Sage News: Week of December 11, 2023

Week of December 11, 2023

Winter Break Reminder Sage Oak will be closed Wednesday, December 20th – Friday, January 5th in observance of Winter Break. Field Trip Sign-Up Window Closes Tonight The field trip sign-up window closes tonight, December 11th at 11:59 pm. Reach out to events@sageoak.education with field trip/event questions or concerns.   Sage Oak Career Fair Events – Save the Date! Sage Oak is proud to announce that we will host our first Career Fair events in March 2024. The goal is to introduce elementary students to a variety of professions and educational opportunities. Please save the date! More information to come. We are currently seeking volunteers! If you would be wiling to share your passion, expertise, and career with our students at a Sage Oak Career Fair event, please submit the form linked below. CLICK HERE Share Your Voice Survey – Community Providers Reminder to all Personalized Learning Academy Families- Please take a moment to Share Your Voice with us. Your feedback regarding Sage Oak events, resources, and activities helps us to learn, grow, and serve our families better.CLICK HERE Annual Letter Drive We are nearing the close of Sage Oak’s Annual Letter Drive! The Letter Drive will run through Tuesday, December 19th. Please check out our Letter Drive informational sheet and complete one survey per letter sent so we can keep track of our students’ selfless acts of kindness. Last year our amazing students sent 83 letters to neighbors, retirement homes, teachers, military personnel, hospitals, police stations, and more. What an impact!I’m proud to announce that our incredible students have crushed last year’s record with nearly 200 letters documented to date. What an accomplishment! There’s not much time left, so let’s work together to increase this year’s number and spread a little more kindness. CLICK HERE Oakschool Parent Survey As we approach the end of quarter two, we are looking for ways to better our Oakschool classes and student experiences. Click below to provide input on current offerings and what you would like to see in the upcoming semester. We also encourage referrals for professionals to be featured as guest speakers in our Oakschool classrooms.Please complete this quick survey at your earliest convenience. This survey is open to Sage Oak all parents. Thank you for contributing to Oakschool’s success!CLICK HERE Sage Stage  Join us on Friday, December 15th at 9:00 am, when Ms. Elena from Kids’ Table will be back to teach us how to make beautiful Linzer Cookies! The recipe was found in an abbey in Europe during the 1700s and was brought to the United States in the 1850s. During Sage Stage, we will be watching Ms. Elena’s demonstration, then you can follow the recipe and do your baking after the show! Here is the recipe and ingredient list.   Link: https://bit.ly/sageoakstage Passcode: sagestageCLICK HERE Cultivate & Create Art Contest Sage Oak is excited to host our annual Cultivate & Create art contest! We are looking forward to cultivating our students’ creativity and talents in several different categories this year. Students are encouraged to showcase their talents in the areas of dance, film, music, photography, and visual arts.This year’s theme, “Nurturing Roots, Cultivating Excellence” encourages students to consider how their roots play an integral part in their artistic creativity and how that leads our students to strive for continued excellence. Winners will be chosen based on interpretation of the theme, creativity, and artistic technique.    Click below for specific contest details, including the survey link to upload student entries. All entries must be received by Friday, January 26th. We can’t wait to see our Sage Oak students’ talented submissions!CLICK HERE CAASPP Test Prep Conquer the CAASPP with WriteAtHome and Mr. D Math Getting your students ready for CAASPP testing (aka state testing) can be stressful, time-consuming, and distracting from other things you need to be teaching. But in today’s world, state test scores do matter, and test-taking skills are a necessary life skill. Conquer the CAASPP aims to help get your learners prepared. Mr. D Math and WriteAtHome have teamed up to create effective, engaging, self-paced test prep courses for both math and ELA to equip your students to Conquer the CAASPP. Each of the following self-paced courses is available for grades 3rd-8th and 11th and costs $75 via Instructional Funds.Conquer the CAASPP – MathConquer the CAASPP – English Language ArtsWe have opened a new ordering window, which closes on Friday, December 15th. If you are interested in utilizing $75 of your student’s instructional funds to enroll in a course, please contact your teacher or educational advisor (EA) so they can start the PO request process.  VLA students may request Conquer the CAASPP courses by emailing virtualacademy@sageoak.education with their request. Annual IXL Licenses Just a reminder that there are some remaining IXL licenses for Personalized Learning Academy students to purchase with instructional funds for the 2023-2024 school year.   IXL for Math and Reading (K-12) – $30 charge to instructional funds Please let your teacher know if you’d like to purchase an IXL license with the student’s instructional funds. Sage Studio Podcast & YouTube Channel The Sage Studio podcast is a great platform for parents to stay informed, inspired, and connected with all things Sage Oak! All podcast episodes can be found on the Sage Studio & Sage Oak YouTube channel.  Latest episode:  Exploring the Benefits of In-Person Field Trips in Virtual Learning Environments: We sat down with Lana Beshara, Principal of Virtual Learning Academy (VLA), to discuss the incredible growth and success of the program. With over 600 students, VLA offers a unique virtual learning experience that goes beyond just online classes. Lana shares how they prioritize creating a sense of community and connection among students by organizing field trips and offline activities including the upcoming Winter Social. Expanding Possibilities: How CTE Child Development Inspires Students’ Unique Career Paths: In this episode,  Education Advisor and CTE Teacher, Crista Bross, discusses all things Career Technical Education (CTE) Child Development. The CTE program at Sage Oak offers a robust curriculum that goes beyond regular course content to provide students with hands-on experiences and opportunities for growth. Through this program, students not only fulfill graduation requirements but also gain concentrated instruction in the area of child development. Important Technology Updates Important Reminder: Reporting Student VPN Usage Prevents Account Lockouts We want to remind you of the importance of reporting any virtual private network (VPN) usage by your student. If your student accesses their school account from a location outside of our network using a VPN, it may trigger a security alert and lock them out of their account.To avoid account lockouts, please let us know in advance if your student will be using a VPN while working remotely. We also ask that you confirm your student’s location if we contact you about a potential security issue. Your cooperation helps us maintain the safety and security of our systems while still allowing remote access for approved VPN usage. Please contact us with any questions. Important Notice: Reporting International Travel Prevents Account Lockouts Over Holiday Break With the upcoming holiday break fast approaching, we want to remind all families of the importance of notifying us about any international travel plans for students. As you may know, our network security systems monitor login locations and can trigger alerts if a student accesses their account from an unexpected international location. This is meant to protect all student accounts, but it may result in a locked account if we are unaware of approved travel plans. Please take a moment to notify your student’s teacher or our IT department directly if your student will be traveling outside of the country between December 20th and January 7th. Advance notice of travel dates and destinations will allow us to ensure their account stays active during the break. Thank you for helping us maintain a secure learning environment while still supporting remote access for approved travel. Please contact us with any questions.