Save the Date!

J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 8

The Firewall

St. Vrain Online Global Academy Where the World is Your Classroom

Welcome 2018!

It is hard to believe that we are already halfway through the 2017-18 school year!

We are looking forward to working with both our students and parents/guardians throughout the second semester. We would especially like to welcome our new students who will be starting with us on Monday, January 8th. We have an open door policy. Please feel free to drop by, call, text, or email at any time if you have questions or concerns.

We are also pleased to announce that three new general elective courses will be available for students to order beginning on January 22: History of the Holocaust, Sociology, and World Religions.

School Closed January 12 and January 15

The SVOGA Onsite Facility will be closed on January 12 for a Non-Student Contact Day and again on January 15 for Martin Luther King Day.

Please be aware that:

1. Students can continue to work.

2. FLVS teachers will be available for DBA’s, grading, and for questions.

3. Both Joann and Scott will be available by email, text, or phone should a problem arise.

2nd Semester Starts

January 2

Junior Fireside Chat

January 10 Junior parents and students invited to attend on January 9 beginning at 6:30 p.m.

School is open our regular hours. We are looking forward to seeing our students!

1st Semester Celebration

January 17 We’re celebrating our first semester successes beginning at 12:30 p.m.

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From the Principal’s Desk Joann Dawe

dawe_joann@svvsd.org School Phone Cell Phone 720.494.3975 303.591.8627

“The surest way not to fail is to determine to succeed.” --Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses 2. Successful completion of a DBA provides the

student with the password they need to complete their module/segment exams.

3. No more than one (1) DBA may be completed per class per day.

4. Some teachers ask students to pre-schedule DBA’s; some do not. In either case, if a student is unsuccessful in reaching a teacher for a DBA, they simply need to come into school and ask one of our staff members to help them with the process. No student should be waiting more than 24 hours to complete a DBA.

5. When a student schedules a DBA, they need to make sure that they answer the phone when the teacher calls even if they feel they are not ready.

6. And, most importantly, when a student calls a teacher and the teacher does not answer, students need to leave their name and a good phone number for the teacher to return the phone call.

7. When texting a teacher, students should make sure to identify who the text is coming from.

(continued on next page)

A continuing issue that we struggle with is how to insure student success in the online environment. A student’s progress is a direct result of the amount of QUALITY time that a student puts n working on a course. Each online course should take approximately 60 hours of time to complete. Students who are working a quality 20 hours a week (not including breaks) should be able to complete a course in 3 weeks. Quality implies no Facebook or other social media as well as not playing games.

But then. . .excuses, excuses, excuses. The two that we hear frequently are, “I couldn’t get a hold or my teacher for a DBA.” “My teacher hasn’t graded my work.”

Let’s explore DBA’s. A “DBA” is short for Discussion Based Assessment. The DBA is an oral conversation with a student’s FLVS teacher about what they have learned in a module (unit). What should both students and parents/guardians know about DBA’s:

1. DBA’s should be completed in the order in which they come up in the grade book (students should not allow them to pile up).

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(Continued from previous page) (Continued from previous page) A second excuse we hear all the time is, “My teacher hasn’t graded my work.” For assignments that require a teacher looking at it, FLVS teachers have 24 hours to grade that work. However, if the assignment is a module or segment exam, the teacher has 48 hours to grade the work. If it has should be to contact their teacher via email, text or phone. If that fails, students should contact one of our staff members for help in resolving the issue. Just like a teacher in a brick and mortar classroom has things that come up that require them to be absent, so do FLVS

teachers. When a teacher is going to be out, students are usually notified by email and a message is up and running on the teacher’s course

page on the website. Usually the information will let students know who they can contact in their absence. It is important that students are checking their email in the FLVS

system daily! Another good reason for students to be checking their FLVS email daily. . .when teachers grade student’s work, they provide written comments to the students about their work through email. It is to the student’s advantage to read those comments so that they can redo assignments to meet the expectations of the teachers and to earn better grades on assignments.

