Sweet Peaches
The Latest News for GCA Teachers and Staff - Mar 11th, 2015
Georgia Cyber Academy - OUR MISSION
The mission of the Georgia Cyber Academy is to provide an exemplary educational experience to students in a unique and individualized setting. We embrace a collaborative partnership between teachers, learning coaches, and students that recognizes the needs of the individual child. The provision of research based curriculum and rigorous, standards-based instruction guarantees student success as measured by academic gains, parent and student satisfaction, and continued institutional growth in the respected academic community. Academic success and the ability of our students to reach their highest potential is our ultimate goal.
STAFF MEETING & TRAINING AGENDA
Upcoming Staff Meeting Professional Development and Training and Topics:
3/13 - GOFAR - Flipped Training - see below
3/20 - FIP - Student Ownership of Learning
3/24 - Virtual PD - Spring Testing 2015 Training - Accommodations
3/27 - Milestones Support Training - Roles and Responsibilities
4/10 - Milestones Support Training - Tie Up Loose Ends
Please remember these meetings are required for all staff. Should you need to access the recording to a meeting, you can find all staff meeting recordings on the Home Page in Sharepoint. Professional Development follows our Staff Meeting each week.
GOFAR Recorded Training
In lieu of live training after the Friday staff meeting, please listen to the recording below for an introductory training on GOFAR for your school, and complete the short survey in SharePoint. Please complete by the end of the day on Friday (3/13/2015).
Elementary School: http://tinyurl.com/Accessing-GOFAR
Middle School: View the Blackboard Collaborate recording
Survey to complete: Survey
GET READY FOR THE BUSY TESTING SEASON!
TESTING TIP #8
"There’s just no way around it, people.
Testing season is upon us.
We could talk all day about what’s wrong with standardized tests: that they kill creativity, discourage critical thinking, pad the wallets of people whose wallets most definitely do not need padding.
But the one of the worst and arguably least manageable aspects of standardized testing for teachers is this: active monitoring."
For an amusing look in to this important testing tip, see full article here:
My favorite: #7: Pretend to be a ninja. Do a lap around the room as silently as possible. LOL!
GCA TECHNOLOGY TICKET
All GCA tech issues will be submitted through the link below.
http://goo.gl/forms/wHDSlveHMk
Technology concerns/issues will no longer be addressed via email. Please note that we must exhaust all troubleshooting at the school level, prior to submitting a ticket. At a minimum, all concerns/issues must be discussed with the direct supervisor.
All issues that previously went to Stan/SRIT, will continue to go to that ticket system.
Matthias will send a follow up email one the issue has been resolved/addressed. We believe that this will streamline the process.
Tip: bookmark the link above for easy access!
RECYCLING PROGRAM
We are excited to let you know our school has partnered with Green Hippo, a year around recycling program!
The items we will start collecting to earn money from Green Hippo immediately are:
• Empty Printer Cartridges (inkjet & laser)
• Brand New Printer Cartridges (inkjet & laser) still sealed in the box or factory foil packaging
• New & Used Cell phones
• Other Small Electronics like digital cameras, MPs & iPods
Let’s work together to collect as much as possible so we can make this program a Huge Success! We are starting the collection program now! Collection boxes are available in the GCA Oak Office or at Professional Development.
You can send items to Cynthia Jones at Georgia Cyber Academy, 503 Oak Place, Suite 540. Atlanta, GA 30349.
504 REFERRAL UPDATE
Please be sure to contact all mid year enrollees to determine if they have existing 504 plans prior to this cut off date.
FAMILY ACADEMIC SUPPORT TEAM
Lace up your sneakers and come JOIN THE TEAM!
The Family Academic Support Team would like to invite you to join us for the 31st annual Hunger Walk/Run 5k on Sunday, March 15, 2015 from 12-4pm at Turner Field, downtown Atlanta. Thousands of people come together for this event every year to raise awareness and funds to help fight hunger in our community. FAST will be there and we hope you will to!
Hunger Walk/Run is one of the most important hunger relief efforts of the year. Funds raised will feed hope for the 1 in 5 people who face hunger in our community.
To join the team, go to: http://tinyurl.com/gcateam2015
Click on the “Join Our Team” button to the right of the screen.
Follow the instructions on screen to join the team.
Step up to stop hunger by walking or running with us on March 15th.
The Walk/Run starts at 2:00pm. We hope to see you at the Hunger Walk/Run!
More details about the event can be found at: http://acfb.org/content/hunger-walkrun.
More details about the Atlanta Community Food Bank can be found at: http://www.acfb.org.
If you have questions about joining the team, contact:
Maria Blencowe
mblencowe@k12.com.
8 Secrets of Success
Why do people succeed? Is it because they're smart? Or are they just lucky? Neither. Analyst Richard St. John condenses years of interviews into an unmissable 3-minute slideshow on the real secrets of success.
1. Serve
2. Push
3. Passion
4. Good
5. Ideas
6. Persist
7. Focus
8. Work
TED.com
FAMILY ENGAGEMENT NEWS!
https://www.smore.com/y36q9
BRAND NEW! LEARNING COACH LIVE HELP!
The Family Engagement Team encourages you to invite struggling Learning Coaches to “Learning Coach Live Help”. These sessions are for new or returning LC’s who need additional navigational support or assistance meeting requirements. Please invite LC’s individually and use this opportunity as an extra layer of support before referring a student to the FASL tracker. LC’s will complete an attendance survey and the student’s pre/post progress will be tracked to determine the effectiveness of the Live Help.
ELEMENTARY: Mon 1:00-1:30, Thur 9:00-9:30
MIDDLE SCHOOL: Tues 9:00-9:30, Fri 1:00-1:30
HIGH SCHOOL: Wed 1:00-1:30
CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE SESSION
https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/launch/meeting.jnlp?sid=559&password=M.5EDDCFD2AA6CA0939A35589F3C3BBD
A PTSO reminder for ALL teachers:
The tree can't grow without you! Let’s renew our commitment to keep families informed on how they can become more involved in our school. Please remember to include the following THREE LINES in your weekly class newsletters:
For parent insider information, click here (hyperlink: http://www.gcaptso.org/)
For regional parent led outings, click here (hyperlink: http://www.localendar.com/public/GCAParentLeaders)
For volunteer information, click here (hyperlink: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1QQKWElMO61ChXNmuGHvZ7OXu-KoVZ-J2zQXoCfLEJJk/viewform)
Link to PTSO Logo: http://tinypic.com/r/juhj5t/8
Are you social? Our families are! The following Facebook pages are monitored, official locations where families can stay informed, share their experiences, voice their opinions, as well as communicate and collaborate with other families and staff members. There are other Facebook groups that GCA families participate in but these are the only ones that are sanctioned and monitored by GCA.