VPA-AZ Summer Newsletter
May 2025
May Parent Meeting - Coming Up Next Week
Join us for our May Parent Meeting as we welcome Ms. Gena and Ms. Lindsay for an insightful and engaging discussion on one of the most important milestones in your child’s academic journey — the transition into middle school and high school.
Date: May 19th, 2025 at 5:30 PM & May 21st at 11:00 AM
This session will provide valuable tips, resources, and reassurance to help families navigate these exciting changes with confidence and clarity. Let’s work together to make these next steps smooth, successful, and stress-free. We hope to see you there!
Dr. Kayleen Marble, Superintendent & Principal 7-10
Dear Families,
As we approach the final stretch of the school year, I want to express my gratitude to each of you for your invaluable partnership in helping our students thrive until the end of the year. Our school's foundation is the partnership with families as a key role in student success. We also realize the importance of persistence in achieving success. We encourage you to continue providing your unwavering support, knowing that not only your child's teachers, but also all school staff, are here to assist you every step of the way.
As we wrap up the 2024-2025 school year, please take a moment to look back on all that your student has accomplished this year. Be sure to recognize the growth they have had and the part that you have played in that this year. Take a moment to celebrate and also thank the teachers you work with for their support and guidance. If you have not yet let us know your plans for next year, please let your teacher know ASAP so we can make plans for classrooms. Additionally, the 25-26 calendar is on our website https://arizona.virtualpreparatoryacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/04/VPA-AZ-25-26-Calendar-Approved.pdf for your information. As we look forward to the upcoming year, we are adding 11th grade students and look forward to the collaboration and partnership in the upcoming school year. With that, I would like to wish students, parents & caregivers, and school staff a safe, restful and rewarding summer. Hopefully we will all get the opportunity to spend quality time with family and friends and come back to school with a sense of rejuvenation in the fall.
Ms. Karli Thompson, Principal K-6
Dear Families,
It is hard to believe that we are almost to the end of school year 2024-25. I hope that you might take this time to reflect upon the growth of your students and how far they have come. As you look towards next year you might think about what you want to STOP doing, START doing, and KEEP doing with your school day. This is a strategy our teachers regularly implement into their own reflective practice. Teachers are busy digging into their student data and are eager to celebrate your student’s growth! We will have an all-school assembly that we want to honor students for their academic success. Please watch for details about this from your teachers. Summertime is an important time to let students rejuvenate and play. However, there tends to be a slide in reading if students don’t keep up with this important skill. Please make a plan to attend your local library and join in on their fun summer activities to keep kids reading. You will also still have all our supplemental links within your Canvas dashboard available to you, as long as you have let us know you are returning next year. This includes i-Ready and MindPlay. Both are excellent tools to retain and grow your students in math and reading over the summer. Thank you for allowing us to partner with you in your student’s education this year. We hope to see you back next year as well!
Coming Soon! - PowerSchool Parent Portal
We’re excited to share that even more helpful tools are coming your way! Later this month, you’ll gain access to the new PowerSchool Parent Portal — all through a convenient single sign-on link in your Canvas Dashboard.
This new portal will allow you to update your contact information at any time. It will also be your go-to spot for completing important school forms like handbook acknowledgements, Chromebook requests, and more.
We can’t wait to roll this out and make things even easier for our families! Stay tuned for more details soon.
- Taylor Sorensen, Operations Manager
Thank You from the Testing Coordinator
Dear Families,
I want to extend my deepest gratitude to each of you for your tremendous support, cooperation, and commitment throughout this important time.
We recognize that testing can be a stressful and demanding experience — not only for students but also for the families who support them behind the scenes. From ensuring students arrived on time and well-rested, to encouraging them with kind words and positive energy, your partnership made a meaningful difference.
To our students: thank you for showing up with focus, perseverance, and your best effort. You’ve demonstrated responsibility, resilience, and pride in your learning — and that’s something to celebrate.
To our families: your encouragement, patience, and understanding helped create an environment where our students could thrive and feel confident. We truly couldn't do this without you.
Thank you again for being such an essential part of our school community. We are so proud of all our students and grateful for your continued support.
- Devon Green, Testing Coordinator
Forgot Your Password?
Contact the School Operations Manager, Taylor Sorensen at tsorensen@accelschools.com for assistance.
Summer Reading Matters: The Power of Physical Books
Hello Parents!
As summer approaches, we want to emphasize the importance of keeping your child’s mind active during the break — and one of the simplest, most effective ways to do that is by encouraging regular reading. While digital options are everywhere, physical books offer unique advantages that are especially valuable for young readers.
Why Physical Books?
1. Reduced Screen Time:
In a world where children are already spending many hours on screens, physical books offer a healthy break for their eyes and minds.
