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Innovation Insider

December 2024

Innovation InsiderDecember 2024

In This Issue

  • A Note from Our Principal

  • Important Dates

  • Coming Up

  • Staff Spotlight

  • Athletics and Activities

  • Spotlight on School Safety

  • Anytime School

Principal's Message

To our Tiger Family-

I want to take a moment to celebrate the start of our new Hexter for our in-person Innovation Academy students and the upcoming mid-quarter grading period for our Innovation Online students. This is an important time for students to set new goals, reflect on their progress, and focus on achieving their best in the coming weeks. We encourage families to stay connected with teachers and monitor student performance through our online portals to ensure a successful finish to the semester. The next few weeks bring fresh opportunities for growth, and we are excited to see our students continue to excel!

I also want to extend my gratitude to everyone who participated in our recent student-led conferences in November. These conferences were a wonderful success, and we were impressed by the maturity and ownership our students demonstrated in discussing their academic progress. Your involvement in these conversations is crucial in supporting our students' growth and reinforcing the strong partnership between home and school. As we head into the holiday season, we are grateful for the continued support and collaboration of our community.

Wishing all of our families a joyful and restful holiday season!

Cass Thonstad

Principal Innovation Academy

#ChooseInnovation

#InnovationToGraduation


Important Dates

IA:

12/2 First Day of Hex 3

12/18- 11th Graders: Student Health Survey

12/23-1/3 No School: Winter Break


IO:

12/6 No School: Mid Quarter Grading Day

12/18- 11th Graders: Student Health Survey

12/23-1/3 No School: Winter Break

Staff Spotlight- Lauren Bosserman

Lauren is a born and raised West-Coaster from Southern California, loving any time longboarding, hiking in the mountains, or cooking good, wholesome food.

After receiving a bachelor's degree in Political Science, Lauren completed an AmeriCorps service year in criminal justice, tracking police misconduct and conducting data analysis for public defenders. Lauren was introduced to homeless services through the VA’s homeless program. As a Housing Specialist, she assisted Veterans experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles in getting housed. Lauren has since found a love in direct-service work, supportive housing programs, and making communities better for every person in them.

After one year in case management work with a Los Angeles County nonprofit working with the general homeless population, Lauren is now with Maslow Project as a School-Based Case Manager. She serves Innovation Academy, Hedrick Middle School, and various elementary schools in Medford School District, supporting youth and families facing housing instability.

Athletics and Activities

Innovation Academy (IA) students have equal opportunity to participate in athletics programs offered at North Medford and South Medford High Schools. If IA students would like to participate, they must participate the school they would be zoned for.

  • In order to participate, students must follow the Participants Code of Conduct, which includes

  • High School students must attend school regularly, maintain passing grades and satisfactory progress towards graduation. Students must be enrolled in at least five courses.

With winter sports fast approaching, please visit the athletic websites for the high schools linked here: NORTH Athletics and SOUTH Athletics

All athletes must register through the districts InTouch system.

If you have additional questions, please reach out to the athletic assistants from North and South.

South: Carmen Lira - carmen.lira@medford.k12.or.us

North: Halli Zoller - Halli.Zoller@medford.k12.or.us

Spotlight on School Safety

School safety continues to be a point of emphasis for our staff and students at Innovation Academy. In the month of November, we practice two fire drills (1 planned and 1 unplanned), Emphasizing calmness and effective action during these drills, ensures an effective response from all staff and students.

In addition to conducting drills, we regularly assess and update our safety protocols. Our safety team works closely with local authorities and safety experts to evaluate the effectiveness of our procedures and make improvements as needed. This includes:

  • Reviewing Incident Response Plans: We regularly review our emergency response plans and adjust them based on current best practices and evolving safety guidelines.

  • Safety Audits: We perform routine safety audits of our facilities and our response plans.

  • Feedback from Students and Staff: We value the input of both students and staff. After each drill, we gather feedback to ensure that everyone feels informed, prepared, and confident in their ability to respond to an emergency.

Partner with Us to Help Keep Our School Safe

If you see or hear anything about school threats, weapons, violence, bullying, drugs, self-harm, or have other school safety suspicions, report it!

CALL OR TEXT 844-4-SAFE-OR (844-472-3367)

EMAIL tip@safeoregon.com

ONLINE safeoregon.com

11th Graders: Student Health Survey

On Tuesday, December 18th, 11th grade students will participate in a survey sponsored by the Oregon Health Authority Public Health Division and the Oregon Department of Education. The survey asks about health risk behaviors of students in grades 6, 8 and 11. The survey will be conducted online in the classroom and includes questions about student health and safety, mental and behavioral health, school climate and culture, and risk and protective factors.

For additional information and to Opt-Out of the survey, please follow the link here: Health Survey

Anytime School

Looking for extra academic support? Anytime School is here to help! Students may come by The Hub Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:30-4:30 for homework help, tutoring, test for original credit, and testing for credit recovery.

Tiger Time

Your student’s Tiger Time teacher is your resource! Your student can reach out and connect with their Tiger Time teacher to review thor transcript, seek technology support, answer questions or get guidance on who to ask, and so much more. If your student needs anything, remind them their Tiger Time teacher is there to support them as they continue their high school journey!

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