December 2018

Monday, December 10th kicks off Interim Week!

This week and the assessments assigned are used to determine what your student has learned over the course of the semester. We utilize the data from these assessments to determine class connect schedules and other instructional supports for students. Therefore, we very much need your HELP in ensuring each and every student completes these assessments.

You may have recently received phone calls or text messages from numbers that you do not recognize. These may be your advisors and teachers attempting to reach you. Parents sometimes tell me that my calls show up as "restricted" too. We attempt to leave everyone a voicemail, too, so please be sure to check your voicemails, text messages, and emails for our calls. We want to ensure that we connect with you, to see how things are going, and to continually build a spirit of community within our school. These are some of the tools we use to accomplish this, and we want to ensure those tools are being utilized by all.

If you are a second-semester starter, we welcome you to TOPS!

We are excited to see how we might Empower and Equip you for success in all things!

Please pay close attention to your principal's information and their newsletters below. As you get started at TOPS, you'll want to look for communication from them and myself.

Have a great Winter Break!

All students (ages 13+) have access to TALLO as part of their enrollment to the online school. TALLO is a networking site. Students can create a profile of interests, career goals, education achievements, sports and other extracurricular accomplishments, art portfolios, awards and certifications, etc. Companies & colleges use TALLO to find students that have skills and interests that they think would be a good match for them.

The following are some features of the TALLO Student Profile:

Digital Resume

TALLO builds a digital resume based on the information in a student’s profile with the click of a button.

Digital Portfolio

Students can upload videos, essays, assignments, etc that they want to save digitally and showcase to companies and colleges.

Digital Badges

Students may request over 200 badges from third parties such as Future Business Leaders of America, Precision Exams, Project Lead the Way, HOSA, and more.

Dates to Remember:

Dec. 3-6: Teachers Out of Office for STAAR EOC Assessments

Dec. 7: Virtual Outing for Hour of Code (Check your CC schedule)

Dec. 10-14: Interim Assessment Week (USA TP)

Dec. 19: Semester One Lock Date at 11:59 pm

Dec. 21st: Early Release (No CC's after 1 pm)

Dec. 22nd - Jan. 9: Winter Break (NO SCHOOL)

Dec. 24th-26th: TOPS Office Closed

Dec. 24th-Jan. 1st: Admin Out-of-Office

Fun Dates

Dec. 4th: National Cookie Day

Dec 5th: International Ninja Day

Dec. 8th: National Brownie Day

Dec. 21st: National Ugly Sweater Day

7th grade students at TOPS shared these tips and tricks for how they organize their week in Monday Morning Meeting.

• Do extra work when I have free time
  
• Do the work on the day it's on the Plan
• I make a checklist
• I use a planner
• I do the most important to the least important
• I check the calendar a week ahead
• When I am done early I work on the next day's stuff
• My mom and I write my schedule on a white board and then I erase when I finish

As we move to the end of the semester, I have some very important reminders for our TOPS families. First, the semester lock date is December 19, 2018. For returning families, this is new. Please be sure to work hard and finish your courses by the lock date. Second, it is crucial that students attend their live CC sessions. Teachers are offering support, review, and important reminders in addition to valuable instruction. Last, but not least, our interim is coming as are final exams. Now is the time to visit Help Lab and contact your teachers for help and support. We are all here for your success.

The requirements for high school final exam exemptions are as follows:

1. 90 or higher in the course
2. No attendance letters or emails
3. If you have an interim in the course, you must complete it by December 13th at 11:59 pm

Teachers will notify students of their exemptions on or before December 14th.

GRAD PLANS

Please view your grad plan and spring courses in the student OLS account. If you have any questions or want to make adjustments to your spring schedule, please email your counselor by December 14th.

See Files Below (VIEW MY GRAD PLAN) for instructions on viewing the graduation plan in the student account.

TSI

The TSI window is now open for 12th and graduating 11th graders through December 15th. Before you can register for the test you have to complete a pre-assessment activity.

