The WAVA Wave Newsletter

Video Message from Summer Shelton

Welcome to the month of December at WAVA! Please take time to read the updates and check out the video messages from our team! Our WAVA Wave Newsletter provides information for all grades K-12 and includes greetings from our Director of Academics, Principal Teams, Community Engagement, Special Programs, Student Support, Ops and Assessments and K12 National updates.

Happy December WAVA Families

We had a wonderful month of November throughout our school. As we celebrated Gratitude last month, we are thankful for all of our students here at WAVA. You have a choice in your students education and we are thankful that you made a choice to join K12 and WAVA. At WAVA we believe that all students can succeed and we look forward to your students continued growth and success.

Looking forward to December we have a busy month ahead with student academic planning. We have a shortened month and a busy schedule. Our focus for the month is Sharing and we will have in class and out of class ideas and resources for Sharing and Caring. Our students are all doing an excellent job of being in class and learning on time. If you have additional support you need or questions please always reach out to your teacher and your student advisor. We have a team of Student Advisors for each grade that are available for your learner. They have office hours and connect with students weekly in Lunch Chats and offer workshops for more pointed support. We are also working on transitioning to Newrow for our learning platform. This is very exciting and we look forward to utilizing this for our classroom instruction beginning January 4th. Our staff is busy training and we will be providing some introductory video messaging for you as our LC and Student community.

This month you will see several messages about Surveys. Washington Virtual Academies is participating in our accreditation process this year. The accreditation process examines the whole institution – it’s policies, programs, practices, learning conditions, and cultural context to determine how well the parts of our schoolwork together to carry out our vision and meet the needs of every learning. Cognia uses a standards-based protocols and a holistic approach to accreditation and certification to ensure our school and our students are empowered to succeed. This isn’t about passing a one-time inspection. Rather, it is about demonstrating and sustaining our commitments to continuous improvement and better learner outcomes.

A critical portion of our accreditation involves receiving high quality feedback regarding your experiences with WAVA. We hope you will consider participating in our school’s accreditation process through completing several brief surveys related to culture & climate, community engagement, and family engagement.

Climate and Culture: Parent Survey – https://forms.gle/ZMsTkwafBEqHVF8M9

Community Engagement Survey – https://forms.gle/FTFb7SDHyZ4dtTMQA

Family Engagement Survey - https://forms.gle/6jZYAWAsX6k1PUud9

Each survey provides a unique opportunity to provide feedback directly to WAVA Administration, Teachers, and Staff regarding your experience as a Learning Coach.

· All surveys are anonymous. You will not be required to login to access and complete the survey and there are no field requesting potential identifiable information.

· Results will be reviewed by all WAVA Administrative and teaching staff to plan continuous improvement for our school culture, climate, and engagement.

For general questions or concerns regarding the information above, please email: info@wava.org.

If you are looking for ways to connect we provide options for ages K-12 through clubs and activities, lunch chats, and small groups. Please visit our https://www.wavabulletinboard.com and stay updated on our social offerings! Thank you for your continued support as a Learning Coach and for being our partner in your students education.

-Susan Boyer, WAVA Director of Academics

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ES Corner:

Video Message from ES Principal Miller

This is Principal Miller here and thank you to all of you for showing your Gratitude last month. I really appreciated hearing about all of the ways you are thankful in November. I enjoy visiting the classrooms and seeing your students in action. Thank you to our wonderful staff as well, we have a great team here at WAVA Elementary School. I am looking forward to December which is our month of Sharing. This month we will have some Family Nights and Admin Calls that you can participate in. We want to connect with you and get to know you. Stay tuned for more information to come. I am always here to help and please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have or suggestions! Thank you and looking forward to a great month.

Chris Miller—WAVA ES Principal

Jodi Schilling—WAVA ES Assistant Principal

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MS Corner:

Video Message from Assistant Principal Dempewolf

Message from Principal Heistand

Hello WAVA Middle School Students!

I hope that you enjoyed the Month of Thanks we had and Gratitude. We had fun celebrating with each of you. I appreciated hearing about all of the ways your are thankful as we recognized Veterans Day and Thanksgiving and during our Week of Thanks.

This week coming back to December we are sharing throughout our team and school. This month we have grade level assemblies and are also focusing on our High School and Beyond Plan for Middle School as we help students plan out their next steps. We continue to work as a team as our students and staff share and show our Middle School Pride.

