Monday Morning Update
Options Program - April 27, 2020
COMPASS & OPTIONS SCHOOL NEWS
ACADEMIC SUPPORT SESSIONS ~ We have several new Academic Support Sessions being offered as we wrap up April and head into May:
What: Read Across America: TK-2 Storytime
Who: Scholars in Grades TK-2
When: Thursdays, 10-10:25 am
What: Read Across America: 3-5 Storytime
Who: Scholars in Grades 3-5
When: Thursdays, 10:30-10:55 am
What: 7 Mindsets SEL Workshop with Mrs. Pearsall
Who: Scholars in Grades 3-5
When: Thursdays, 1-1:30 pm
What: 7 Mindsets SEL Workshop with Mrs. Pearsall
Who: Scholars in Grades 6-8
When: Thursday, April 23, May 30 7, 14 21, 28, 1:30-2 pm
What: Study Tips and Tricks for Middle and High Schoolers with Ms. VanVooren
Who: Scholars in Grades 6-12
When: Tuesday, April 28, 11:30 am
What: Indian in the Cupboard Book Club with Mrs. Harding
Who: Scholars in Grades 3-5
When: Wednesday, April 29, May 6, 13, 20, 10:30 am
What: Writing in the 21st Century Workshop with Mrs. Marquez
Who: Scholars and Parents in Grades 3-12
When: Thursday, April 30, 11-11:50 am
If you are not able to join us live, you can still enjoy the recordings of any of our workshops!
ASSESSMENTS ~ New End-of-Year Benchmark Testing Window ~ To replace the suspended state assessments, and to give your scholars the opportunity to show what they know, we have chosen to have our final diagnostic benchmark testing begin Monday, May 11 and end Friday, May 29. These assessment scores will help show growth and demonstrate to our authorizers that Compass scholars have been successful this school year. This is an excellent opportunity for your scholars to demonstrate learning, academic skills, and achievement levels. Please reach out to your scholar’s EF if your scholar needs assistance logging in to take their assessments.
AVID SPIRIT WEEK~ Scholars and families are invited to join the largest spirit week in the world! Starting today, Monday, April 27, and lasting all week, we will be celebrating AVID Spirit Week. Spirit week will include daily events and a Spirit Contest. All scholars are invited to participate and celebrate our senior class who are choosing the next steps on their journey, as well as the future plans of all our scholars.
BLOG ~ For many parents who are balancing working and teaching their scholars from home, we have enlisted some experienced teachers and staff to chime in on this balancing act in our latest blog: 5 Tips on Balancing Working and Teaching From Home!
CCS IN THE NEWS ~ In response to recent events, Edgility is interviewing virtual and hybrid schools to share their insights on teaching and learning in an online environment. Their first conversation was with our very own J.J. Lewis, Superintendent & CEO!
END OF LEARNING PERIOD ~ Learning Period 8 ends this Thursday, April 30. Please make sure that you are up to date with all of your activity logs in ParentSquare. Please also upload your scholar’s work samples into Seesaw by this Thursday, although before is better! Here are some helpful work sample guides for TK-8 and high school. Contact your EF if you have any questions.
ENERGY BUS TIP OF THE WEEK ~ Turn a failure from today into a lesson for tomorrow.
MAY CELEBRATIONS ~ May is the month of celebration! Join us as we celebrate National Teacher Appreciation Week, California Day of the Teacher, National Charter Schools Week, and National Classified School Employees Week! Learn more below about Teacher Appreciation Week, and watch the MMU next Monday, when we open our Scholars’ Choice Employee of the Year nominations! Based on feedback from scholars and learning coaches, we are seeking your nominations starting next week to celebrate your teacher, counselor, and/or administrator!
OPTIONS HANDBOOK HIGHLIGHT ~ Are you a high schooler interested in taking a course at a community college? We encourage you to do so! Here are some of the requirements, as noted in our handbook: Concurrent/Dual Credit Enrollment
Scholars must meet the GPA and age requirements for the college course they wish to attend. (This will vary by college and the school’s concurrent enrollment policies.)
Attendance status cannot be truant to be eligible for concurrent/dual credit enrollment.
Initially, a scholar will be approved to take no more than two college courses at one time. If the scholar successfully completes their initial course(s) with a 2.0 GPA or better and satisfactory attendance at CCS, the scholar will be eligible for concurrent/dual credit enrollment for two college courses the following college semester. Additional courses will be determined based on scholar performance and the policies of the college they are attending.
Scholars must notify their EF and the College & Career Readiness Counselor prior to enrolling in a college-level course for dual credit purposes. Upon recommendation by the EF and the College & Career Readiness Counselor, the Director of Options Learning will provide final approval for concurrent enrollment in college courses. Failure to gain approval will prevent scholars from receiving dual credit. Courses taken for dual credit are taken in addition to the scholars’ required course schedule at CCS.
PARENT TOWN HALL ~ May is the month that we are hosting our fourth and final quarterly Superintendent’s Town Hall for the Options Learning Program! We will share exciting updates on our 2020-21 program during this Town Hall. Learn more and RSVP through our ParentSquare calendar!
RE-ENROLLMENT ~ Our 2020-21 re-enrollment window is open! If you have not done so already, please be sure to complete our re-enrollment process through Reg Online (link is in your inbox from enrollment@compasscharters.org), which asks if your scholar(s) will be returning to continue their educational journey with us next year (and we do hope you are!)!
