Raptor Report

It's hard to believe it is September already. It seems like we just started school! It's always so exciting to have students return to the classroom. Whether that's online or in-person, we love to see them again. It's the reason that we are in the education field. Helping students succeed is our passion; we know we share that with you.

I want to always thank our learning coaches and families for supporting students in pursuit of success. With our partnership, we can help students achieve their goals. We know our families provide encouragement and assist students as they work at home on their schooling. We truly appreciate your efforts.

I also want to recognize our students for their efforts. We understand that staying motivated and managing a busy schedule can be challenging, but their determination and self-motivation are crucial. Many of our students balance work or outside activities and school, demonstrating exceptional time management and dedication to their academic and personal growth. Their efforts today will yield lifelong dividends.

With the importance of student success in mind, I want to underscore some crucial information that will contribute to this shared goal:

• Edmentum Family Sensei allows our 6th-12th grade learners' families to access their students' progress. We recently sent invitations to all families who have not yet signed up for Family Sensei. The invitation explains how to sign up for Family Sensei. The invite does expire, so sign up as soon as you can. If you need another invite sent, please let us know. Please be sure to check your email's spam folder for the invitation.
• Attendance is essential for student success. Attendance at GRA includes students' progress in their coursework and attendance for online and in-person classes. Students should spend 30 hours weekly on school work, including in-class time. Time working on classes ensures that students get the hours of education required by the State of Colorado and the time needed to truly learn. Learning coaches should track their students' weekly schooling time to ensure they meet this requirement. For attendance purposes, students should make about 6% of progress in each class weekly. Students should be about 18% of the way through their coursework at this point in the year. School attendance procedures(online or in person) are based on Policy JR-R.
• October 3rd is parent-teacher conferences for students in 6th-12th grades. Conferences run from 4 PM-8 PM.
• October 9th and 16th are parent-teacher conferences for elementary students. Each night, the conferences run from 4 PM to 8 PM.
• Teachers will send more information on conferences as the date draws near.

Thank you for your continued partnership in providing students with the highest quality education possible.

Best Regards,

Steve States

Principal.

Sept 2: Labor Day - no School

Sept 3: School Advisory Committee 4:30 - 5:30. Parents, please join us to learn about our school, and provide us with input and feedback. Join with Google Meet or join by phone: ‪(US) +1 563-293-6713‬ PIN: ‪613 374 027‬#

Sept 6: Career Presentation: Software Engineer 3:00 - 3:30 @GRAl See Anna Vizena for more details

Sept 13: Career Presentation: ESL teacher in Taiwan 3:00 - 3:30 @GRA. See Anna Vizena for more details

Sept 23-26: School pictures @ GRA 600 N 14th Street. School Pictures are coming! You can order online by going to www.mymjthomas.com and entering our school's event code. (Event Code: C251)

If you have any questions or concerns about pictures please call MJ Thomas Photo at 1-800-219-0199.

Sept 30: Educator Effectiveness Day - No School

SAVE the Date:

Oct 3: Parent-Teacher Conferences 4:00 - 8:00PM for 6th-12th Grades

Oct 9 and 16th: Parent-Teacher Conferences 4:00 - 8:00 PM for Elementary Students.

Even though teens start to take on more responsibility for their schedule and routine as they get older, they still need guidance on setting a healthy routine. Students perform better in school when:

1. They have enough and regular sleep routines uninterrupted by technology.

1. “Sleep and Your Teen”

2. They eat nutritious meals and snacks.

1. “Snacks”

2. “Kids and Food: 10 Tips for Parents”

3. They have regular physical activity (daily and weekly).

1. “Motivating Kids to Be Active”

Lunch Lizard

• During the school year, the Lunch Lizard supports R-5, Summit, New Emerson, Mesa Valley Community School, GRA, Juniper Ridge, Career Center. Healthy meals are provided free of charge to all students. Lunch Lizard menus can be found here.

