Inspire Insider

Bringing families together, one newsletter at a time!

Monday, April 1, 2019

Quote of the Week

Big picture

School News and Important Dates

College & Career Fair

Orange County will be hosting a College & Career Fair on April 16, from 12:30-2:30pm at Urban Workshop. We will have local colleges available to talk to students and parents. There will also be representatives from different professions and trades available to share their experiences with students. This is a great place to have all your high school questions answered!


If you are planning on attending, please fill in the short form below the flyer. Thank you!

Big picture

Inspire Charter Schools Prom 2019

We anticipate a fun-filled evening of dinner, dancing, dessert, snacks, raffles and prizes, formal photos, and an all-night photo booth for students to enjoy.


High School Inspire students grades 9-12 are eligible to attend and

may invite up to two (ages 14 - 20) non-Inspire guests to join them at this event, so grab a friend and dance the night away at the historic Mission Inn Hotel in downtown Riverside.

Tickets are limited, so purchase yours today.


Questions? Summer Davidson summer@inspireschools.org


Thursday, May 16th from 7 - 11 pm


Mission Inn Hotel & Spa

3649 Mission Inn Avenue

Riverside, CA


Head HERE for more information


Registration & Payment

This event is not eligible for use of instructional funds.

Big picture

2019 Promotion and Graduation Ceremony

Please save the date for our 2019 promotion and graduation ceremony! We will have many more details coming soon!


5th, 8th and 12th grade families should complete this RSVP form here.

Big picture

Kindergarten Graduation

We are so excited to see all of our little Kindergartners graduate! Please make sure you RSVP by May 17th, 2019!

Big picture

End of the School Year Picnic

Can you believe we are already talking about the end of the year? Please join us and other Inspire families for our end of year picnic!

Big picture

Preferred Vendor Info Sessions

Do you have questions about our Preferred Vendors? Want to learn more about your options for our 2019-2020 school year? Our wonderful team is holding Preferred Vendor Info Sessions throughout the next few months! Simply join from your computer here: https://www.tinyurl.com/inspirepv
Big picture

Invite Your Friends To Our Info Sessions

Have a friend who asks about Inspire's amazing team and benefits? Do your friends ask you about homeschooling? We'd love to meet them at one of our upcoming info session!


Enrollment for the 2019-2020 year is open here now! Current parents do not need to re-enroll, your HST will send you a Master Agreement at the end of the year to sign for 2019-2020.

Brave Writer Webinar Series

Exciting news Brave Writer fans! For those of you who were not able to make it to Julie Bogart’s Inspiring Talk in Orange County or Long Beach, here’s your chance. EVERYONE can learn from her engaging wit and wisdom during Inspire’s Brave Writer webinar series. First Wednesday of the month beginning April 3 from 1-2. Free for everyone, but please RSVP for the April 3rd webinar to ensure we have Zoom room capacity for all: https://tinyurl.com/BraveWriterRSVP-April3


Sign up for one, two, or all three sessions and walk away with tips and tricks to enchant your child’s writing journey. Learn it now and take writing outdoors to change up your routine. Or learn how to make writing more fun even if it’s at the kitchen table.


#1 April 3 - The Writer’s Jungle: A Survivor’s Guide to Writing with Kids Help! You have a child who hates writing. Or, your child is so prolific at writing, you’re afraid you aren’t helping her enough. Or, your child writes well, but the results are wooden and tedious to read. Or, your child as the best imagination ever, but punctuation, spelling, and mechanics are atrocious. Or, you’re afraid of writing yourself and have been avoiding it for, oh, the last (yes, you admit it) four years. Gulp!


#2 May 1 – Writing Across the Curriculum Writers like to write about what they find interesting. Writing Across the Curriculum Teaches you how to develop your students’ abilities to hone skills in writing across the curriculum, narrowing their chosen subjects and determine subtopics.


