HVA Weekly Newsletter

Hello HVA families!

May 21st 2024, will be a Day 1 for secondary students. Please see the 23-24 Secondary Day 1/Day2 Calendar for Secondary students.

• Congratulations to the HVA Class of 2024! Special thanks to all of our student speakers! Be sure to share photos on our Facebook page!
• Thank you to our staff, students, and families for making it out to our year end celebration! Special thanks to Heather Massey and Rhonda Perkins-Harden for securing fun activities and donations!
• This week, we have our 8th grade ceremony, an elementary career day, and a Kindergarten signing day for our upcoming Kindergarten students!
• Monday is a student and staff holiday.
• Next week, secondary students have a different schedule due to testing.
• We are nearing completion of recommended changes for the HVA secondary redesign. Please check out this video for more information. Still have input? Go to this form.
  
• Get your laptops ready for collection and make a plan!
• Be sure to see the newsletter for information about secondary grade recovery options.
  

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Mental Health Awareness Month*

National Physical Fitness & Sports Month

• May 22
  

• 8th grade ceremony 6:30 PM (Virtual)

• High School Year End Awards Assembly 2 PM

• May 22- Elementary Career Speakers ( 1:00-2:00)

• May 23 - Vesak -

• May 23 Science Retakes

• May 23 Kindergarten Signing Day 5:00 PM

• May 27 - Memorial Day / Schools and Offices Closed

• May 28- Elementary Transition Day (moving up)

• May 29- Farewell to Fenway Virtual Assembly 1:15

• May 30- Elementary End of the Year Ceremony

• May 31 - Last Day of School - Student ½ day & clerical day

As soon as class ends on the last day of school on May 31st through June 12th, students can turn in laptops. Elementary Chromebooks, iPads, and middle school laptops need to go to middle schools.

Middle school students need to go to a middle school and high school students need to go to a high school. The laptop must be returned or there a good chance it will not work next year due to required updates. All devices must be turned in before June 13th.

This May is the 41st celebration of the National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, a month to reflect on the importance of physical activity on all stages of life - whether a toddler learning to roll a ball, to a teen improving their backhand tennis mechanics, to an adult decreasing their marathon time, to a senior adult enjoying their daily yoga stretches.

Physical fitness maintains an integral part of who we all are throughout our lifetimes - and sadly sedentarism is on the rise globally which can lead to an increase in serious mental and physical complications. So, this month - let us all find time to solute your own physical fitness preference.

Whether you are a teacher leading a PE class, a librarian leading a yoga activity, or simply you are being you, take a moment this month to reflect on how physical activity plays a part in your day. Or perhaps should play a larger part in the day.

Here are a few simple fitness ideas to increase those weekly active minutes!

• Go for a stroll after dinner
• Park farther away at the store to get in more steps
• Find micro-moments throughout the day to do your favorite exercises for 5 minutes
• Dance it out! Turn on your favorite jam and show off those moves

No matter your preferences or abilities, find a way to celebrate your own fitness this month - and seek out more activities and resources to learn more ways to stay fit for a lifetime!

HVA School Counselors now have an all encompassing website where we will be posting current info and links to resources on items we work on with our students.

It will be a continuous work in progress but the main page will have rolling weekly announcements. Check us out:

https://tinyurl.com/HVAk12SchoolCounseling

Each week we will post announcements and resources. Feel free to reach out with questions.

TESTING UPDATES FROM HVA'S COORDINATOR OF ASSESSMENT AND REMEDIATION

Thank you parents and guardians from all of us for doing your best to get your children to and from testing on time and following their testing schedules. We know this can be a pain! We wish a virtual option existed .. it just doesn't.

SOL Scores

• Scores can be viewed by parents using the Assessment Portal. Click here for directions.

• Scores will not be available until AT LEAST 1 week (sometimes 2) after your child has tested.

Makeups

• If your child misses a testing date, you will get an email from me asking you to sign up for a makeup date. PLEASE do so in a timely manner.

• We have 1 makeup dates left

• May 22nd @ The Oak

Retakes

• As students qualify for retakes, you will be notified. We must obtain permission for grades 3-8 to retake. High school students will automatically be scheduled to retest since they require the test for graduation.

