Compass Connections

• Last Day of Classes (before Final Exams/Portfolio Panel)- Tuesday, December 19
• Block E Academic Support- Tuesday, December 19, 3:55-5:55 pm (Rm. 140)
  
• 2nd Quarter Navigation Celebration- Wednesday, December 20, 2:00 pm (Rm. 140)
  
• Final Exams at SCE/SCN & Portfolio Panel at CA- December 20-December 22 (see below)
• WINTER BREAK- December 23-January 8 (Second Semester starts January 9)

For the upcoming clubs & activities meeting schedule, follow this link.

Monday and Tuesday are make-up days for 9th-11th grade students who may have missed their scheduled time to have individual meetings with the Compass counselor, Ms. Ohlson, to select their courses for next year.

Please review the Compass Course Offerings for 2024-25 for a list of potential course options.

There is transportation at the beginning and end of each day, following the posted start and end times for East/North and Compass.

• For nearly all part-time Compass students, Wednesday will be their day for final exams, so they will take their AM bus to East or North, take their final exams, and either provide their own transportation home after their 2nd period exam or wait in the Commons at East or North (or other designated area) until the end of the day at 12:50, taking the bus home at 1:10.
• All Compass students will have an assigned time on Wednesday (only if requested), Thursday, or Friday for their Portfolio Panel, during which they will meet with a panel of teachers to review their portfolio, explaining how they have met learning outcomes in each of their courses and highlighting artifacts demonstrating their best work. During this time, if students request it, they will also have the opportunity to engage in a Course Completion Conference, which provides an opportunity for them to share evidence of learning and explain to their panel how they have demonstrated proficiency of learning outcomes in a course where they had previously been Approaching Competency (APR). Students have been preparing for their Portfolio Panels during their advisory class and will continue this work until the last day of classes on Tuesday, December 19th.
• The District will provide transportation on Thursday and Friday for Compass students who need it. If your student needs transportation but they haven't yet completed this form, please have your student complete it by Monday morning in order to register for a bus.
• Students are required to attend their Portfolio Panel as scheduled. They will not have additional learning activities on Thursday or Friday, 12/21-12/22, but teachers and staff will be available for academic support during normal school hours (9:30-3:45) to assist students in preparing for their Portfolio Panel. Students will be expected to remain in the Community Room when they are not meeting with teachers.

Any student who would like to receive additional academic support may stay for Block E this Tuesday for one or two hours after school for the rest of the semester. This is open to all students, but is definitely recommended for any student who has not yet met competency in one of their 1st quarter seminars or who is not prepared for their Portfolio Panel.

At Compass, students who need additional time to meet competency in a course do not fail; rather, we take a "not yet" approach, providing students the additional time and support they may need to demonstrate proficiency with learning outcomes for a class. This often involves making revisions teachers have said are needed in order to reach the required standards. To be clear, meeting competency is a much higher standard than just passing a class; at a minimum, it means reaching a threshold that would be comparable to that of a B in a traditional school. Our teachers will help support students in meeting competency, but students may need to dedicate some additional time to meet with staff for assistance. This is what the daily flex period, Wednesday mornings (9:00-11:00), and Block E support are for.

Please note, students do not need to sign up to stay for Block E Support; they just need to attend. A shuttle bus will be provided after the first hour of Block E to all D303 elementary schools, as needed. Any students who wish to stay for the full two hours will need to provide their own transportation.

Coffee & Chocolate Festival was a huge hit! Visitors enjoyed delicious, student-created chocolates, tasty hot cocoa and coffee drinks, and impressive student artwork in a festive atmosphere.

The chocolates were formed in molds created in a collaborative culinary and CAD student effort.

Family members, teachers from around the district, community members, and students enjoyed viewing student artwork, listening to holiday tunes, and socializing during this event, which was a celebration of student learning.

STUDENTS MAY COMPLETE THEIR LUNCH ORDER FOR THE WEEK BY CLICKING THE BOX ABOVE AND MAKING THEIR SELECTION BY 10:00 A.M. MONDAY MORNING.

Compass Academy students pre-order their lunch, so if your student plans to order lunch, please have them complete this form. Students are always welcome to bring food from home, if they prefer. If your student may qualify for free or reduced lunch, please complete this form or have them get a paper copy of the form from the Compass office.

Are you interested in learning about the various career options available in St. Charles? Through the city's career pathway job shadow program, Compass students can shadow people in many career fields, including office administration, communications, accounting, firefighting, government, law enforcement, construction, forestry, water management, and vehicle maintenance. Students who participate in job shadowing on Wednesdays, and then write reflections about their experiences, have the opportunity to earn credit for career exploration.

Students may register for these opportunities by scanning the QR code on the bulletin board in the academic hallway or by getting a paper copy of the form from Ms. Ohlson. If students have questions, they should view the video shown in advisory, which outlines everything they need to know about this opportunity, or make an appointment with Ms. Ohlson, the Compass counselor.

Sharon Stanley, Director

Email: sharon.stanley@d303.org
Website: https://compassacademy.d303.org/
Location: Compass Academy, South 9th Street, St. Charles, IL, USA
Phone: (331)228-3400
Twitter: @CompassD303