High School Newsletter

Please take a moment to review our campus expectations, and ensure you are on a path to a successful year at TOPS!

* August 19, 2026 will be the first day of 2026-27 school year for TOPS High School.

AUGUST:

August 19th- 1st Day of School!

August 19th- 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM LIVE Orientation Session with Administration

August 20th- 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM LIVE Orientation Session with Homeroom Teacher

August 21st- 9:00 AM LIVE Orientation Session with Homeroom Teacher

August 28th- Field Trip Day- Ice Cream Social (In-person and Virtual)

SEPTEMBER:

September 2nd- Orientation for 9.2 Cohort Students

September 7th- School Closed (Labor Day)

September 8th- Teacher In-service (Limited Student CCs)

September 16th- Orientation for 9.16 Cohort Students

September 24th- Field Trip Day (In-person and Virtual)

September 30th- Orientation for 9.30 Cohort Students

OCTOBER:

October 9th-Teacher In-service (Limited Student CCs)

October 12th- School Closed (Columbus Day)

October 14th - Orientation for 10.14 Cohort Students

October 19th- Mid-Semester Course LOCK Date

High School Orientation will consist of 5 LIVE Orientation Sessions combined with an Orientation Course ORN that has 3 assignments for the students to complete. Students are expected to attend each of the live sessions and complete the course with at least a 70 during their first week of school. Each session will cover different topics students will need to know to be successful this school year.

Students will login to the learning platform this school year at login.k12.com. We encourage all students to bookmark this page and update any old bookmarks from previous school years.

Below is an outline of the LIVE Orientation Sessions followed by a slide that shows both the LIVE and course components of our student Orientation.

August 19th:

9:00 AM LIVE Orientation Session with Administration

1:00 PM LIVE Orientation Session with Administration

August 20th:

9:00 AM LIVE Orientation Session with Homeroom Teacher

1:00 PM LIVE Orientation Session with Homeroom Teacher

August 21st:

9:00 AM LIVE Orientation Session with Homeroom Teacher

The Orientation Course consists of 3 Units for the students to complete over the first couple days of school. The first unit consists of videos and content on how students will navigate Canvas, the NEW Launch Pad, complete assignments, and view their grades.

Unit 2 focuses specifically on TOPS High School and the tools students need to be successful as virtual students. In this Unit, students will learn about TOPS High School Expectations including our policies on attendance, state testing, and Academic Integrity. We also focus on some key areas to drive student success in the virtual environment. Students will have three assignments to complete in this Unit of the course.

2.02 Quiz: Academic Integrity Commitments- Requires Respondus Lockdown Browser (30 points)

2.03 Assignment: Email Checklist (30 points)

2.04 Assignment: Goal Setting (40 points)

The final Unit, focuses on High School College and Career Prep courses and pathways offered at TOPS High School. This is a short course that should be completed by students by earning a 70 or above in the course in their first week at TOPS High School. Below is an image of what the students ORN Orientation Course should look like in their dashboard.

🚀 Welcome to the NEW K12 Launch Pad!

Get ready to explore your new K12 Launch Pad—your one-stop home for everything you need to succeed in school! This video walks you through the Launch Pad and shows you how to stay organized, keep up with assignments, easily find your live Class Connects, courses, and additional learning tools.

🌟 What You'll Discover

• Today's Focus helps you see and access all of your tasks for the day: Assignments, Class Connects, Lessons
• Upcoming Assignments keeps track of work that's due soon so you never miss a deadline.
• Upcoming Class Connect helps you plan ahead and gives you access to your live Class Connect sessions.
• Upcoming Lessons lets you know what's coming next in your courses.
• Your Courses are all in one place, making it easy to jump into learning with just a click.
• Helpful tools like the K12 Library and K12 Zone give you extra resources, activities, and support.
• The platform is designed to make learning simple, organized, and fun.

🎯 Why It Matters

Using the Launch Pad every day helps you:

• Stay organized.
• Join your live Class Connect sessions and access recordings.
• Finish assignments on time.
• Know exactly what to work on next.
• Find all of your courses and learning resources quickly.
• Build good study habits that lead to success.

💡 First Day of School Instructions (August 19th)

1. Log in to the Student Launch Pad at login.k12.com.
2. Check Today's Focus.
3. Look at the Class Connect tab to know your orientation schedule and access the live sessions.
4. Open your ORN Course (Orientation for Online Career Learning) to check out the Homepage.
5. Explore the other widgets to see what you can discover!

🏆 Remember

The K12 Launch Pad is your personal learning headquarters. Checking it every day will help you stay on track, reduce stress, and make it easier to reach your learning goals. Every click is one step closer to success! 🎉

Canvas Security Authorization
Some users may be prompted to select Authorize in Canvas as part of the security process. If prompted, users should select Authorize to continue accessing Canvas.

