Summit Virtual Academy

Good afternoon, Blackhawks! This Friday marks the first day of the winter break. Be sure to make the most of this week in your courses so that you are able to enjoy this time of year with friends and families without the stress of feeling behind in your classes. The final weeks of the semester will go by faster than you think. In this week's newsletter, there are updates and information on the following:

• Fall NWEA scores
• Heads up regarding upcoming final exams
• Progress reports going out next week
• Summer camp opportunity with Lawrence Technical University
• OSTC information
• Upcoming events and important dates
• Summit Virtual Academy expectations

Enjoy your weekend!

There was a technical issue with NWEA and MiStar causing a delay in getting these reports to you. My apologies for the delay, as it took some troubleshooting. All students who tested this fall had family reports put in the mail today. These reports will show where your student compares to other students their age who tested in both math and reading. Look over these score reports and reach out with any questions. Keep in mind, these are baseline scores showing where your student is to start this school year. Students will test again in January, with the goal of growth from fall to winter. Look out for these reports to families in the mail.

As the semester winds down, please be aware of any upcoming final exams and courses assessments that need to be unlocked for your student to complete. In order to unlock these, an email from myself or Mr. Belluomo may be required. This may take a day or two to go through, so don't wait until January 27 to request that tests be unlocked. If you have any questions about whether or not this will affect your student, reach out to the office or to your course instructor to verify.

Next week a progress report will be pushed out to all Summit Virtual Academy students and parents. Keep an eye out for this and be aware of your student's progress. Remember, Summit Virtual Academy students need to show that they are successful in the online setting in order to continue to be eligible for the program. If a student fails to pass multiple courses, they may be expected to return to in person instruction. If at any time you are concerned about your student's progress, please contact the office at 248-627-1820.

Lawrence Technological University is offering a summer camp opportunity to your high school students in Grades 9-12. Two students per high school can attend for free, and others can attend at a 50% discount. There is a capacity limit on each individual camp (noted in the description on the website). Each camp is different. Full descriptions of each offered camp can be found at https://www.ltu.edu/summer-camps/. The registration link can be found at https://apply.ltu.edu/register/summercamp2023.

Once students register for camps, LTU will pull a full list of registrants and identify which students are from your high schools. They will reach out individually and invoice the students one by one for their camp at the half-off rate.

If you are interested in attending one of these summer camp, please contact the office so that we can work with you to either nominate your student for one of two free spots or to apply the 50% off that all registrants are eligible for.

Tenth grade students have the chance to visit OSTC to tour their facility and programming. If you missed this pre-arranged visit and are interested in seeing what OSTC has to offer to your student, reach out to Mr. Belluomo at rbelluomo@brandon.k12.mi.us in order to schedule a visit and get additional information. OSTC is available for our Summit Virtual students.

• Tuesday, December 20 at 7PM - BHA Performing Arts Center, Holiday Band Concert
• Thursday, December 22 - Half day of School
• Friday, December 23 - Wednesday, January 4 - School Closed for Winter Break
• Week of January 23 - End of first marking period/exams

While Brandon School District closing will not effect your access to complete work on your online classes, it may be useful to know for extracurriculars and in the event that you have a zoom meeting with a Brandon staff member. Please be aware of the school closing guidelines followed by Brandon School District with student and staff safety in mind.

As we continue to progress through the year, here is what you can continue to expect:

• Expect your student to work for roughly 45-60 minutes per day, per course
• By now, you should have been reached out to by a counselor regarding your course progress. These will happen once a week. It is extremely important that you respond to communication. Please note that the student needs to respond and be in communication, not just the parent(s).
• Your main point of contact for content specific questions is your course instructor. If you need help doing so, don't hesitate to reach out to us at 248-627-1820.

Here you will find links to resources to help parents and students. Those of you who worked with Edmentum last year may have noticed some subtle changes to the system, as courses are now listed as being Apex courses. An overview of these changes and how to use the system as a parent can be found using the link to parent orientation presentations that is listed below.

Link for elementary overview: https://e.edmentum.com/eoa-getting-started-students-parents-caregivers/

Instructional Model overview for online learning (last page has links embedded to parent orientation presentations):

https://www.edmentum.com/resources/brochures/edoptions-academy-instructional-engagement-model-glance

Here you will find links to counselor contact information, information for students, etc. as the year progresses.

• Mr. Belluomo - rbelluomo@brandon.k12.mi.us

Please feel free to contact the office for any questions or assistance.

Email: mkoslowski@brandon.k12.mi.us
Website: http://www.summitvirtual.org/
Location: 1025 South Ortonville Road, Ortonville, MI, USA
Phone: 248-627-1820