Vail Innovation Center
VIC News, March 30, 2021
Vail Innovation Center
Letter from the Coordinator
March 30, 2021
Hello amazing VIC Families!
Thank you for another amazing week! Coming up in April we will be having our State Testing for grades 3-11. Please see the flyers below to find testing information.
Attached you will find the following:
1.) VIC AzM2 Letter - Information for the VIC testing schedule, expectations, and what to bring can be found here.
2.) Taking an AzM2 Practice Test - Information for taking the practice tests online for math and reading. Parents can help go over this with students as it is new for some of them.
3.) AzM2- testing features (Math) - Information for manipulating the testing site and information.
4.) AzM2- testing features (Reading) - Information for manipulating the testing site and information.
5.) AzSCI Practice Test Directions- Grades 5, 8, and 11 will be taking the AzSCI this year and we have put together a sheet to help you take a practice test. It does take a bit of time and more thinking than the previous science tests.
Thank you all for your hard work this year, it is time to prepare to show what we know!
If you have questions, please email them to Mrs. Tankersley along with the best number to contact you at: tankersleyr@vailschooldistrict.org.
Reminders:
- Tutoring is available for all middle school and high school students. Please see the flyer below.
- Parents of K-12 students, Please remember that we do have to abide by the 10-day drop policies of the state just like the brick and mortar schools. This means that attendance needs to be logged. If a student does not log work for a 10 day period without talking with the VIC, we could drop them from the program. This also applies if they are ahead of pace according to the laws we have to abide by. Thank you for your understanding.
- VIC students have raised over $3,470 for the American Heart Association. Thank you for all of your support. The Sliming date is set for 3/31/21 at 2:45 and we will be recording it and sending out invites for top earners. Prizes have been organized over the break and ready to be picked up at the VIC starting 3/22/21. Thank you to all of the students and families that were able to participate.
Tax Credit Designation Time is Here
If you have not already made a tax credit designation, please consider making one to VIC through the VBL location. This designation costs you nothing! You merely designate the funds on your state tax return, send them in with the return, and receive them back with your refund. If you owe, the designation is subtracted from your balance. The money that we collect from tax credit designation is used to fund our school events, prizes, and activities. If you are filing jointly, you can designate up to $400 and if you are filing single, you can designate up to $200. Please click on the link to the district website for more information. https://vailtaxcredits.org Thank you in advance for your consideration of this.
Have a great week CyberWolves!
Mrs. Tankersley
Rachel Tankersley
Coordinator of Digital Learning
Vail Innovation Center K-12
520-879-1313
Vail Innovation Center Tutoring Opportunities
Please see the picture attachments below with additional information needed for each tutoring opportunity listed below; days/times and instructor information. Thank you.
Link for MS Science and Physics, and HS Physics
Link for MS Math
Link for MS ELA & SS
Link for HS Science
Use the link below to join the "Chemistry Tutoring" Group in Schoology:
MZDF-M5ZV-6D8M9
Link for HS Math Algebra 1 & Geometry
Link for HS ELA & SS
Free Math Tutoring for K-12 through the University of Arizona
The attached schedule is provided by the University of Arizona Math Department for the Spring Schedule for FREE Math Zoom Tutoring. This is for elementary grades, middle school and high school math.
Through the AmeriCorps STEMM program, skilled tutor mentors provide free online math tutoring and support to K-12 students. Any questions about the program may be directed to mhosten@math.arizona.edu or lmaroney@email.arizona.edu or call 520.621.6866
K-5 Students of the Month for March
Grades K-5 Kudos Corner
Mrs. Allison; would like to recognize first grader Micah D. for always coming to Zoom ready to work with a cheerful attitude. Micah is computer savvy and is always teaching our class new tricks. Second Grader, Charlotte C. is also receiving a special recognition this week. Charlotte is patient and kind toward her classmates. She always comes prepared to our Zoom lessons. Way to go Micah D. and Charlotte C.
