Bits and Bytes

Voting is underway for October 2024 Students of the Month. Students of the month will be announced next week, and each winner will receive a $25 gift card.

Teachers and staff select students based on the following criteria:

• Academic Achievement
• Character and Integrity
• Resilience and Growth

A final congratulations to our September 2024 Students of the Month

• Sanaa Taylor (Middle School)
• Lenita Starkey-Winn (High School)

Today marks the end of the first marking period for our middle and high school students. Our teachers will be busy finalizing grades, and report cards for the marking period will be released shortly thereafter.

These are not final grades for the school year, and you should not be discouraged if you see a grade with which you are unhappy.

Report card conferences are scheduled for Tuesday, November 26th, 2024.

Students can improve their grades in the upcoming marking periods if they:

• Attend school daily
• Attend school on time
• Complete their classwork and homework
• Ask for help
• Attend office hours

Daily school attendance is one of the most important things influencing whether a student will graduate high school on time.

Our teachers and staff take daily attendance in every class. It is the policy of the Digital Academy that students must be present, in front of the computer, with their camera on, to be marked present for class. Currently, students who cover their camera lens or remain off-camera will be marked absent from class.

To obtain academic credit for a course, students must be in attendance and have their attendance recorded at least 90% of the time that a course is scheduled. Failure to attend at least 90% of the scheduled classes of any course may result in a denial of credit for that course.

Digital Academy students are required to use a School District Chromebook for all of their Digital Academy classes.

Students should not use personal laptops, desktop computer, cell phones, or tablets to access Digital Academy classes.

There is no cost to pick up a Chromebook for your student. If your student does not have access to a School District Chromebook, please contact the digital monitor for your student's grade level to make arrangements for pickup.

• High School: Mrs. Joe (sjoe@chesteruplandsd.org)
• Middle School: Ms. Miller (lamiller@chesteruplandsd.org)

Please partner with us to make sure that your student uses only the School District Chromebook for their Digital Academy classes.

Starting on Monday, November 11th, the Digital Academy will be implementing an Academic Warning system. If a student is not earning passing grades, they will be placed on academic warning and the guardian will be notified by email.

When a student is placed on Academic Warning, we implement an Academic Warning Plan that includes the following:

• Increased small group meetings with teachers
• Frequent check-ins with school counselor and administrator
• More frequent grade reports to parents

If a student does not follow their Academic Warning plan, they will be referred back to in-person learning at Chester High School.

Monday, November 18th, 2024 - Progress Reports

Tuesday, November 26th, 2024 - Report Card Conferences

Wednesday, November 27th - Staff In-Service Day, No School for Students

Thursday, November 28th and Friday, November 29th - Fall Break, Schools & Offices Closed