April Messages

Hello, Learning Coaches!

We made it to Spring Break! As I said last week, the end of the semester is getting very close. When we return, we will only have a few weeks left in the semester. So, read carefully for important information to get you and our students to the finish line.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Spring Break begins next tomorrow, April 15th. School resumes on April 25th. Refer to the Student Calendar to become familiar with the schedule for the remainder of the year.

2. The deadline to submit the Records Update Form is tomorrow, Friday the 15th. Click here to submit your form now if you have not done so already.

   • • Your Internet subsidy e-card will be mailed if Student Services has your Records Update Form.

     • Your child's spot will be reserved for next year if you are returning, or it will be released for a new student if you are not.

A huge thanks to those who submitted the form already.

If you have questions, send an email to StudentServices@uview.academy or call 225-421-2900.

3. [Grades 3-12] LEAP 2025 testing letters are in your child's Canvas account or will be uploaded before the day is over. The letters provide details about dates, times, and locations for May LEAP 2025 testing.

Navigate to the testing letter in your child's Canvas account as follows:

ACCOUNT > FILES > TESTING

Sort the file list by date to access the letter quickly.

PLEASE NOTE:

You must log in to your child's account. The letter is not available in your Observer account.

4. To enroll another child at UVA, click here. The "Enroll Now" button is on the home page of our school website. Apply as soon as you can so our Enrollment Department knows your intentions.

5. Congratulations to those of you whose children participated in today's virtual Spring recital! (Congratulations to the students, too!)

6. The March Learning Coach Info Session answers most of your questions about in-person LEAP 2025 testing. Please watch it by clicking here and scrolling down to the March section.

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DEADLINES/REMINDERS/DATES

1. Due to Spring Break, we will not host a formal Learning Coach Info Session in April. Instead, I will open my Live Session room from 12 noon to 1 pm on Thursday, April 28th to answer questions for those who pop in. There will not be a presentation.

2. [Displaced Families] We continue to experience stormy weather in Louisiana. Please send an email to Mrs. Hollins (thollins@uview.academy) if you are displaced (for any reason), even if it's only temporary. She is UVA's McKinney-Vento Liaison and evaluates if and how we can assist displaced families (e.g., finding needed resources, etc.). Her contact information is at the bottom of this page.

3. Your routine reminders list is below:

   • The Testing Newsletter lists state and school-level test dates for the entire school year. Review the newsletter so you are aware of the dates in advance.

   • [NEW] The Events Corner provides the monthly field trip flyers.

   • Tutoring Facts -- Learn how our tutoring program works and schedule a session here. Session confirmations and reminders are sent to the student's school email account. Send your questions to tutoring@uview.academy.

   • Family Cyber Safety Hub -- Review our cyber safety site and use its resources to set online expectations that will keep your child safe online.

   • Curriculum Supply Facts -- Questions go to curriculum@uview.academy.

   • Download or bookmark the Student Calendar.

   • Instructions to change the student's password

   • How to set up accommodations on Windows computers

   • UVA Help Desk -- Computer support. 225-286-1600, Toll-Free 833-286-9905 (7 am until 5 pm, Monday thru Friday)

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TIPS AND RESOURCES

1. During Spring Break, look at the previous Weekly Messages for March and April, and read some of the articles from Understood.com. Most of the articles can help you prepare your child if in-person testing is causing anxiety. You will also discover that you can customize your reading options on their site to find additional articles of interest.

2. Please have your child use Spring Break wisely if there are overdue assignments or opportunities to re-learn and re-submit assignments. Devise a schedule that allows your child to experience some downtime as well. Otherwise, assignments might be left until the last minute and the opportunity will be lost.

3. Recommended (customized for Spring Break):

• • Run a Missing Submissions report in your Observer account and work from this report during the break if your child is behind.

  • Review the Modules page (in your child's Canvas account) and look for past activities that are still tagged as "View " or "Submit" rather than "Viewed" and "Submitted." Assignments tagged with "View" are where learning occurs.

  • Redirect your child to complete un-viewed and un-submitted assignments.

  • Hold your child accountable to agreed-upon expectations for learning and completing assignments.

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Hello, Learning Coaches!

We have less than one week to go before Spring Break begins. The end of the semester is closer than you think. And for students in grades 3 and above, LEAP 2025 is truly around the corner. Read below for information that will help you and your child advance through the remainder of this school year successfully.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Spring Break begins next Friday, April 15th. School resumes on April 25th. Refer to the Student Calendar to become familiar with the schedule for the remainder of the year.

