Compass Chronicle
Online High School Program | January 2020
A Word from the Coordinator!
Happy New Year! As a new decade begins, it is a great time to reflect and set goals. To quote author Vern McClellan, “What the new year brings to you will depend a great deal on what you bring to the new year”. I look forward to seeing all that our scholars bring to this new year as they continue in their dedication to their learning.
With a new year, a fresh start can also help our scholars continue to strive for success and meet their goals. This fresh start can include implementing and improving habits, routines, and motivation. As we all strive for success, I know that 2020 will be the best year yet!
What's Been Happening in Online High School?
Throughout the winter, our high school scholars have been busy ensuring they stay on pace in their courses, engage in their learning labs, and enjoy their time spent collaborating. Our scholars in lab science courses worked hard in December participating in their a-g labs with Mr. Spink, in an all morning lab makeup day. During this lab day, scholars worked together in their lab groups to participate in this unique and fun opportunity by thinking critically to form hypotheses, conduct experiments, and analyze data to determine if their hypothesis was correct. By using a new interactive tool, Mr. Spink enabled scholars to use virtual simulations and share their photos and evidence of their hands-on learning experience.
Our AVID scholars have been focusing on college and career readiness by implementing tools for success. First, they learned how to be organized and manage their studies in their online binders. Second, they learned and discussed how to be responsible for their own decisions during their learning labs with Mrs. Sowell which focused on the book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey. Along with this discussion, scholars created SMART goals to help them stay focused and work towards achieving their goals this school year. Lastly, with the college and career focus, AVID scholars completed an assessment to determine their interests and potential careers after high school. Once they reflected on these results, they created a list of colleges and schools to attend in order to pursue this career.
Mrs. Davis celebrated diversity, teaching on the different holidays in the United States and around the world, in a special learning lab for her Spanish class. Scholars studied other cultures and shared about their own culture and celebrations. The session focused on many different celebrations, with videos highlighting the celebrations, holiday music from around the world, and interactive games.
The high school team is excited to see all of the amazing things that our scholars accomplish in the spring!
Online Scholars' Work Samples & Learning Labs
Scholars in our online program are hard at work in their courses. Each week, they spend time using our online curriculum provider StrongMind to learn independently. Then, attend their live learning lab classes taught by our credentialed education facilitators to enhance their learning.
Here’s some of what they’ve been up to:
Biology scholars worked with Mr. Spink and their lab groups to complete their a-g labs. Here, during the osmosis lab, scholars collect data to discuss cell division and reproduction.
A Scholar Story!
Meet, Caylin! She’s a 12-grade scholar at Compass. She and her learning coach shared why they chose to attend Compass.
Cailyn chooses to learn from home because her older brother was homeschooled and she had been bullied in a traditional brick-and-mortar setting. Learning from home helps her achieve her goals and put more focus on her studies. Also, because she is learning from home, her typical school day is now peaceful with less stress. Another thing that she enjoys about learning from home is that she doesn’t have to wear a school uniform.
Cailyn’s mother shared her insight as a learning coach and that the greatest challenge she has experienced with her daughter learning from home, is insuring that Cailyn completes her school work even when she is not home with her. To help with this challenge, Cailyn’s mom assists her with projects while she is home and looks over her assignments before they are submitted.
Cailyn and her learning coach chose CCS because they liked the educational facilitators and the school operations. Cailyn shared that she appreciates the support and aid that she receives from her teachers and help when she doesn’t understand her school work. One piece of advice that she would give to those learning from home is, “it’s hard to get used to at first, but once you do, it’s worth it.”
When she does have free time, Cailyn enjoys spending time with her family, going bowling and challenging them in video game tournaments!
Staff Spotlight
Meet Kasey Wingate, Scholar Success Coordinator
Kasey Wingate has been at Compass Charters for 6 years! She is currently the Scholar Success Coordinator (SSC) which gives her the opportunity to coordinate support and intervention services for scholar success in grades kindergarten through 12th via our Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) framework. In reflecting on this role, Mrs. Wingate says, “It is truly exciting to work that allows me to facilitate academic and behavioral support groups to help our scholars get the tools and skills they need to find success. While I have worked at CCS for 6 years in different roles, I have found that I enjoy being the SSC the most!”.
Mrs. Wingate is passionate about building connections with CCS families and ensuring every scholar gets equitable access to a quality education. If she can make a difference in just one scholar's life, she knows she has succeeded. When asked what advice she would share with scholars she said, “Don't be afraid to try something and fail. If you fail, you will inherently have more wisdom and will grow from your experiences”.
Besides her many hours devoted to scholars, she has a keen eye for interior decorating. She designed her outdoor living space which has been featured on Houzz.com. In addition, she and her husband love the outdoors and to be active. Mrs. Wingate shared, “I work out daily and we walk our fur babies to the beach every weekend. We also love to travel. We visit a National Park to hike and explore and go to a tropical destination to relax every year. My favorite destinations have been: Belize, Costa Rica, Havasupai Falls, Zion National Park, and Sedona”.
