Welcome 8th Graders!!!
Hello New Families!
We are so happy to welcome you to Hoosier Academies! We think you will find that this experience will be as valuable as the effort you put into it! We want to help by getting you started on the right foot! Your homeroom teacher will be your main point of contact with any general questions. He/she will be calling you after you complete your onboarding to go over this, but we have found that having this information in black and white - or purple :) - is nice for my families to use as a resource as they get started in the program. You can see by the length of this message that there’s a lot we go over during a welcome call to our new families, and instead of you scribbling madly on a pad of paper during our talk, this way it’s all in one place.
· LEARNING CURVE: This program is a big adjustment, even for families who come from a homeschooling background. Don’t be too hard on yourself in the beginning if you don’t do everything perfectly; no one does. Call or Kmail us any time you have questions. We would much rather you ask questions than sit at home frustrated.
· K12 and HOOSIER ACADEMY: K12’s LMS is designed for schools all over the country. Hoosier Academies uses this great program and curriculum in our own way. Sometimes certain things apply to us; sometimes they don’t. If you work to keep general pace with Hoosier Academies teachers, you will have a good idea is you are on the right track. You can just go to your course list and find the unit and lesson you are on for that particular day. It’s just one extra step. Another very important benefit of following our pacing guides is that our live daily classes are aligned to our pacing guides. If you are sticking with us, then you know you can always come to a live class connect and get help over the same lesson you’re currently on. You can find the pacing guides on our 8th grade website at http://hoosieracademies8.weebly.com/ Please bookmark this website!!
· PROGRESS: We expect students to make about 3% progress in each subject each week (for an average week). We tell our families to think about the curriculum like a 100 page book. You should “turn 3 pages each week.” By the end of the school year, students who have been with us since August will reach 100%. If you join us mid-year, you would expect to be at 50% progress in each course by the end of the year.
· ATTENDANCE: LMS attendance is the hours that YOU log by tracking how much work you do on a daily basis. Generally speaking, we expect a minimum of 6 hours of LMS attendance being logged per day. Most of this will be time spent on the curriculum, but you can also log other academic time. For instance, if you go to the State Museum as a family, you can log some history hours, or if your child reads a book for enjoyment from the library, you can log that as literature hours. The system checks number of LMS attendance hours each week. You must log attendance daily. We will be checking each Monday to see if you have logged the previous week’s attendance. It’s a good idea to keep a notebook in the work area where you can log time in hard copy form and have it in one convenient place when it’s time to enter attendance. Class Connects are our live online class sessions, and you can count those hours toward LMS attendance as well. In fact, you also have a PE course where you can enter any time spent doing physical exercise…from a Karate class to a jog in the neighborhood.
· NWEA: You will take the NWEA tests three times this year. These assessments are used to measure your progress or growth in school this year. When taking these tests, the difficulty of each question is based on how well a student answers all the previous questions. As the student answers correctly, questions become more difficult. If the student answers incorrectly, the questions become easier. Please do your best on these tests as we will be forming small groups based on the results. Below is the testing window to complete these tests. (You will receive more information on how to access the tests from your homeroom teacher)
o Fall Window: August 15-29
o Winter Window: December 1-11
o Spring Window: April 11-22
· ACCOUNTABILITY: What we mainly track as your homeroom teacher is if each student is making adequate progress and having adequate attendance hours being logged. We understand that families choose our program in order to work at their own pace, so there may be some slight variance from our pacing guides. We don’t mind if students work ahead or work more hours, but the problem comes when the progress and/or attendance are too low. If we see a trend of low progress or attendance, you will be put on an Academic Action Plan. Many students find it a big incentive when they find out that they can potentially end the school year early if they get their work done in advance!
