VAR December/January 23 Newsletter

December22/January23

🎉Edison Career and Technical High School celebrates VAR students🎉

Edison's VAR annual celebration was held at Edison Career Technology High School for students who have completed or are in good standing in an OCR, initial credit, or advanced course.

These students were given an opportunity to enter a raffle for various amazing prizes, from laptops to a Play station 5 and gift cards. The prizes were donated by the Edison community and organized by Ms. Dee Dixie and Mr. Ryan Wise. Great job students!! Keep up the good work!

January 2023 Regents Week

⭐Students of the Month⭐

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Juan Davila (ALL CITY)

Juan did a great job completing both Health and most recently Phys. Ed. with a 94%. Juan is a very mature young man who comes into the lab with a plan and gets his work done very efficiently. He asks questions when needed and is very respectful. Juan was nominated by Michael Screen.

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Lexani Bonilla (ALL CITY)

Lexi is currently taking the new SUNY Potsdam Introductory Studio Art virtual Dual Enrollment courses. Lexi has been doing a great job keeping up with assignments and experimenting with various art mediums throughout the quarter. Lexi was nominated by Sydney Friedrich.

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Alihanys Ortiz (ALL CITY)

Alihanys is a very mature young lady and scholar. The first day Alihanys started Health she wasn't in E-learning yet but went ahead and did all 5 essential assignments on paper. She worked so efficiently with laser focus to get Health done. She has been very impressive thus far in the lab! Alihanys was nominated by Michael Screen.

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Sarianys Rodriguez (EAST)

Sarianys has worked diligently on the Algebra II R OCR course. She comes in each day ready to work. She thinks purposefully through the problems and is truly a pleasure to work with. Sarianys was nominated by Marcella Dixon.

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Terrance Pope (EDISON)

Terrance is a young man for whom APUSH does not come easy. He works hard, he asks the right questions and he never gives up. He has all of the right criteria to achieve all of his goals. Terrance was nominated by Diane Watkins.

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Lawrence French (EDISON)

After a rocky start, Lawrence really buckled down and got to work in English I OCR. Working outside of the classroom, Lawrence was able to complete his course and turn his whole attitude towards OCR around. Lawrence was nominated by Ryan Wise.

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Elijer Slaughter (EDISON)

Elijer is ultra focused when he comes to class and completing his course in a timely fashion. His quality of work is fantastic, thorough and concise in English IV Mosaics. Elijer works many hours on his course outside of his assigned class period. Elijer was nominated by Ryan Wise.

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Joaveon Chatmon (EDISON)

Joaveon consistently completes his assignments in an already rigorous curriculum of AP Statistics! He works well independently but is readily available to help his classmates as they too struggle through the content. Joaveon is consistent and punctual, both of which are great characteristics of a future, if not already, employable student! Joaveon was nominated by Julie Natarelli.

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Berneris Marte (FRANKLIN)

Berneris always hands quality work in and finishes on time, meeting all deadlines. Berneris was nominated by his virtual AP Spanish Language and Culture teacher, Cynthia Sanfratello.

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Jayden Sanders (MONROE)

Jayden is a student that has shown dedication, drive, and motivation in completing the algebra virtual component of the Blend class in a timely fashion. Jayden does this all while keeping a positive attitude that is contagious for the rest of his classmates. Jayden was nominated by Daniel Brown.

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Juan Ortiz (MONROE)

Juan is an all star student. He is courteous, confident, and responsible. Mr. Ortiz is a very bright and extremely well read scholar. He will graduate early this year from Monroe and has already been accepted to the U of R where he plans to study economics. Please congratulate Juan Ortiz on a job well done! Juan was nominated by Sam Sacco.

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Kiara Vega (MONROE)

Kiara shines bright every day at Monroe Upper. She has a polite, humble personality that is refreshing to be around. She asks questions when struggling in AP Psychology and is always willing to engage in meaningful conversations. She is a pleasure to teach. Great job Kiara!! Kiara was nominated by Sam Sacco.

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Randel Clarke (NORTHEAST)

Randel is AMAZING! He is curious, studious, attentive to details, helpful to others, and no matter how challenging the work, he dives in. Randel was nominated by his AP Literature and Composition teacher Colleen EL-Bejjani.

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Sara Finn (SCHOOL WITHOUT WALLS)

Sara Finn is currently taking AP Psychology virtually. She is a committed and hardworking student. She prioritizes learning and is motivated to be successful in the course. Sara dedicates her free periods to completing assignments. and communicating with her teacher. I am so proud to be her ACA advocate. Sara was nominated by Gigi Parchment-Magnussen.

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Jahmere Libbett (WILSON)

Jahmere made exceptional effort in completing his OCR English I course in in a very short period of time. He produces consistent, thoughtful work and routinely self-advocates for himself. Jahmere continues to bring the same energy to his English II OCR course. I am so proud of the progress and the responsibility he has taken over his learning this year! Jahmere was nominated by Corrine Mundorff.

