NCVA Beacon Herald
Summer 2021
Our Mission
Congrats Grads!
The staff and teachers of NCVA would like to wish each of our families a fun and restful summer. It has been our privilege to work with you all this year. Before we head out for summer break, please join us in congratulating the Graduating Class of 2021. We are immensely proud of their accomplishments and wish them all the best in their futures. Congratulations!
"Follow your passion. It will lead you to purpose." ~Oprah Winfrey
*Update* Stride K12 Graduation Video
Important Dates
- May 26th-June 9th: EOG/EOC exams
- May 31st: Memorial Day Holiday (School Closed)
- June 9th: Last day of School!
- June 11th: Virtual HS Graduation Ceremony!
~Save the Dates~
Back to School (SY 21-22): Monday, August 16th
SY 21-22 Calendar Revision e-mailed 8.4.21
FINAL CALL: Re-Registration SY 21-22
IMPORTANT: Families that have not indicated a registration status by June 9th will be automatically withdrawn from NCVA and will lose their seat for next year. Please double-check that this has been completed by your Learning Coach or Legal Guardian as soon as possible. Reach out to your student's Advisor or Homeroom Teacher if you need assistance with Re-Registration. Thank you for choosing NCVA!
Important Resources
K12 Support 1-866-512-2273
Trouble Logging in?
- Clear cache and cookies weekly. Click HERE to find out how to use this common troubleshooting trick.
- Power off your computer nightly to allow for automatic system updates.
NCVA Family Directory SY 20-21
UPDATE Your Contact Information
Please ensure your phone number and e-mail are up to date in the OLS under your LC Account.
- Change of Address: Proof of Residence (utility bill, lease, home owner's statement) is required to update your physical address. Please complete the following link as soon as possible.
*SY 21-22 NCVA Annual Health Notification
Per NC State and K12 guidelines, NCVA is required to provide families important immunization and health information annually. This includes updates for SY 21-22. Please review the NCVA Annual Health Notification SY 21-22 closely and save it for future reference.
Be sure to follow-up with your local health care provider or local health department with additional questions as it pertains to your student(s). We wish your family a happy and healthy school year!
*NEW* Emergency Broadband Benefit
The Emergency Broadband Benefit is a temporary FCC program to help households struggling to afford internet service during the pandemic. The FCC is mobilizing people and organizations to help raise awareness about the Emergency Broadband Benefit. The materials below are available for public use. You can download and customize the materials to meet your needs, including by adding your logo to co-brand.
As of May 12, 2021, eligible households will be able to enroll in the program to receive a monthly discount off the cost of broadband service from an approved provider. Eligible households can enroll through an approved provider or by visiting sort by GetEmergencyBroadband.org.
Family Engagement Plan SY 20-21
Congratulations Naomi E!
SUMMER FUN!
Brain Boost (K-12)
Brain Boost is an online summer enrichment program full of engaging and educational content and challenges to keep you entertained and learning this summer. With Brain Boost, you can:
- Access a virtual reading library-Big Universe (K-8)
- Win coins by playing games in Stride
- Build connections with the online learning community with discussion boards (6-12)
- Become inspired by videos of people sharing stories about how they acheived success.
Brain Boost will be available through the Online School beginning (update) June 21, 2021. Log in to your Online School to join the fun as you learn with Brain Boost!
Ignite Summer Learning (Register by 6/10)
Sharpen skills and build on essentials with a tuition-free, virtual summer enrichment camp offered through Stride K12 and Teach For America. Available exclusively to Stride K12-powered students, this upcoming, three-week summer opportunity offers live academic enrichment for elementary, middle, and high school students in English language arts, math, and science. Choose from one of two three-week cohorts: June 22 to July 9 or June 29 to July 16, 2021.
Deadline to enroll is June 10, 2021. Don’t miss your chance to jump-start summer learning.
Summer Reading Activities
- Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program 2021
- Track your reading using the B&N Reading Journal to win a free book from your local B&N store!
