Mrs. Anzivino's Mentor Update
October 4, 2023
⚠️TODAY IS COUNT DAY-READ THIS SECTION FIRST ⚠️
COUNT DAY IS TODAY! This is an important REQUIREMENT for ALL students. To avoid a tuition bill from Renaissance, it is imperative that you complete the requirements from OVA TODAY. It is directly tied to funding and must be completed in it's entirety. The good news is, this only takes about 10-15 minutes to do.
The following is required and MUST be completed TODAY!
WHO: All Students!
WHAT:
1. Log in to ALL 6 OVA-funded BUZZ courses and complete the Week 6 online quizzes labeled "Count Day Activity" (hybrid core courses) and the Elective Module 5 Check In (elective courses)
2. Complete their Mentor CDAT question.
WHEN: TODAY by 1pm (Students in Wednesday electives, please complete ASAP when you are done with classes for the day)
WHERE: Online on Buzz and CDAT
WHY: To receive funding from OVA and avoid converting to self pay status.
If you have any questions or concerns, please let know ASAP.
Thank you for your help in making this Count Day run smoothly as possible!
COUNT DAY FAQs
- What if my child attends in person classes on Wednesday and won't be able to complete the work by 1 PM?
- No problem. Please complete the tasks ASAP after school.
- What if my child attends classes on Friday and won't know the answer to the module 5 check-in?
- All of the information needed to answer the check-in question will be on the Buzz pages for that module. If you need to retry it after attending in person class, we can fix that after count day. Most students did not have a problem with this last year.
- Can my child do Count Day activities before Wednesday?
- No. Unfortunately Count Day is a requirement for state funding and must be completed on Wednesday.
- What If we have difficulty logging in?
- Contact me ASAP.
- Does my child need to do CDAT and Buzz on Count Day?
- Yes! Both are required. Online activity for each enrolled course is necessary.
- Should I contact you to let you know the activities are completed?
- No. I will be checking frequently throughout the day. If any activities are not completed, I will send a personal reminder text. If you don't get a text, you are all set! However, it is a good idea to check each of your child/ren's classes to double check that they have done the activity.
CDAT-PLEASE COMPLETE TODAY AS PART OF COUNT DAY!
Click here for your weekly CDAT question. I can't wait to hear from you! Please remember to use your OVA credentials to log in. Bookmark this page as it is the same link every week for your CDAT question. Please remember that this communication is required by the state of Michigan and must be completed each week.
HEGGERTY AND BRIDGE THE GAP ONLINE SESSIONS
There will be no Heggerty or Bridge the Gap online sessions next Monday and Tuesday due to Fall Break. Sessions will resume on Wednesday, October 11th.
MAKING INFERENCES IN READING
This year, OVA elementary teachers are focusing on building inferencing skills with our students. Each semester we will read 3 books aloud in class that focus on the skill of inferencing. 1st grade students read the book R is for Rocket by Tad Hill and our 2nd and 3rd grade class read the book How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hill. The students were guided to think beyond the literal text to make inferences. Below are a few resources about the skill of inferencing. This is a great skill to work on at home!
REPEAT INFORMATION AND REMINDERS
HYBRID CHECKLIST
Check Assignment Tracker pages for at home assignments
Turn in assignments in class, not online
Complete weekly online quizzes for each class on Buzz
Complet weekly Raz Kids and Moby Max requirements on Buzz
Answer weekly CDAT question
MULTIPLE QUIZZES
Please make sure that you are completing all quizzes in each Buzz course. Some classes cover multiple lessons or chapters a week and have more than one quiz. Both quizzes need to be completed each week.
ZERO IN THE GRADEBOOK?
If the due date for an assignment passes, you will see a zero in the gradebook. This is considered a placeholder grade to help parents and students know what assignments are missing. A retry may be automatically allowed or you may need to contact the TOR of the class for a retry.
WHICH MODULE WHEN?
Online coursework for module 1 should be completed AFTER attending the in-person lab. It's best practice to complete the coursework for the module before attending the in-person class the following week.
Example:
Susie attends karate for the first time on Wednesday. In class, she learns about the content addressed in module 1. Before attending the next week, Susie should review the module 1 online coursework and complete the online activity. When she returns next Wednesday, she will begin module 2.
The field instructors who teach the in-person portion of the class may assign work that needs to be returned in person. This does not need to be submitted for a grade on Buzz, but it is a valuable part of the learning experience.
BUZZ REMINDERS
There is no work that needs to be uploaded on the BUZZ platform for elementary students. If for some reason something needs to be submitted online, we will specify. Work done at home is not to be uploaded. You can send it in for your student's lab teacher to view in class if needed or absent.
Please make sure that your student is completing their Buzz quizzes each week, for each core class. I have noticed that a lot of students are not completing them. This is a requirement and needs to be done each week.