· CLASS CONNECT SESSIONS: Our online classes are called “Class Connect Sessions.” Students can see the sessions they have been “invited” to when they click on the “Class Connect” section from the menu they see on the OLS. They can click on the link and get taken right to the session. If they want to view a recording, they can go back to the date a session was recorded and click the link. Sometimes the system has trouble recording, so you may occasionally not be able to access them. Most Class Connect sessions are not required, but if you see the word “Required” in the title, then please make arrangements to be in class on time!
· WEBSITES: Our 8th grade website that has the teacher pacing guides, links to all of the 8th grade teacher pages, quick links for new families as well as the assignments that are required to be turned in for each subject. YOU ARE HERE :). (hoosieracademies8.weebly.com). Please bookmark this site for easy access. You will use it more than you realize.
· ASSESSMENT ATTEMPTS: As students complete their lessons, they will have to complete assessments. Students need to make sure they fully complete the entire lesson before taking any assessment as the score will be entered in the gradebook.
· FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE: You can qualify for financial assistance from K12 and possibly receive a computer desktop and an internet stipend. Even if you feel you would not qualify, we ask that you still complete the form. You can access them at http://hoosier.k12start.com/ Even though you are virtual and will not be receiving a lunch from the school, we still use the application for “Free or Reduced Meals.” When it is complete, you can fax it to our administrative office at 317-495-6020 or email it to [email protected]
· TECH SUPPORT/MATERIALS: K12 has national level customer support that you can contact if you have technical difficulty or problems with materials. The number is 1-866-512-2273. There is also a list of FAQs on their website. Many times they answer the questions on the site so you don’t have to call.
· CONTACT: Finally, we want to point out that contact is SO important. You will receive many emails (believe it or not, we actually do try to control ourselves from sending you more), and you need to read them. Because we are virtual, email is the most efficient way to communicate general information. Please don’t ever hesitate to call, but just know that we are usually able to answer emails faster than we can return calls.
Take care!
The 8th Grade Team
Mr. Berry - History
Mrs. Elizondo - Math
Mr. White - Math
Mrs. Jenkins - ELA
Ms. Williams - ELA
Ms. Johnson - Science
We are so happy to welcome you to Hoosier Academies! We think you will find that this experience will be as valuable as the effort you put into it! We want to help by getting you started on the right foot! Your homeroom teacher will be your main point of contact with any general questions. He/she will be calling you after you complete your onboarding to go over this, but we have found that having this information in black and white - or purple :) - is nice for my families to use as a resource as they get started in the program. You can see by the length of this message that there’s a lot we go over during a welcome call to our new families, and instead of you scribbling madly on a pad of paper during our talk, this way it’s all in one place.
· LEARNING CURVE: This program is a big adjustment, even for families who come from a homeschooling background. Don’t be too hard on yourself in the beginning if you don’t do everything perfectly; no one does. Call or Kmail us any time you have questions. We would much rather you ask questions than sit at home frustrated.
· K12 and HOOSIER ACADEMY: K12’s LMS is designed for schools all over the country. Hoosier Academies uses this great program and curriculum in our own way. Sometimes certain things apply to us; sometimes they don’t. If you work to keep general pace with Hoosier Academies teachers, you will have a good idea is you are on the right track. You can just go to your course list and find the unit and lesson you are on for that particular day. It’s just one extra step. Another very important benefit of following our pacing guides is that our live daily classes are aligned to our pacing guides. If you are sticking with us, then you know you can always come to a live class connect and get help over the same lesson you’re currently on. You can find the pacing guides on our 8th grade website at http://hoosieracademies8.weebly.com/ Please bookmark this website!!
· PROGRESS: We expect students to make about 3% progress in each subject each week (for an average week). We tell our families to think about the curriculum like a 100 page book. You should “turn 3 pages each week.” By the end of the school year, students who have been with us since August will reach 100%. If you join us mid-year, you would expect to be at 50% progress in each course by the end of the year.