2. The Records Update Form is due next Friday the 15th -- the first day of Spring Break. Click here to submit your form now if you have not done so already to tell Student Services (1) whether you plan to return next school year, and (2) what your current contact information is (i.e., email, physical, and mailing addresses) so they can e-mail your prepaid $150 Internet Subsidy e-card. You will not receive your subsidy e-card unless the Records Update Form has been submitted. Please take care of this today.

If you have questions, send an email to StudentServices@uview.academy or call 225-421-2900.

3. [High School] LEAP 2025 testing letters were uploaded into your child's Canvas account earlier this week. The letters provide details about dates, times, and locations for May LEAP 2025 testing.

Navigate to the testing letter in your child's Canvas account as follows:

ACCOUNT > FILES > TESTING

Sort the file list by date to access the letter quickly.

PLEASE NOTE:

You must log into your child's account. The letter is not available in your Observer account.

4. [Grades 3-8] Testing letters will be uploaded to your child's account before we begin Spring Break. Stay tuned to school communications.

5. To enroll another child at UVA, click here. The "Enroll Now" button is on the home page of our school website. Apply as soon as you can so our Enrollment Department knows your intentions.

6. Please watch the March Learning Coach Info Session if you have not done so already. Important information was presented, including:

   • • The Records Update Form

     • How to enroll new students, with a review of the application page

     • In-person testing for students in grades 3 and above (e.g., how it's managed, where the test sites are, etc.). The Testing Department presented and answered questions that were raised during the session.

     • How to prepare yourself and your child for the change in routine during testing week.

The recording of the session is available here along with the slide presentation but please note -- the slides do not include everything that I listed above.

If your child is in 3rd grade or above and your time is limited, watch the recording 10-15 minutes at a time over the weekend until you have watched the entire recording. It's that important.

7. Due to Spring Break, we will not host a formal Learning Coach Info Session in April. Instead, I will open my Live Session room from 12noon- 1 pm on Thursday, April 28th to answer questions for those of you who pop in. There will not be a presentation. As always, you are welcome to ask questions any time via Remind, phone, or email but if you need some assistance with Canvas or with anything that would be easier to demonstrate online, just pop in.

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DEADLINES/REMINDERS/DATES

1. [IMPORTANT -- Grades 3 and above] The March Learning Coach Info Session contains a presentation by the Testing Department about in-person LEAP2025 testing. Please watch it. Learning Coaches of students in 3rd grade and above will not have a better opportunity to understand what to expect for in-person LEAP2025 testing than this recording.

2. [Displaced Families] Please send an email to Mrs. Hollins (thollins@uview.academy) if you are displaced (for any reason), even if it's only temporary. She is UVA's McKinney-Vento Liaison and evaluates if and how we can assist displaced families (e.g., finding needed resources, etc.). Her contact information is at the bottom of this page.

3. Your routine reminders list is below:

   • The Testing Newsletter lists state and school-level test dates for the entire school year. Review the newsletter so you are aware of the dates in advance.

   • [NEW] The Events Corner provides the monthly field trip flyers.

   • Tutoring Facts -- Learn how our tutoring program works and schedule a session here. Session confirmations and reminders are sent to the student's school email account. Send your questions to tutoring@uview.academy.

   • Family Cyber Safety Hub -- Review our cyber safety site and use its resources to set online expectations that will keep your child safe online.

   • Curriculum Supply Facts -- Questions go to curriculum@uview.academy.

   • Download or bookmark the Student Calendar.

   • Instructions to change the student's password

   • How to set up accommodations on Windows computers

   • UVA Help Desk -- Computer support. 225-286-1600, Toll-Free 833-286-9905 (7 am until 5 pm, Monday thru Friday)

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TIPS AND RESOURCES

1. A timely article from Understood.com addresses Self-Care for Kids; 6 Ways to Self-Regulate. The six methods are easy to use. Check out the article to see if you can pick up a technique or two to assist your child in lowering anxiety in stressful situations.

2. While we would like all of our students to have an opportunity for some downtime during Spring Break, be prepared to guide your child to complete overdue assignments during that period, if necessary.

3. Please do not accept your child's word for it that they are completing all of their assignments. Too many parents are being blindsided because of reliance on their children's word, and it's very unfortunate. Your recommended daily Learning Coach routine will prevent surprises. So:

• • Run a Missing Submissions report in your Observer account. Do this daily.

  • Review the Modules page (in your child's Canvas account) for every assignment for the day including activities tagged as "View " to ensure they are learning before Submitting a graded item. Daily.

  • Redirect your child to complete un-viewed and un-submitted assignments. Daily.

  • Be consistent. Daily.

