My lovely blank newsletter

Do you need this newsletter translated? Open the newsletter in your internet browser, then on the bottom right hand corner you will see an icon of a person, click on the icon, click on “Translate Newsletter” and select the language you need from the drop down menu.

¿Necesita traducción de este boletín? Abrir el boletín en su navegador de Internet, luego en la esquina inferior en la derecha verá un ícono de una persona, haga clic en el ícono, haga clic en “Traducir boletín” y seleccione el idioma que necesita en el menú desplegable.

School Supplies: Students should bring their school issued device to school with a full charge every day. They may also use wired headphones with the device for school work. The expectation is that students are taking notes in their classes, please ensure that your students have a way to take their notes. If they prefer paper notes, a notebook may be an appropriate school supply for them. Individual live taught classes may have supply lists provided at the start of a quarter. This will vary based on course.

Classes: Students are enrolled in a full schedule for the school year. This schedule will have either 4 or 5 classes each quarter dependent on what the student needs to be on track for graduation. Courses are expected to be completed in the quarter they are scheduled. Some classes are live taught classes. You can tell the difference in the schedule by the letters "VP" - classes with this tag are Edgenuity classes, all other classes are live taught classes. Students need to be present for both VP and live taught classes and should be engaging with the teachers in their classroom during their learning experience.

Owl’s Nest: Owl’s Nest is a seminar time with curriculum attached. Students can earn .25 credit each quarter for Owl’s Nest. Curriculum consists of lessons associated with post-secondary planning and test prep. Owl’s Nest classes are in Schoology.

While attending JSOC, students will take the standardized tests associated with their grade levels. This testing takes place at both JSOC and THS depending on the testing situation.

Attendance: With only four days in the school week, attendance becomes a very important part of a student’s success. We encourage students to be at school. If a student misses just one day, they have missed 25% of the week’s learning opportunity. This brings their attendance down to 75% for that week. When this happens multiples times, their success starts to dwindle. Please make sure your student is here every day!

Cell Phones: JSOC is fully committed to technology, and we understand many students own cell phones for safety reasons. Students will be expected to keep their cell phones and other personal electronic communication devices put away while on campus from 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This expectation includes:

• Cell phones
• Smart watches
• Wireless headphones and earbuds (including AirPods)
• Other personal electronic communication devices

Wise Time: During the quarter, select Fridays are designated for Wise Time in the morning. Wise Time runs from 8:00 am – 12:00 pm and students must be in the building on Fridays at 8:00 am ready to learning. Doors are locked after 8:00 am for security. Students must have their own transportation to and from Wise Time. Wise Time ends at 12:00 PM. Please have transportation on the way prior to noon. Car riders must be promptly picked up at this time.

Wise Time is an additional opportunity for students to work on course work in a positive learning environment. Teachers will sign up students and students may volunteer who need extra time to catch up on credits/coursework. Notification of the Wise Time schedule and contact for Wise Time will be sent home to families prior to the Friday session.

Students who continually do not use regular academic time (not working on courses, habitual sleeping, etc.) or demonstrate continual behavior issues will be uninvited from the Wise Time opportunity. Wise Time is not a punishment – It is an opportunity.

Can a student still attend events at Turner High School? YES - We are part of Turner High School, and if a student is in good standing, they can still attend all events at Turner High School.

Can I go out for THS sports? Depends. We will not transport for practice, but if you meet the guidelines to play for basketball and have transportation for practice and can meet the expectations for the team, we would love for you to represent and have a "hoot" of a time!

Do we have clubs? YES - StuCo has a chapter that meets here periodically and being a part of things at THS is also possible if you check in with Dr. Lizar and make a plan.

Can I take a class at THS? Depends. Talk to Dr. Lizar and discuss options.

Can my student have a shortened schedule? See work experience under graduation information.

What will my diploma say? Turner High School

Have a question - Email Dr. Lizar at lizarf@turnerusd202.org!

When students arrive at Journey School of Choice, they enter the building through the south doors of the gym/cafeteria. Students park in the lot next to this door, and the buses drop students off here in the morning. If students arrive after the 7:40 start time, they must enter through the office door to record their tardy in Infinite Campus. Students will attend 5 labs during the day. Courses are listed in their schedules in the course list, and labs can be both live taught and virtual platform classes.

Students are expected to be at school from 7:40 - 4:30 each day in their classes. When JSOC has a late start for calendar reasons or weather related calls, the bell schedule will start at 9:40 and a delay of 2 hours will occur for bus services.

The Journey School of Choice calendar is a four day week - Monday-Thursday. This schedule will vary from the district calendar, and days off will sometimes not coincide with other buildings. Please review the calendar for your JSOC student.

Morning Arrival:

• Students should enter the building through the gymnasium/cafeteria double doors.
• The doors open a little after 7:00 AM.
• The school day begins at 7:40 AM, and we ask that students be in the building by 7:35 AM so they have time to get settled and ready for the day.
• Students who drive themselves to school should park in the south lot off Junction Road.

If you are driving your student to school:

1. Enter the parking lot from Junction Road.
2. Pull forward and drop your student off at the sidewalk leading to the gymnasium/cafeteria double doors.
3. Continue through the parking lot and exit onto Harmony Drive (37th Street off Shawnee Drive).

Following this traffic pattern helps keep our morning drop-off moving smoothly and safely for everyone. Thank you for helping us make arrival a little easier for all of our families!

Arriving after 7:40 AM? Students who arrive after the school day has started should enter through the front doors.

Afternoon Pick-Up at Journey School of Choice:

A quick reminder about afternoon pick-up procedures to help keep traffic moving safely and smoothly at the end of the school day.