If a Module passes and the quiz is not complete, it will be marked as an NM (with a retry already selected so your student can complete the quiz). Your student can go back and complete the quiz for credit. We put the NM in place so we can see a more accurate view of what the course grade is each week.
BUZZ ISSUES- WHO TO CONTACT
Is there content missing on the Buzz page?
Do you need to submit a missing assignment but there is no option to do so?
Do you need a quiz retake?
Do you have a question about a grade or assessment?
Contact your TOR by email for the quickest response!
OVA certified teachers/Teachers or Record
Hybrid courses- me!
Elementary electives: Sarah.Heskitt@oxfordschools.org
If the issue is logging in to Buzz, contact me please.
1st and 2nd Grade Science and Social Studies
Many of you have noticed that there have not been at-home assignments for science and social studies for our elementary students. We have our younger students complete their science and social studies in the classroom so that the focus of at-home studies can be in the critical areas of ELA and Math.
The Assignment Tracker will list the topics discussed in the classroom in case you would like to expand upon them at home as time allows. Students will also occasionally bring home hands-on projects completed in the classroom. Science students are busy creating a lapbook that will be sent home once completed.
Each week, your student is required to complete activities on both Raz Kids and Moby Max. They will be recieving a grade for the completion of these activities.
Raz Kids-
Each week, your student is🚨required to read at least 3 books and complete 3 quizzes each week on RAZ-Kids (week starts Monday and ends Sunday).
When your student logs in for the first time, they will begin a placement test. This test is adaptive and will help to place your student at an appropriate reading level. It is possible that the passage may be too hard for your student. Please encourage them to try their best independently. The test will move your student up or down in level based on how they do on that passage. Your student will be graded based the minimum of 3 books per week.
💯 GRADING - At the end of the week, students will earn M+ for completing 3 or more books and 3 or more quizzes or NM for completing less than 3 books and/or quizzes.
Moby Max- Your student is🚨 required to do at least 30 minutes of math work on MobyMax each week (week starts Monday and ends Sunday). 🚨
They will be prompted to take an adaptive placement test when they login for the first time. This test will help identify skill gaps that will then be addressed in the program during their workly work. Your student will be graded based on the minimum of 30 minutes per week.
Your student will need to log in to these programs through our Buzz platform. Please DO NOT bookmark Raz Kids and Moby Max and enter the program through a browser. Your student must enter through Buzz each time they complete activities. They must enter through the Online Reading Assignment or Online Math Assignment.
💯GRADING- At the end of the week, students will earn M+ for completing 30 or more minutes or NM for completing less than 30 minutes.
HOW TO FIND YOUR GRADES IN BUZZ
OVA TERMINOLOGY
What is a Mentor Teacher? As your student's OVA mentor, I will be monitoring attendance, progress, helping with any extra support, and be here for you and your student with any questions you may have. I will also be emailing each student/family each week with a weekly newsletter and mentor communication. Any questions or needs that families have, I am here to guide you.
What is a TOR? A Teacher of Record watches over the work done by the student and keeps grades up to date online. The TOR will help encourage a student to get work done if they fall behind.
Your student may have one TOR for all their classes and electives OR they may have several. TORs may reach out to speak about a grade or let you know how the student is doing in a class but they will only be speaking of the classes that they are TOR for.
What is Buzz? Buzz is our learning platform that houses all of courses. Your student will be logging into Buzz each week and completing all of the posted work for each course. All pacing information for courses is in Buzz. This is an important piece of your child's education at OVA. Please make sure your student is logging in and completing this work each week.
IMPORTANT: Last week OVA sent an email with your student's schedule. Please see the bottom of the schedule for your Obuzz credentials.
Buzz is still going through the process of loading information, so please be patient. The pacing and content should be ready to go by the beginning of next week.
NEED HELP LOGGING IN?
QUESTIONS ABOUT BUZZ?
3 EASY STEPS TO HELP ME HELP YOU!
When emailing -
- Send a new email to carrie.anzivino@oxfordschools.org. Please send a new email and do not reply to this email.
- Include your child's first and last name in the email.
- Give me the details. The more I know, the easier it is for me to help you.
I am the OVA mentor teacher to all 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade students at RHG. It's a lot of kids and I'm still getting to know everyone! Sending a new email instead of replying guarantees your email won't get buried in a long string of replies.
IMPORTANT DATES
Watch our upcoming newsletters for more info on each of these! All of these events and more can be found on the RA Calendar.
9/28: Spirit Day - RA Spirit Wear
10/4: COUNT DAY!
10/5: PICTURE DAY
10/14: RA Family Fall Festival 1:00-3:00pm
10/13-10/20: Spring Change Requests
10/24: RHA Open House (more info soon!)