Kasey Wingate helps our scholars to achieve their goals. We are happy to have her on our online team!
Counseling Services Department
Counseling News
Happy New Year and welcome back! We can’t believe that the first semester is almost over! We hope that you had a productive and relaxing winter break. We hope that you used the time to catch up on any missing assignments and to recharge, finishing the first semester strong! As we are near closing the fall semester, we reflect on the proud accomplishments of the counseling services department team and all the wonderful things that we have planned for the remainder of the school year. Happy 2020 and thank you always for your continued support!
It has been an exciting time in the Counseling Services Department since the school year started. The fall 2019 semester ended with 17 counseling webinars delivered to scholars and learning coaches centered around academics, social-emotional intelligence, and college and career preparation. We look forward to ‘seeing’ you all at our upcoming spring weekly learning labs, held every Tuesday at noon.
As we look ahead to the spring 2020 semester, we invite you to join us in celebrating National School Counseling Week, February 3 through February 7th. This year’s theme is "School Counselors: Helping Build Better Humans”, we will focus on the effort the counseling team, as we strive to create a positive impact on our scholars' success. If a counselor has made a positive impact in your life, we invite you reach out to your counselor to let him or her know what a difference they’ve made.
Staff Spotlight
Meet Mataya Olson, College and Career Counselor
What is your job title and what are a couple of the things you do at Compass Charter Schools? How long have you worked for this organization?
I am the College Career Readiness Counselor at Compass Charter Schools. In this role, I support scholars in college and career planning, obtaining work permits, and concurrent enrollment. This is my second year at Compass Charter Schools.
Tell us your “why” for doing what you do here at CCS?
I love the aspects of college and career, and how it is always evolving. It is especially rewarding to help scholars plan for what is next after high school. There are so many possibilities out there and it is amazing to see each scholar’s unique passions and interests.
As an educator, is there piece of advice you’d like to share with learning coaches or scholars?
It is never too early to start thinking about college and career! There are many great opportunities available to middle and high school scholars. The earlier you start planning, the more aware and prepared you will be.
Counseling Stories
This month we are happy to highlight the Kelly Family! Learning Coach, Angela, has two daughters at CCS, Jhala (age 12) and Monica (age 10). Both Jhala and Monica are very busy with projects outside of school. Jhala recently recorded a new single, Kaleidoscope, and authored a book, I Am Who I Say That I Am.
What does a typical day look like for you and your scholar? A typical day for us begins with getting ready, as if we were going to a regular public school, having breakfast, before we start our schoolwork; that is if we’re not rushing out to an audition or filming, an early morning rehearsal, or heading off to a recording session.
What has been your greatest joy and what has been your greatest challenge in schooling at home? How did you overcome the challenge(s)? My greatest joy has been knowing that my two girls are in a safe environment and that I am their greatest influence when it comes to morals and values. My greatest challenge is being a single parent, I have to work and so there are times when I’m not there to supervise my girls the way that I would like to be. However, I have recently received more support from family members and friends who have stepped up to assist me with my girls’ homeschooling.
What do you enjoy most about being part of our Compass community? We have enjoyed so many things about being a part of the Compass Community, but what stands out the most is the spirit of excellence, dedication, and caring that the educational facilitators and staff have shown my girls and myself.
Special Education Department
Special Education Teacher Spotlight
I collaborate closely with the Exceptional Scholars team, Educational Facilitators, Parents, and Scholars to develop individual student goals and develop IEP’s. Based on those goals I provide instruction and support which facilitates the participation of scholars with disabilities in the regular classroom. I have worked for CCS since January of 2019.
I have worked as a Special Educator in a brick and mortar setting for 20 years. I taught kindergarten through second-grade students with moderate/severe disabilities. Being a special educator brings me so much joy, but I needed a change and I found that at Compass Charter Schools. A special education teacher is a rewarding job. When a child makes a breakthrough, the teacher understands the effort required for that breakthrough.
Some advice that I would like to share with learning coaches and scholars is that it is ok to make mistakes. As teachers we make mistakes and as scholars we make mistakes. We can always learn from our mistakes. “You’ve got to take the good with the bad, smile with the sad, love what you’ve got, and remember what you had. Always forgive, but never forget. Learn from mistakes, but never regret.”
One thing that very few people know about me is that I dislike getting my face wet or getting splashed. The crazy thing is that I was a swimmer all through high school!
I have a wonderful husband of almost 16 years. We have two children, Caiden (14) and Ava (10). In our free time we like to try new restaurants around San Diego and go motorhome camping. Our favorite camping spot is at the beach. We usually spend a week at the beach during the summer with friends and family.
Scholar Work Samples
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