Kids Aid Backpack Program

• Scroll down to FAQ's and click on How to Sign Up

Mesa County Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

• Info on Food Banks in Mesa County

Smart Snack Calculator

• Healthy Eating for Families

• Eat Healthy on a Budget

• Grocery Shopping

• Healthy Snacking with MyPlate

Online 6-9

The 6th-9th Grade Online teaching team is thrilled to be with our learners again this school year. We are off to a good start and will continue to work with students as everyone gets acclimated to online learning, either for the first time, or again.

We want to remind our learners–and their at-home learning coaches–to bookmark our 6th-9th Grade Online Google Site, as it houses everything you need to know about the 6th-9th Grade Online Program here at Grand River Academy.

6th - 9th Grade Google Site

Many questions can be answered just by looking at the different pages of the Google Site. Be sure to check it out!

We spent the first few weeks of school establishing our Social Contract, learning about our new R.O.A.R. acronym, and setting goals. The Social Contract and R.O.A.R. acronyms are found on the home page of the Google Site. The P.O.W.E.R. behavior matrix is there as well.

We are working on establishing clubs and field trips and will let you know about those as soon as we start to finalize.

As always, if you have questions, please feel free to reach out! We are happy to help!

Ms. Cohen

Mrs. Cooper

Mr. Eichler

Ms. Fubler

Mrs. Piccillo

• September 27th their will be a field trip to the Crystal River Fish Hatchery in Carbondale.
• We hosted a successful first field trip for the school to Lincoln Park Pool on August 16th to celebrate Back to School. Over 40 families joined us.
• Learners have had a strong start in Edmentum and we are seeing great attendance in several grades. Keep up the great work!
• We will have baby trout again in Ms. Peterson's room this year! Watch them grow!

Ms. Adams

Mr. Kuiken

Ms. Peterson

Mrs. Warner

This year we have received a Ninth Grade Success Grant (NGSG) from the State of Colorado. While every year in a child's education is important, researchers have found that ninth grade is a pivotal year. In high school there are big changes. Student's grades are based on percentages and the traditional A, B, C, D, F grading system. Students may not be used to the fact that if they receive an F, they have to retake that class they failed. Ninth grade students who fail one class, or more, may have big trouble ahead when it comes to graduation.

Extensive research on the importance of grades in ninth grade has been done. Being on track in 9th grade means that a student is 3 times more likely to graduate on time compared to peers who are off track in 9th grade. What does "on track" mean? This means students are passing their ninth grade classes and aren't failing any. In fact, 95% of students who have a "B" average in their ninth grade year graduate on time.

Ninth grade attendance is equally important. Eighty seven percent of 9th graders who miss 0-4 days of school graduate on-time. While only 41% of ninth graders who miss 10-14 days of school graduate on time. This number decrease dramatically as absences exceed 14 days of school.

The NGSG is meant to help students in this pivotal year. We have hosted 9th grade jumpstarts to get students use to the changes in high school. Teachers are emphasizing the importance of passing classes in order to graduate on time. We have hosted 9th grade family academies to share the importance of the 9th grade year.

There will also be tutoring available in math and science for 9th grade students who are falling behind. The Eureka Math and Science Center is our partner in this tutoring. If your student is in 9th grade, they may be contacted about tutoring to help them achieve in their math and science classes.

While we know that every year in a child's education matters, this grant will allow us to focus resources from the State on 9th grade. We hope to extend what we learn through this grant to every grade level. We know that students who attend and engage in their classes in the earlier grades are more likely to be successful in 9th grade.

Attendance Matters: Presence is Power: Every minute. Every Hour. Every Day

When kids are in school they . . .

• Build Self Esteem

• Reach Goals

• Make Friends

When a student misses 2 days a month:

• They miss 20 days of school a year

• They miss 20 hours of math in a year

• They miss 30 hours of Reading and Writing in a year

• They miss over 1 year of school by graduation

Attendance is a critical component of success at school. Important learning takes place in students’ classes. Since we only meet with students one day per week at Grand River Academy, this time is even more critical. If your student must be absent, please call the office, 970-254-6393, to get them excused.