LCS Virtual Academy Newsletter

• 2nd week of count starts this Wednesday Oct 9th!!! Students must attend their weekly meetings and log into ALL of their courses for at least 10 minutes each as often as possible during the week. Please follow the same routine of attendance and logging in for the next month for each student to be accounted for. It is also important that students continue to communicate with teachers and their counselors as all these routes additionally count towards attendance.
  
• We have new state-mandated rules and must provide proof of all absences on count day. If your child misses their Google Meet, online work, and/or any communication with the teacher on Wednesday, October 2nd, documentation on why they were absent is required. The following are the reasons an absence can be excused. Absences due to the conditions outlined in the Michigan School Code of 1976 are considered excused absences:

• Personal illness of the student

• Recovery from an accident

• Death of a family member

• Observation or celebration of a religious holiday

• Participation in court proceedings in which the student’s presence is legally compelled or in which the student is a participant or witness

• Medical or dental care which cannot reasonably be attended to during non-school hours

• **Note that vacations are not excused absences**

  ***Written or electronic notification from a parent/guardian must be submitted stating the reason for the absence***

• We send out newsletters 1st school day of every week so please refer to this for all the important happenings at VA📰!

• Link to our Google Calendar- please sync it with your calendars Virtual Academy Master Calendar

• Important forms including daily attendance, transportation request, school calendar, credit recovery, parent handbook etc are all linked at the bottom of this newsletter.
  
• ALL new to district students, and incoming KG and 7th graders are required to provide updated immunizations or waivers in order to stay enrolled.
• Our staff often works remotely or in different locations throughout the building so always remember to email us before stopping by if you require assistance from the office staff or our counselor.
• If you need to exchange a device, email us so we can put a ticket in. Once ready, we will reach out to you. VA Students have access to school work on all personal devices including personal phones 24/7, so technical issues with school devices shouldn't stop them from continuing their work. It is highly recommended that students download apps such as gmail and google classroom on personal devices in order to stay in touch with teachers as well.

VA Middle and Highschooler Families,

To come into the Virtual Academy Learning Lab (VALL) days (Tuesdays and Thursdays), you MUST inform your teachers beforehand and sign in here to come in. VALL hours are 8-12 pm, so if your child needs transportation, please fill out the transportation request form and let the teacher know to make sure someone is available to receive your child. Because we often work remotely and in other parts of the building, it is even more important that your teacher knows you are coming and is expecting you. Keep in mind that high school buses leave around 2 pm and not 12pm, so if a student needs to stay until 2 pm, they would need to request it. No VA student is allowed to stay in the building unsupervised.

• Once classes are up and running; it is MANDATORY that students are completing a MINIMUM of 5 hours/per week of their Pearson work, working on ALL 6 of their scheduled classes and attend weekly class meeting and/or case manager meetings if special Ed. The only exception is if a pre-planned absence/break has been discussed with the teachers.
• We have access to student activity and will be closely monitoring their progress and keeping track of their google meets. Failure to comply with our attendance and homework policy will lead to students being dropped from the Virtual Academy.

Lincoln Consolidated School District is partnering with Varsity Tutors for Schools to provide your student with access to additional learning tools through the Varsity Tutors for Schools platform.

Varsity Tutors for Schools is the most comprehensive suite of live, online tutoring resources. Your student will have the opportunity to engage with resources to help support them through their learning journey.

The following resources are available through access to the Varsity Tutors for Schools platform:

• 24/7 On-Demand Chat Tutoring

• On-Demand Essay Review

• Live Academic and Enrichment Classes

• SAT and ACT Test Prep Classes

• Celebrity-Led StarCourse Classes

• Self-Study Resources

• College & Career Readiness Resources

• Adaptive Assessments & Personalized Learning Plans

• Prerecorded Enrichment Classes/Videos
  

We are excited to offer these services for NO COST to your student until June, 2030! You can learn more about everything available by having YOUR STUDENT USING THEIR SCHOOL GOOGLE ACCOUNT log into the platform using Lincoln Consolidated Login Link.

FREE Breakfast & Lunch for ALL Students!

The GREAT NEWS is that ALL students enrolled at our school district can receive a healthy breakfast and lunch at NO CHARGE to your household each day. There is still a charge for Ala Carte items.

WE NEED YOUR HELP! Every household has to fill out and sign the Education Benefits Form, even if you do not plan to use the meal service. This report is critical in determining the amount of money that our school district receives from a variety of State and Federal supplemental programs.

These supplemental programs have the potential to offer supports and services for our students including, but not limited to:

• Instructional support (staff, supplies & materials, etc.)

• Non-instructional services (counseling, social work, health services, etc.)

• Professional Learning for staff

• Parent and Community engagement supplies and activities

• Technology

We are asking that you complete and submit the Education Benefits Form ONLINE or to your school office as soon as possible to ensure that additional funding is available to meet the needs of our students. For households with students in multiple buildings, you can complete one form and submit it to any school building. All information on the report submitted is confidential. Without your assistance, our school cannot maximize the use of available State and Federal funds.

Food Service Student Accounts

Lincoln uses Meal Magic to manage student meal accounts. Accounts will need to be set up using student names and ID’s. (The number portion of your student’s school email address)

• Go to lincoln.familyportal.cloud

• Click “My Account”

• Click “I need to register as a Family Portal User”

• Enter in your email address

• Follow link in your email to create an account

• Add students to your account (You will need student ID number)

Credit Recovery Registration!!!

Please email me if you need credit recovery- Starts September 23rd!