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Ludgacia Michel (WILSON)

Ludgacia is a leader in her table group. She is always on point and makes sure others are on point as well. She will invest time to understand something and ask for help when she has exhausted her resources. Her pleasant personality makes her a critical member of our team!

Ludgacia was nominated by her AP Lang and Lit teacher Theresa Sarkis-Kruse.

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Maeve Delehanty (WORLD OF INQUIRY)

Maeve is the only student taking virtual AP Human Geography at the World of Inquiry. She is hard working and thoughtfully investigates concepts of geography and human culture. Maeve was nominated by Gavin Barry.

🍎Teacher Feature🍎

Ray Priel, VAR Health & Physical Education Teacher

For the last seven years, Mr. Priel has taught PE and Health OCR with the Virtual Academy of Rochester. He is currently working with students at Monroe, NECP, SOTA, SWW, and Wilson and he is involved in writing the new Health courses for the Virtual Academy. Mr. Priel has a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education and Health from SUNY Brockport and a Master’s Degree in Liberal Studies. One of the biggest benefits of taking his courses is teaching students how technology can support their needs to stay physically active and support their overall health and well-being. Mr. Priel loves supporting students on their path to graduation and he feels his job has been very gratifying.

🍎Teacher Feature🍎

Tara Spitzer-List, VAR OCR Science, DC ESF Global Environment, AP Environment, AP Biology teacher

As a science teacher in the Virtual Academy Ms. Spitzer-List teaches the OCR Science courses, dual credit ESF Global Environment, AP Environmental Science, and AP Biology. In addition, she has also been involved in writing the new science courses. She works with students at Monroe, SWW, SOTA, Wilson, and NECP weekly, and can also meet with dual-credit students from other schools by Zoom if needed. Her undergraduate degree is in Environmental Science, and she has master’s degrees in both Education and Geology. She worked for an engineering firm, doing environmental consulting for a few years, and then went back to school to become certified to teach science. She has been with VAR for seven years and was a classroom science teacher in the district for ten years before that. Taking a dual credit or AP class is a great way to explore a topic that interests you, earn college credit, and better prepare yourself for college while having more support in high school to be successful in that class.

December 2022: VAR Students and Staff in Action!!!

VAR Dual Credit (Enrollment) Courses

❗SEE BELOW FOR COURSES OPEN FOR ENROLLENT STARTING IN JANUARY 2023❗

🚩NEW DUAL CREDIT COURSES 🚩

As we enter the 2022-2023 school year we are excited to introduce several new dual enrollment courses to the Virtual Academy of Rochester. Our RIT Intro to Digital Photography dual enrollment course is already at capacity, but we have room in our SUNY Potsdam and SUNY ESF courses for your students to join! If you have students that might be a good fit, consider enrolling them as soon as possible. The course descriptions are listed below. Feel free to reach out to the ACA Advocates for more information!

SUNY Potsdam Physical Activity for Health NEW! *NOW OPEN FOR SEMESTER 2 ENROLLMENT*

This SUNY Potsdam dual enrollment course is designed to provide students with an overview of health and fitness topics. Students who successfully complete the course can earn 1 college credit and 0.5 PE/Elective high school credit.

SUNY Potsdam Introduction to Sociology NEW! *NOW OPEN FOR SEMESTER 2 ENROLLMENT*

In this SUNY Potsdam dual enrollment course, you will be introduced to some of the key theories and methodological approaches of Sociology. Students who successfully complete the course can earn 3 college credits and 1 high school Social Studies elective credit.

SUNY Potsdam Introductory Studio Art NEW! *NOW OPEN FOR SEMESTER 2 ENROLLMENT*

Do you have a student interested in drawing, painting, and the arts? This is a SUNY Potsdam studio course with an emphasis on art making as a teachable skill based on learning fundamental components and developing these components through practice. Students who successfully complete the course can earn 4 college credits and 1 high school Art credit.

RIT Intro to Digital Photography NEW!

Currently AT CAPACITY for 2022-2023! This RIT course will introduce students to the creation of imagery using a digital camera. Students who successfully complete the course can earn 3 college credits and 1 high school Art credit.

SUNY ESF Research Writing Humanities

Intended for students who have had an introductory writing course (ESF 190), students will examine different views of nature and the environment as they are expressed by selected writers, poets, and essayists. Students who successfully complete the course can earn 3 college credits and 1 high school English credit.

SUNY ESF Writing and The Environment *NOW OPEN FOR SEMESTER 2 ENROLLMENT*

This course provides an introduction to academic reading and writing at the college level, with an emphasis on science, the environment, and nature. Students who successfully complete the course can earn 3 college credits and 1 high school English credit.

SUNY ESF Global Environment

The Global Environment will help you to gain the knowledge and tools to make informed decisions regarding the environment and the earth’s future and to be able to understand the connections between such varied topics as pollution, deforestation, climate change, acid rain, soil depletion, economics, evolution, history, and social justice. The course stresses science-based systems approach in evaluating problems and potential solutions as well as the critical role of energy in many of the environmental challenges facing the world.