Citizen Science
In citizen science, the public participates voluntarily in the scientific process, addressing real-world problems in ways that may include formulating research questions, conducting scientific experiments, collecting and analyzing data, interpreting results, making new discoveries, developing technologies and applications, and solving complex problems. In crowdsourcing, organizations submit an open call for voluntary assistance from a large group of individuals for online, distributed problem solving. Learn more at Citizen Science.gov .
Ways for kids to get involved:
- PBS Kids
- National Geographic
- or use your favorite search engine to find another project of interest!
Gilder Lerhman Institute of American History
- History School is back for another semester of fun! Since launching in April 2020, 5200 students have participated in 22 courses with our award-winning teachers.
This summer, the Gilder Lehrman Institute is pleased to offer seven free courses, led by award-winning history teachers, for elementary, middle, and high school students.Visit this page to learn more and register for courses. Classes will begin June 25, 2021.
Hamilton cast members read children’s books on American history topics and themes with Keisha Rembert, 2019 Illinois History Teacher of the Year. Recordings will be posted on the course page on Fridays at 2:00 p.m. ET / 11:00 a.m. PT.
K12 Learning Liftoff Newsletter
Register here: http://www.learningliftoff.com/
Community Service-#Stride Serves
Fighting Childhood Cancer
Help change the lives of children with cancer, raise awareness, and empower others to help find a cure by partnering—alone or as a group—with Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.
You can be part of a national movement to fight childhood cancer—one cup at a time! Visit the foundation's website for all the details. (Note: Please be sure to review and comply with your state recommendations on physical events.)
Here are some ways that you and your students can join in the movement to fight childhood cancer:
- Set up a lemonade stand:
- Choose your location, date and time, and register your Alex’s Lemonade Stand. (We encourage children to participate every step of the way, they will just need an adult to help them register.)
- You can even choose to have an event kit mailed to you and you’ll get a personal event coach from Alex’s Lemonade Stand to help answer your questions.
- Be sure to take pictures of your lemonade stand!
- Make, distribute, and wear a gold ribbon, the symbol for childhood cancer awareness
- Create and donate care bags for children with cancer
Be sure to share photos of your activities on your school's Facebook page with the hashtag #StrideServes!
- TRACK your service hours here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/K12Cares
- SHARE: Use the hashtag #StrideServes when making any posts. You can also upload any images or videos here: https://www.tintup.com/t/strideserves
Stride K12 National News
Stride K12 National Newsletter
Please read the K12 Newsletter June 2021 for updates from the National Team!
- LC Programming
- Summer Camps & Activities
- Ignite Summer Learning....and more
K12 LC Resources S'more
K12 Student ID Cards
School News and Updates
Attendance Corner
Our last day of school is Wednesday, June 9th. Though live Class Connects may end a few weeks prior, due to state-mandated EOG/EOY testing, students should still be working in the Online School. Learning Coaches should continue to verify student progress and log a minimum of the required 6 hours, daily. Best wishes to all!
Keys to Successful Attendance:
1. Attend all required LIVE Class Connect Sessions
2. Complete all lessons and assignments due for the day
3. Make up any over-due lessons
4. Manually log ALL attendance in the Learning Coach (LC) Account of OLS under the Attendance Tab
Elementary School
Almost Summer
Summer Reading
SUMMER WORK SUGGESTIONS
- IXL
- Math Fluency Practice/Games
- Daily Reading
- Journaling
- Pen-Pals
- Science Websites
- Science Experiments
- Cursive Practice
- Typing Practice
- Flashcards
RETURNING COURSE MATERIALS
Be on the look out for communication from K12 regarding what materials to return at the end of our school year (June 3rd). *Please do NOT return materials immediately if your student is attending summer school.
~From K12 Customer Support~
When your student receives a grade for a course and their course end date arrives, you will receive:
An email (within 24 hours) with instructions to return materials, a list of what to return, and a separate email from UPS with labels for you to print
A letter via USPS (within 7-10 business days) instructing you of what to do with each material item for that course or group of courses and a set of UPS labels.