Mrs. Goolsby; recognizes Michael Bustillos and Marques Abalos who killed it when they segmented unknown words to sound them out and then used context clues to figure out meaning. Miles Maddox had a stunning rendition of Pride when reading and summarizing a drama this week.
Mrs. Hunter; would like to highlight kinder student, Thomas Kuang for always following the ACT statement and doing an excellent job during Zoom class. He is focused, on task, and great at listening. Thank you Thomas for shining bright. (:) Mrs. Hunter would like to recognize first grade student, Brianna Hanneman for doing such wonderful work on her assignments. Her projects are always so amazing with excellent information and thorough research. Thank you for putting in so much time and dedication into your work. You are truly a super star. (:)
Mrs. Marko; would like to recognize Devin Pinkerton, Quinn Coates, Josephine Moser, Daisy Jones, and BaBari Ganago for always working so hard during our Zoom meetings and being willing to share their answers and thoughts. They all make me proud!!!
Mrs. Schultz; would like to recognize Samantha who was incredibly positive in cheering her classmates on while playing multiplication bingo. Also, she helped her class by writing an excellent practice AZ Merit essay I could share.
Grades 6-12 Kudos Corner
Keep your eye out for next weeks KUDOS Corner to see who is recognized next week.
Mrs. Burkholder; congrats to Aurora Thompson who's finished 6th-grade math! Ethan Rodgers is close to the finish line! Way to go Aurora and Ethan.
Mrs. Franzen; would like to recognize the following students:
congratulations to Elijah Calkins – for finishing his Personal Finance Class! Job well done. Aiden Karhoff – Ahead of schedule and doing a great job! Bradley Breen – Staring a new class and already ahead of schedule and doing great! Loren Schmeckpeper –Right on track with awesome work! Keep up the great work!!!
Mrs. Garcia; recognizes Taylor Jackson who has been working diligently on his course. Keep it up, Taylor! Jaime Hunter is showing a high degree of mastery on key concepts. Way to go Jaime! Madalyne VanHyning competed all portions of the ELA course. Throughout the course she showed critical and creative thinking! Aurora Thompson also completed all portions of the ELA course. Aurora pushed herself as a learner, asked questions, and grew as a writer.
Mrs. Goldwasser; recognizes Kristopher Stevens who has been working extremely hard in science and his recent slide presentation was outstanding.
Mrs. Goolsby; recognizes Liam McNeely who did an amazing job with simulations and probability. Way to go Liam!
Mrs. Kuhn; I'd like to recognize Christopher Collins, 12 grader, who has muscled his way through English 4B and is ready for his final exam. To study for the final Chris chose to redo some lessons to gain a better understanding of the content. Chris is definitely demonstrating an exemplary C2G (Commitment to Graduate)!
Mr. Langley; is recognizing Clare O’Brien, Alexander Ciampa, Grace Hallett, Ashlynne Zap, and Isabella Vigileos for staying on pace or getting ahead in their courses. All of these students are also earning excellent grades. I’m so proud of you!
Mrs. Logsdon; would like to give shout-outs to: Josiah Gomez, 7B Language Arts, for finishing up his class already! The following students for staying on or ahead of pace all semester:
6B: Brian Best, Gavin Dunn, Gabriel Karhoff, 7B: Ethan Rogers, 8B: Dominic Creason, and Savanah Vinson
Mrs. Lotti; congratulations to Collin Maubach for finishing his Language Arts course. Good luck on your final exam! You got this! Mrs. Lotti would also like to recognize Iasyia Govan and Seth Liles who are working hard to get back on pace. Keep it up!! You can do it!!
Mrs. Reynolds; would like to recognize Aidan Cleary for doing a fantastic job finishing up his current semester of Geometry! Way to go, Aidan! A special shout out to Gavin Dunn, Aleczander Jackson, Aidan Karhoff and Ella Karhoff for keeping it in the green and staying on target! Nice job, everyone!
