Welcome
Fall 2017
Dear students, parents, and facilitators.
Welcome to Georgia Virtual School. I will be your student's teacher. The student’s first task is to complete the Student Orientation Course. It is important to complete topics in order and complete all items on the checklist. Students must successfully finish student orientation and earn a 100% on the quiz prior to gaining access to class. This must be completed by 8:00 pm (EST) the day before your session begins. Following the completion of the SOC, the date on which students will gain access to the course is dependent upon which schedule was selected at the time of registration.
Student Orientation Course: Must be completed prior to gaining access to your GaVS Course.
Schedule Group Start Dates (Students select the schedule when they register.)
Regardless of the start date, the course ends December 8, 2017. Student work is due daily but counted late after each Wednesday at midnight. Check course schedules for specific due dates. Work turned in after the deadline on the course schedule will be accepted within 3 school days with a late penalty assessed. Late penalties are deducted at a rate of 10% of the assignment value per school day.
How much time should I plan to spend on my course?
You are expected to login and participate in your online course on a DAILY basis. I check attendance.
Fall/Spring semester: Students completing the 18 week course should plan to spend at least 60 to 90 minutes per weekday (5 to 8 hours per week) for a half unit (A or B) course or 90 to 120 minutes per weekday (7 to 10 hours per week) for a 1 unit (AB or block) course. Time required to complete work increases if the student enrolls in a 16, 14 or 12 week course.
You are expected to follow your daily schedule and to read content, participate in discussions , do assignments, and take tests according to this schedule. The Wednesday due date is the date after which late penalties are assigned.
Review the Student Handbook
If you have questions or concerns, feel free to email me or call at the number below. You may also reference the Fall 2017 Student Handbook for additional information and answers to general questions.
Academic Integrity (from Student Handbook)
Academic integrity is a fundamental component of teaching and learning. Maintaining high standards of academic integrity ensures the sustainability of the educational process. Therefore, students are expected to commit to and be responsible for demonstrating the five fundamental components, even in the face of adversity:
1· Honesty 2· Trust 3· Fairness 4· Respect 5· Responsibility
Unless your teacher or the specific assessment directions inform you of exceptions, all work must be original and entirely the student's own work without any outside help. While taking assessments or completing written assignments, students will not confer, either in person or through electronic communication, with other students, parents, family members, facilitators, tutors or acquaintances. While taking assessments or completing written assignments, students may not use any textbooks, references, or other materials/outside sources (printed or electronic) unless your teacher or the specific assessment directions inform you of exceptions. Assignments that require documentation and/or references must adhere to guidelines presented by
the teacher. When in doubt, clarify with your teacher before beginning an assignment or submitting it.
Students are expected to complete and save their work for GaVS classes in a digitally secure environment that is password protected. GaVS provides a secure working area and storage in O365. Failure to secure and protect files/documents that become shared with other students will be considered an honor violation.
Important Parent Information
The Parent Account gives you information about your child’s grades and progress in their course. Each week you will receive an automated email with your child’s grade range in each of his/her classes. If your child’s grade drops below a 70, you will receive a phone call from me.
In order to view your child’s progress, you will need to have a parent account within our Student Information System and your account must be linked to your child’s GAVS account. If you already have a parent account please do NOT create a new one. If you have never created a parent account or you have not linked to your student’s account, follow the steps listed below.
Parent Account Information
Parents should read the knowledgebase articles in the order listed below. The steps must be completed in this order.
During the parent account creation process, you will be required to visit http://www.gavirtualschool.org/ to begin the account creation process.
Steps/Process:
2. Link child to parent account (Student's GTID is needed during this step.)
Syllabus Signature Sheet
Synchronous Welcome Session
See your Course Information Section on your Course Home Page for details. Synchronous classes will be held on Tuesday evenings.
Brightspace Help Sessions
Georgia Virtual School will have Brightspace Help Sessions for students and parents on Adobe Connect on the following dates:
Sunday August 6th @ 3pm
Tuesday August 8th @ 7pm
Tuesday August 22nd @ 7pm
Tuesday September 5th @ 7pm
Thursday September 21st @ 11am
NOTE: Students and parents may attend any of the above scheduled sessions
You will join by entering the meeting as a Guest. Your username is your first and last name. Here is the link to join each Brightspace Help Session:
Jigsaw Brightspace Help Classroom
The schoolwide Brightspace Help meetings are separate from individual Welcome sessions held by each teacher. Please plan to attend the meeting with your teacher as well. Your teacher will notify you about the date of that meeting.