Middle School Newsletter
January 23, 2017
A message from your Principal!
On January 18 - 19, GCA had our office visit for our accreditation renewal from AdvancED. We received a glowing exit report from the AdvancED team and have received the recommendation for accreditation renewal for the next 5 years! Below are some of the comments shared during the exit presentation by the AdvancED review team.
Purpose of accreditation – A conversation of what we do well and how to improve to better serve our students. It is a part of the journey to improve our craft. It provides deliberate and strategic actions to ensure that every student, every day is being prepared and achieving success for their future.
What are the standards? They are the cutting edge; What are best in teaching and learning; the standards move, change and are more difficult to meet as education improves;
29 interviews completed during the F2F visit! Thank you to Regina Howard and her daughter, Damacia, for representing the Middle School at the office interviews.
Powerful Practices – These are the higher than 1 standard deviation above the mean (the top 13% – 15% as compared to all of the accredited schools within AdvancED) WE HAD 7!!!!
· DDI practices (Standards 3.2, 5.2, and 5.3)
· Professional Learning (Standards 3.5, 3.1) – We are “walking the talk”
· Mentoring, Coaching, Induction of new staff, and supervision (Standards 3.4, 3.7)
· Committed to comprehensive continuous improvement to our processes for all stakeholders (Standards 5.1, 1.3)
· Committed to student engagement (Standards 2.5, 2.8, 3.8)
· Shared mission and vision; dedicated to serve our students/families (Standards 1.1, 3.4)
· Strong individualized support/systems (Standards 4.6, 3.1, 4.7)
Opportunities for Improvement (consider to work on)
· Systematic and systemic review of evaluation practices and policies of district to maximize our resources (Standard 2.4)
Improvement Priority (Improve upon and report within 2 years)
· Review, clarify, and communicate to all constituencies explanation of roles/responsibilities and governance in the organization (Standard 2.3)
THANK YOU to the many who assisted in sharing with the AdvancED team what we do at GCA to carry out our vision/mission. A HUGE THANK YOU to Staci Kimmons, our Academic Administrator, who was the captain of the accreditation ship. She organized the process and represented us well in her organization of the binders, of us, the online collection of data, and her data presentation!
I loved the lead team member’s closing remark to us -- “You know what it is like not to be earthbound.” Let's continue to work together to ensure our students reach their individual goals this year!
Wondering how to motivate your student?
What Motivates your Student -
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Your role as Learning Coach ---
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Where should I be?
Approx. Attendance expected on 1/27
Students Starting 8/15 (Students Starting on 1/11)
School Day Number: 101(12)
Approx. Hours: 555 (66)
PE Hours: 33 (4)
Health Hours: 17(2)
Art: 39%
Please see Social Studies MIC and ELA, Math, SCI OMS for content assignments
Official end of semester – May 26th
By May 26th - students will need:
60 Hours for PE; 30 Hours for Health; 70% for Art (if their elective)
If mid-year enrollees - 30 Hours for PE; 15 Hours for Health
The above chart will be updated bi-weekly to ensure students are on track with attendance. This is helpful for your planning over the course of the year. Please note that adjustments are made for later start dates (minimum of 5 ½ hours per day), with the exception of PE, Health, and Art as those will need to be caught up for final noted expectation.
How do I mark vacation days?
On the calendar
Check Student’s grades in OMS (Math, SCI, ELA) and Infinite Campus (SS)
Each week a different category is update!!
*Be sure to watch the MSA Recording each Monday. You can find the recorded link in your email and under School Announcements in OMS!*
GCA Calendar Link - Calendar Link
GCA k12 Calendar - GCA Event Link
PTSO Calendar - PTSO Calendar Link
Parent University, 11/17 recording - How to use Office 365 Link
LC Live Help Available!
Calling all writers!!
Weekly Juice - A student newsletter – if you’d like to submit an entry, click on the link below! https:/ /gcaweeklyjuice.wordpress.com/submit/
Important Links
Infinite Campus Password Reset Survey
GCA Website with Grade Level Info: MS website
GA Milestones EOG/EOC
End of Grade will be April 24 – 28 – 6th – 7th ELA, Math
8th – ELA, Math, SS, and SCI
End of Course will be May 1 – 5 – Students taking HS EOC courses (please contact your HS teacher for confirmation)
All Milestones are Face to Face testing
Do you have a story to share?