You may also view the list of materials that need to be returned in your My Info account. See the Learn Which Course Materials Will Need to be Returned article for directions on how to locate this information.
Computer Equipment
ONLY return your K12 issued computer hardware if the student is withdrawing.
K12 Customer Support: 1-866-512-2273
Middle School Updates
Summer break is here! Before you log off for the summer, be sure to finalize any graded work and make plans for how you’ll grow over the summertime to return ready for school year 2021-2022!
Below are a few tips we recommend for a successful end of year, some important dates for June, and a motivational quote from Audre Lorde to help you succeed in the final weeks of school and prepare for a summer of growth! Be sure to also check out the summer tips to have a great summer!
Important Upcoming Dates this Month
- June 1-9: EOG/EOC testing – No live classes, OMS daily work to complete after testing
- June 9: Last day of school – OMS closes at 5PM
Academic Tips for this month:
- · Nervous About EOGs? Take time for extra practice in your online programs provided to you for free, like IXL for Reading and Math or CK-12 for Science! Both of these programs help you review what you know and test your learning from this year. Not sure how to log in? Email your teacher for help!
- Catch up on Missing Work - Quarter 4/Semester 2 ends on June 9th (6/09/2021). It's important to complete any missing OMS work by this date so your final report card for the year is accurate! You can find what work is missing in two ways: check your grades and check the content area. When you check your grades, select the "Classes" tab on your OMS homepage. Then select the course you'd like to review your grades in, such as Math, and click the "grades" tab at the top when your course opens. Look through your grades for assignments that are missing, denoted by a grade of 0. You can then complete that missing work by going to the content tab of your class & locating that module assignment on the left side navigation panel. This video will help you to do this, too.
- Check your Grades Daily or Weekly -Whether it's the end of a quarter or the beginning of a new quarter, it's important to monitor your grades! Knowing how you are progressing in your course is crucial to your success. Instead of just looking at your overall percentage grade each week, go to the Course and check the Grades tab to see what your lowest grades are. In fact, it may even be possible that you still have a retake opportunity for that quiz after you look at your grade. Reflecting on your grades and how you can improve them or do better next time is part of a healthy growth mindset which will lead to your overall success. This video will help you do this, too.
Middle School Yearbooks SY 20-21
•Link to pre-order: https://www.treering.com/validate?PassCode=1016167827842628
•Questions: Dr. Sara Kourtsounis at skourtsounis@ncvacademy.org
Motivational Figures of the Month: Audre Lorde!
Audre Lorde was a poet who wrote about the struggles she and many others like her faced in their lives. Although she had struggles, she was resilient and sought to inform others and continually grow to help others in her lifetime through her writing and activism. Check out more about Audre Lorde or to read some of her poetry here!
Tips for Summer break!
- · Read often! Whether you read graphic novels, online articles, descriptions at a museum, or something else entirely, make sure you read this summer! Reading helps keep your brain active, growing, and also entertains you. You will still have access to Big Universe over the summer if you don’t have access to other texts, so be sure to check it out & read this summer!
- · Work on your Math & ELA skills: Take time for extra practice in your online programs provided to you for free, like IXL for Reading and Math! On your IXL Learning dashboard, you are provided with activities to help you grow as a learner on your level in Math and Reading! This will help you keep fresh with your skills and activate your brain over the summer! Be sure to save your login from your teacher before school ends on June 9th!
- · Activate your Growth Mindset: One of the most important things we can have is a growth mindset. This means we believe that we are capable of growing our brains and learning! You can activate your growth mindset by trying new activities and challenges over the summer. Here are just a few examples: put together a puzzle or Lego creation, build a fort or treehouse using natural materials in your yard, watch a documentary to learn about something new, try a new exercise, or set a new goal for the summer and accomplish it! Doing anything new will stimulate and grow your brain, helping you to activate a positive mindset about your abilities to accomplish new tasks!
