Odyssey Academy of Virtual Learning

Join us for a presentation by:

2019 American Honey Queen and Wisconsin Native, Hannah Sjostrom!

Join us via zoom on Monday, November 4th for a presentation about how honeybees play an avid role in our society. Queen Hannah, a third generation beekeeper, will talk about:

• how beekeepers advance agriculture through the US
• the medical properties of honey
• the mechanics that make up a beehive
• and much more!

Presentation times as follows:

Grades 4K-2--> 10:30- 11:00 am

Grades 3-6--> 11:30 am-12:00 pm

Grades 7-12--> 1:00-2:00 pm

See email for Zoom links to join that day. Hope to see you there! ;)

Thank you to all students and parents for completing the iReady assessment in reading and math. I understand that it is a long test, and perhaps a frustrating one at that. With ALL of our Odyssey students being new to us this year, we needed to have some data for our students in regards to their reading and math proficiency. Please know that this is just ONE snapshot of your child, on ONE given day. There are so many other authentic assessments that we will utilize at Odyssey to gain insight as to who your child is as a reader, writer and mathematician. This one test score does not define who they are.

Here is why we chose the iReady Assessment for Odyssey students:

• The Ripon School District has used it for the past 2 years with excellent results
• It is an adaptive assessment that adjusts the level of questions as students respond
• Individual lessons are developed for each student, based upon the skills that they need further support with, this is at their level
• It aligns well with the state assessments
• A detailed diagnostic report provides parents and teachers with very specific skills that have been mastered and 'next steps' to work on

At Odyssey, we strive for working together to make our school better! The first virtual meeting of the Parent Advisory Group (PAG) took place in September and the Odyssey parents who attended started brainstorming ways to connect Odyssey families. They have decided to create private Facebook groups based on your child(ren)’s grade level bands (4K-2, 3-6 and 7-12). Some ideas of communication that will happen on these facebook pages:

• Parents can share activities or group ideas (a homeschooling sports team or musical group, YMCA classes, etc.)

• Parents can share additional field trips available outside of those planned through the school (musicals, museum trips, etc.)

• Parents can ask questions about curriculum (for ex., if someone is using Saxon Math, they may have a question on a part of it and can reach out to other parents using Saxon Math).

Your child’s teacher will be providing the FB group links with each of you. They are also listed below.

If you would like to join the PAG group, here is the link:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/562404057850245/about/

In order for the link to work, a laptop/desktop is best. After you click to join, the administrator of the Facebook group will need to approve your request.

PAG group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/562404057850245/about/

4K - 2nd grade group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/529585371151848/about/

3rd - 6th grade group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1701097440020158/

7th - 12th grade - https://www.facebook.com/groups/2308713209256472/

Thank you to all of the families that participated in 'The Little Farmer' field trip two weeks ago. I heard wonderful things from the teachers and parents about the experience. We appreciate you taking the time to attend this social event for our Odyssey families. It is always a beneficial and worthwhile opportunity when our students, families and teachers can meet together in person.

Graduation requirements for physical education consist of 3 semesters or 1.5 credits. At the high school level, students must earn these credits through courses taken online or at their resident district.

If your child is enrolled in a live PBL course, their attendance is required at each class session. Attendance for other students is measured in various ways....

Attendance through Odyssey Academy is participation in PBL courses and WEN courses and submitting assignments on a regular basis.

Any absence needs to be communicated to that teacher PRIOR to their absence. If you haven't already done so, please familiarize yourself with our attendance policy, which is outlined in our Odyssey Student Handbook. This comes from the Wisconsin State Statute 118.40(8)(g) . If you have any questions at all regarding this policy, please contact Rebecca Miller.

1. Whenever a pupil attending a virtual charter school fails to respond appropriately to a school assignment or directive from instructional staff within 5 school days, the governing body of the virtual charter school shall notify the pupil's parent or guardian.

2. If this occurs three times in the same semester and the student fails to respond appropriately to a school assignment or directive from staff within 5 school days, the Odyssey Governance Board will notify the Ripon School Board, the school board of the student’s resident school district and the Department of Public Instruction. The school board may transfer that student back to their resident district or to another school in the district (if a Ripon resident).

3. A parent/guardian shall notify Odyssey in writing before an absence or an assignment may be missed. This applies to no more than 10 school days in a school year.

Nuts & Bolts

• Report cards will be issued at the end of each semester, January and June.
• Families will receive two progress reports each semester from their child's teacher.
• Infinite Campus will be used for report cards.
• Progress Reports will be emailed to families.

Philosophy

It is our belief at Odyssey that all students can learn and achieve. Each child learns and develops at their own pace. We firmly believe that with good instruction, coaching, conferencing, modeling and reflecting that students can reach proficiency in their grade level standards. We want to give students the opportunity to show evidence of their learning throughout the year, not just at grading time. If a student works further on a specific standard and attains proficiency in February, great, let's celebrate that success.

We will be using Target-Based Grading at all levels at Odyssey Academy, elementary, middle and high school grades. This proficiency scale is very simplistic and removes the ambiguity that often revolves around letter grades or scales of 1-4, with a '4' being advanced. Can students truly be 'advanced' in all standards? What does that look like? How is that communicated to students and parents? We want to take the 'unknown' out for students and families and use a very simplistic system, a 1, 2 or 3.

Please watch for further communication and information on the proficiency scales, reporting and grading.

PBL projects will be one component of the overall course that your child takes, whether it be a hybrid course or PBL course.

Hybrid- We want to account for all of the great learning that your child is working on at home. Teachers will work with you to ensure that standards in those courses are being met. The overall 'score' for the course will consist of not only a PBL project, but all of the great authentic learning artifacts that your child may be working on that aligns with standards.

PBL- These courses will use projects, essays, written responses, discussions and other assignments to assign a 'score' to that align with the standards.

If you have any questions regarding these courses, please reach out to your child's teacher.

1) Complete the Interest Form below

2) Apply Now- click below for enrollment forms

Email: odyssey@ripon.k12.wi.us
Website: www.odysseyacademyofvirtuallearning.com
Location: 1120 Metomen Street, Ripon, WI, USA
Phone: 920-748-4625
Facebook: facebook.com/www.facebookodysseyacademyofvirtuallearning
Twitter: @AcademyOdyssey