Here is a video on how to complete the pre-assessment activity step by step.

https://sas.elluminate.com/p.jnlp?psid=2018-11-30.1046.M.E2C2417951B3CB461D3823D57BDB55.vcr&sid=559

TSI: Do you qualify for an exemption?

• ACT: 23 Composite and a 19 on the English and a 19 on the Math
• SAT: A minimum score of 480 on the EBRW section and/or a minimum score of 530 on the math section.
• Military acceptance letter

Please email your scores/acceptance letter with your name on them to CCMR@texasonlineprep.org

TSI: Registration Directions

First Step:

Complete a Pre-Assessment Activity as required by The College Board. This step is MANDATORY and must be completed prior to your test.

• Go to the following website: https://www.tsipreview.com/
• Read the Instructions and then click “Get started”
• Click on “Unknown/Not Listed” (at the very bottom of the list);
• Type “Texas Online Preparatory School” (do not include the quotation marks) and then click “Next”
• READ! READ! READ! IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE TEST!
• Enter your First Name (Legal Name Only-No Nicknames)
• Enter your Last Name
• Enter your LC email address that is on file with the school. Make sure you have access to this email.
• Enter your Student ID Number:
• For help on where to find your Student ID: https://www.help.k12.com/s/article/How-to-Look-Up-Your-Student-ID-in-My-Info

• Read and complete ALL Sections of the Pre-Assessment Activity

You will see that it advises you to study for the TSI Test. You have been given access to TSI study materials in USA Test Prep. Be sure to take advantage of this resource!

When all sections are complete, go to your email (the email address you entered in the beginning) and find the email from “PAAcertificate@tsipaa-mail.querium.com” with the subject line “Congratulations on completing your TSI Pre-Assessment Activity by Querium.”

Forward that email to the following email address: CCMR@texasonlineprep.org

IMPORTANT: Add your student ID number to the beginning of the subject line

NOTE: There is no cost for you to take the TSI Assessment. The school is covering the cost of this initial test. You can ignore the information regarding the test costs that are included with your emailed certificate.

Second Step:

Once we have verified you have completed the pre-assessment session, we will set up your test. You will receive an email at your LC’s email address from ACCUPLACER with your voucher code. This voucher code will allow you to schedule and take your exam.

Be sure to have your Learning Coach check their email address. This message will not go to your student school email address.

A Student Guide is below (TSI STUDENT GUIDE) with information that can guide you through the process of registering for your remote-proctored TSI test.

These video tours will provide you with more information about the virtual proctoring experience:

Examity Proctoring Solution Video Tour

Example Virtual Testing Experience

More information can be found here as well: https://examity.com/accuplacer-students

Please take note of ACCUPLACER’s guidelines and requirements for testing:

• When setting up your profile, you must upload a photo ID. During the authentication process with your remote Examity proctor, you will be asked to show the same photo ID. Acceptable IDs include:
  – Current driver’s license
  – State approved ID
  – College ID
  – Current state or federal ID card
  – Current passport
  – Tribal ID card
  – Naturalization card or certificate of citizenship
• You must have a voucher number provided by ACCUPLACER.
• You must test alone in a quiet room without disruptions.
• Food and drink are not allowed while testing.
• Scratch paper is allowed along with a standard pen/pencil. You will be asked to show both sides of your scratch paper to the proctor at the beginning and end of your test session.
• Calculators are not allowed
• Breaks are not allowed.

What is Hour of Code?

The Hour of Code is a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries. Anyone anywhere can organize an Hour of Code event. One-hour tutorials are available in over 45 languages. No experience needed. Ages 4 to 104.

Why is your school doing an Hour of Code?

While all of us know that it’s important for students to learn how to navigate today’s tech-saturated world, many teachers aren’t experienced in computer science and don’t know where to start. This event is a chance for all of us to see what computer science is about. We hope it’ll spark interest in students to keep learning. Research also shows that kids can pick up programming concepts before they know how to read and write. In fact, their brains are more receptive to computer languages at a young age, just like foreign languages.

Why is this important?

Technology is transforming every industry on the planet. In 2015, 7 million openings in the U.S. were in occupations—including art and design—that value coding skills. But 75 percent of schools in the U.S. don't teach computer science. It’s time for us to catch up to the 21st century. We know that regardless of what our students do when they grow up, whether they go into medicine, business, politics, or the arts, knowing how to build technology will give them confidence and a competitive edge.

TVAH/TOPS plan for Hour of Code

We are challenging all students to complete at least one tutorial by Friday December 7th at noon. We will be hosting a virtual outing on Friday December 7th as well to help students walk through some of these tutorials and you can see more details on that below. Students must complete the survey by noon on December 7th to be eligible for the prize drawing.

Virtual Outing Dec 7th

Our teachers are busy working on some great options for students to choose from. When you log into the Class Connect session on your schedule, you will get a brief introduction and then you can choose which activity you want to complete. Please see the menu below of your options.

Virtual Outing Menu
Animate Your Name: Students will gain experience with coding as they animate their names or a favorite word.
BlocksCAD Robot: Using BlocksCAD , a free online software designed to teach students coding and Computer Aided Design, students will design a 3D Robot. Using shapes, translate, and rotate blocks, students will be exposed to computational thinking to construct something they can 3D print!
iSave Santa: Explore and create a computer game using Scratch to save Santa. They design algorithms, use conditional statements as well as test and debug their work. Includes step-by-step lesson plan, pupil resources, support cards and pre-written program templates.
Mozilla Homework Excuse Generator: Learners will remix JavaScript code to change the words on a website, learning about composing for the web, coding JavaScript values, and remixing Web content.
Pizza Printer: Students will program a module to create a 3D pizza, calculating circumferences and areas and using loops along the way.
Secret Codes Activity: Learn about the role computers have played to help save the world.

Links

General website: https://hourofcode.com/us

Student-guided tutorials: https://hourofcode.com/us/learn

Once per month, K12 offers Learning Coach University to LC's throughout the country.

Click on the file below to discover more and Sign-Up!

Per Texas Education Code (TEC) Sec 25.095, a student will receive a 3 day letter for 3 unexcused absences in a 4 week period.

An absence is unexcused until we have received documentation from a legal guardian.

Acceptable documentation must consist of one of the following:

1. Doctor's Note

2. Parent note of illness up to 3 consecutive days. After 3 consecutive days missed, we must have a doctor or hospital note on file.

3. Religious holiday

4. Bereavement up to 5 consecutive days

5. Other-

(This will be determined through TEC 25.087 Excused Absence Code)

A student will also receive a 5 or 10-day letter for any corresponding days missed. The students that receive the 10-day letter will have the opportunity to appeal these absences through the appeal link at the bottom of their letter.

A student’s absence can only be excused when documentation is received through the DocuSign link provided at the bottom of this letter. This link provides families the opportunity to state the student’s date of absence and upload the note all in one place. Parents/Learning Coaches must select upload and download the attachment.

Charles Forrest Smith

Mr. Smith is a graduate of Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida (BA, English) and Fort Hays State University in Fort Hays, Kansas (MLS, Literary Arts; Ed.S, Educational Leadership). In addition, Mr. Smith holds post-graduate certificates in Educational Leadership from Fort Hays State University and in Principal Preparation from Lamar University. Formerly, Mr. Smith was Visiting Professor of English at Kyungpook National University in Daegu, South Korea. As an educational leader, Mr. Smith has owned and operated his own after-school learning program, served as Principal and Assistant Principal on various campuses, and has worked as an educational consultant and curriculum writer.

Email: fsmith@texasonlineprep.org
Website: tops.k12.com
Location: 1955 Lakeway Drive Suite 250B, Lewisville, TX, United States
Phone: 832-802-8979
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TexasOnlinePreparatorySchool/
Twitter: @topsforrest