2. Improved Focus and Comprehension:
Studies show that reading printed materials enhances concentration and helps students retain more information compared to reading on a screen.
3. Builds Reading Stamina:
Physical books encourage sustained, distraction-free reading, helping students develop the ability to focus for longer periods — a skill that supports academic success.
4. Strengthens the Parent-Child Bond:
Reading together from a physical book fosters connection. It’s easier to snuggle up with a paperback than a tablet, and turning pages together creates lasting memories.
5. Supports Sleep Hygiene:
Reading a physical book before bed can help students wind down and sleep better, unlike screens which can interfere with melatonin production and sleep quality.
Make It Fun This Summer!
Visit your local library: Many libraries offer summer reading challenges and free book lending.
Create a reading nook: Design a cozy corner where your child can curl up with their favorite stories.
Let them choose: Empower your child by letting them select books that interest them — from graphic novels to nonfiction.
Thank you for helping foster a love of reading that will last a lifetime. With your support, we can ensure students return in the fall with sharp minds and big imaginations!
Happy Reading,
Mr. Grall
Middle/High School ELA Teacher
A Summer Treat from Our Teachers!
Bring the beach to your freezer with these vibrant, fruity pops — no artificial flavors, just sunshine in a stick!
Ingredients:
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1 cup pineapple chunks (fresh or canned)
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1 cup strawberries, hulled
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1 banana
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1/2 cup orange juice (or coconut water for a tropical twist)
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Optional: a handful of spinach for a healthy boost (they’ll never taste it!)
Instructions:
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Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
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Pour the mixture into popsicle molds.
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Insert sticks and freeze for 4–6 hours, or overnight.
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Run warm water over the molds to release, and enjoy!
Fun Tip: Layer different fruit blends (like mango and raspberry) to create colorful rainbow pops!
Healthy, hydrating, and oh-so-yummy — the perfect treat to beat the heat!
Summer Wellness Alert for Students!
Did you know that Planet Fitness is offering FREE gym memberships to all high school students this summer? That’s right — teens can stay active, healthy, and energized all summer long without spending a dime!
Whether you're looking to crush your fitness goals, try something new, or just escape the heat in an air-conditioned gym, this is the perfect opportunity to take care of your body and mind.
Don't miss out on this incredible offer — it's a great way to build healthy habits, boost your confidence, and maybe even make a few new friends along the way.
Let’s make this summer strong, fun, and full of good vibes!
Kindergarten with Ms. Skinner
Next week, we will celebrate the end of our amazing school year! You’ve learned so much, made new friends, and worked every single school day since August.
Here’s what you need to know for our final week: ✅ Live sessions will stay the same—no changes to your schedule. ✅All assignments are due by Monday, May 19th— for honor roll grade calculations. However, students can still turn in work until the last day of school.
🌟 Honor Roll Awards 🌟 We have three special honors for students who have shown outstanding effort and achievement:
🐻 Blue Ribbon – This is the highest honor! Earned by getting all As, having great attendance, and showing strong growth on tests like i-Ready and DIBELS.
🐻 Green Ribbon – Awarded for passing all five courses and making improvements on end-of-year tests.
🐻 White Ribbon – Given to students who have shown hard work, improvement, and perseverance.
Honor Roll students will be celebrated at the All-School Assembly on Friday, May 23rd, at 11:30 AZ / 12:30 WY!
We can’t wait to cheer for you! You’re all amazing, and we are so proud of you. Let’s finish the year strong! 🎉
Ms. Skinner
1st Grade with Ms. Hansen
Now that we’re approaching the end of the year, and we will be in 2nd grade in a matter of 10 weeks, make sure that you have completed ALL ASSIGNMENTS in ALL COURSES before the end of the day on May 23rd. Please join use each day next week in our 8:30 morning meeting for a easy Science Experiment and story time!
2nd Grade with Ms. Lydic
As the school year wraps up, please make sure to check your grades, update any offline time in your offline tracker, and finish up any remaining assignments—it’s your time to shine! Your teacher is so proud of all your hard work and knows you’ll do amazing things in 3rd grade! Keep up the great effort kiddos, let's finish this year strong! -Mrs. Lydic
3rd Grade with Mr. Willis
Third graders are currently reviewing key Math and ELA concepts from earlier in the year. This review is designed to support their transition to fourth grade and help prevent learning loss over the summer. Students have shown great patience and dedication during end-of-year testing, and their growth has been impressive.
4th Grade with Ms. Isom
This upcoming week, we will continue with our regular homeroom schedule. Our main focus will be on finishing the book, Holes. Additionally, we will work on completing our iReady/Mindplay minutes and fluency flight.
If needed, students will stay in with me to work on any missing assignments to help boost their grades. We will wrap up the week with a viewing of the movie Holes and a fun class party to celebrate our hard work!