PROGRESS Another continuing issue that we continue to struggle with is insuring student success in the online environment. A student’s progress is a direct result of the amount of QUALITY time that is put in working on the course. Each online course should take a student approximately 60 hours of time to complete. Students who are working a quality 20 hours a week (not including breaks) should be able to complete a course in 3 weeks. Quality implies no Facebook or other social media as well as not playing games. As many of you are aware, progress and grades are pulled weekly by me and compared to each student’s progress from the previous week. For students who do not meet at least half of their weekly-required progress, an email is sent home to parents and guardians. Every weekend I receive at least one, if not more, emails from students trying to explain to me why they haven’t made their progress. The progress that I see on Sunday is comprised of the work a student completes from Friday through Thursday. Usually, students who contact me are turning work in on the Friday prior to my pulling progress on Sunday. That work will show up but not until the next Sunday when I, once again, pull progress and grades. Students should be keeping up with their work on a daily basis! If they are doing that, then their progress will be consistent. As a reminder:

10% progress weekly = 1 assignment submitted daily = completing one class every 10 weeks 20% progress weekly = 2 assignments submitted daily = completing one class every 5 weeks

30% progress weekly = 3 assignments submitted daily = completing one class every 3 1/3 weeks Students who consistently make 30% or more progress weekly will finish 6 classes every semester. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Are you a parent/guardian interested in developing a deeper understanding of the School District? If so, mark your calendar for Saturday, January 20, 2018, to attend a free event: “A Day of Excellence.” To learn more about this exciting one-day free event and/or to register, excellence.svvsd.org

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Important Information

Junior Fireside Chat Junior parents and students: Please mark your

calendars for Thursday evening, January 9 from

6:30 – 7:30 p.m. Our “Chat” will include information about SVOGA policies for course completion and attendance. Additional topics will also be addressed that include beginning the post-secondary planning process and the SAT required testing that students will take in April.

Seniors Receive 1st Semester Reviews All of our current seniors and their parents/guardians should have received a 1st semester review detailing progress in FLVS classes, a credit check and plans for graduating. The information was sent out via email the week of December 18th . If you did not receive a report, contact Joann, and she will be happy to resend the report. If you would like to schedule an appointment to talk about the report, please contact Holly at our school number (720.494.3975), and she will set up an appointment for you.

First Semester Celebration First semester found 65 of our SVOGA full-time students completing 153 classes. On Wednesday, January 17, the students who completed courses will be invited to join the SVOGA staff to celebrate. Invited students will receive an email the week of January 8. Congratulations to these students! Keep up the focus and the excellent work! We are proud of you for “Crossing the Line.”

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A Look Back at 1st Semester 2017

Overall School Attendance Rate Our attendance goal for this school year is 85%. As of the end of the first semester, the school’s overall attendance rate is 75.55%. We need everyone’s help throughout the second semester to increase our rate. As a reminder, attendance is computed BASED on a student’s weekly progress! MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT!

70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88

Course Completion

Nineteen completed four or more classes throughout the first semester. Courses completed could be FLVS classes in combination with brick and mortar class work as well as concurrent enrollment classes.

2 students completed 9 classes 1 student completed 8 classes 3 students completed 7 classes 2 students completed 6 classes 3 students completed 5 classes 7 students completed 4 classes

Courses Ordered Three hundred seventy-nine (379) courses have been ordered for the 2017-18 school year as of December 15, 2017. To date, one hundred sixty-three (163) of those courses or 43.0% have been successfully completed.

# of Courses Grade Earned 106 A 49 B 8 C D

22 F

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School is the #1 Priority

Progress = Attendance

In our environment, attendance is equated to a student’s weekly progress. Students who make at least 20% progress weekly show 0 absences for the week. The following students have continued to make that progress each and every week throughout their 2017-18 SVOGA enrollment.

Congratulations to: Emily Lehman Sarah Miller Christina Uphoff Megan Wallis

We would like to recognize students who understand that “School is their #1 Priority” and make the progress necessary to move through their courses in a timely fashion.

Congratulations to: Week of 11/28/17 Sarah Miller 78.10% Week of 12/3/17 Sarah Miller 93.61% Week of 11/12/17 Rowan Bopardikar 74.08%

Honor Roll Recipients

An Honor Roll will be published each 18-week term. There are three (3) categories for honor roll recognition: a grade point average of 4.0, 3.5 and 3.0. The Honor Roll is determined from the grades reported by Florida Virtual School teachers and our school district’s Infinite Campus transcript. Students on Honor Roll must be enrolled in and complete 5 classes or 2.5 credits throughout the 18-week term to be considered for Honor Roll Achievement.

