Spark Online Academy
Family Newsletter - November 29, 2021
Message from Mrs. Johnson
Greetings, Spark Online Community!
I hope this past week was filled with fun, relaxation, and a time to connect with family and friends. Our teachers are eager to welcome back students and jump back into the great learning in our classrooms.
I want to extend a huge thank you to our staff and Spark families for contributions made to our Thanksgiving meal baskets. Thanks to all of the generous donations, we provided turkeys and all the fixings for a Thanksgiving meal to many of our families needing a little extra support this year. Thank you!!
In my reflections over the Thanksgiving holiday, I was reminded of gratitude's role in my joy. It's been my experience that even, and perhaps especially when times are challenging, if I pause for a moment and consciously finish this sentence, "I am grateful for..." I get re-centered and re-focused on what's important.
Today I am profoundly grateful for Spark Online Academy. With all of the turmoil, loss, and challenges we have all faced since March 2020, I am thankful to be part of the beginning of what school can be for our modern world. We've all recognized the need for flexibility and connection with each other and our community. Those needs were only magnified by the pandemic. As we move forward, we acknowledge that while Spark met a need during the pandemic, we were never designed to be an emergency response school. District 11 is committed to the continued success and growth of Spark Online Academy and its students.
We are a school without walls that is currently in the process of expansion into high school. Our school and K-12 learners will move to broaden opportunities for real-world experiences that are difficult, if not impossible to accomplish, bound by traditional education structures.
Partnerships are being developed with community organizations for our learners to have outdoor learning, the arts, STEM, and business experiences as a regular part of their learning day. We will always have our core foundational academic instruction facilitated by local teachers, AND create opportunities for learners to apply these skills in the authentic community context.
We've only just begun, and we are excited to bring a renewed and relevant reset into what student-centered and future-focused K-12 learning can be. We're grateful to have you all on the journey!
In this edition:
- Important dates
- 2nd Showcase of Learning
- Quarter two student-led progress conferences
- Holiday Assistance Opportunities
As always, please reach out with any questions or information needs. It's an honor and privilege to partner with all of you in the success and development of our learners.
Committed to your student's success,
Julie Johnson
Principal, Spark Online Academy
719-328-4302 Office
719-322-6270 Cell
Important Dates Ahead
December
- 1-12 - District benchmark assessments (varies by grade, information specific to grade level is forthcoming)
- 10 - Spark Online Student Showcase of Learning
- 20 - End of quarter 2
- 20 - January 4 - Winter Break for students
January
- 4 - Students return from Winter Break
- 17 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (Schools closed)
Quarter 2 Student-Led Progress Conferences
We are working closely with the D11 IT department to make important revisions to our standards and mastery-based report card to make them less lengthy and easier to understand. We appreciate the feedback received and have provided our programmers with our requested revisions. While they were unable to give a revisions completion date, we are hopeful these will be complete prior to our 2nd quarter conferences, and thank you for your patience.
Holiday Assistance
Please complete the survey below if you need assistance or would like to assist a family.
About Spark Online Academy
Email: julie.johnson@d11.org
Website: d11.org/Spark
Location: Trailblazer Elementary School, Wickes Road, Colorado Springs, CO, USA
Phone: 719.328.4300
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SparkOnlineAcademy
Twitter: @D11SparkOnline