5th Grade with Ms. Sullivan
ELA: We wrapped up our novel study on Esperanza Rising and are finishing up our informational presentations. Students are showing off their computer skills along with their writing and research skills.
Math: We are wrapping up our final geometry standard on the classification of 2D shapes. Our brains were swimming when we realized there are so many ways to classify a 4-sided figure. Did you know a square is classified as a square, rectangle, rhombus, parallelogram, trapezoid and quadrilateral?
Science: We are wrapping up Unit 3 on space systems. Space is a favorite unit among students, covering gravity, stars, plants and much more.
Social Studies: We are wrapping up our Unit on the Civil War. Students have been learning about slavery, Lincoln’s presidency and the division that lead up to the war. They’ve also learned about the many events and battles during the war itself.
Math with Ms. Newell
7th grade: In 7th grade we are finishing our last unit which covers Probability and Sampling. We are finding the chance of something, looking at experimental data, and reviewing statistics having to do with a population. This is a fun and simple unit to end the year with!
8th Grade: In 8th grade we are finishing our last unit on Pythagorean Theorem and Irrational Numbers, we are finding different side lengths of right triangles and understanding how to approximate irrational numbers to help us find our solutions. While this is a challenging unit to end with, the students are rocking it!
9th Grade: In Algebra 1 we are wrapping up our unit on Data and Statistics, we have been exploring two way tables, scatterplots, histograms, box plots and many other representations of Data. The students are enjoying the change of pace from functions and working really hard at understanding how to read and understand different data types.
10th Grade: In Geometry we are finishing up our Probability unit. We are working on determining if an event is independent or dependent. What the chance or likelihood of an event happening is and the conditional probability. For our last few lessons we are going to look at two way tables and how we can make predictions using those.
English with Mr. Grall
7th Grade ELA - We are wrapping up reading Shakespeare's The Tempest, analyzing the development of plot, character, and theme.
8th Grade ELA - We finished up The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, and began our final unit - Choice Reading: Nonfiction. For this unit students have to select a Nonfiction book and fill out a Reading Log about it. In class we discuss the expectations and goals of this assignments, and are beginning to prepare for the Final Exam.
9th Grade English - Our final unit is about develop arguments using solid reasoning and evidence, as well as the use of counterclaims to undermine counterarguments. Students will submit through discussions both an argument and counterargument about the merits of online school. And then we will be reviewing for the final exam.
10th Grade English - We our finishing up a unit on East Asian Literature, which includes some great selections from Japan and New Zealand. Next week students being writing a narrative essay using excerpts from a Buddhist text that will be used to examine experiences in their own lives.
Science with Ms. Wilis
Our 7th grade science students are wrapping up their unit on Earth’s Resources and Human Impact using the OpenSciEd curriculum. They’ve enjoyed exploring how human activities affect the environment and discussing real-world solutions to conserve natural resources. Students have especially liked investigating topics like water use, pollution, and renewable energy. We’re now completing the final assignments and preparing for the Semester Exam, which is scheduled for May 16th. Families can support their students by encouraging review at home and celebrating their hard work this quarter!
Our 8th grade science students are finishing their unit on Natural Selection and Common Ancestry through the OpenSciEd curriculum. They’ve been exploring how traits are passed on and how species change over time in response to their environments. Students have especially enjoyed using fossil evidence and genetic data to figure out evolutionary relationships. We’re now wrapping up our final assignments and getting ready for the Semester Exam on May 16th. Please encourage your student to review their notes and stay focused as we head into the final stretch!
Our 9th grade students in Physical Science have just finished their final unit on electricity. They enjoyed learning about circuits, current, and how electricity powers the world around us. This week, we’re focused on reviewing key vocabulary and preparing for the Semester Exam on May 16th. Students are encouraged to use their study guides and practice tools to reinforce their understanding. Let’s finish the semester strong!
Our 10th grade Biology students have just wrapped up their final unit on Ecology. They explored how organisms interact with each other and their environments, and enjoyed learning about food webs, ecosystems, and environmental impacts. This week, students are focused on reviewing key concepts and preparing for the Semester Exam on May 16th. Families can support their learners by encouraging regular review and study time. We're proud of their hard work this semester!
History with Ms. Lindsay
7th grade WY: We are wrapping up our final unit on the Phillipinnes. We've been able to cover every continent in the world on our geography studies. We agreed as a class we wish we would have been able to do a fieldtrip around the world.
8th AZ: In our class we're looking at how economics has changed over time in the United States. We're researching different technological advancements that have had a major economic impacts on the country.
In 7AZ/8 WY, 9 and 10 our final unit covers many of the current challenges we face in our country from things like terrorism to problems that arise with technology and the digital age. We covered a lot about war over the year and we talk about how war techniques will look different with advancements in technology.
