Reaching Your Academic Potential
Welcome to Mrs. Jacob's Q4 VSH RYAP Course
Introduction
Hello, my name is Mrs. Jacob and I am excited to be teaching secondary social studies with the Virtual School House this year. Virtual teaching is a fairly new experience for me as I am betting virtual learning is for you too. Therefore, we will both be learning as we go! Virtual learning can be pretty awesome, but I already miss the interaction of a traditional classroom, so it is my goal to use the lure and intrigue of the social sciences to get you excited and engaged in our our virtual classroom culture and discussions.
Please read through this document thoroughly.
See you virtually Friday, April 9th in class!!!
It is going to be a great quarter!
Reaching Your Academic Potential Course Description
Students will learn essential academic skills within the context of their learning style, individual learning environment, and long-term goals. This course helps students develop habits for more successful reading, writing, studying, communication, collaboration, time management, and concentration. It also provides insights into how the brain works when they are learning, and ways to maximize its potential.
RYAP Class Schedule
Monday Meet Up @2:00
We will meet as a whole group on Mondays to go over class announcements, unit and lesson objectives, a short lecture/presentation and questions.
The live session will be recorded and archived.
Attendance will be taken.
Wednesday Topics @1:10
The whole class will meet on Wednesdays to delve deeper into that week's objectives and discuss related course topics. This will generally include an introduction to the topics, a short lecture, and a class discussion including personal reflections. Students are expected to participate!
The live session will be recorded and archived.
Attendance will be taken.
Tuesdays and Thursdays @1:10
Study Hall
This study hall is optional for attendance but highly recommended for students who need a little help with accountability and/or time management. Students are free to just check in and discuss grades, or get extra study time with me or peers. I also use this time to call on students and parents with concerns or compliments regarding academic performance.
Finally Fridays @1:10
Fridays the whole class will go over the activities from the week and review for quizzes and tests. Friday schedules will be flexible and filled with a variety of different activities which will be posted on the weekly checklist for that week.
Attendance will be taken.
Microsoft Teams
This is our virtual classroom space! Teams is where we will meet for live class time and office hours.
Monday: Per 4 2:00-2:45
Wednesday: Per 4: 1:10-2:40
Friday: Per 4 1:10-2:40
Study Hall: Wednesday and Thursday: Per 4
Office Hours: 9:25-1:50 and 2:45-3:15
*except on Remote Mondays (12:20-1:05)
FuelEd: PEAK
PowerSchool
Important Teams Information
The General tab is where you will find weekly newsletters, class announcements/updates, and class materials. Always check here first if you have a question. The late work form is always tabbed at the top in the General channel. This needs to be turned in with all late work.
The Archived Sessions tab will link you to past live sessions. This will be helpful if you weren't able to attend a session for any reason, or need to hear directions on an assignment. You will also need to fill out a tabbed attendance form in this channel if you miss a class.
Live Class Links is where you will find links to live classroom sessions. (Remember, this will be every Monday, and one day Tuesday-Thursday plus Friday or 3 times a week).
Office Hour Links is a place where you can find me every afternoon 2:45-3:15 if you need help with your assignments, have a question about your grade or would like to discuss the content.
Questions: is a channel for academic questions only. If you have a general question about an assignment, or something related to the class, feel free to post here. It is very helpful if you @mention my name in your question so that I am notified about your comment. Please, please, do not @mention the entire class. This would also be a powerful place for your peers to help answer your questions as well.
The For Fun Channel: the name says it all! This is where students are able to have supervised meet's and non-academic chats to get to know each other. I will sometimes provide fun surveys and conversation thread's so students can be social and interact with each other.
Weekly Checklist is where your weekly to-do list is housed. Always, check the weekly checklist at the start of class so you have a clear goal of due dates and what to accomplish each class period.
Attendance
Attendance will be taken at each of our 3 weekly live sessions. (Monday, Wednesday and Friday). You must be present for the duration of the meeting/until dismissal to to be considered present for that meeting.
- If you miss a class for whatever reason and still want to be marked present for that class. You need to watch the recorded archived video, and fill out the attendance form for that session by Friday.
- Work completion is part of the attendance policy. Work that is completed fully and on time is a reflection of your attendance and will be considered one part of attendance in addition to attending the live sessions.
- Attendance will be taken throughout the week and updated on Fridays in PowerSchool.
Assignments and Due Dates
Assignments Your curriculum and learning resources are available to you in Fuel Ed (as described above). Your assignments from Fuel Ed will be assigned weekly on Mondays with due dates throughout the week.
Due dates will be posted on the weekly checklist, in PowerSchool, in Fuel Ed/Peak and I will remind you during the live sessions. Quizzes and tests will be due the day they are assigned. Generally, zeroes will be entered into PowerSchool on Fridays for any missing assignments from that week. It is a great idea to keep a planner, or weekly to do list for this course (and others!)
Note Taking
You will be allowed to use your classroom notes on quizzes and assessments. It is important that you find a note taking strategy that works for you. I have included a resource below that models and explains some different options for you.
Digital Citizenship and Classroom Expectations
Our virtual classroom has rules/norms the same way a traditional classroom has rules.
- Be on time and ready to go. Please try to limit distractions around you. It is important everyone is ready to learn and participate when class starts so we can accomplish all our tasks.
- Use the reaction buttons to let your classmates know when you agree or disagree and give them a thumbs-up or a round of applause to encourage them.
- Please keep your mic muted unless you have ‘raised your hand’ or I have asked you to speak (just like you would in class). With a lot of students in one live session, it can become difficult to maintain an organized meeting otherwise.
- Turn off notifications from email and social media so you aren't distracted.
- When speaking, please stay on topic and be school appropriate. I fully believe that we learn better through collaboration, but only if it is purposeful and intentional.
- Be respectful of your classmates. Just because we are behind a screen it does not mean that people are not vulnerable. You can learn a lot from a position you disagree with or do not know a lot about. It is amazing when we not only listen but learn from each other.
Office Hours
I will be available for Office Hours:
Mondays: 12:20-1:05 and 2:45-3:15
Tuesdays - Fridays 9:25-10:50 and 2:45-3:15
Please, do not hesitate to use this time to your advantage! Verbal communication is helpful and so important!
Grades and Late Work
- Weekly tasks will be assigned on Monday and due throughout the week. Please direct any questions regarding weekly tasks or class discussions to the ‘Questions’ Channel in Teams. My goal is to have assignments graded and PowerSchool grades updated within 2 school days. Due to the nature of some assignments, some grades may take longer than others to update in PowerSchool.
- Missing work will be marked in PowerSchool with the orange icon and a score of 0 will act as a temporary placeholder until the assignment is submitted.
- Late work will be accepted for ONE WEEK after the due date for full credit and will be marked as late in PowerSchool. Late work submitted after the 1 week grace period will receive a 30% late work penalty.
- Units in Peak may close when the following unit has been assessed and completed.
- If you have questions or concerns about your grade, please email me, or @mention me in Teams or come to my Office Hours.
Important Quarter 4 Dates
1. April 9th Q4 begins!
2. April 13th SAT day- NO LIVE SESSIONS for grades 9, 10 and 12.
3. May 31st Memorial Day No School K-12
4. June 4th Seniors last day
5. June 8th-9th Finals
6. June 9th VSH Graduation Ceremony 7pm @ Centennial Performing Arts Center
7. June 10th end of Q4 and Device Check-in Day!
Mrs. Jacob
Email: jacob.jonelle@westada.org
Website: https://www.westada.org/VSH
Location: Virtual School House
Phone: 208-350-1305