Congratulations to our First Semester 2017-18 Honor Roll Students:

4.00 and Above Melanie Hansen (4.200) Christina Uphoff (4.170) Emily Lehman (4.125)

Jacqueline Palumbo (4.000)

3.500-3.999 Gabriel “Deacon” Kaufman (3.930)

Tessa Hefner (3.780) Sarah Miller (3.780

Camryn Bieber (3.667) Charles Eckstine (3.600)

3.00-3.499

Garrett Provow (3.140) Holly Parks (3.000)

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Graduates

One of our seniors has completed his graduation requirements:

JASON HIGDON

He will be participating in our graduation ceremony that will be held on Friday, May 25, 2018. Watch for the list to grow in the coming months!

Have You Met Your Contract? We would like to recognize students who have completed their contractual agreement for Semester 1 by completing a minimum of 2 classes a quarter/4 classes a semester.

Congratulations to: Abigail Alexander Camryn Bieber Kenia Castillo-Gonzalez Charles Eckstine Melanie Hansen Tessa Hefner Gabriel Kaufman Andrew King Emily Lehman Aidan MeKay Sarah Miller Jacqueline Palumbo Holly Parks Rileigh Perez Garrett Provow Passion Trujillo-Haro Christina Uphoff Megan Wallis Delilah Wickham

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We are pleased to introduce you to Mrs. Simona Bartos-Hulubescu who teaches World History, Economics, AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, and Global Studies.

In Mrs. Hulubescu’s words. . .

I always associate curiosity with discovery and learning. And, when students are trying to position my heritage on the globe, struggling to guess between my accent and my unusual long last name, it brings only a smile to my face. So, let me briefly unfold my saga. I was born and raised behind the Iron Curtain in communist Romania, and I was one of the vivid participants during the December Revolution in 1989 that overcame the communist regime and changed the political and economical thread of Eastern Europe. I recall so vividly the moment I arrived in the US, at JKF airport in New York, a green cardholder at the age of 28, barely knowing any English. While I was waiting for the immigration officer to process my papers, I could not refrain from crying and when the officer asked if I missed home already, I told him that I was crying because I was so emotionally touched by the passages from the Declaration of Independence posted on the wall. Then, I continued by apologizing for staring at him explaining that it was the first time in my life I had seen an African American. Apparently, my statement made everybody in that office laugh. I “emerged” from JFK airport into the totally unknown with six piece of luggage, $700 in my pocket, my dog Amigo, and my oldest daughter Sara-Malina who was 6 at the time. For several years I struggled doing various jobs, working night shifts and going straight to school in the morning while trying not to fall asleep in the subway so I wouldn’t miss my exit. The only thought on my mind was to complete my education. Many students who attend St. Vrain are facing same of their own unique challenges, and I love to guide them in their journey in finding their passion and giving to that passion a sense of purpose.

I am always eager to travel and to experience living in other cultures--there is this miraculous connection that we discover in our deeper self when we build human connection and realize that we are not so different from each other, regardless of socio-cultural and economic backgrounds. One of the most fascinated and coexisting contrast places I have visited is India where I lived for three months traveling between Rajasthan, Lahore and Pune. This experience explains my addiction to Indian food and wearing the beautiful sari as you can see in the picture.

Passion, enthusiasm, empathy, curriculum knowledge, and experience are key ingredients in the teaching profession, and my goals are to prepare my students to think critically, communicate effectively and develop skills that matter to their future. That is why in every class I teach (AP Economics, World History, Economics, US History), I want to make the knowledge relevant to you, my students, so you can understand it from your unique perspective, taking that information and transforming and using it to fit into your world and make it a better one.

I never thought that teaching with technology would develop such an intricate network and facilitate connection between teachers and students all over the globe! Your generation, the digital natives, have had a great input in transforming education and teaching learning virtually is, I believe, the trend for the education of the future not only because of its versatility considering space and time, but because of the infinite possibilities of reaching multiple learning styles.

PLAN AHEAD January 2: SVOGA Open: First day of Second

Semester.

January 4: SVOGA Information Evening for Prospective Students, 6:00 p.m.

January 8: New student orientation, 8:30 a.m.

January 9: Junior Fireside Chat for Parents and Students, 6:30 p.m.

