Vail Innovation Center
VIC News, March 2, 2021
Vail Innovation Center
Letter from the Coordinator
March 2, 2021
Hello amazing VIC Families!
I hope you all had a lovely Rodeo break and were able to enjoy some of the nice weather. Thank you to all of the kiddos and families that put in the extra time this weekend in getting caught up on their courses. I want to send a special good luck to our Seniors for their Senior Exit Project presentations tomorrow, YOU'VE GOT THIS!
VIC students have raised over $3,470 for the American Heart Association. This will be our most successful fundraiser yet. Thank you for all of your support. The Sliming date is set for 3/31/21 at 2:45 and we will be recording it and sending out invites for top earners.
Tax Credit Designation Time is Here
If you have not already made a tax credit designation, please consider making one to VIC through the VBL location. This designation costs you nothing! You merely designate the funds on your state tax return, send them in with the return, and receive them back with your refund. If you owe, the designation is subtracted from your balance. The money that we collect from tax credit designation is used to fund our school events, prizes, and activities. If you are filing jointly, you can designate up to $400 and if you are filing single, you can designate up to $200. Please click on the link to the district website for more information. https://vailtaxcredits.org Thank you in advance for your consideration of this.
Have a great week CyberWolves!
Mrs. Tankersley
Rachel Tankersley
Coordinator of Digital Learning
Vail Innovation Center K-12
520-879-1313
Vail School District Student Survey 2021
Dear Students and Parents:
Every year we ask the students to fill out a survey for the Vail Cares Cadre. We take these surveys very seriously. Each year we compare results to the results of prior years and look for trends in improvement and areas that need attention.
We also use the results for both teacher and administrative evaluations. Please help us help you by providing the quality responses needed to make the results meaningful.
The survey is open through 5:00 pm on Friday, March 5, 2021.
(I apologize if you received multiple notices of this survey. To promote participation we are sending notice of the survey out through several distribution systems.)
THANK YOU!
Mrs. Tankersley, Coordinator of Digital Learning
Love of Reading Week is March 1st - March 5th
Special Edmentum Reminders
Special Reminders
All students need to be working a minimum of 5 days a week to complete their courses on time. There are course maps for you to utilize as a tool for success with completing assignments on time.
6-12 grade students should ONLY use your school email account to communicate with your teachers **Do not use the Edmentum messaging system. Remember your teachers have 24 hours to respond to your school email messages.
You should be working a minimum of 1 hour per class per day to meet the timing requirements.
Tutoring sessions are available if your student is struggling. Please be sure to look at the tutoring schedule and use those links to attend virtually. Our teachers are looking forward to seeing and helping you!
Your course is made up of multiple units. Within each unit, there are subsections and topics which often include a tutorial, activities/practice, and/or a mastery test. Mastery tests can be retaken up to 3 times, but you must redo the tutorial first and then the program will unlock the mastery test again for another attempt. Edmentum will count your highest score.
When you get to the Post Test please reach out to your teacher through email to unlock it for you.
End Dates and Pacing Chart Icons - CyberWolves Working CyberStrong in 2021!
Remember to keep a close eye on your end dates.
Are you on pace to finish by your end dates?
Dark green = ahead of pace (1 or more activities ahead)
Light green = on pace (within 1 activity of the expected pace)
Orange = slightly off pace (1 or 2 activities behind)
Pink = Way off pace (3 or more activities behind)
Remember your online agreement to work approximately one hour a day in each class for five days a week will keep you on pace with light green or dark green pacing icons. Let's work CyberSTRONG in 2021!
Thank you,
The Vail Innovation Center Team
Students in 6-12: Here is a Edmentum Tutorial with tips and tricks. Please watch for a refresher.
Vail Innovation Center Tutoring Opportunities
Please see the picture attachments below with additional information needed for each tutoring opportunity listed below; days/times and instructor information. Thank you.
Link for MS Science
Link for MS Math
Link for MS ELA & SS
Link for HS Science
Use the link below to join the "Chemistry Tutoring" Group in Schoology:
MZDF-M5ZV-6D8M9
Link for HS Math Algebra 1 & Geometry
Link for HS ELA & SS
Free Math Tutoring for K-12 through the University of Arizona
The attached schedule is provided by the University of Arizona Math Department for the Spring Schedule for FREE Math Zoom Tutoring. This is for elementary grades, middle school and high school math.
Through the AmeriCorps STEMM program, skilled tutor mentors provide free online math tutoring and support to K-12 students. Any questions about the program may be directed to mhosten@math.arizona.edu or lmaroney@email.arizona.edu or call 520.621.6866
K-5 Students of the Month for March
Grades K-5 Kudos Corner
Mrs. Schultz; Congratulations to our very own Ian for interviewing as a finalist in the SARSEF Science and Engineering virtual fair!
Grades 6-12 Kudos Corner
Keep your eye out for next weeks KUDOS Corner to see who is recognized next week.
Mrs. Baker; Kinler Lees is working really hard and is a driven student that completes quality work. Way to go Kinler!
Mrs. Elchert; Elonna Blunt has really tackled Economics and put in 100%. She is a budding economist!
Mrs. Garcia; Ben Wilson showed critical and creative thinking on his last essay in ELA. Way to go, Ben! Aliyah Kim has been working diligently on assignments, showing proficiency, and spending time mastering key concepts! Keep it up! Lillian Giron has been meeting weekly to set goals and grow as a reader and writer. Nicely done!