Great job on another month of strong attendance ratings for Middle School. Let's keep it up this month. Keep going to class, staying engaged and getting our work and assignments done. I look forward to seeing you all throughout the month, lets do this and have a great December!

-Sincerely

Principal Del Heistand

Assistant Principal Russell Kovalenko

Assistant Principal Jennifer Dempewolf

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HS Corner:

Video Message from Principal Warren

Message from High School Principal Warren

Dear WAVA Families,

November was a month of Gratitude. We at WAVA High School are so thankful for all the young adults that are with us this year. We are also grateful for all the learning coaches and families that support these students as they move through this challenging time. We are all working together to give every WAVA High School student the skills and abilities to meet their dreams for their futures.

We are now over the half-way point for this semester and before we know it January 22 and the end of the semester will be here. This is a great opportunity for students to get caught up in any classes with lower than wanted grades. Teachers are working hard at setting up support sessions and reaching out to students to help them reach their goals. We know how hard students have been working and we are so glad to be part of this partnership with them. Please support your student by checking your emails regularly for communication from teachers.

New things that are being rolled out in November and December that will help families plan and participate in their career and/or college pathways are Tallo and the K12 Graduation plan. Students will be getting more training and information on these two tools in their homerooms during December. Our school blog has videos to demonstrate how they can be accessed. Graduation Specialist are available and ready to help students prepare for second semester and if they need a course change. Please reach out to them.

Our ASB is working hard to create gatherings virtually for students and will be sharing those in each homeroom. WAVA HS is putting together a virtual run before Holiday Break, so please stay tuned. Plus, we have several clubs that students can be a part of that appeal to all interests. Chill and Chat is club time on Monday’s at 2:00 with over 200 students actively participating. Please join the ASB during this time. This month, the ASB created an activity to have students show off what they are grateful for. The results are in, and it looks like we all have a lot to be grateful for:

-Sincerely,

Principal Joanne Warren

Assistant Principal Terry Ackerman

Assistant Principal Amalia Walle

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Video Greeting from CES Hailey Chamberlain

Post Your WAVA Pics to our Padlet

Social Blurb:

• Check out the December Social Spot! Take a look and mark your calendar for our Spirit Day, Virtual Experiences, Events and Activities! Let's stay connected together!
• This month we are focusing as a WAVA community on the WAVA Word, SHARING. We are going to focus on ways in and out of the classroom to share!
• Our SEL team and Kids of Hope Committee are planning suggested activities for our school around the word Sharing, along with suggested book reads for our ES grades. Check out this WAVA Team Message on SHARING!
• We will also celebrate our WAVA Day of Sharing on December 9th. Please join us this day as we encourage you to share with your class, teacher, and peers on what is special to you at WAVA, and how you share within your community.
• Join us as we connect this month through virtual suggested activities, clubs, lunch chat meetups and spirit events!
• Clubs are in action and packed with fun! If you are still looking to participate please be sure to check out our Clubs Webpage, you will find info, meeting links and details. Sign up today and start connecting with Clubs!
• We celebrate the Power of ONE! Our Clubs Spotlight this month is our 1x a month Teen Parent Connect Group. We are here for you and we are WAVA! We also have a 1x a month Movie Club the 2nd week of the month. Come and join us at the movies! Check it out!
• Lunch Chat anyone? Students can enjoy a 1x a week Lunch Chat! Thank you as we work to make these specific to your students age and grade as well as the best methods and games/activities for during our chats. These are in the Class Connect as a Optional Class. If you have suggestions for a theme or activity please reach out to your Student Advisor as we look forward to making this impactful and connecting!
• Save the Date for December 10th Learning Coach Snack Chat!! Grab you snack and come chat with your fellow LC's. We look forward to seeing you there!
• Save the Date for December 18th, Spirit Day at WAVA! Wear your fav holiday shirt/sweater/colors!
• Esports Shoutout!! Way to go WAVA Esports! We have a great group of gamers that meet weekly and are practicing to scrimmage and compete and represent WAVA!

