VLA Option - Spring Semester
Families who wish to use the all-online option (Virtual Learning Academy or VLA) for the spring semester should complete this form by Friday, January 15. Students who will be on-campus for spring semester (which starts January 25) should not complete the form. If your child was in VLA first semester and is coming on-campus for the second semester, I will contact you to share class scheduling details the week of January 18.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Staff Inservice Day
Students will not be in classes (on-campus or online) Monday, January 18 (MLK Day) and Friday, January 22 (staff inservice day).
Academic Calendar Reminders
The second quarter and first semester end January 21. The second semester/third quarter begins January 25. Parents are encouraged to check grades using Schoology (see below) - no physical grade cards will be produced.
College Credit Plus (CCP)
College Credit Plus is a great opportunity for older students. While we’re legally required to provide the information for students moving into grades 7 and 8, college coursework is typically not appropriate for middle school students, although there is a very rare exception. In fact, the representatives from the colleges we work with typically discourage younger students from participating as these are college courses designed for 18+ year olds - including the content and rigor.
Students in grades 7-12 have the option to take college coursework. Typically, we have an in-person meeting in the spring to provide CCP information for the following school year, however this will all be online this year: Click here to access the presentation and additional details are linked for Owens Community College and University of Findlay. Mr. Zender, our school counselor, must be notified of a student’s intent to participate by April 1 using this form.
Schoology
The adoption of Schoology has allowed us to align to one platform for online components to our classes at Van Buren in grades K-12. Parents should have received an email providing information on how to create parent accounts in Schoology. Below are links to video tutorials and help guides:
Video Tutorial – How To Create Parent Account & Link Accounts In Schoology
A Parent’s Guide To Schoology - Written Guides From Schoology
Pandemic School Lunch Waiver - Extended through the end of the 2020-2021 school year
All Van Buren students are eligible to receive free school lunches (a regular lunch) as a result of the federal school lunch program waiver made possible through the CARES act through the end of this school year.
On-Campus Student Attendance
On-Campus Days: Attendance works the same as always - if a student will not be at school, we require parent contact by 8:30am the day of the absence with the student’s name and reason for absence.
Online Days: During online days, students are expected to log in to Schoology at least once each online day as we have to track student “attendance” per state mandate. There is no required time - teachers will be available for Zoom sessions and to reply to email messages. As students fail to login, we will address those “absences” on an individual basis.
VLA: Students should log in to the VLA platform regularly. As students fail to login, we will address those “absences” on an individual basis.
Using PaySchools for Lunches and School Fees
Van Buren Schools is now using PaySchools to accommodate online payments for our school lunches and fees. If you used PayForIt in the past for lunches, you can login here to migrate your account to PaySchools. If you never used PayForIt in the past, create a PaySchools account here. Note: Lunches and fees can still be paid for by bringing in a check or cash.
Important Links
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