January 12: SVOGA Closed: Non-Student Contact Day

January 15: SVOGA Closed: Martin Luther King Day

January 17: 1st Semester Celebration at 12:30 p.m. (by invitation ONLY

January 20 SVVSD A Day of Excellence, 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

January 31: Second semester Work Study Paperwork Due

THE FIREWALL JANUARY 2018

The Firewall January 2018

THE COUNSELOR’S CORNER JANUARY

Scott Bergamo SVOGA Counselor

bergamo_scott@svvsd.org 303-547-0417

I am always happy to meet with students (at any grade level) and their parents or guardians needing help with career planning, job preparation, military recruitment, and the college application and financial aid process. Please don’t hesitate to set up an appointment if you want to discuss any of the myriad of postsecondary options. As always, we’re here to help. So, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you need resources or have questions about your life during and after high school!

Need a New Year’s Resolution? Try Mindfulness! Mindfulness has nothing to do with minding your manners but with your ability to be aware and in the moment of what you are thinking, your emotions, and your physical reactions to events as they happen to you moment-by-moment. The key to being mindful is not judging yourself as good or bad in the moment but to practice accepting things as they are with curiosity and inquisitiveness. We all need to honor the true genius inside ourselves. Check out this article: Teach Mindfulness, Invite Happiness.

CDC course registration is now open for the 2018-19 academic year! CDC course registration for the 2018-19 academic year will take place through RevTrack this year. The registration window opened Friday, December 15th, and will remain open until Sunday, January 28th. Parents/guardians will need to sign in

through RevTrack at https://stvrain.revtrak.net/Program-Registration/. The process is designed to be very straight forward and user friendly. Select the Career and Technical Ed (CDC) and Innovation Center link on the left-hand side of the page and choose students to register for classes. The student name will need to match what is listed in IC with the student’s lunch number (these are necessary to validate each student). There will be four class choices using a drop-down menu format. When a class choice is made, the requirements/pre-requisites will be listed under the class. There will also be an asterisk denoting if a class is only a one-semester class and a second semester class may need to be chosen. Once the application is completed, the parent/user will receive an email confirming the registration requests. If you need more information or have questions about the registration process, please call the CDC Counseling Office at 303-772-3333 or visit their web site at cdc.svvsd.org.

The Firewall January 2018

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WEBSITE OF THE MONTH

https://lendedu.com/blog/lendedus-scholarship-guide/

LendEDU offers some great scholarship resources depending on your individual interests, background, major of interest, and even some unknown fact you may not know about yourself. Check out their web site to see how many scholarships you can apply for that you may not have imagined you are eligible to receive!

Junior students and parents, we are looking forward to seeing you at our Junior Fireside Chat on Tuesday, January 9, 2018, at 6:30 p.m.

S C H O L A R S H I P O P P O R T U N I T I E S

St. Vrain Valley Local Scholarships are now available!

Every year at this time, seniors in the St. Vrain Valley School District are invited to apply for over 40 scholarships provided by local community organizations and private donors. These scholarships are only made available to seniors attending and graduating from high schools in the St. Vrain Valley School District. We realize that some of our seniors will not be graduating this spring, but since these scholarships are offered annually, this is an early opportunity for any of our seniors to determine which scholarships you are eligible to apply for during your expected year of graduation. If you are planning to graduate this spring 2018, you will want to apply for these scholarships as soon as possible. What scholarships are available and how do I know if I'm eligible? The 2018 SVVSD Local Scholarship List list provides descriptions of each scholarship, the eligibility and application requirements and most importantly, the deadline date and how/where to submit each scholarship application. This list is available at our web site at http://svoga.svvsd.org/counseling/financial-aid-scholarships How do I apply for the scholarships? All of the 2018 SVVSD Local Scholarship applications are available in your ICAP Family Connection account. Please view the 2018 SVVSD Local Scholarship Application Process power point available on our web site at our web site (http://svoga.svvsd.org/counseling/financial-aid-scholarships) to learn where to locate the SVVSD Local Scholarship applications in your ICAP Family Connection account so you can save and prepare your eligible scholarship application(s) for submission (please visit with us if you need help with this process).

(See next page for Some Important Tips when applying for the scholarships.)