Farewell from your Administrators!
Students,
It's hard to believe it, but summer break is here and already upon us! What a year it has been! You have shown us grit, resiliency, dedication, hard work, tremendous effort, and so much more this year through your live classes and your work in the online middle school. Middle school can be challenging, but working through a pandemic, technical issues, challenging lessons, and overcoming personal battles throughout this school year has made 2020-2021 a year for each of us to remember!
We hope that you feel accomplished in what you've learned and mastered in your courses this year, and that you will enjoy your summer break before we see you in the fall. For our rising sixth graders, we look forward to seeing you thrive as you begin middle school in a few months! To our eighth grade students, we wish you the best of luck and a great summer as you prepare to move on to your first year of high school!
Congratulations to all on a wonderful year. We're excited for all that 2021-2022's school year holds!
Sincerely,
Mrs. O'Shea & Mrs. Mac
Academic Administrator 6-8 & Lead Teacher 6-8
High School Updates
Summer Updates
Thank you for a wonderful school year! We enjoyed having each of you with us for the 2020-2021 school year and hope you have a safe and wonderful summer break!
Please remember to check your email, course plans, and class announcements every single day as we close out the year. This will help you to be successful. Check with your individual teachers for deadlines regarding last day for teacher graded and computer graded assignments as you wrap up the semester.
Important Dates:
- Testing: May 26th-June 9th
- Last day of the Quarter: June 9th
- High School Graduation: June 11th (Virtually) at 11 AM.
- 1st day of School Fall 2021: August 16th
High School Year Book Update
- Link to pre-order: https://www.treering.com/validate?PassCode=101597672751897
- Questions: Dr. Sara Kourtsounis at skourtsounis@ncvacademy.org
High School Counseling Team
Katie Beck
Nicole Hairston
Erin Farmer
Tallo: Digital Resume
Marcia Simmons
High School Admin Team
Cassie Parker
Interim High School AA
Special Programs Updates
NCVA Student Support Team
Strong Finish!
Thank you for allowing us to support your families this school year! Our students and Learning Coaches are well deserving of the upcoming summer break. You will notice some optional summer sessions on your student's schedule in June and July to help keep our families connected. Please feel free to participate in these, as well as with other Stride activities, such as National Summer Camps. Enjoy your break and we look forward to seeing you in August!
Meet your Student Support Team
Lea King, Student Support Administrator
Laura Zuber, Student Attendance Specialist
Paige Adams, Student Resource Coordinator
Jillian Davenport, Community Engagement Specialist
Whitney Cress, K-8 Counselor
Student Support Advisors :
K-5: Amy Baker, Brittany Carson, Rebekah Logan, Allison Mosley, Nkechi Orabuchi-Fluker, Jevonda Perkins, and Katie Szostak
6-8: Brittany Bonardi, Tiffany Carson, Lauren Hedrick, Kristen Herd, and Danielle Smithers.
9-12: Marah Barrow, Debbie DeLoach, Karie Shuler, and Jennifer Triplett
NCVA Learning Coach Development Recordings
Click HERE to review. Thank you for your participation!
FEATURING:
· “Mathematical Minds” Series
· “Supporting Exceptional Learners”
· “Addressing Various Learning Styles”
· “Social Media & Online Safety” and more…
K-8 Counselor: Whitney Cress
Hello all! My name is Whitney Cress, and I am the Elementary and Middle School Counselor. Please never hesitate to reach out for support!
Your students will see me during our monthly Beacon Times, where we will focus on a Social Emotional Learning topic. I also offer counseling small groups throughout the school year, so be on the lookout for my emails! I am looking forward to an amazing year!
Also, take notice of our student services website packed with a tremendous amount of helpful community, academic, social and emotional resources.
