November VSH Newsletter

November

5 - No School - Professional Learning Day for Teachers

4-8 - Civics Test for Seniors

25-29 - Thanksgiving Break

December

7-12 - iReady Testing

16 - Grades change from Actual Grade to Relative Grade

19 - All coursework due by 3:00PM

19 - End of 2nd Quarter/1st Semester

23- Jan. 3 - Winter Break

Jan. 7th - 2nd Semester starts

• ALL Seniors and Juniors who are graduating on or before May 2025, you are REQUIRED to complete the Civics Exam as part of your graduation requirements.
• Testing dates are the first full week of November (except Election Day): November 4th and 6th - 8th
• There will be NO TESTING during WASD Professional Development Day on Tuesday, November 5th. If you are 18 or older, please go out and Vote!
• Please click HERE for more information from the Idaho Department of Education about the Civics exam.
• In order to schedule your testing session, please contact either Mr. Peterson (peterson.ivan@westada.org) or Mr. Maxwell (maxwell.charles@westada.org) during regular school hours. They will work with you through email to set you up for testing.

Your Virtual School House Counselors are here for you with any questions about your next steps after High School. As a student or parent, you can access information and resources that can assist you in planning for your future. Your VSH Counselor can help you research career possibilities, colleges, universities, trade and technical schools, register for college entrance exams, scholarships, financial aid, summer opportunities, part-time employment, job search techniques, etc. Please reach out to your VSH Counselor for questions and assistance. We also encourage you to browse the following links below as well to help answer questions and start your search.

College & Career Counseling | West Ada School District

Career and College Center | Virtual School House (thrillshare.com)

Next Steps Idaho

Come visit your VSH Counselors in person! Your Counselors are holding one more in-person session in November:

When: Wednesday November 6, 2024 from 12pm – 3 pm

Where: West Ada School District Training Center

1303 E Central Drive (Entrance on East Side of building)

Meridian ID, 83642

Who: VSH Students (and parents if desired) who are in the graduating class of 2025

What to Bring: Student laptop or Chromebook if desired, we will also have computers available for use.

What can we help with: College applications, Apply Idaho site, Lauch scholarship applications, Apprenticeships or job training opportunities and/or scholarship searches.

Please fill out the following form to let us know you are coming: https://forms.office.com/r/JMjnsK7gG5

The iReady Winter Diagnostic is fast approaching. Hard to believe that we can now say December is next month!

Who needs to take the Winter Diagnostic?: All 9th, 10th and 11th grade students in West Ada School District

What do you need in order to take your iReady Diagnostic while home as a VSH student?: You will need your school issued laptop. Please start preparing now if you do not have your school issued laptop. Because the iReady Diagnostic runs through a secure browser, you are unable to access the diagnostic from a personal device. If you do not have a school issued device, please contact the VSH Office at (208) 350-4010. If you are having any technical troubles with your school issued device, please contact the West Ada School District Technology Department at (208) 208-350-5300.

Winter iReady Diagnostic testing dates:

This winter, we are partnering with iReady to provide a little more flexibility to our students at Virtual School House! Dates and times will be extended over the first weekend of December and into the beginning of our testing window. What does this mean for you? MORE time to complete the assessments! 🙂

Saturday December 7th and Sunday December 8th you start your testing! Yes, that is not a typo, we are opening the window for students to be able to access the testing over the weekend. It is that important that everyone completes their diagnostic.

Monday December 8th and Tuesday December 9th: Extended testing hours! The testing window for the iReady Winter Diagnostic will open with extended hours for you to be able to complete your tests at home. This means that you will be able to access your iReady Diagnostic until 9pm both nights.

⚠️IF you have yet to complete your iReady Winter Diagnostic after December 9th, we will be asking you to come in person to complete your assessment. ⚠️

Wednesday December 11th and Thursday December 12th: If you have not already completed BOTH the English and Math Winter Diagnostics by the evening of December 9th, we are asking you to come in-person to complete your Diagnostic. It is important that you complete both assessments so your teachers and counselors can confirm your progress to see if you are on track throughout the year. We use this information as a school to determine if we need to help support our students. Please see below for more iReady information....

What Is i-Ready?

i-Ready is an online program for reading and/or mathematics that will help your student’s teacher(s) determine your student’s needs, personalize their learning, and monitor progress throughout the school year. i-Ready allows your teacher(s) to meet your student exactly where they are and provides data to increase your student’s learning gains. i-Ready consists of two parts: Diagnostic and Personalized Instruction.

Learn more about i-Ready by watching this video!

The i-Ready Diagnostic is an adaptive assessment that adjusts its questions to suit your student’s needs. Each item a student sees is individualized based on their answer to the previous question. For example, a series of correct answers will result in slightly harder questions, while a series of incorrect answers will yield slightly easier questions. The purpose of this is not to give your student a score or grade, but instead to determine how best to support your student’s learning.

i-Ready Personalized Instruction provides students with lessons based on their individual skill level and needs, so your student can learn at a pace that is just right for them. These lessons are fun and interactive to keep your student engaged as they learn.

🏆This winter, there will also be iReady prizes for taking and completing the diagnostic. Please be on the lookout for more iReady information to come in the next few weeks! 🏆

• SAT testing will be held on April 3, 2025
• The State of Idaho will still pay for any 11th grader to take the SAT. However, the SAT for Juniors is now optional and is no longer a graduation requirement.
• To opt in, check parent should check PowerSchool forms for the opt in for College Entrance Exam

If your family is in need for the holidays, please email a VSH counselor to get more information about the local holiday help programs that are available.

• Click HERE to email Mrs. Heidi Freeney
• Click HERE to email Ms. Cara Schmidt

Fentanyl is increasingly dangerous as it is no longer limited to pills, making it a significant threat to public health. The documentary "Dead on Arrival" sheds light on this escalating crisis. It emphasizes the urgent need for awareness and education about the risks associated with fentanyl use. Click HERE to watch the Fentanyl Documentary: Dead on Arrival

During PD Days and Thanksgiving break, you have the option to continue working on your assignments if you'd like. While it's not required, VSH would like to encourage you to take advantage of this time to get ahead or catch up on any work you may have missed. This can help you feel more prepared and confident as we move forward during this quarter.

2nd Quarter closes on December 19th. VSH encourages all students to follow the class pacing guidelines BUT if you want to finish early and start your holiday break sooner, VSH says go for it! Consider it our holiday gift to you.