#3 June 5 - Help for High School is a self-directed writing program for teens that both teaches rhetorical thinking in writing, as well as the academic essay formats for high school and college. Teens work independently of their parents, however models of completed assignments and rubrics for feedback are included, as well.

Senior Grad Night

We would like to invite all Inspire Seniors to Inspire’s Grad Nite at Disney California Adventure on June 11, 2019! Your ticket includes access to Grad Nite festivities like dance parties and California Adventure rides and attractions from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.


Please note! We recently received an update that instructional funds can now be used for Grad Nite tickets. If you have already paid out of pocket, the Enrichment Team will be contacting you.

Big picture

Testing Resources

Testing dates are nearly upon us! Our wonderful teachers have complied a list of resources and links to practice tests to help your student feel comfortable with the testing process.


CAST Resources

SBAC Resources

À la Carte OSP Subscription Options

We’re excited to begin offering our remaining available OSP subscriptions à la carte! Families may begin submitting requests via the À la Carte OSP Subscription Order Request Form.


The available subscriptions and prorated cost (Instructional Funds only) are listed on the order request form. All subscriptions are valid through September 1, 2019 (unless otherwise noted) and are subject to availability.


Funds will be manually deducted from the student’s Enrichment account and the subscriptions created within 1-2 weeks of the request submission.


If you have any further questions, please contact the OSP Team -- osp@inspireschools.org

OSP Subscription Survey

Please fill out this survey to help us better plan for next year's Online Subscription Package (OSP) offerings. Even if you opted out, we would like to hear from you too! Thank you for your time and consideration!

More High School Info Sessions

Amy Edwards, Inspire teacher and homeschooling parent, held an amazing High School Information Session on Friday. If you were not able to attend, here are the upcoming dates in which she will hosting more sessions.


If you have a student approaching the High School years, or have a friend that is considering options for High School, this would be a great place to start! Everyone is invited!

Big picture

Special Education Newsletter- March 2019

From our wonderful department of Special Education:


"Spring is just around the corner! We can definitely see a difference in our students this time of year. We have a long stretch of instruction without interruption and consequently, it is also the time when students want to be outside and having fun. Please encourage your child to continue to work to his/her fullest potential, even when the weather is calling them outside. We are excited for them to “show what they know,” as the school year begins to wind down. Thank you for all your daily hard work and please let us know how we can assist you."


Read the full newsletter here.

Big picture

Field Trips

Stop By The Inspire Booth At These Upcoming Free OC Events

Big picture

OC Summer Camp and Activities Fair

The Orange County Register and OC Family magazine will play host to the ninth annual Summer Camp and Activities Fair on Saturday, April 7 at The Market Place in Irvine.

The event, which runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., will include family-friendly activities, live performances, games, giveaways and more than 40 exhibitors, including local camps. The Anaheim Ducks’ Power Players are scheduled to appear at the fair.

Big picture

Imaginology

Invention + play + experimentation = learning

Have you ever wondered how math can help you cook … or what causes a rainbow … or how baby chicks know when to hatch? Set a course for full STEAM ahead to OC Fair’s Imaginology, April 12-14, 2019, where science, technology, engineering, art and math come alive in the most fun and exciting ways.

Hours: Friday, April 12, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Saturday, April 13, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sunday, April 14, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Admission is free. Parking is free on Friday; $9 on Saturday & Sunday.

Big picture

Educational Tools

Professor Noggin's Card Games

From the website: "Professor Noggin is a woman full of fun facts and knowledge. Born and raised in a library, she eventually read every book it had to offer. She started with the children’s section, and finished with the encyclopedias.


Being raised by the local librarian in a quiet, lonely library didn't offer Professor Noggin many stimulating days. If she got too excited, she was told, “shh, be quiet! This is a library!” She promised herself that when she was older, she would provide children with fun games that they could play for hours on end.


One day, Professor Noggin became an adult. Using the incredible knowledge she had gained, she invented a time machine, and traveled throughout history, visiting all parts of the world.