Students who drive themselves and students who ride the bus will exit the building through the back doors.

For parents/guardians picking up students, there are several options. To help make dismissal as safe and efficient as possible, here are our recommendations:

• Pick up your student in the student parking lot. We recommend having your student exit through the back doors and meeting you in the student parking lot off Junction Road. There are many parking spaces available, and you can back into a space earlier prior to dismissal, wait for your student, and generally leave before the buses depart from the gated area.
• Park in the back lot, if space is available. You may also park in the back lot and have your student meet you in this lot. Once you have your student, you can exit the lot onto Harmony Drive.
• Park in the front of the building. If you choose to park in the front, we recommend backing into a parking space rather than pulling in headfirst. Junction Road carries a significant amount of traffic, and backing into a space can make it easier and safer to leave the area when dismissal is complete.

Thank you for helping us keep dismissal safe, organized, and moving smoothly for our students, families, and buses!

How Can You Check Your Student’s Edgenuity Progress?

There are several ways you can stay up to date on your student’s progress:

1. Ask your student to show you their Edgenuity account.
Have your student log in to Clever and open Edgenuity. Students can show you their current grade and progress directly on their Edgenuity dashboard.

Important: The grade displayed on the Edgenuity tile is the relative grade. The relative grade is the grade we use when determining the student’s final grade for the course.

2. Check your weekly Edgenuity email.
Most families will receive a weekly email from Edgenuity showing their student’s progress. If you are not receiving these emails, please check your spam or junk folder.

3. Request parent portal access.
Would you like to check your student’s Edgenuity progress whenever you want? Contact me at lizarf@turnerusd202.org, and I will send you directions and your activation code for the parent portal.

How Do You Check Schoology?

To access Schoology, visit the district’s Parent Resources page and log in to your Schoology account: Turner School District Parent Resources

A few important things to know:

• Owl’s Nest: All students will receive a P/F (Pass/Fail) grade for Owl’s Nest. This course is worth 0.25 credit, and students earn a passing grade by maintaining an 80% or higher in the class.
• Classes without “VP”: If a student has a class without “VP” in the course name, it is a live-taught class or independent study, and grades for that course are maintained in Schoology.

Where Do I Find Final Grades?

Final grades for all classes will be posted in Infinite Campus. This is where families can go to see the official final grades that appear on the student’s transcript.

A quick way to remember:

Edgenuity → Check progress and relative grade

Schoology → Check grades for live-taught classes and independent study
Infinite Campus → Check official final grades and transcript

This year, Journey School of Choice is taking an active role in giving back. We have visited our partner school, Junction Elementary and provided holiday cards for others.

This is a question that is often asked, and the answer depends on what year the student is going to graduate. If the student is graduating this year or in the Class of 2027, the answer is they need 25 correct credits, and it looks like this:

• 4 units of English – English 9, 10, 11, 12
• 3 units of Math
• 3 units of Social Studies
• 3 units of Science
• 1 unit of PE/Health
• 1 unit of computer/STEM
• 1 unit of fine arts
• 9 units of electives

If the student is graduating in the Class of 2028, 2029, or 2030, this answer changes. The courses will start to look a little different and add in some different classes. It will also add 2 Post-Secondary Assets. The term PSA will be a term we will talk a lot about when talking about graduation – What PSAs will your student be working to attain?

Students can earn credit for working in their third and fourth year of high school. Working for credit typically happens outside of the four-day JSOC bell schedule. Students should share their school schedule with their supervisors and state that they cannot work before 5:00 pm on Monday – Thursday.

Students earn 0.50 credit for 180 hours worked. Students can earn 1.00 (360 working hours) elective credit during their third year of school and 2.00 (720 working hours) elective credit during their fourth year of school. Students earn credit by submitting their pay stubs to their Schoology course for Work Experience. Credit is earned in the quarter it is completed.

Exceptions to this policy:

• Fourth year students who are on track for graduation with prior approval from Dr. Lizar may get a work lab added to their schedule.
• Third year students who are working linked to their IPS goals may also be allowed to have a work lab added to their schedule with prior approval from Dr. Lizar. Work experience tied to the IPS goals will count towards PSA credit for graduation in the Class of 2028 and after.

Students should also review the RWL Opportunities for internships and possible apprenticeship opportunities that are available.

Students who ride district transportation in the morning will ride a bus to Turner High School. Students are not to leave the immediate area of drop off as a second bus will come that will take them to JSOC. Students who miss the bus to Journey may need their parent to come to THS to transport them to JSOC. It is important that students pay attention at the THS drop off for the transfer bus.

Journey School of Choice offers both a breakfast and second chance breakfast (after Owl's Nest). Lunch is served at 1:00 pm. Students on free or reduced lunch have the option of one breakfast and one lunch; snacks are additional. Please keep tabs on your student's food service balance through Infinite Campus Parent Portal.

Journey School of Choice is a learning community with the expectation that students are raising their personal bar higher and achieving more. We want students that are setting goals and determining their path in the world. At Journey School of Choice, we do not have time for bad behaviors. Everyone has a reason for being here and a job to do. We expect our students to conduct themselves responsibly and to make good choices, and in return, we will help them find ways to pursue their future.

We look forward to working with you this year, and we hope that you will reach out to us with questions as we partner with you. If you are interested in being a member of our site council or high school PTA, please reach out to Dr. Lizar. Meetings are held quarterly.

Ms. Alma Loredo, Head Secretary (bilingual Spanish)

913-288-3690

loredoa@turnerusd202.org

Dr. Frankie Lizar, Principal

913-288-3692

lizarf@turnerusd202.org