CCS Digital Academy Weekly Updates
Log on, Lock in, Engage!
Message for Students and Families
I hope that everyone has had a very productive week! As promised, we continue to make adjustments and welcome your feedback.
"Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard.”
Daily Attendance
Checking-In
DO NOT forget to "CHECK IN" to the Parent/Student Portal to document your child’s attendance every day. We are striving to have the best attendance in the district! If you do forget to check in, you can fill out the attendance correction form linked below. We have also provided a link to the training video for how to check in attendance.
Please note, students will NOT be able to "check-in" on dates scheduled as "days off" for students. While the student may not be able to check-in, students are permitted to work any day of the week.
iReady Family Night
Thank you to everyone that was able to participate in iReady night. Video of the event will be posted soon. If you need a copy of your child's iReady results, please contact your mentor.
3GRG Testing
Please see information below about the Ohio 3GRG
iReady BOY Diagnostic Assessment
The iReady assessment is still available for any student who has NOT completed the Beginning of the Year (BOY) test. The iReady diagnostic assessment provides additional benchmark data that measures growth. The results of the diagnostic test generates prescribed learning pathways for students in the iReady learning platform. iReady learning pathways are used as additional intervention for students as well as enrichment opportunities.
3GRG Update
2020 Grade 3 Fall English Language Arts (ELA) Test Reminder
All Grade 3 CCS Students will be taking their Grade 3 English Language Assessment (ELA) Assessment during the first week of November.
Digital Academy Grade 3 students will take this assessment at their school of primary enrollment. This assessment can not be taken remotely. It consists of two parts and each part is 90 minutes in length.
The primary enrolled schools will be contacting you to confirm that date and time of your child’s assessment. Grade 3 students need to bring their district issued device with them to take their assessment. Please make sure it is fully charged the night before their assessment.
Students will be assigned to a designated cohort during the following days:
· Cohort A: November 2nd (Monday) & November 4th (Wednesday)
· Cohort B: November 5th(Thursday) & November 6th (Friday)
· Students with Complex Needs will be able to test each of the following days: November 2, 4, 5 and 6th
The District will provide transportation on your designated cohort date. So please expect a phone call soon to confirm testing information for your student. If you have any additional questions – please feel free to contact Principal Angel.
Mentors and Teachers
We hope you are working in a partnership with your mentors and teachers. If you need assistance identifying your mentor and/ or teacher, please contact your grade level administrator. A list of mentors can also be located on the CCSDA website. Students should have received Google Class invites from mentors and teachers. The Google Classroom houses important information including course assistance and mentor/teacher office hours. Elementary students are welcomed to join your teacher's synchronous learning sessions. Synchronous learning sessions are NOT required.
- Please note, we are in the process of reassigning mentors for a couple schools. Families affected by the change will be contacted individually. If you have any questions, please contact the Digital Academy office with any questions or concerns.
Edgenuity Updates
On Thursday night, we implemented a calendar change to reflect the upcoming winter breaks. We apologize for the confusion that it may have caused. There were many requests from families to have the calendar reflect the upcoming traditional school breaks. We listened to your feedback and worked with Edgenuity to implement changes so students would not have assignments due over breaks. Keep in mind Edgenuity is self-paced, due dates are only suggested dates of when assignments should be completed.
This weekend, our team continued to work to address the curriculum alignment to state standards, age appropriateness, and the amount of work being assigned at each grade level.
If you need an extra workbook, workbooks are available at the Columbus Downtown High School. Our office has coverage Monday through Friday from 7:30 am until 3:30 pm. You can call 614-365-5485 if you need to arrange for a more convenient time to pick up workbooks.
The Edgenuity platform allows students to work at their own pace. The end of first quarter is October 27, 2020; semester 1 modules are not due until January 15, 2021.
Please note that your student can complete the Health and Physical Education, however it is NOT REQUIRED, nor are the courses graded.