VIRTUAL ENRICHMENT RESOURCES ~ Keep your scholars engaged without leaving the house! We’ve compiled a list of resources for you to access from home, and continue to update this list daily. Enjoy classes in a variety of subjects, family resources, memberships, and virtual field trips all accessible from your computer at no cost to you! Click here to view our virtual enrichment resource guide.
VOTER EDUCATION WEEK ~ As we approach the 2020 General Election in November, it is important to ensure that our scholars are learning to become active and engaged participants in our democracy. We encourage scholars to participate in High School Voter Education Weeks April 20-30, to put our young people on the path to a lifetime of civic engagement and voting. Click here to pre-register to vote.
COMMUNITY PROVIDERS
*Many of our Service Providers have gone to virtual services; please check with your EF for further guidance.
COUNSELING NEWS
FEATURED COUNSELING SERVICES LESSON
College Mania ~ tomorrow, Tuesday, April 28, from noon-1 pm in the Counseling Learning Lab ~ Ms. Olson will work with scholars to research information about our California Universities. We will highlight various universities within the UC and CSU college system and share facts about these campuses.
Kaplan ACT Bootcamp for Scholars ~ this Wednesday, April 29 - 4-5 pm ~ Scholars can attend a free ACT Bootcamp session and join one of Kaplan’s expert instructors, to learn how to tackle some of the most common question types on the ACT! Sign up to reserve your spot here.
Strive Virtual College Exploration ~ now through next Friday, May 8 ~ From Monday, April 27 through Friday, May 8, the Strive Virtual College Exploration program will offer virtual college information sessions. These 45-minute presentations will allow colleges to speak specifically about their institutions, connect with scholars, and answer questions live. If you are interested in attending, reach out to Ms. Olson at for registration information.
College Readiness Updates due to COVID-19
Enjoy a detailed list of Spring 2020 helpful college and career planning resources for middle and high school scholars.
SPECIAL EDUCATION NEWS
FEATURED ARTICLE ~ A Parent’s Guide To Autism ~ A Parent’s Guide to Autism was developed as part of Autism Speaks’ series of Family Support Tool Kits to support you and promote a positive future for your child and family during an often challenging time.
FEATURED ARTICLE ~ Top Websites for Autism ~ Searching for autism information on the web can be overwhelming. The word “autism” alone results in over 64 million hits on Google. So, where do you turn to for the most relevant information and resources when there are so many different options? Parents were polled, and these were the top 10 results.
ENGAGEMENT NEWS
VIRTUAL EVENT SPOTLIGHT ~ Join us this Thursday, April 30, as we partner with Operation Gratitude for #VirtualVolunteerism as part of our AVID Spirit Week Celebration! Let’s come together to write letters to the deployed troops, first responders, emergency medical personnel, and all heroes on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participating in this session also gets you a raffle ticket for a chance to win college gear from your college of choice as part of our AVID Spirit Contest. Your letters will be sent directly to the heroes of your choice. Click here to learn more and sign up!
CLUB SPOTLIGHT ~ The Photography Club is a scholar-led place to explore your artistic side through photography. We have a monthly theme to focus on while you go out into the world and take photos to share with the rest of the school! You can use any type of camera, phone, or tablet to take pictures. We will have contests, share our thoughts, ideas, and activities with each other, and much more! To learn more about this club or any of our other scholar clubs, please visit the Parents & Scholars section of our CCS website.
FIELD TRIPS & EVENTS
UPCOMING VIRTUAL ENGAGEMENT EVENTS ~ *In response to COVID-19, we continue to add exciting live virtual engagement opportunities & have also compiled a list of resources for you to use while at home.
*Please view the details at the links below and fill out the virtual event registration for each event that your scholar(s) would like to attend.
Monday, April 27 - AVID Spirit Week & AVID Spirit Contest Begins!
Monday, April 27 - Virtual Scholar Workshop- AVID Spirit Week: Kick-Off
Tuesday, April 28 - Virtual Scholar Workshop - AVID Spirit Week: Dream Catcher Workshop
Wednesday, April 29 – Virtual Scholar Workshop - AVID Spirit Week: Scholar Social Hour
Thursday, April 30 – Virtual Scholar Workshop - AVID Spirit Week: Writing Letters to Heroes of COVID-19 with Operation Gratitude
Friday, May 1 - Virtual Scholar Workshop - AVID Spirit Week: AVID Spirit Week Assembly
Friday, May 1 - AVID Spirit Week & AVID Spirit Contest Ends
Tuesday, May 5 - Virtual Scholar Workshop - Virtual College Tour
Wednesday, May 6 - Virtual Scholar Workshop - Virtual Recess: Outdoor Games
Thursday, May 7 - Virtual Scholar Workshop - Science Experiments
Compass Charter Schools
- Kristy Smith, Director of Options Learning, at ksmith@compasscharters.org
- Karle Roberts, Options Regional Coordinator at kroberts@compasscharters.org
- Laura Harvey, Options Regional Coordinator at lharvey@compasscharters.org
- Michelle Vreeman, Options Regional Coordinator at mvreeman@compasscharters.org
- Sharlie Walker, Options Regional Coordinator at swalker@compasscharters.org
- Ruth Chavez-Rivera, Options Regional Coordinator at rchavezrivera@compasscharters.org
Email: info@compasscharters.org
Website: www.compasscharters.org
Location: 850 Hampshire Road, Suite P, Thousand Oaks, CA, United States
Phone: 855-937-4227
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CompassCS/
Twitter: @CompassCS