Endeavor Happenings

We are so grateful to have your child and your family as a part of our Endeavor community.

Thank you to the many family members and friends that attended Community Engagement Day. Our students had the opportunity to share our school with the community and practice their communication skills in an authentic way.

Kim and Jason came to talk to us about being part of a cultural dance group. They talked about why they are part of it. They highlighted the group members are like family to them, they get great exercise, and they keep their heritage alive. After the talking was done, they taught us, and we danced!

All students have completed their pacing guides to plan for trimester 2. Students met with their advisors to get their pacing guides approved. Students should be bringing pacing guides home to also get a parent signature. Please feel free to snap a picture or make a copy so you know what your child should be getting done each month of the trimester. Please sign and return the pacing guide to your child's advisor if you haven't already. Thanks so much for being an important part of the team.

Students in Endeavor are given the opportunity to set individual goals about their courses and credit. At the same time, students in Endeavor are expected to strive for a high level of rigor and progress. Students also have the responsibility to earn credit at a pace that will keep them on track to graduate with their class. Students who earn 2 credits in the trimester or 6 credits in the year qualify as a Student in Good Standing.

Student in Good Standing status will determine athletic eligibility, extracurricular eligibility, work study/ internship eligibility, ELT flexibility, flexible worksite day release eligibility and break out space eligibility. The Student in Good Standing list will be posted on Thursday, December 5.

Seminars are opportunities for students to be able to earn credit in a teacher-directed environment! They usually last 2-3 weeks depending on the topic and the advisor. The highly anticipated second trimester seminar list came out on Monday and students have signed up for the seminars that fit their interests, schedules and credit goals. Upcoming seminars include:

• The Great Thanksgiving Listen - Mrs. Oswald

• Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Health Insurance- Mrs. Mueller

• Sound Recording - Mr. Martin

• Christmas Cookie Baking - guest teacher, Mrs. Roche

Each trimester, students are given the option to choose from 2-3 digital learning courses in science, social studies and Health. Students who are taking Digital Learning classes in Endeavor must be done with those courses by the end of the trimester. Each course has a pacing guide for the student to know where they should be in the course on any given day. Some students take digital learning courses to meet graduation requirements while others take them to explore a new subject area. Digital learning courses are completely optional. The digital learning classes for second trimester are Health, Personal Financial Literacy, and US History. These classes start on Tuesday, December 3.

Is your child doing ALEKS math online? You can help them stay on track by checking the ALEKS math pacing chart to see where they should be at the end of every month and help them set goals.

In Endeavor, students are given the opportunity to show their learning in whatever way they and their advisor agree on. This gives students a variety of options to think outside the box and practice creativity. This month students are creating:

• a decorated cake to show the symbolism in a novel.
• a full concept for a 1950's style jazz album including a cover, tracklist, and album credits.
• a 3D model of a nuclear power plant.

All Endeavor students have Endeavor hour as the last hour of the day. In Endeavor hour, we focus on learning and growing in 21st Century Skills.

Mondays- Town Hall Meeting and 21st Century Skills practice

Tuesdays- Collaboration projects

Wednesdays- Advisory meeting

Thursdays- Presentations and giving feedback

Fridays- Team building and goal setting/ reflection journals

It's hard to believe, but Endeavor will be accepting applications for the 2025-26 school year starting December 2. Word of mouth is our best advertising, and you are our best ambassadors. Know someone who might be interested in taking control of their own learning? We offer private tours and individual family orientation meetings for those who are interested. We will also be offering family open house nights this winter. Applications can be found at https://www.endeavorcharterschool.org. Students in Endeavor this year do not need to reapply. Email Mrs. Mueller for more information.

Charter School- Endeavor, like other charter schools, has a contract with the state that allows us to do things differently than a typical public high school. A charter school must have its own board of governance to oversee the goals of the school and ensure the goals are being met. There are both public and private charter schools. As a public charter school, we are run, supported and overseen by the Watertown Unified School District. Private charter schools are not associated with a school district. All charter schools are different, but most charter schools are looked at as innovative schools.

Credit- In Endeavor, must demonstrate that they have met or exceeded a learning target to earn credit. Students need to master enough learning targets in one course to finish that course. Since students may be working on many different courses at a time, it is normal for students to have credit in many different areas. Students should earn a total of at least 2 credits per trimester to stay on track to graduate in four years.

• School Resumes and Trimester 2 Starts- December 2
• Endeavor Junior Meeting- December 3 ELT
• Flexible Worksite Day for Students in Good Standing- December 10
• Field Trip- Bell Ringing for Salvation Army- December 19
• Early Release at 11:30- December 20
• School Resumes- January 2

• All Endeavor students are invited to bell ring for the Salvation Army as a part of the Endeavor groups on December 19. Groups will be planned to avoid missing WHS classes. Students will be bell ringing outside and are expected to come to school with a coat, hat and gloves. Please watch for a permission slip to be coming home soon.
• Juniors will be meeting on December 3. This is an overview of what is covered in the Junior Meeting in Watertown High School. Students will also be given access to all of the same resources given out at the Junior Meeting in WHS. Endeavor students do not have to do the WHS Junior Meeting.