· ATTENDANCE: LMS attendance is the hours that YOU log by tracking how much work you do on a daily basis. Generally speaking, we expect a minimum of 6 hours of LMS attendance being logged per day. Most of this will be time spent on the curriculum, but you can also log other academic time. For instance, if you go to the State Museum as a family, you can log some history hours, or if your child reads a book for enjoyment from the library, you can log that as literature hours. The system checks number of LMS attendance hours each week. You must log attendance daily. We will be checking each Monday to see if you have logged the previous week’s attendance. It’s a good idea to keep a notebook in the work area where you can log time in hard copy form and have it in one convenient place when it’s time to enter attendance. Class Connects are our live online class sessions, and you can count those hours toward LMS attendance as well. In fact, you also have a PE course where you can enter any time spent doing physical exercise…from a Karate class to a jog in the neighborhood.
· NWEA: You will take the NWEA tests three times this year. These assessments are used to measure your progress or growth in school this year. When taking these tests, the difficulty of each question is based on how well a student answers all the previous questions. As the student answers correctly, questions become more difficult. If the student answers incorrectly, the questions become easier. Please do your best on these tests as we will be forming small groups based on the results. Below is the testing window to complete these tests. (You will receive more information on how to access the tests from your homeroom teacher)
o Fall Window: August 15-29
o Winter Window: December 1-11
o Spring Window: April 11-22
· ACCOUNTABILITY: What we mainly track as your homeroom teacher is if each student is making adequate progress and having adequate attendance hours being logged. We understand that families choose our program in order to work at their own pace, so there may be some slight variance from our pacing guides. We don’t mind if students work ahead or work more hours, but the problem comes when the progress and/or attendance are too low. If we see a trend of low progress or attendance, you will be put on an Academic Action Plan. Many students find it a big incentive when they find out that they can potentially end the school year early if they get their work done in advance!
· CLASS CONNECT SESSIONS: Our online classes are called “Class Connect Sessions.” Students can see the sessions they have been “invited” to when they click on the “Class Connect” section from the menu they see on the OLS. They can click on the link and get taken right to the session. If they want to view a recording, they can go back to the date a session was recorded and click the link. Sometimes the system has trouble recording, so you may occasionally not be able to access them. Most Class Connect sessions are not required, but if you see the word “Required” in the title, then please make arrangements to be in class on time!
· WEBSITES: Our 8th grade website that has the teacher pacing guides, links to all of the 8th grade teacher pages, quick links for new families as well as the assignments that are required to be turned in for each subject. YOU ARE HERE :). (hoosieracademies8.weebly.com). Please bookmark this site for easy access. You will use it more than you realize.
· ASSESSMENT ATTEMPTS: As students complete their lessons, they will have to complete assessments. Students need to make sure they fully complete the entire lesson before taking any assessment as the score will be entered in the gradebook.
· FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE: You can qualify for financial assistance from K12 and possibly receive a computer desktop and an internet stipend. Even if you feel you would not qualify, we ask that you still complete the form. You can access them at http://hoosier.k12start.com/ Even though you are virtual and will not be receiving a lunch from the school, we still use the application for “Free or Reduced Meals.” When it is complete, you can fax it to our administrative office at 317-495-6020 or email it to [email protected]
· TECH SUPPORT/MATERIALS: K12 has national level customer support that you can contact if you have technical difficulty or problems with materials. The number is 1-866-512-2273. There is also a list of FAQs on their website. Many times they answer the questions on the site so you don’t have to call.
· CONTACT: Finally, we want to point out that contact is SO important. You will receive many emails (believe it or not, we actually do try to control ourselves from sending you more), and you need to read them. Because we are virtual, email is the most efficient way to communicate general information. Please don’t ever hesitate to call, but just know that we are usually able to answer emails faster than we can return calls.
Take care!
The 8th Grade Team
Mr. Berry - History
Mrs. Elizondo - Math
Mr. White - Math
Mrs. Jenkins - ELA
Ms. Williams - ELA
Ms. Johnson - Science