Whitney Cress
919-346-0121 ext. 2113
NCVA provides McKinney-Vento/Homeless support to qualifying students
You may be eligible for assistance through the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Below is the definition of what qualifies a family to be considered eligible for supports and services.
According to section 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a(2)), the term “homeless children and youths”—
(A) means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and
(B) includes—
(i) children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; or are abandoned in hospitals.
(ii) children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
(iii) children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
(iv) migratory children who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described in clauses (i) through (iii).
Children and youth are considered homeless if they fit both Part A and any one of the sub-parts of Part B of the definition above.
If you feel you may qualify or if you have any questions, please contact Paige Adams, Homeless Liaison & Family Resource Coordinator, at padams@ncvacademy.org or at 919-346-0121 ext. 2030.
COVID RESOURCES
Check out various resources available as we transition through these critical times together. Both links are living documents featuring regular updates.
Specific by region, including assistance with food, finances, utilities, etc.
Social and educational resources for your children.
Crisis Support:
· Text support: Text HOME to 741741 from anywhere in the United States, anytime, about any type of crisis (including COVID19, self harm, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation) and get connected with a trained crisis counselor.
· National Suicide Hotline number is 800-273-TALK (8255), there is also a chat option on their website, https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ .
· As always, call 911 with any life-threatening emergencies, including thoughts or plans of suicide and self-harm.
NCDHSS-Childcare Resource
Learning Coach Central
LC Community via the K12 App
Social Media
Please take advantage of opportunities to connect with the K12 and NCVA communities online and social media, via:
If you have not already, take a few moments to review our school on the NCVA Facebook page. Share your experience with others by clicking on the "Review" tab. This is a great way to make friends and connect with other NCVA families.
NCVA Twitter: https://twitter.com/ncva_k12
NCVA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ncva_k12/
Directions to Join a Regional Parent Group
*Please note that the RPG Teams are operated by parent volunteers. Some groups may have downtime over the summer.*
Want to connect with other NCVA families near your area? Join an RPG today!
- E-mail the Regional Parent Group where you reside. Find your county on the map.
- Include your Name, County, Student(s)' Name(s), Grade Level(s), and Phone Number.
Region 1 ncvaregion1@yahoo.com
Region 2 ncvaregion2@gmail.com
Region 3 ncvaregion3@yahoo.com
Region 4 ncvaregion4@gmail.com
Region 5 ncvaregion5@gmail.com
Region 6 ncvaregion6@gmail.com
Region 7/8 ncvaregion7_8@yahoo.com
PLEASE NOTE: The Regional Parent Groups are comprised of Learning Coaches. They do NOT have access to student information. Please contact your student's Homeroom or Content Area Teacher(s) for academic questions.
K12 Customer Support & Videos 1-866-512-2273
https://www.help.k12.com/s/topic/0TO0B000000I2moWAC/technical-support-videos#?tabset-26361=2
- K12 App: Download HERE
- Audio Set-Up: https://www.help.k12.com/s/article/How-to-Setup-a-Headset-Microphone-and-Configure-Audio-for-Class-Connect
- Time Zone Configuration: https://www.help.k12.com/s/article/How-to-Update-the-Time-Zone-in-the-Online-School-and-on-Your-Computer
- Clear Cache and Cookies: https://www.help.k12.com/s/article/Internet-Browsers-Clear-Cache-and-Cookies
If you are your online classes using Chrome, we recommend installing the Flash Enabler extension which will enable and save Flash settings for your classes. Please refer to Enabling Flash in Chrome for a step-by-step guide to enabling Flash in Chrome.
- Learn more about additional System Recommendations.
Zoom App
HELPING OUR SCHOOL
Box Tops
"Together In Education Program"
Account # 3669
"Tools For Schools"
(Account # 31300)
Contact Information
North Carolina Virtual Academy
4220 NC HWY 55, Suite 130
Durham, NC 27713
Phone: 919-346-0121
Fax: 919-324-6597
Website: http://ncva.k12.com
K12 Customer Support: 1-866-512-2273