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HS ASB Corner:

Did you know that our High School has an amazing group of Student Leaders that help run our ASB! This group of leaders and students collaborate to help create and run student lead ideas and activities throughout the year! They have a wide list of HS Clubs you can participate in during their weekly Chill N Chat sessions as well as event they support throughout the year! If you are in HS and want to become involved, check it out!

http://wavaasb.blogspot.com/

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Staff Spotlight:

For the month of December we would like to SHARE with you some of our thanks to staff! Thank you to all of our WAVA Teachers! We do have a few shoutouts that have been sent in to some teachers that have made an impact this month in their students learning! Big Orca Pat on the Back to:

*Ms. Norton *Ms. Norris *Ms. Daniels *Mr. Campbell

*Ms. Little *Ms. Park *Ms. Hamilton *Ms. Winzer *Ms. Hamilton

Please let us know if you would like to give a special shoutout to your teacher and how let us know something special that is happening for your student! We would love to highlight your news here in our Staff Spotlight each month!

WAVA Wavemakers:

Thank you to our wonderful Learning Coach teams and families! We are thankful for you and your support as we partner in your student(s) education journey. Each month we will give a special shoutout to some of our LC Wavemakers that are positive, encouraging, informative and supportive! The list is long and plentiful!

Thank you this month to our Wavemaker:

• April Walkley
• Wendi Schmidt Erickson
• Liz Toby Cairn
• Laura Stellman
• Kristie Wilcox
• Jillian Coulson
• Crissy Allen
• Cassie Mae

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Special Programs Team:

Special Programs Principal, Dolly Fernandes, and Special Programs Assistant Principal, Jennifer Tubbs, are excited to support your students. This month we want to share a Congratulations to Maggie Storm and Jennifer Tubbs. They applied for and were awarded the Inclusionary Practices Project Mini Grant through the Association of Educational Service Districts (AESD). The goal of the AESD’s Inclusionary Practice Project is to increase the capacity of school leadership teams to understand, prioritize, and implement structural and instructional inclusionary practices.

If you have questions or concerns about the diverse needs of your learner, please contact -

• Dolly Fernandes, dofernandes@k12.com – Special Education Principal
• Jennifer Tubbs, jtubbs@wava.org -- Special Education Assistant Principal
• Scott VanGerpen, svangerpen@wava.org – 504
• Stephanie Haegele, shaegele@wava.org – Highly Capable Program
• Star Downey, sdowney@wava.org - Highly Capable Program
• Karen O'Leary, koleary@wava.org – English Learner Program
• Lauren Garcia, lgarcia@wava.org, English Learner Program

Do you have a Success Story you would like to share? Please share your story to: www.tinyurl.com/parent-shareastory

You know that your kids have something special inside them. We know it too. Washington Virtual Academies (WAVA) and K12 ignite the minds of children like yours to bring learning and innate possibility alive. Together, we are helping Washington students in grades K-12 reach their true, personal potential.

Email: info@wava.org
Website: www,wavabulletinboard.com
Location: 2601 S 35th St Suite 100 Tacoma, WA 98409
Phone: (253) 591-6888
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WAVAESLC/
Twitter: @K12_WAVA

Omak School District does not discriminate in any programs or activities on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following employees have been designated to handle questions and complaints of alleged discrimination: Civil Rights Coordinator and Title IX Coordinator: LeAnne Olson, (509) 826-7687, lolson@omaksd.org or WAVA Family Resource Coordinator: Kathy Swartz, (253) 682-7906, kaswartz@k12.com; and Section 504 Coordinator: John Holcomb, (509) 826-8342, johnholcomb@omaksd.org , P.O. Box 833, Omak, WA 98841 or WAVA 504 Coordinator, Scott VanGerpen, (253) 591-6888 svangerpen@wava.org

El Distrito Escolar de Omak no discrimina en ningún programa o actividad por motivos de sexo, raza, credo, religión, color, nacionalidad, edad, estado militar o veterano, orientación sexual, expresión de género o identidad, incapacidad o el uso de un perro entrenado o un animal guía o de servicio, y proporciona el mismo acceso a los Boy Scouts y otros grupos de jóvenes que sean designados. Los siguientes empleados han sido designados para estar a cargo de preguntas y quejas de presunta discriminación: Coordinadora de Derechos Civiles y Coordinador del Título IX: LeAnne Olson, (509) 826-7687, lolson@omaksd.org; Coordinador de recursos familiares, Kathy Swartz, (253) 682-7906, kaswartz@k12.com; y el Coordinador de la sección 504: John Holcomb, (509) 826-8342, johnholcomb@omaksd.org, P.O. Box 833, Omak, WA 98841 or WAVA Coordinador de la sección 504, Scott VanGerpen, (253) 591-6888 svangerpen@wava.org.