Mrs. Schimke; recognizes Autumn O'Brien (World History B Honors and Economics). Autumn does INCREDIBLE work and is always kind in her communication. It is a pleasure to work with her.
Mrs. Wittwer; way to go to senior, Weston Monasmith, on getting into seriously high gear this past week. It is wonderful to see so much progress in just one week! Keep it up juniors, Jessica Hanneman, Cierrah Utsey, Destiny Herrera, and Kelsey Jackson, for working so hard to stay on or ahead of pace. You are well on your way to summer break! Congratulations sophomore, Natalyn Rogers, for making it all the way to the final exam… in MARCH!! Way to go freshmen, Autumn O’Brien and Rylee Runyon, for keeping up with the workload with so much stamina in your freshman year. You’ll have another three successful years of high school at this rate. I’m so proud of all of you!
Mrs. Nunes; recognizes the following students from 6th through 12th grades who are on pace to finish by their end dates, or ahead of pace in all of their classes:
6th grade; Julius Chapman, Gavin Dunn
7th grade; Kristopher Stevens, Samual Strause
8th grade; Brayden Gugelman, Kelby Palmer
9th grade; Joshua Bronstein, Autumn O'Brien
10th grade; Bradley Breen, Keron Watson Jr.
11th grade; Cierrah Utsey, Sarah Williams
12th grade; Elijah Calkins, Alexander Ciampa, Daniel Henely, Clare O'Brien
KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!
Juniors - ACT Testing Information
Juniors,
You will be taking the ACT Test on Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Location: Vail District Office - 13801 E. Benson Hwy Vail, AZ 85641
The students will be taking the Online version of the ACT test - this is not a pencil and paper test!
Time: Arrive by 8:30a.m. testing will conclude around 12:45p.m.
IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT YOU PRACTICE THE ONLINE ACT TEST PRIOR TO TESTING DATES SO THERE ARE NO SURPRISES. The attached document goes into detail about the practice test options, but here is a summary:
Steps:
Download - http://download.testnav.com. Note: ACT online tests are only supported on Windows, macOS, and Chrome OS operating systems.
Open the TestNav application you downloaded and click on the Practice Tests link.
Read the test overview instructions you see on the screen, enter your name, and select Start.
Highlights of the ACT online test:
TIMER - The timer at the top of the page tells you how much time you have left to complete your test. Note: A timer will not appear if you are taking an untimed practice test.
Pacing yourself for a timed test is something that takes a little practice since most tests you take during school are not timed. I would recommend practicing with the timer. Make sure you answer all the questions. It is better to guess on a question than to leave a question blank.
BOOKMARK - Select Bookmark to mark an item so that you can find it easily and return to it later. When an item is marked, the same button can be used to remove the bookmark.
ANSWER ELIMINATOR - Select Answer Eliminator to eliminate answer choices.
REVIEW - Select Review to see an overview of your current status within the test, including information such as which items you have bookmarked, answered, or not answered.
CALCULATOR - A graphing calculator is available within the testing application (in the mathematics test only). To open the calculator, select the Calculator button. Select and drag the calculator if you want to move it to another area on the screen.
ZOOMING IN OR OUT - Adjust the size of the text on your screen by using CTRL and the + key to zoom in or CTRL and the - key to zoom out. Use CTRL and the 0 (zero) key to quickly return to standard size.
ANSWER MASKING - To cover answer choices until you are ready to read them, select Enable Answer Masking. This will cover the answer choices.
HIGHLIGHTER - Use the Highlighter tool to highlight text.
MAGNIFIER - To magnify a portion of the screen, select Enable Magnifier on the user drop down menu, near the top right of the screen.
LINE READER MASK - To read one line at a time, select Show Line Reader Mask.
**Ms. Wrona recently sent emails to 11th graders and parents with more detailed information about the ACT. Check your emails.**
Senior Corner - Graduation Information
VIC Seniors - Graduation Information
Seniors,
You are on the home stretch. You are so close! Keep up the hard work until the end of the semester. In order to earn your high school diploma in May, you need to meet the following requirements:
Pass all required classes and earn at least the needed 22 credits. Coursework and final exams need to be completed by Friday, May 21st.