She quickly became very lonely traveling by herself, so she offered to take Students of Learning with her. This gave students an opportunity to see dinosaurs, ancient civilizations, and all kinds of other interesting things.


Her Students of Learning filled notebooks with lots of facts that they learned on their journeys. Professor Noggin, with all her knowledge, could tell if the facts were right or wrong. She thought the facts were excellent, and she decided to turn them all into card games.


Today, Professor Noggin has 38 fun-filled card games on exciting, educational subjects."


For ages 7+, these games are a great way to learn history and science facts! Ancient civilizations, the human body, wildlife, history of art, countries of the world, amd medieval times are just a few of the subjects she covers. You can check them all out here.


Covered by funding? Yes. (But check our Lending Libraries before you buy, because we have a few of them!)

Consumable? No.

Price? Around $10, prices vary.

Big picture
Big picture

Homeschooling Advice

10 Practical Ways to Create a Homeschool Math Growth Mindset

"7. Tell your kids that hard problems take time (and really mean it.)

When you give kids more challenge in math, take away any time pressure. It’s okay to take a whole lesson to solve just one problem sometimes, and it’s okay to put a problem away and come back to it the next day (or even the day after that.)

My son often needs more than one day on his Beast Academy problems. Sometimes, he can solve all the problems on a page except one or two, so we just put it away and come back to it the next day. It can be so tempting to just tell him the answer and move on (and I have to admit I sometimes do) but he gets a lot more benefit when I give him more time to figure it out himself."

Read the rest of the article here.

Local Events

Big picture
Big picture

The Inflatable Run & Festival OC

Not your typical 5K, this inflatable-filled obstacle course presents wacky challenges (you’ll discover what massive zorb balls are), as well as magic shows, dance parties, giveaways, and epic water battles. There will also be a bounce station for children ages 5 and younger. Proceeds from the wild event (8 am-2 pm) will benefit the Just Care More Foundation.


When: Saturday, April 6, 2019

Time: 8:00 am – 2:00 pm

Where: OC Fair & Event Center, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa

Book tickets here

Nature Walk at O'neal Regional Park

Join O’Neill Regional Park naturalists and learn about the animals and nature of Trabuco Canyon. This will be a light to moderate walk on mostly paved roads.


When: Saturday, April 6, 2019

Time: 9:00am - 10:30am

Where: O'Neil Regional Park, 30892 Trabuco Canyon Road, Trabuco Canyon, CA 92678


All ages welcome. Meet at the Nature Center Patio just inside the main entrance of O’Neill Regional Park. Event is conditional on weather.



The 11th Annual World Dance Celebration

Big picture

Community and Connection

Facebook Page

Did you know we have an Orange County Facebook page? We have new parents in the group who would love to hear from you! We also advertise our field trips here, and upload the newsletter there every week.

Instagram Page

If you are on instagram, we'd love to hear from you! Join our page, learn about our upcoming events and field trips, and tag us in your homeschooling photos!

Orange County Parent Resource Site

Have you visited Inspire's Orange County Parent Resource Site yet? If not, head on over to meet our regional team, stay current on school events, and find general school information. This website is a great resource and one you'll want to bookmark!

Ladan Rashidi - OC Family Liaison

I have three children who are 2, 6 and 8 years old, and I was previously a high school math teacher. Four years ago, our family chose the path of homeschooling and we have enjoyed it ever since! I am passionate about helping families navigate their way on their exciting homeschooling journey, and connecting individuals to build a community!


ladan@inspireschools.org

Shaemanique King - OC Family Liaison

I am a mom of four children, ranging in ages from 8 years to 6 months, and have homeschooled for the past four years. I consider my homeschooling style to be “eclectic” as I draw from many sources and philosophies. I have a background in Project Management Support and enjoy planning and hosting activities and events. I look forward to interacting with and supporting homeschooling families!


shaemanique@inspireschools.org

Feedback

We would like this newsletter to best reflect the needs of our community! If you have any suggestions or input, please complete this survey. We appreciate your feedback!

Big picture