Edgenuity Parent Help Center for grades K-5
The new Parent Help Center includes videos, in Spanish and English, to introduce parents/guardians to the Buzz LMS and Genius SIS, along with PDFs of common questions and general information about helping students be successful with virtual learning: https://help.edgenuityinstructionalservices.com/hc/en-us/categories/360004572034
When Technical issues arise, parents/guardians can submit a ticket through the Help Center to receive assistance. These tickets will go directly to the Instructional Services Operations team: https://help.edgenuityinstructionalservices.com/hc/en-us/requests/new
Edgenuity staff will continue to add resources as they are built, including more documents with translation into the Spanish language.
Friendly Edgenuity Reminders
Social Studies Weekly has been added and will be graded. It has replaced the Edgenuity Social Studies curriculum. Studies Weekly can be signed in to by logging into Clever. Please notify teachers or mentors if you experience any challenges with Studies Weekly.
The science curriculum in Edgenuity, has been updated to ensure that all state standards are covered. Mystery Science is NOT a learning management system such as Edgenuity or Studies Weekly. It is a resource for teachers to add supplemental material to the Edgenuity Science course.
APEX UPDATES
Apex released an UPDATE to the numbering protocol for some of their courses. If you are looking at your pacing guides, you may see that the numbers assigned to units are different. The names remained the same. For example, in Integrated Science Unit 1 was Nature of Science, Unit 2 was Measurement and then it jumped to Unit 14 Genetics. Now the students will see Unit 1 Nature of Science, Unit 2 Measurement and Unit 3 Genetics. Hopefully, this will be easier for students as they will go in chronological order. Students’ scores are all there but under a new Quiz number that coincides with the correct unit number.
- Starting Tuesday, October 20, 2020, you can have tests unlocked from 3:30 - 7 pm Monday through Thursday and Saturdays from 10-2pm. There will be a form available on the CCSDA website on Tuesday. You must use your CCS email in order to get your tests unlocked, and it must be up while you are taking tests in case the teacher needs to reach out for clarification.
- Additional Apex course pacing guides are posted in the mentors' and teachers' Google Classrooms. Pacing guides assist students with “staying on track”. Students can work at their own pace, but they must complete the entire course (X section) by the end of first semester. First semester ends January 15th, 2021. Please make note as you plan for the holiday season. Half of all activities should be completed by the end of the first quarter, October 27, 2020. Please contact your mentor and/or teacher with any questions.
- The mastery setting in Apex, which allows multiple attempts on quizzes, will be reinstated October 19th. Students will have the opportunity to increase all quiz scores less than 60%. The mastery setting replaces the ability for students to have two attempts (grades 6-8) or three attempts (grades 9-12) to earn a minimum grade of 60%. If a student does not earn a 60% after multiple attempts, their progress will be “blocked”. Students must contact their mentor or teacher to be permitted to move on. Students MUST take their time when taking quizzes and tests.
We are currently auditing the middle school Career Connections course. We will eliminate assignments that are not age appropriate for middle school students, such as creating a resume. Please stay tuned for updates.
MORE APEX UPDATES
- REMINDER: Students must complete ALL assignments before requesting unit tests to be unlocked. Requests can be made to their mentors during the day, or their teachers in the evening.
- Coach accounts have been added to student accounts. You should begin receiving Coach Reports every Sunday. The Coach "Getting Started Guide" is posted on the CCSDA website for instructions. Feel free to email mentors, or the grade level CCSDA administrator if you are not receiving a coaches report.
Traditional School Calendar
REMINDER
The CCS Digital Academy follows the Columus City School's traditional school calendar. Teachers nor mentors will be available on days schools are not in session.
Sports
Contact Information
Leslie Williams Grade K-1
Judy Johnson Grades 2-3
Leslie Charlemagne Grades 4-5
Barbie Feuer Grades 6-8
Email: ccsdigtialacademy@columbus.k12.oh.us
Website: ccs.oh/digitalacademy
Phone: (614)365-5485