TOPS High School Newsletter

Dear Students, Parents and Learning Coaches,

Welcome to TOPS! We are so excited to have you attending our school this year! Parents, thank you for trusting us with your children and their education. Please review the important information below.

If you have any concerns, please contact your teacher or advisor. I am also available to help and support, so feel free to contact me as well. I look forward to an awesome year.

Becky Finka

TOPS High School Principal

October 8: Parent/Teacher Conferences

October 9-12: Benchmark 1

October 26: Pumpkin Patch Outing! Sign-ups are coming soon!

Readiness Tests are required to be completed by all students taking certain courses. The courses that require Readiness Testing are as follows:

English I

English II

Biology

Algebra I

US History

The Readiness Tests are located in USA Test Prep. If you do not know where to find your tests, please reach out to your teachers or advisors. They can help you locate your test.

Beginning in October, our counseling department will have Counseling Guidance Sessions for students on Wednesdays from 2:00 pm-2:30 pm. Look for more information from our counseling staff coming soon.

We will begin our social time for TOPS High School in October. These sessions will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30 pm-4:00 pm. Each session will be monitored by TOPS staff. This is a chance for students to come together in an open forum and socialize with one another in a safe and supervised setting. Students will be asked to follow all TOPS student guidelines and expectations while in the sessions.

We look forward to providing this opportunity to your students.

Benchmark 1 Assessments must be completed by October 12, 2018 by 4:00 pm. These are very important tests that show us what you have learned during the first eight weeks and what you know about the grade-level standards that have not been taught yet this year.

Do your best to show off what you have learned! These tests are will be awarded a grade in your courses, although we will adjust the score because we know that you haven't been taught all of the material yet.

Remember that these tests are required.

How many hours am I expected to attend each day?

Students are expected to attend a total of 420 min. (7 hours) per day. An hour of that time should be spent on lunch and breaks. The time spent in each course will vary daily. You may spend more time in one course than another. For example, writing an English paper might take more time than completing a math quiz.

What should be included in my logged attendance?

Learning coaches will input time spent in Class Connects, USA Test Prep, courses, and any work done offline.

Where do I mark attendance for lunch?

Learning coaches will input attendance for lunch time in the Online Learning course.

When do I mark attendance in USA Test Prep?

Learning coaches will input attendance for any time spent by your student working within USATP in this category.

TOPS High School Principal

Rebecca Finka is entering her 19th year in education. She comes to TOPS from Houston ISD where she held various secondary roles including Middle School and High School Teacher, Lead Teacher, Curriculum Specialist, Assistant Principal, Dean of Instruction, and Dean of Students. Her biggest goals are student success, teacher support, and parent engagement. She is passionate about educating the whole student and preparing them for college and career opportunities. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Houston-Downtown and a Master of Science degree from the University of Houston-Clear Lake. She is a native Texan and lives in the Houston area with her family.

Email: rfinka@texasonlineprep.org
Website: tops.k12.com/
Phone: 281.542.3237
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/becky.finka
Twitter: @finkatops