  • Consider using an incentive plan to encourage engagement in school (Stickers or a point system utilized daily.)

Teaching young children to take on more responsibility is great and many of you are reportedly seeing good results with that on a number of fronts, but please do not put management of your child's education entirely in their hands.

Remember -- They are children, not adults. Their brains cannot process and reason like an adult brain. The brain is not fully developed until approximately age 25. That is a scientific fact. (Click here for more information about brain development.)

So, be sure you read everything and verify everything to fulfill your responsibilities as the Learning Coach -- because although your children are accountable to you, you are accountable also.

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Hello, Learning Coaches!

I hope this week's round of storms did not cause any damage for you. Please read this week's message as soon as you can so you do not forget it was sent. Messages through the end of the year will contain time-sensitive announcements, reminder, and tips.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. [Grades 3-8] The online LEAP360 Interim 2 assessment is next week on April 4th and 5th. This is an online assessment.

Navigation and log in information was uploaded to your child's Canvas account earlier this week. Navigate to the testing letter in your child's Canvas account as follows:

ACCOUNT > FILES > TESTING

2. The Records Update Form is due no later than Friday, April 15th. The form is used to:

   • Indicate your intentions about returning to UVA next year.

   • Update or confirm your contact information. This is used for multiple purposes including verification of your mailing address so your Internet Subsidy card can be mailed to the correct address.

The deadline is only two weeks away. Click here to submit your form now if you have not done so already.

If you have questions, you have two options:

2. • • Send an email to StudentServices@uview.academy

     • Call 225-421-2900.

3. To enroll another child at UVA, click here. The "Enroll Now" button is on the home page of our school website. Apply as soon as you can so our Enrollment Department knows your intentions.

4. Please watch last week's March Learning Coach Info Session if you have not done so already. Important information was presented, including:

   • • The Records Update Form

     • How to enroll new students, with a review of the application page

     • In-person testing for students in grades 3 and above (e.g., how it's managed, where the test sites are, etc.). The Testing Department presented and answered questions raised during the session.

     • How to prepare yourself and your child for a change in routine during testing week.

The recording of the session is available here along with the slide presentation but please note -- the slides do not include everything that I listed above.

If your child is in 3rd grade or above and your time is limited, watch the recording 10-15 minutes at a time over the weekend until you have watched the entire recording. It's that important.

5. The April Field Trip Newsletter was released on Monday. Some of the events were announced last month and RSVPs were this week. (One RSVP deadline is today, April 1st.) So, please click here and view the newsletter right away.

The newsletter is available on the Canvas Dashboard and right here on this website in the Events Corner.

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DEADLINES/REMINDERS/DATES

1. [Repeated from the Announcements section] The deadline to submit the Records Update Form is April 15th. Please submit the form if you have not done so. The 15th is only two weeks away.

2. Your routine reminders list is below:

   • The Testing Newsletter lists state and school-level test dates for the entire school year. Review the newsletter so you are aware of the dates in advance.

   • Tutoring Facts -- Learn how our tutoring program works and schedule a session here. Session confirmations and reminders are sent to the student's school email account. Send your questions to tutoring@uview.academy.

   • Family Cyber Safety Hub -- Review our cyber safety site and use its resources to set online expectations that will keep your child safe online.

   • Curriculum Supply Facts -- Questions go to curriculum@uview.academy.

   • Download or bookmark the Student Calendar.

   • Instructions to change the student's password

   • How to set up accommodations on Windows computers

   • UVA Help Desk -- Computer support. 225-286-1600, Toll-Free 833-286-9905 (7 am until 5 pm, Monday thru Friday)

____________

TIPS AND RESOURCES

1. Your daily Learning Coach routine is especially important right now. So:

• Run a Missing Submissions report in your Observer account

• Review the Modules page (in your child's Canvas account) for every assignment for the day including activities tagged as "View " to ensure they are learning before Submitting a graded item.

• Redirect your child to complete un-viewed and un-submitted assignments

• Be consistent.

• Consider using an incentive plan to encourage engagement in school (Stickers or a point system to earn privileges might be just the ticket.)

2. Understood.com resources that might be of interest, especially with testing on the horizon:

• ADHD, Anxiety, and Perfectionism (Laura's story) --a podcast that addresses a very common concern for our students. They "they talk about ADHD in women and girls, anxiety, and why so many people with ADHD struggle with perfectionism." (The transcript is available on the page if you'd rather read or see what it's about before listening.)

• Parenting While Anxious -- Anxious kids can grow up to be anxious parents. Listen to a mother share her reflections about how her own anxiety influences her parenting. It's a very candid podcast. (The transcript is available to read.)

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