As Simple As Possible Right Now
"This may not be for every family, but it is certainly what mine needs right now. I am making our homeschool as simple as possible.
It’s been a lot like the movie Groundhog Day here this week.
Every day feels the same, with no end in sight. My children are feeling it. I am feeling it. My husband, hidingworking upstairs is feeling it.
I am not focusing well – I can only imagine how my two boys, who already struggle with attention issues, are feeling.
Why I’m Keeping Our Homeschool As Simple As Possible
One thing is clear – we need the routine that our homeschool provides. All of us, especially my kiddos.
A friend of mine told me last week that her son was loving this season – all the screen time, none of the pressure. I sighed and tried not to feel jealous.
My children are wandering the house, melting down more significantly than they have in years, and struggling to find their footing. They can have as much screen time as they like, but neither of them can really focus long enough to engage.
Increasing anxiety, decreasing mood stability and overall lack of control are making things a little tough around here. We depend on our homeschool routine to cope.
A reader commented on my Facebook page last week, essentially scolding me for being negative and not sharing about the all families who are doing well right now.
I get it. I don’t want anymore negativity in any of our lives right now.
So, if you are doing well, please let me genuinely say, “Great job! Seriously, this is not easy and you are rocking it.”
I don’t want more negativity, but I do need a sense of community and of being understood. Incidentally, there are not a ton of comments or examples of special needs moms feeling like they are doing great right now. There are far more comments begging for something, anything to make this a little easier – I suspect they are like me, needing to feel a little less alone in all of this."
Read the rest of the article here.
Your Orange County Team
Community and Connection
Join Our Orange County Facebook Community
Please note: There are three questions that need to be answered in order to join. The group is for currently enrolled families only.
Instagram Page
Orange County Parent Resource Site
Ladan Rashidi - OC Family Liaison
Shaemanique King - OC Family Liaison
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