Mrs. Goldwasser; Good job Tingen Jones for moving into the "ahead of pace" category in Science 6B. In Science 7B, way to go Ella Karhoff for the positive attitude and effort this semester! It's paying off for you. Ainslie Lowe is working far ahead of pace with detailed, thorough work quality in every assignment. In Science 8B, Matthew Allison and Liliana SantaCruz are continuing to keep up on schedule with excellent work.
Mrs. Lotti; Congratulations to Rebhea Shiha for successfully completing English 4B! Good luck to Sarah Rhodes who will be taking her Honors 4B final exam! You got this!
Mrs. Taggart; Damian Macias - 9th grade - has really turned it around! Keep up the great work in Spanish 1B.
Mrs. Nunes; recognizes the following students from 6th through 12th grades who are on pace or ahead of pace in all of their classes:
6th grade; Conrad Miller, Ethan Rogers
7th grade; Calissa Berry, Troy Geier
8th grade; Aliyah Kim, Dexter Mitchell
9th grade; Daniella Duarte, Evelyn Miller
10th grade; Thomas Bryant, Alexia McAllister
11th grade; Elonna Blunt, Sydney Wood
12th grade; Christopher Collins, Hailee Howell
KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!
Juniors - ACT Testing Information
Juniors,
You will be taking the ACT Test on Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Location: Vail District Office - 13801 E. Benson Hwy Vail, AZ 85641
The students will be taking the Online version of the ACT test - this is not a pencil and paper test!
Time: Arrive by 8:30a.m. testing will conclude around 12:45p.m.
IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT YOU PRACTICE THE ONLINE ACT TEST PRIOR TO TESTING DATES SO THERE ARE NO SURPRISES. The attached document goes into detail about the practice test options, but here is a summary:
Steps:
Download - http://download.testnav.com. Note: ACT online tests are only supported on Windows, macOS, and Chrome OS operating systems.
Open the TestNav application you downloaded and click on the Practice Tests link.
Read the test overview instructions you see on the screen, enter your name, and select Start.
Highlights of the ACT online test:
TIMER - The timer at the top of the page tells you how much time you have left to complete your test. Note: A timer will not appear if you are taking an untimed practice test.
Pacing yourself for a timed test is something that takes a little practice since most tests you take during school are not timed. I would recommend practicing with the timer. Make sure you answer all the questions. It is better to guess on a question than to leave a question blank.
BOOKMARK - Select Bookmark to mark an item so that you can find it easily and return to it later. When an item is marked, the same button can be used to remove the bookmark.
ANSWER ELIMINATOR - Select Answer Eliminator to eliminate answer choices.
REVIEW - Select Review to see an overview of your current status within the test, including information such as which items you have bookmarked, answered, or not answered.
CALCULATOR - A graphing calculator is available within the testing application (in the mathematics test only). To open the calculator, select the Calculator button. Select and drag the calculator if you want to move it to another area on the screen.
ZOOMING IN OR OUT - Adjust the size of the text on your screen by using CTRL and the + key to zoom in or CTRL and the - key to zoom out. Use CTRL and the 0 (zero) key to quickly return to standard size.
ANSWER MASKING - To cover answer choices until you are ready to read them, select Enable Answer Masking. This will cover the answer choices.
HIGHLIGHTER - Use the Highlighter tool to highlight text.
MAGNIFIER - To magnify a portion of the screen, select Enable Magnifier on the user drop down menu, near the top right of the screen.
LINE READER MASK - To read one line at a time, select Show Line Reader Mask.
**Ms. Wrona recently sent emails to 11th graders and parents with more detailed information about the ACT. Check your emails.**
Senior Exit Project (SEP) Information Update
Hello Seniors,
Tomorrow, (March 3rd), is the big day you/we have been waiting for!! Presentations start at 3:00pm so please make sure you know your time slot and that your technology is working. Please review the handbook for your presentation and contact myself or Ms. Wrona if you have any issues. It has been a pleasure working with you on your SEP and the staff and judges are looking forward to your presentations. It is amazing how fast this year is going and graduation will be here before you know it, so please stay on top of your coursework. Again, if there are any issues please contact myself or Ms. Wrona ASAP. See you tomorrow!!
Mr. Ogden, SEP Coordinator
Ms. Wrona, Counselor
We are attaching the link to the SEP Handbook which is posted on our VIC Website under the 6-12 Resources.
Mr. Arlo Ogden
Vail Innovation Center
Senior Exit Project Coordinator
Senior Advisor
520-879-1925
Social and Emotional Learning March Theme: Compassion and Kindness
Important Flyers and Information
The 2020-2021 School Calendar
FASFA - Free Application for Federal Student Aid
Seniors! It is time to start thinking about paying for college! The FAFSA is the best place to start. Let’s start with a little bit about what the FAFSA actually is. FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid; translation: it determines a student's eligibility for need-based federal financial aid for college, which may include grants, scholarships, work-study and loans. If eligible, it can really help you pay for school!
Use this link to complete the FAFSA Application: https://studentaid.gov/
Carrie Wrona
Counselor
Vail Innovation Center
520-879-1305
K-12 VIC Staff Contacts - Communication is Key
Please be sure you are reaching out to your teacher at any time to get support or ask questions. We are attaching our staff list showing teacher names and email addresses so you can easily contact your teacher. We are all here to help you succeed. Please plan enough time to hear back from your teacher within 24 hours.
Here is the link to our spreadsheet with all of the VIC teachers and their email.
"Good communication is the bridge between confusion and clarity."
— Nat Turner
Edmentum Tech Support
If you are having any technical troubles with your online class, please contact Edmentum:
Technical Support
1-800-447-5286
Mon- Fri 4:30 am – 6:30 pm
Sat & Sun 6:00 am – 3:30 pm
Email: info@edmentum.com
Online: https://support.edmentum.com/