Many students will receive error messages when trying to log in before the start of school. For those able to login, many will find an empty dashboard without any courses. This is all very normal and has to do with the Canvas courses not opening until the first day of school. The video below shows what this looks like from the student perspective and how you can see future enrollments if you are able to login.

The Respondus Lockdown Browser has been deployed on all Stride-issued computers. The browser will only launch when staff or students access an assessment in the K12 Canvas Platform (OLS) that has the Lockdown Browser enabled. If a device was not available during the initial deployment, staff and students will see an option to download the Lockdown Browser when launching an assessment where the Lockdown Browser is enabled.

During orientation, TOPS Students will have an Academic Integrity quiz in Unit 2.02 of their ORN Orientation Course that will need to be completed using the Lockdown browser.

The popup below will appear to allow students to download the Respondus Lockdown Browser if it is not installed on their computer. Once the browser is installed, students will open the Respondus Lockdown Browser and sign in. Once the Lockdown browser is activated they will navigate back the to assessment in Canvas to complete the exam. Students will be prompted to select a server. Students can determine which server they need to select by looking at the URL you are connected to in Canvas. Below are two images of an example of a student in the learn3.k12 URL that needs to select the Canvas Prod learn3.k12.com as their server for Respondus Lockdown Browser.

Below the images is an link to additional detail on the Respondus Lockdown Browser and the student experience.

We’ve launched live Zoom support rooms to help you get assistance more quickly and conveniently.

Support Room Details

• Monday–Friday | 7 AM to 5 PM (ET)
  
• You can drop in anytime during open hours — no appointment needed.
• Zoom link: https://k12.zoom.us/j/97739092933
• Before joining, please download the Zoom application to be moved to breakout rooms and to take full advantage of all Zoom features.

What to Expect

• Join our large Zoom support room!
• You’ll land in the main room, where our team will:
  • Welcome you and explain the available help topics
  • Direct you to the breakout room dedicated to your issue. Each room includes trained agents ready to assist—and if your issue is more complex, we’ll have additional team members standing by to call you directly for more personal help.

More Ways to Get Help
While you’re in the main room, you’ll also learn about other quick ways to get answers:

• Check out help.k12.com articles.
• Learn how to submit a case online.
• Try our live chat—faster than waiting on hold!
• We will also share helpful how-to videos and other resources.

We're here to make this easy. Join a Support Room anytime during our open hours—we’re here for you.

Please use the link below to find out more and participate in a variety of student engagement activities and competitions put on by K12!

Career Prep Course Minute Requirements

We wanted to take the opportunity to remind students and families of the Texas Career and College Prep (TxC&CP) Career Learning course schedule. Students enrolled in a TxC&CP course will notice one 45-minute whole group asynchronous session and three one-hour whole group sessions on their schedule each week. This is to comply with the 225 CRE minute requirement set forth by the state. Asynchronous sessions will consist of student-led and CTSO activities, while the whole group sessions will be more teacher-guided instruction. Please feel free to reach out to your TxC&CP teacher if you have any questions about the schedule. Check out our TxC&CP Student Hub to learn more about the program by using the link below.

Our counselors hold guidance sessions and small group academic planning sessions with all students. We want to focus on graduation planning from day 1 with our students to ensure success. Please plan to attend all sessions with counselors in order to gain the most information for success in school and beyond!

Counselors will be your experts on high school credits, course selection, and graduation plans.

If you feel you need a schedule change please email your counselor and be sure to include your student information, student ID, the course you would like to change and the course you would prefer.

** All schedule change requests must be made within the first 10 days of school.

PLEASE USE THE CONTACT GUIDE LINK BELOW TO FIND YOUR COUNSELOR'S CONTACT INFORMATION.

High school works different than both Middle School and Elementary School in that high schools move forward based on credits, not grade level. Below is our breakdown of credits and how many are needed to move to the next grade level. Questions - reach out to your counselor.

• 0-5.5 = 9th grade
• 6-11.5 = 10th grade
• 12-18.5 = 11th grade
• 19+ = 12th grade

Our TOPS Parent Student Handbook contains useful information including our communication policy, LC visits to classrooms, and much more! Click the button below to download the Parent-Student Handbook!

Interested in learning how you can potentially earn free tuition by graduating early? Go to the link below to learn more about the Texas First Early High School Diploma Program.

Make sure you read the fine print. Reach out to your counselor with questions!

Do you need to...

• change your address?
• request a verification of enrollment or a transcript?
• report excused absences or opt-in to text messages?
• find out who your counselor is?

Please visit our TOPS Contact Guide for this information, and MUCH MORE!

Do you need to...

• look up a teachers contact information?
• learn a few interesting things about your teachers?

Please visit our TOPS Staff Directory for this information, and MUCH MORE!