Here's a summary of your counseling announcements:

1. Weekly Logins: Ensuring students regularly log into Pearson and attend class meetings is essential for staying connected and engaged with their learning.

2. Credit Recovery: Students interested in credit recovery can fill out the form provided on the mentioned website. Once submitted, you will contact them to set up a meeting to discuss suitable courses. There is a fee of $10 per class for this service.

3. SWWC: The SWWC is the Career and Technical Education program that is ran at Saline High

School (Programs such as health science, marketing, auto technology, and many more). We have some upcoming dates that will be giving out more information on these program and how to sign up for them for the next following year.

4. Seniors: Please contact your couselor to discuss Post-Graduation plans.

These updates provide clear guidance for students and parents on what to expect in terms of counseling activities. Keep up the good work, and I'm sure your support is greatly appreciated by the school community. If you have any specific questions or need further assistance, please feel free to ask.

Email: colemant@lincolnk12.org

Phone Number: 734-484-7000 ext. 1177

As long as students are in good discipline/behavior and Academic standing- all VA students can participate in any sports offered across Lincoln Consolidated Schools.

Online Apparel Stores

Use the tabs at the top to switch between our different fall athletic teams! Be sure to select "pick-up" for the delivery option and your items will be delivered to the Athletic Office for pick-up instead of paying for shipping!

https://splitternationathletics.com/

For generic Lincoln gear that is available YEAR ROUND, click the link below!

https://www.splitternationgear.com/

Get ready for our fall sport offerings…Sideline Cheerleading, Men’s & Women’s Cross Country, Men’s & Women’s Dance, Men’s Football, Women’s Golf, Women’s Swim & Dive, Men’s Soccer, Men’s Tennis, or Girls Volleyball by getting your athletic registration complete NOW! Students may not participate in practice or games beginning August 12th without full registration compliance in Student Central – No Exceptions!

Athletic registration hasn't changed...just the name! Planet HS is now called Student Central, but it's still our one stop shop to register for all athletics at LCS. Upload your physical, sign off on consent forms, and add emergency contact information - without having to come in to the office.

Full registration information can be found HERE, or at the HS/MS Registration section of www.SplitterNation.com.

Fees haven't changed in almost 20 years - HS students still pay $140 per year, no matter how many sports you play. MS students still pay $100. Both fees are cut in half for students qualifying for the Federal Free or Reduced Lunch program. Go to www.SplitterCommunity.com to pay participation fees.

Most Important!!
Our Lincoln teams use Stack Team App for all program, player, and parent communication. Download Stack Team App on your Apple or Android device to access our team calendars. Search terms to find our teams in Team App are found in the graphic above! Connect directly with coaches, parents, schedules, and team communication!

If any contact information has changed for your household including emails, mailing address or phone numbers, please let us know asap! Those of you that have moved recently and want to continue with us, please read the following information and fill out whatever applies to your household.

To find out what school district your current address falls under, please visit HERE!

If you have moved, we would like you to fill out either the Change of Address form (address change within the district)

or the School of Choice Application (if you are now residing out of the district)

Additionally, if you are not the homeowner, you need the Shared Household Affidavit form filled out by both the renter and the homeowner as proof of residing within the school district

If these forms aren't completed, your child risks not being enrolled at Lincoln Consolidated Schools for the upcoming school year.

All VA students can request transportation using the VA Bus transportation request form. Students are required to comin in for state testings and can utilize the bus system if needed for that.

The Lincoln student bus ridership program provides an extra layer of SAFETY by making sure students board the correct bus and preventing students from exiting at the wrong stop. Families feel a greater connection to their students with near real-time alerts as they board and depart the bus while drivers have an extra layer of protection in preventing students from getting off at the wrong stop.

Drivers will be enforcing the ridership program. In order to ride the bus to or from school, students can use:

• Student ID badge (Previous year badges will work)

• Device with the "Here Comes the Bus" app installed showing the barcode on the screen

• Printed barcode from “Here Comes the Bus” app.

If you require a student badge, please contact us at transportationoffice@lincolnk12.org with your student’s name and school. Transportation will provide only two (2) badges during the course of the school year. A $5.00 fee will be assessed to replace additional badges.

Please help us by checking with your student before they leave for the bus stop to make sure they have their ID/Scan Code/Phone Barcode ready to enter the bus.

How to create an account on the app

How to create an account on the website

We are so excited to share an MLive news feature on the Virtual Academy. A special thanks to all the families who offered to be interviewed.

https://www.mlive.com/sponsor-content/?scid=188731&prx_t=UxMIAcHdaAoBEPA&ntv_ui=c2f7d010-a7be-460a-b6e1-47d7eb9a342e&ntv_ht=6DiXYwA

• Complete your SEL & Attendance Form Daily linked here
• Login to Pearson & Complete your TO-DO Lists Daily
• Login to Google Classroom & check your GMAIL Daily
• Respond to questions sent from your teachers - *very important for attendance purposes*
• Attend your Mandatory Weekly Virtual Meetings
• Sign-up to Attend the In-person Labs on your grade level specific day
• We provide in-district transportation for the LCS Virtual Academy Students that request it in-order to attend the Learning Lab days. The form to request transportation is linked below.
• VA students are expected to complete the same calendar year as the LCS in-person students. A copy of the calendar is linked below
• If you are exhibiting signs of COVID, Flu or any similar symptoms, please inform us to cancel if you were planning on coming to the virtual lab. This is especially important since some families choose to have their child attend a Virtual school because of a weak immune system or other health complications. We want to ensure that sick people stay out of the building for the safety of both students and staff.