Pass the AZ Civics Exam.
Complete all components of the Senior Exit Project.
At this time we are planning an in-person commencement ceremony. We are still working out the final details, so you will be receiving additional information in the near future. Here is what we know now:
Class of 2021 - Vail Innovation Center Commencement Ceremony
Date: Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Location: Vail Theater of the Arts (attached to Empire HS)
Time: 10:00a.m.
Order your cap and gown and other graduation supplies from Jostens. Follow this link:
https://www.jostens.com/apps/store/customer/2644374/The-Vail-Innovation-Center/
The VIC does not provide caps and gowns to the students. Place your order now.
Please reach out to your teachers or myself if you have any questions or concerns. We are here to help!
Carrie Wrona
Counselor
520-879-1305
Special Edmentum Reminders
Special Reminders
All students need to be working a minimum of 5 days a week to complete their courses on time. There are course maps for you to utilize as a tool for success with completing assignments on time.
6-12 grade students should ONLY use your school email account to communicate with your teachers **Do not use the Edmentum messaging system. Remember your teachers have 24 hours to respond to your school email messages.
You should be working a minimum of 1 hour per class per day to meet the timing requirements.
Tutoring sessions are available if your student is struggling. Please be sure to look at the tutoring schedule and use those links to attend virtually. Our teachers are looking forward to seeing and helping you!
Your course is made up of multiple units. Within each unit, there are subsections and topics which often include a tutorial, activities/practice, and/or a mastery test. Mastery tests can be retaken up to 3 times, but you must redo the tutorial first and then the program will unlock the mastery test again for another attempt. Edmentum will count your highest score.
When you get to the Post Test please reach out to your teacher through email to unlock it for you.
End Dates and Pacing Chart Icons - CyberWolves Working CyberStrong in 2021!
Remember to keep a close eye on your end dates.
Are you on pace to finish by your end dates?
Dark green = ahead of pace (1 or more activities ahead)
Light green = on pace (within 1 activity of the expected pace)
Orange = slightly off pace (1 or 2 activities behind)
Pink = Way off pace (3 or more activities behind)
Remember your online agreement to work approximately one hour a day in each class for five days a week will keep you on pace with light green or dark green pacing icons. Let's work CyberSTRONG in 2021!
Thank you,
The Vail Innovation Center Team
Students in 6-12: Here is a Edmentum Tutorial with tips and tricks. Please watch for a refresher.
Social and Emotional Learning March Theme: Compassion and Kindness
Important Flyers and Information
The 2020-2021 School Calendar
FASFA - Free Application for Federal Student Aid
Seniors! It is time to start thinking about paying for college! The FAFSA is the best place to start. Let’s start with a little bit about what the FAFSA actually is. FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid; translation: it determines a student's eligibility for need-based federal financial aid for college, which may include grants, scholarships, work-study and loans. If eligible, it can really help you pay for school!
Use this link to complete the FAFSA Application: https://studentaid.gov/
Carrie Wrona
Counselor
Vail Innovation Center
520-879-1305
K-12 VIC Staff Contacts - Communication is Key
Please be sure you are reaching out to your teacher at any time to get support or ask questions. We are attaching our staff list showing teacher names and email addresses so you can easily contact your teacher. We are all here to help you succeed. Please plan enough time to hear back from your teacher within 24 hours.
Here is the link to our spreadsheet with all of the VIC teachers and their email.
"Good communication is the bridge between confusion and clarity."
— Nat Turner
Edmentum Tech Support
If you are having any technical troubles with your online class, please contact Edmentum:
Technical Support
1-800-447-5286
Mon- Fri 4:30 am – 6:30 pm
Sat & Sun 6:00 am – 3:30 pm
Email: info@edmentum.com
Online: https://support.edmentum.com/