Hello, 279Online families and caregivers! Thank you so much for what you do every day to assist your scholar with engaging in school. Please read the newsletter thoroughly each month, as we will provide updates about our school community, helpful resources, important dates to remember, events and much, much more.

There is no school for students on the following dates this month

• Monday, December 6th- Mark Reporting day, no school for K-12 students.
• Monday, December 20th through Friday, December 31st - Winter Break.

Please read this letter from superintendent Cory McIntyre regarding extending Winter Break.

Tri 2 begins on December 7th, 2021. Last day of Tri 1 classes for students is Friday, December 3, 2021. Please make sure your school work for Tri 1 is turned in by Friday, December 3rd.

279Online report cards will become available on Wednesday, December 15th, in ParentVue. If you have questions, please email ParentVUE@district279.org or call 763-391-7056. If you need a ParentVue account, please email online@district279.org for assistance.

You can learn more about ParentVUE and all the district’s systemwide technology solutions here.

If you have any specific questions about your scholar's report card, please contact your scholar's teacher.

279Online scholars will have the opportunity to get school pictures retaken on Monday, December 6th at the Osseo Area Learning Center (7300 Boone Ave N Brooklyn Park, MN 55428). Time of retakes to be determined but will be shared as soon as possible.

Please know that your student’s safety and the safety of our community is our first priority. We will do everything we can to ensure that picture day is done in the safest way possible. Here are a few things to know about the day of picture day:

• Students need to complete a health screening before coming to school.
  If your student (or anyone in your family) has symptoms of Covid-19, please do not attend.
• We will follow state guidelines around social distancing and everyone will be required to bring and wear a face mask.

Picture day is optional for all students.

If you are not able to attend picture day, there will be an opportunity to upload a photo of your student to update their student file. Please Click Here to complete the google form to upload your picture.

To order pictures, please visit mylifetouch.com with your student's school ID number. The school city should be entered as Minneapolis, MN, then enter our school name: 279Online.

If you have questions about your order, or are having trouble ordering, please contact Lifetouch Customer Care at 800-505-9496.

Please email Online@district279.org with any questions.

The weather outside isn’t quite frightful yet, but in the event that snow or cold affect in-person schools and they shift to an e-learning day, 279Online would continue as normal. Classes will still be offered as scheduled, and scholars will be expected to attend as normal.

If you would like to attend another school's event and need a guest form completed, please email a copy of the form to the main office at Online@district279.org.

We have been actively working with scholars to gather their interests in what they would like to explore on our Wednesday Bonus Block. Popular interests were Anime, Art (and specifically drawing), Sports, Games/Gaming, College and Career info, and Cultural Exploration. If there are areas your scholars are interested in that you’d like to share, please let us know on the Family Feedback Form. Below are some of the great things happening at 279Online during our Wednesday Bonus Block!

Click this link to watch a video about the heritage Spanish class being offered during Wednesday Bonus Block

The 279Online Admin team will be hosting virtual Question & Answer sessions on Monday, December 6th, via Google Meet. Based on parent and caregiver feedback, there will be 3 different sessions focused on each of the levels of programming which are 279Online - Elementary, Middle, and High School. We hope that this will provide more focused conversations and support parents and caregivers based on the needs of their scholars at their different levels. If you have scholars in multiple grades, you may select one that best meets your needs.

Monday, December 6th

12:30 - 1:00pm 279Online Elementary School K-5

1:00 - 1:30pm 279Online Middle School 6-8

1:30 - 2:00pm 279Online High School 9-12

Please join us for any or all of the sessions by joining this Google Meet https://meet.google.com/pdf-qcwn-cmr or dial: +​1​ ​8​6​4​-​6​8​8​-​9​8​6​6 PIN: 4​9​6​ ​8​4​7​ ​2​8​4​#.

Please nominate a student or a staff member for a spotlight in the weekly newsletter.

While breakfasts and lunches are free for all scholars this year, it is nevertheless important to complete the free and reduced lunch application. In addition to this providing scholars and families with benefits like lower fees for lost items, exams, etc., this program also provides the school and the district with much-needed funding. Please complete this application today.

Rather than posting numerous resources each week, we are compiling them in a Google Doc that will be updated accordingly. Please click here for assistance regarding things like mental health, food and clothing support, and Internet access.

For families who use Schoology, we created this handy reference guide to help you navigate what you’ll see in Schoology, how Schoology is different than ParentVue, and how to get support for accessing the parent side of Schoology. Click here for the reference guide.

279Online Middle and High School Families
Do you know how to check your students’ grades? Please see the link for information on setting up your Schoology account to monitor their progress.

What is Schoology – English
What is Schoology – Spanish

Need help logging in to an account, checking in for an online meeting with a teacher, or setting up a device? Check out the technology resources in the Parent and Family Toolkit.

Need more technology assistance? The district tech support help desk is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on student days, and 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on non-student days. Email help@district279.org or call 763-391-7180.

Reminders about Attendance Practices for 279Online:

GRADES K-5

Teachers take attendance twice a day through their classroom meetings.

GRADES 6-12

• Scholars are expected to self report attendance through a Schoology attendance quiz for each class by 6:00 pm in Schoology daily
• Click here for scholar directions
• Teachers verify and submit the official attendance record in Synergy the next day.
• At 6:00 pm, School Messenger calls will go out to families for scholars with unexcused absences from the previous day
• If a scholar is unable to attend, families need to report the absence to 279Online in order to excuse the absence (phone: 763-391-8670 or email: online@district279.org)
• While attendance is taken through this quiz, scholars are still expected to attend synchronous meetings with their teachers and engage in their learning. We want them to be there and miss them when they don’t come!

Teachers will review this attendance process with scholars in advisory and their classes. If you have any questions regarding attendance please contact your scholars’ teachers or the main office (phone: 763-391-8670 or email: online@district279.org).

District Issued Device

If your student has not received their district issued device, please email the HelpDesk (Help@district279.org) to set up an appointment to pick up your scholar’s device at the Educational Service Center (ESC).

Curricular Materials

279Online has two materials distribution hubs for the 2021-22 school year, Elm Creek Elementary and Oakview Elementary. If you were unable to pick up materials at the initial distribution, please go to the location you would like to pick up these materials from between 8:00AM and 4:00PM

• Elm Creek Elementary
  9830 Revere Ln N
  Maple Grove, MN 55369

• Oakview Elementary
  6710 E Fish Lake Rd
  Maple Grove, MN 55369

Materials will be available at the distribution hubs listed above throughout the year. If your scholar requires any additional physical materials, their teacher will communicate that to you.