We’re proud of how Georgia Cyber Academy is providing choice for students across our state tailored to their unique strengths, needs, and interests. We want to let our community know about how your students are thriving within our school environment.
To do that, we’d LOVE to hear about your student’s challenges, successes, and how GCA is supporting them with their unique needs. We’ll then look to showcase these stories within social, print and broadcast media.
What kind of stories are we looking for? All kinds! Would you take a minute to tell us how your student has improved academically, belongs to a cool club, or maybe recently attended a virtual field trip? Does he or she have a teacher who shines? Are they a standout performer outside of class, in music, sports, community service, or leadership? Has your student overcome obstacles of any kind and is now thriving in the online environment?
Tell us why GCA and virtual learning works for your family by using the form below:
http://tinyurl.com/Parent-ShareAStory
Thanks for your support and for helping us let our community know how Georgia Cyber Academy is providing choice for children across our state!
Fuel Up to Play 60
Fuel Up to Play 60, the nation’s largest in-school wellness program, encourages students from all communities to take the lead in living healthier lifestyles through good nutrition and physical activity. Did you know that Georgia Cyber Academy is a Fuel Up to Play 60 School? And you can support your children as they participate in this great program!
Fuel Up to Play 60 is a free program from the National Dairy Council and the National Football League, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It’s in more than 73,000 schools nationwide and encourages students to eat healthy and get at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day.
Fuel Up to Play 60 is fun for students, with opportunities to earn points and rewards like NFL prizes — you should encourage your children to participate! The program needs your children to get involved in creating a healthier school environment that promotes student health, learning and achievement. Your children can take the lead in activities and earn Points to become an Ambassador.
Why not get involved, too? Parents and families can help elevate the importance of healthy eating and physical activity and make them a part of every day. Learn how you can support your children’s health at school and at home by visiting https://www.fueluptoplay60.com/get-involved/parents. And stay tuned for fun Fuel Up to Play 60 activities and events this year!
For more information on Fuel Up to Play 60 and the important role your children can play in Georgia Cyber Academy’s program, visit FuelUpToPlay60.com and have your student create an account. When creating an account you will need to use the zip code 30349 in order to find GCA.
Please reach out to me by email at jperpich@gacyber.org if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Jean Perpich
GCA School Representative for Fuel UP to Play
GCIS Assignment - All students must complete!!
All students must complete. If you have questions, please email/call your HR teacher! This equals 10 CCRPI points for us for 100% completion and will help move us from a “D” to a “C” school!
Student Spotlight!
Raffe O completed a Robotics course through the Duke Tip at UGA. See his picture below!!
If you have an honor/award to be spotlighted, please email Mrs. Lowndes – rlowndes@gacyber.org. We will spotlight a student in each newsletter.
Tool to help parents/families find great media for kids by age and type!
National Geography Bee!!
Who: Any 4-8 Grader may participate
When: Preliminary Bee January 27th at 10am (Please fill out the google doc at the bottom of this flier. I may offer an evening preliminary round, if there is enough interest)
Final Round Bee January 28th 3pm
Where: Mrs. Alfieri’s Classroom (9th Grade Geography Teacher)
Finalist State Test to be arranged with parents and Mrs. Alfieri to be administered on Friday, February 3, 2017.
If you have any questions, please email me at valfieri@gacyber.com or call me at (404) 334-4790 Ext. 2096.
About the Bee:
For the 29th year, the National Geographic Society is holding the National
Geographic Bee for students in the fourth through eighth grades in thousands of
schools across the United States and in the five U.S. territories, as well as in
Department of Defense Dependents Schools around the world.
The champion of the GCA Nat Geo Bee will advance to the next
level of competition, a qualifying test to determine state competitors. All school
champions are eligible to win the national championship and its first prize, a
$50,000 college scholarship, at the national championship May 15-17, 2017 in
Washington, D.C.
For more information: www.nationalgeographic.org/bee
Please complete this link if you are interested in participating: