March 2021 WAVA Wave Newsletter

Hello WAVA Families,

Happy March! Our 7 Mindsets phrase for this month is The Time is Now. I encourage all of you to be bold this month. Think about the changes that need to occur in your life and your community, and commit to them today. The time is now to do what is right.

March is Women's History Month, and I am thankful for all of the trailblazing women and girls who have gone beyond their fear and lived a life that truly represents The Time is Now. From Coy Mathis to Cleopatra, women and girls all over the world continue to stand up for liberty and justice for all.

Have a fantastic March, and we hope to see you "Grab Your Spot" at WAVA on March 4th in the reregistration portal.

Sincerely,

Ms. Shelton

-Summer Shelton, WAVA Head of Schools

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WashingtonVirtualAcademies

Dear Students, Parents & Learning Coaches

We are well on our way into second semester. I want to take a moment to share a few important items as we gear up for Spring and the re-registration process for the 21-22 school year.

Let’s start with re-registration. Starting March 4th you need to grab your spot at WAVA next year!! Every year students must re-register with Washington Virtual Academies. It is one of our requirements from the State of Washington and over the years we have tried to make the process as simple as possible for our returning students. Re-registration for the 21-22 School year will begin on March 4th. We will follow the same process we have used over the last few years. Look for re-registration sessions regarding programs and grade level specific information to come out soon from your WAVA prinicipals. Get registered now and grab you spot!!

Our 7 Mindset Focus this month is the Time is Now! Time is Now mindset teaches that all your power exists in the moment. You cannot change the past and the future has not happened, so the only thing to do is take purposeful action in the present to create the ultimate life of your dreams. Whether you are thinking about school, friendship, your to do list—now is the time. Make a small change or a large one. You can do it!!

Thank you to all students in Kindergarten through 12th grade who participated in our middle of the year NWEA MAP testing sessions. Our overall school participation was 97%. The work that you did on those assessments help your teachers and principals to track your growth and academic development. It helps them know what to teach next and where you need extra academic support. Reports for those will be sent out to parents in the next week or so. Please look for those in your email.

We will be having a virtual Scholastic Book Fair March 22-April 4. This is an exciting event that is new to WAVA this year. Scholastic offers books for all ages and in many interests and topics. I encourage you to watch for this event and see what is offered. Books make great gifts or prizes or a just because purchase.

Lastly, March is Women’s History month. It is a time to study and celebrate the contributions women have made in the United States and recognize the specific achievements women have made of the course of American history. A great website to look at is https://womenshistorymonth.gov/ . It is also a great time to talk about the contribution that women have made in your specific community, group, and/or family.

Hope you have a great March! I look forward to seeing you all at our different events and open houses this month.

Please take a moment to check out these Staff Messages for the month of March!

March Message from Staff

Excellence Resources and Info

Community Engagement Activities

Why I WAVA Video

Grab Your Spot

Susan Boyer

WAVA Director of Academics

smouracadeboyer@k12.com

Assessment, Operations and Enrollments Updates:

Washington Virtual Academy-Omak Re-Registration Guide and FAQs

We are excited to assist you with re-registering your student(s) for the upcoming school year! Please find all of the information that you need regarding Washington Virtual Academy - Omak Re-Registration, below.

• Accessing the Re-Registration Portal via the Online School
• Accessing the Re-Registration Portal via the K12 Mobile App
• Accessing the Re-Registration Portal via the web-based desktop version of the Parent Portal

What are the steps of the Re-Registration process?

There are 2 steps of the Re-Registration process that need to be completed when re-registering with Washington Virtual Academy - Omak:

Step 1: Complete the Re-Registration Survey

Step 2: Submit the Required Documents according to the guidelines that WAVA-Omak has provided

Once the Required Documents have been accepted, your student(s) will be officially re-registered for the 2021 - 2022 School Year!

Assessments:

State Testing Update: Each spring, all public schools are required to administer Smarter Balanced ELA and Math testing for students in grades 3-8, and 10, plus WCAS Science testing for students in grades 5, 8, and 11. This year, due to COVID-19, Washington’s testing plan will look a little different.

Currently, Washington is submitting our state’s proposed testing plan to the federal government for approval. This process can take a few weeks, but we are hoping for a timely response.

Currently, WAVA is confirming local testing site locations, and identifying the Nearest Site for each WAVA family. In March, you will receive an email from WAVA Testing at tntesting@wava.org. This email will ask you to confirm your assigned nearest site as a way to verify that we have the most current information about where you live, and what the closest test site is for your family. There will be more information in this email about our testing plan, and we ask that you read it carefully, and respond as soon as possible.

No matter what testing looks like this year, WAVA remains committed to the safety of our students and staff. We want to reassure everyone that we take our student’s wellbeing seriously! WAVA will have protocols and processes in place to ensure our sites follow all local health and safety guidelines to minimize the risk of exposure to COVID-19 at all our testing locations.

Again, please watch for an email from tntesting@wava.org with more information about our planning and your assigned testing location for any required spring standardized state testing.

Website: https://www.help.k12.com/s/article/Washington-Virtual-Academy-Omak-Re-Registration-Guide-and-FAQs

-Welcome to March WAVA Families-

Check out the WAVA School Pride Padlet

March Connections SEL, Kids at Hope Message

WAVA Clubs Information

WAVA-Can you spot the difference?

Welcome to March! This month is our Re-Registration and Enrollment. All the WAVA Family is looking forward to having you back with us for the 2021-2022 year. You will be able to “Grab Your Spot” on March 4th, take time to secure your spot and post a selfie to our Padlet for a chance to win fun prizes! You will spot the difference next year as we add more clubs to enjoy, new curriculum units for some of our grades, more choices, more support with Tutor Me services and more fun. We will be highlighting Registration all month for March! For questions please check out these helpful resources! This month we also highlight Women’s History Month with a history and science virtual experience. We will also highlight special WAVA Women throughout the month! Be sure to follow our WAVA Facebook page FB WAVA, Instagram and the New Learning Coach Community on the K12 App for up to date reminders and info! On our K12 App you will find the Learning Coach Community for WAVA, we hope to see you there. Check it out and connect with others in your grade! Each month we have virtual experiences, Spirit Days, seasonal focused events, Clubs, Activities and more! We are here to connect with you! If you have experience with WAVA and want to be a Wavemaker to mentor other LC’s give us a shout! Be sure to fill out the optional WAVA Family Directory!

March is Excellence Month and The Time is Now!

This March we celebrate new goals together as we focus on WAVA Excellence as our WAVA Word. We will work through the month on ways to strive for excellence with goal setting, target work and determination. Our 7 Mindsets focus is “The Time is Now” and there is no better time than now to focus on Excellence! Check out the Kids at Hope Team message for the month as we highlight Excellence. We want to share with you our NEW Learning Coach Community App on the K12 App. This is your place to connect and SHARE in a safe space! Will you share with us? Congrats to our WAVA students that placed in the Regional Competition! 3rd Grader Ilyannie Gonzalez and 7th Grader Katherine Schaffer placed First and move onto Nationals in Washington D.C. in May and 10th Grader Sage Glover placed 2nd in all of the Western Region. Congrats to all of our Bee Participants! We will be cheering you on!

Stride National Newsletter, Learn more about our new Tutor Me Resource!

WAVA Success!

Do you have a WAVA Success Story to share? Visit the Project Elevate form so we can spread some sweet success stories with others!

LC Snack Shack Time & Lunch Chats

Do you want to enjoy a quick snack with your Learning Coach family? Meet up on March 16th, 1:00pm. Join on Zoom! We are connecting each week with your students in Lunch Chats! Students can enjoy Show-N-Share, Theme Chats, Trivia, Kahoots and more! Check your weekly schedule, we want to Chat with you!

Clubs/Esports/ASB- Sign-Ups

Way to go Clubs and Esports! Esports Tournaments start March 15th and you can shop their gear! We have clubs for everything! If you can’t find the right Club fit join Community Club where we cover all interests! Next year look forward to Music and Languages! Join today and start attending right away! For HS students looking for more, check out the ASB Clubs and Chill N Chat each week! Join TikTok/Media!

Staff Spotlight:

For the month of March we would like to highlight with you some of our thanks to staff! Thank you to all of our WAVA Teachers! We do have a few shout outs that have been sent in to thank some teachers that have made an impact this month in their students learning!

Big Orca Pat on the Back to:

*Courtney Vela*Michelle Paul*Samantha Olson*Russell Kovalenka*Betsy Quay*Rebecca Mintz*Cinda Norton*Kim Hart*Ryan Knudson*Cindy Pascoe*Dolly Fernandez*April Sorenson*Jodie Davis*Jennifer Stegeman

Please let us know if you would like to give a special shoutout to your teacher and how let us know something special that is happening for your student! We would love to highlight your news here in our Staff Spotlight each month!

WAVA Wavemakers:

Thank you to our wonderful Learning Coach teams and families! We are thankful for you and your support as we partner in your student(s) education journey. Each month we will give a special shoutout to some of our LC Wavemakers that are positive, encouraging, informative and supportive! The list is long and plentiful! Thank you:

*Julia Roush*Nichole Connor*Sarah Wissman*Julie HIll*Sarah Warr*Carrie Reeve*Madison Buchanan*Tawni Harris

HS ASB Corner:

Did you know that our High School has an amazing group of Student Leaders along with Advisor Mr. Humphreys that help run our ASB! This group of leaders and students collaborate to help create and run student lead ideas and activities throughout the year! They have a wide list of HS Clubs you can participate in during their weekly Chill N Chat sessions as well as event they support throughout the year! If you are in HS and want to become involved, check it out!

http://wavaasb.blogspot.com/

*High School Seniors: Save the Date for Graduation on June 6th, 2021 at 4pm virtually! We will celebrate Seniors with a special ceremony for all Senior students and families at WAVA! We will be providing a yard sign, hat, tassel and year charm. Robes will be up to you and we the theme will be "Be You" and you are encouraged to wear a T-shirt that represents who you are! We look forward to the celebration! Stay tuned on the Blog for details on how to share your slides. If you are a Senior that would like to sing, play an instrument or share in writing for the ceremony, please email hchamberlain@wava.org

Get to know Special Programs Assistant Principal Jennifer Tubbs:

Special Programs Team:

Special Programs Principal, Dolly Fernandes, and Special Programs Assistant Principal, Jennifer Tubbs, have a wonderful team working with your students and supporting them on their education journey! Stay tuned for a Spring Special Programs Night for WAVA Families!

If you have questions or concerns about the diverse needs of your learner, please contact -

• Dolly Fernandes, dofernandes@k12.com – Special Education Principal
• Jennifer Tubbs, jtubbs@wava.org -- Special Education Assistant Principal
• Scott VanGerpen, svangerpen@wava.org – 504
• Stephanie Haegele, shaegele@wava.org – Highly Capable Program
• Star Downey, sdowney@wava.org - Highly Capable Program
• Karen O'Leary, koleary@wava.org – English Learner Program
• Lauren Garcia, lgarcia@wava.org, English Learner Program

Email: info@wava.org
Website: www,wavabulletinboard.com
Location: 2601 S 35th St Suite 100 Tacoma, WA 98409
Phone: (253) 591-6888
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WAVAESLC/
Twitter: @K12_WAVA

Omak School District does not discriminate in any programs or activities on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following employees have been designated to handle questions and complaints of alleged discrimination: Civil Rights Coordinator and Title IX Coordinator: LeAnne Olson, (509) 826-7687, lolson@omaksd.org or WAVA Family Resource Coordinator: Kathy Swartz, (253) 682-7906, kaswartz@k12.com; and Section 504 Coordinator: John Holcomb, (509) 826-8342, johnholcomb@omaksd.org , P.O. Box 833, Omak, WA 98841 or WAVA 504 Coordinator, Scott VanGerpen, (253) 591-6888 svangerpen@wava.org

El Distrito Escolar de Omak no discrimina en ningún programa o actividad por motivos de sexo, raza, credo, religión, color, nacionalidad, edad, estado militar o veterano, orientación sexual, expresión de género o identidad, incapacidad o el uso de un perro entrenado o un animal guía o de servicio, y proporciona el mismo acceso a los Boy Scouts y otros grupos de jóvenes que sean designados. Los siguientes empleados han sido designados para estar a cargo de preguntas y quejas de presunta discriminación: Coordinadora de Derechos Civiles y Coordinador del Título IX: LeAnne Olson, (509) 826-7687, lolson@omaksd.org; Coordinador de recursos familiares, Kathy Swartz, (253) 682-7906, kaswartz@k12.com; y el Coordinador de la sección 504: John Holcomb, (509) 826-8342, johnholcomb@omaksd.org, P.O. Box 833, Omak, WA 98841 or WAVA Coordinador de la sección 504, Scott VanGerpen, (253) 591-6888 svangerpen@wava.org.