• Dates for retakes are as follows ..

• 5/23 - Science

• Retakes will take place at 9:00am at the same venue your child tested the first time.

For questions or concerns involving HVA testing, please reach out to our Coordinator of Assessment, Tommy Golden at tmgolden@henrico.k12.va.us

Website: https://sites.google.com/henrico.k12.va.us/hva-testing/home

See their new and improved newsletter, so you are aware of all the wonderful opportunities for our families in Henrico

If you have community events to share, please send them to our new Community School Resource Coordinator, Dawn Tyler (dqtyler@henrico.k12.va.us)

Are you able to assist for elementary career day? Please sign up here.

HVA families of secondary students, as we enter the final stretch, we hope that you and your student are reviewing grades and monitoring progress closely. On our end, teachers are calculating final grades to determine which students may be in danger of not passing a course. If students are in danger of not passing a course for the year, it is important that students continue to complete all required tasks and assessments. It is also important to review summer school information and talk with a school counselor if there are any questions about needed courses for promotion.

Teachers will be working with secondary students who are in danger of failing a course for the year and providing students with the opportunity to participate in the completion of recovery work that will affect the Quarter 4 grade ONLY by May 10th. By providing this support to succeed for students, the goal is to provide another opportunity for students to demonstrate understanding and decrease the number of students with failing End of Year grades. As a reminder, high school credit courses include a final exam as well and students must also do well on this final exam. All recovery work is due by the firm deadline of May 22nd, 2024 at 3:30 PM. If you have specific questions about a course, please contact the teacher.

We are nearing completion of recommended changes for secondary. Please check out this video for more information. Still have input? Go to this form.

Here's a summer opportunity from a non-profit:

As the administrative assistant of the non-profit organization Policy Pathways, I am thrilled to present an amazing opportunity for your students. At Policy Pathways, we understand the challenges that students face in their academic journey, especially with the current state of the world. That's why, through the Summer Academy for Policy Leadership and Public Service, we have partnered with RPS and the VCU Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs to offer opportunities to bridge the gap between policy studies, civic engagement, and high school students. We extended our deadline to May 25, 2024, to reach more students.

Our Summer Academy is a two-week program that focuses on public policy coursework and provides a unique opportunity for students to develop critical thinking, writing, leadership, and advocacy skills. By linking knowledge and resources, students can broaden their thinking and problem-solving skills on social issues and prepare to be leaders of tomorrow. Who knows, they may be inspired to become a school board member or a mayor in the future.

Our program is informative, fun, and resume-building, and it offers a chance for students to collaborate with like-minded individuals from Virginia. They will learn from policy experts, top professors, and leading decision-makers while tackling globally or nationally significant problems by completing a college-level research project called a Capstone Project.

If your students are interested in exploring pressing world justice issues, such as climate action, the housing crisis, the use of artificial intelligence, immigration, and many more topics, the Summer Academy is perfect for them.

The Summer Academy runs from June 23 to July 6, 2024, either online via Zoom or in-person at the VCU L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. Lunch, snacks, and all learning materials are provided. We understand that times are challenging, and we have extended the application deadline to May 25, 2024. Late applications will be considered on a space-available basis. Partial scholarships are available for students in need of assistance.

I have attached the Summer Academy flyer and brochure. Here is the application link: https://policypathways.org/apply-now/. If you have any questions or need further information, please don't hesitate to contact me. We want to ensure your students can fully take advantage of this opportunity.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Warm regards,
Jasmine Johnson

Summer Academy Flyer

SA Brochure

Jasmine Johnson

Administrative Assistant

Policy Pathways, Inc.

P.O. Box 29445

Henrico, VA 23242-0445

(866) 465-6671

Check out the Secondary Art Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/HVAwecreate

Email: gwmarshall@henrico.k12.va.us
Website: http://henricovirtualacademy.henricoschools.us/
Location: 5915 Nine Mile Road, Henrico, VA 23223
Phone: 804 553 7986
Facebook: facebook.com/HenricoVirtualAcademy
Twitter: @VirtualHenrico