Trailblazer Times
October 8, 2020
Dear VBL Families,
Our first quarter of Hybrid Learning has been filled with many successes and a few challenges.
While many of our students are finding their groove with the hybrid learning expectations, it has been particularly challenging for others. I want to publicly thank all of the amazing VBL staff for all of their extra efforts and support for all of our students and our families.
It is the time of year when you can thank a VBL staff member by nominating them for staff of the year and having them publicly recognized at Vail Pride Day in front of their peers. Please take a moment to nominate one or more staff members. They will receive your nomination and know they are appreciated.
As always, please reach out to me with any specific concerns or thoughts on how we can support you during this time.
Fall Break begins Monday, October 12th and continues to October 25th. School will resume on October 26th. Have a safe and happy break Trailblazers! During break students will not be assigned any new work, but may catch up or continue working on preassigned work.
YOU time (V BE L culture building time) was a lot of fun. This week students watch videos and presentations made by other students and got to know each other a little better. Upon our return from fall break they will be participating in a variety of activities hosted by NJHS students.
Red Ribbon spirit week will also begin when we return from fall break. All students should wear read on Monday, October 26th.
Writing benchmarks will also be administered the week we return from break on October 29th and 30th. These will be administered from 9:00 - 11:00 each day. Please see the attached schedule for more details.
One of the biggest struggles this quarter was found by teachers taking attendance for both brick to click and in person students. Thank you for your patience with this process. It gets a little better every day.
Please remind students to be on time for each class with camera and microphone on and follow the same expectations that would be expected if they were here. Our goal is to make this as close to being at school as possible.
Students and parents are assigned and notified if they have re-teach classes from 3:00-3:30 each week through email. Please help your student adapt their schedule when they are assigned re-teach. This is the time students have the opportunity to change their formative grades and learn concepts they are struggling with.
Impact Aide forms will also need to be electronically signed on October 29th. Be on the lookout for that email.
Thank you for all of your support in this unusual circumstance. Please reach out for any reason.
Kristin
Hybrid and Brick to Click Learning Details
- 6th and 9th grade Monday - Thursday 9:00-3:30 in person
- 7th and 8th grade - 2 Days in person, 2 Days remote (Monday/Wednesday A-K, Tuesday/Thursday L-Z)
- Brick to Click will follow their schedule from home Monday-Thursday (the same as they have been doing the last 5 weeks)
- All students follow their schedule all days
- Friday will continue to be an elective day, currently the Leadership Elective in Edmentum
- Class sizes will be less than 15
- Students will rotate classes for ELA, Math, Science and Learning Lab
- During Learning Lab students will be seated one to a table
RED RIBBON WEEK IS COMING
VBL Daily Schedule
VBL 20-21 School Year
In Person and At Home Learning Expectations
- Student will participate in lessons according to their schedule each day.
- Rigorous grade level content in Math, Science, Social Studies and Language Arts will be provided by teachers.
- Lessons will be delivered through Schoology.
- Student attendance will be counted DAILY.
- Parents and students will be given training in Schoology, Edmentum and other needs.
- Teachers will maintain connections with students through scheduled Schoology and Zoom Opportunities.
- Grading and feedback will be provided to students in a timely manner.
- Advanced math and re-teach will be available to students. Students in advanced math will be able to attend attend their recorded class at any time. Re-teach will be available daily directly following the instruction time.
- Re-teach will be assigned based upon formative testing results each week. Students and parents will be notified if they are required to attend re-teach.
- Special Education Support will be provided by Camille Haynie and our Special Education Support Team.
- Leadership Elective Course will be assigned and is mandatory for each student.
- All public, group and private chats comments are appropriate and relevant to topic
- Video and Microphone on at all times
- Speaker Courtesy - Active Listening skills
- Calendars in Google cal
- Eat and restroom during your learning lab times
School Supplies
ELA BOOKS ARE CHANGING FOR THE NEW QUARTER. IF YOU ARE A REMOTE LEARNER, PLEASE STOP BY TO EXCHANGE YOUR FIRST QUARTER BOOK FOR THE SECOND QUARTER BOOK.
In School Learning Supplies
Every day students are on campus, they will need:
- Mask (we are encouraging an extra "emergency" mask in backpacks) worn over nose and mouth in all classes and anytime 6ft of social distancing is not possible.
- Water Bottle- fillable at our touch-less water bottle filler
- Computer - fully charged each morning
- Charger
- Earbuds
- pencil and handheld pencil sharpener
- snacks
- lunch (school or personal)
What's for Lunch
Vail Food Service
Food Drive
Help Vail Blended reach their goal of 500 items this year! Bring in packaged food or donate online and send us the receipt starting October19th. https://stritainthedesert.weshareonline.org/ws/opportunities/HumanNeeds/donate
Computers at School
If you will be participating in at school learning starting on September 21st and have a computer that is not school issued, please email Jeannie Mindziak so that we can start preparing to have your computer operational during your first day back.
Because our provided Chromebooks use the Chrome operating system and many of our classes will be using Applications that run in the Chrome Browser your device must be able to run the full (not mobile) version of the Google Chrome Browser. The laptop also needs to be able to connect to an advanced wireless system (WPA2 Enterprise) and 5.0 GHz wireless WiFi.
In order to do these tasks the minimum requirements are
Operating system: As of 2020-2021 VUSD does not support BYOD chromebooks nor Windows S.
Hardware:
An intel or AMD processor with at least 1.6 GHz of power At least four gig Ram and support 5.0 GHz WiFi (wireless). At least 128 Gigabytes of storage.
Additional details.
You give express written agreement that the Vail School District will retain complete administrative control over the School’s laptop’s settings, controls, applications, and so forth, while your student is enrolled at a District School if you have chosen to use a District-provided laptop.
All technological devices brought onto a Vail School District campus are subject to search and seizure. For BYOD devices, you give express written agreement that the Vail School District may install required software, certificates, or change settings in order to satisfy State of Arizona, School, or District requirements. These include but are not limited to filter settings or certificates, state testing web browsers, local remote access applications, or wireless settings. Admin passwords are not being requested. Malicious or filter bypass software or other inappropriate use may cause a user to be banned from using a BYOD device.
Vail Blended Learning
Email: murrayk@vailschooldistrict.org
Website: https://vbl.vailschooldistrict.org/
Location: 10775 East Mary Ann Cleveland Way, Tucson, AZ, USA
Phone: (520)879-1304
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vailblendedlearning
Twitter: @vail39