The Firewall December 2017

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WEBSITE OF THE MONTH

https://lendedu.com/blog/lendedus-scholarship-guide/

LendEDU offers some great scholarship resources depending on your individual interests, background, major of interest, and even some unknown fact you may not know about yourself. Check out their web site to see how many scholarships you can apply for that you may not have imagined you are eligible to receive!

Junior students and parents, we are looking forward to seeing you at our Junior Fireside Chat on Tuesday, January 9, 2018, at 6:30 p.m.

SOME IMPORTANT TIPS:

• Most of the scholarships will require two letters of recommendation. The Student Profile for Letters of Recommendation available at our web site (http://svoga.svvsd.org/counseling/financial-aid-scholarships) that you can fill out and give to anyone you are requesting a letter of recommendation from so they can write you a strong, supportive letter. Please be considerate and allow your letter writers at least two weeks to prepare your letter of recommendation. Usually, the more time you give them, the better the letter of recommendation they will write so plan ahead based on your scholarship deadlines.

• Most scholarships will also require a copy of your unofficial academic transcript. Just let us know if you need help getting a copy of your unofficial transcript.

• Some scholarships will also require a short statement or essay on a topic provided by the scholarship committee. Be sure you complete all the requirements of the scholarship in advance of the application deadlines so you can submit your documents with your application by the scholarship deadline.

• To help ensure your scholarship application(s) are competitive, we've also provided some guidelines of What NOT TO DO On Your Scholarship Applications available at our web site (http://svoga.svvsd.org/counseling/financial-aid-scholarships) so be sure to read over these suggestions before you begin the scholarship application process.

MOST IMPORTANTLY: MEET ALL APPLICATION DEADLINES – LATE AND/OR INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED! If you are planning to graduate in the Spring of 2018, are enrolling in a qualifying vocational school, community college, junior college, or four-year university beginning in the Fall of 2018, and are interested in applying for any of these scholarships, be sure to contact us if you need any assistance with your personalized scholarship application(s) process. We're happy to meet individually with any of our seniors and parents/guardians who have specific questions about any of these scholarship opportunities and/or the college and financial aid process in general. . .just give us a call and we'll schedule an appointment. Visit our website at http://svoga.svvsd.org/counseling/financial-aid-scholarships for more scholarship and financial aid resources to help pay for post-secondary opportunities!

For questions please contact Jackie Van Watermeulen with the Colorado Avalanche:

303.405.6197 │ Jackie.VanWatermeulen@TeamKSE.com

St. Vrain Valley School DistrictCommunity Night with the Colorado Avalanche

$5 of every ticket sold will be donated to the St. Vrain Valley School District!

Colorado Avalanche vs. Calgary FlamesSaturday, November 25th

• 8:00PM • Pepsi Center

VS

TICKETS STARTING AT: $25NO ADDITIONAL TAXES OR FEES! Subject to change.

FIND TICKETS: avalanche.teamkse.com/stvrain1718

All ticket buyers will be entered to win on-ice experiences!

Can’t make this game? We are offering a back-up option!

Monday, January 15th • 1:00PM • Pepsi Center

Colorado Avalanche vs. Anaheim Ducks

FIND TICKETS: www.avstix.com/stvrainbu18

Martin

Luther King

Jr. Day!

Para preguntas por favor contacte con Jackie Van Watermeulen con el Colorado Avalanche

303.405.6197 │ Jackie.VanWatermeulen@TeamKSE.com

St. Vrain Valley School DistrictLa Noche de la Comunidad con el Colorado Avalanche

¡$5 de cada boleto vendido será donado a St. Vrain Valley School District!

Colorado Avalanche vs. Calgary FlamesSábado, 25th de noviembre • 8:00PM • Pepsi Center

VS

Los precios de los boletos a partir de $25Ningunos impuestos o honorarios adicionales! Sujeto a cambios.

Buscar los boletos: avalanche.teamkse.com/stvrain1718

¡Todos los compradores del boleto serán entrados para ganar

experiencias del en-hielo!

¿No puedes hacer este juego? ¡ Estamos ofreciendo una opción de respaldo!

Lunes, 15th de enero • 1:00PM • Pepsi Center

Colorado Avalanche vs. Anaheim Ducks

Buscar los boletos: www.avstix.com/stvrainbu18

Martin

Luther King

Jr. Day!