In the online school, attendance is marked by the work that you complete. Each assignment you complete counts towards your “attendance.” If you don’t complete any work, then there you receive no attendance.
Regarding grades, if you do no work, then the teacher has nothing to grade.
Overall, every teacher in the online school wants you to do well in all of your courses. But, the only way the teachers can tell how you are doing is if you turn in your assignments. Remember, during your enrollment interview how we talked about how doing an online course is 80% student directed? This, with parent support, is what has to happen for students to do well in their online courses.
This week is the end of the 12-week grading period and the end of the third attendance period. Get those assignments turned in so you get credit!
The students of COS enjoyed touring Fresno State today. Our first guide took us around the campus and showed us the various departments and buildings. We walked through the science building and saw classes in session. Outside the library, we saw the peace garden dedicated to many historical figures who have promoted peace around the world.
Next, our first guide dropped us at the dorms. Our new tour guide showed us the insides of a variety of dorm rooms where we got a sense of what dorm life is like.
We then headed to the theater department where one of the online school parents showed us where she worked and gave us a great behind the scenes tours of the theaters. We saw the prop rooms, costume room, and the place where they build the props for the different plays performed at Fresno State. They have a variety of great shows that will be performed this year. Check out the schedule of performances here.
Thanks to the COS parents for organizing this trip. They are already planning the December outing!
On Thursday, Nov. 5, our great parents have organized our November outing to CSU Fresno. We will receive a personally guided tour of CSU Fresno as well as a personalized tour of the theater arts center (many COS students are into music and performance). The tour will begin at 12:30 and end at 4:00. We will meet on the east side of the Smittcamp Alumni House (See map of the campus here). Rob will be there to chaperone, so parents are welcome to drop off the students or also welcome to join the tour. Other family members are welcome to attend as well. If you are planning to attend, please sign up: http://www.quia.com/sv/356198.html.More information will be sent out on this soon.
On Monday, Nov. 2, teachers in Clovis Unified (and therefore, in the Clovis Online School) are participating in a professional development day. This means teachers get a chance to learn new things and attend sessions that will enhance their teaching. Therefore, Monday is a “no school” day for students. However, it is a great day to play some “catch up” for any classes where you may be a bit behind. .
THURS. NOV. 5 TOUR OF FRESNO STATE – JOIN US!
On Thursday, Nov. 5, our great parents have organized our November outing to CSU Fresno. We will receive a personally guided tour of CSU Fresno as well as a personalized tour of the theater arts center (many COS students are into music and performance). The tour will begin at 12:30 and end at 4:00. We will meet on the east side of the Smittcamp Alumni House (See map of the campus here). Rob will be there to chaperone, so parents are welcome to drop off the students or also welcome to join the tour. Other family members are welcome to attend as well. If you are planning to attend, please sign up: http://www.quia.com/sv/356198.html.More information will be sent out on this soon.
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER “No School” Days
Finally, in November and December, there are a number of “no school” days. The entire school calendar is here and is printed in your student handbook. Here are the dates for November and December:
Mon. Nov. 2 – No School, district professional development day for teachers – COS office open
Wed. Nov 11 – No school. Veteran’s Day. COS Office Closed.
Mon. Nov. 23-Fri. Nov. 27 – No School. Thanksgiving Break. COS Office Closed.
Mon. Dec. 21-Fri. Jan. 1 – No School. Winter Break. COS Office Open some days.
Mon. Jan. 4 – No School. District Professional Development Day for Teachers – COS Office Open
All students are expected to attend the COS leadership summit today (Tues. Oct. 20) from 12:30-5:30 here at the COS campus. We will be having some fun, getting a better understanding of how to make the technologies work for you to make doing an online course more effective, and you’ll get to meet your teachers face to face.
During the workshop time, you’ll get to choose two workshops of the three that are offered, so be thinking about which ones you want to choose:
The next student leadership summit will be on Tuesday, October 20 from 12:30-5:30 at the Clovis Online School campus. The agenda includes having fun, learning more about using the technology to do the online courses, and meeting your teachers face-to-face! Please plan to be there. More information will be posted here soon.
Last week was the end of the first six weeks of the first semester of the Clovis Online School. Soon you will be receiving a printed progress report that will show you your current grade in each one of your classes. In the meantime, I would encourage each student to click on the “grade” link in each one of your courses and see which assignments in which you may have received a low grade. In most cases, you can make up that assignment for a higher grade. And then, email your teacher to let him or her know that you have re-done an assignment.
Overall, the important thing is that you are doing your assignments on a daily basis (that means every day). If you do not turn in or submit any assignments, there is nothing for your teachers to grade.
Based on your feedback, we are making some changes in the Clovis Online School. First, in every class, you will see a short daily activity to complete. These are assignments that will take from 5 to 15 minutes to complete. Please do these assignments every day! Secondly, more of the assignments will be broken down in smaller parts. Finally, you will see more emails from your teachers as we want to make sure you understand what assignments you have and when they are due. Please be sure to check your COS email every day!
We continue to learn with you what is working and what is not. Ultimately, the most important thing we do is to facilitate your learning so you will earn your high school diploma and go on and do great things in the world! Keep up the great work!
P.S. Chai is working on COS ID cards for each student that we will have for you at the next Leadership Summit, which is Tues. Oct. 20. Chai needs a picture of you, so please email him a face picture of yourself.
The first six weeks of the Clovis Online School is now behind us. Teachers will post grades and progress reports will be sent out via the mail. How did you do?
In talking with students, parents and teachers, I have learned…
that about 60% of our students are completing their assignments on a daily basis.
that many of the assignments are taking students more than an hour per day per subject
that many students have been frustrated with how some of the assignments have been organized
So, based on this feedback, you will see some changes in the online courses in the next week. In particular, each class will have a short assignment (5-15 minutes) to complete each day that will be graded. More students need to attend the weekly online classes and office hours to ask for help if assignments are not making sense.
Finally, on a different, but related topic, this video says that teenagers send 2272 text messages per month…do you send this many text messages? Have you texted your teacher lately? Here is the video to watch and learn more:
Tonight is the second monthly COS gathering. Parents and students have organized a pizza and movie night. The event begins at 5pm at the Me ‘n Eds at River Park, followed by a movie at Edwards Theater. You are welcome to join us just for dinner or for the dinner and the movie. See you there at 5 tonight (Fri. Oct. 2)!
This Friday marks the end of the first six weeks of the school year. Each teacher will assess each student’s progress up to this point in time and issue a six-week grade (the printed progress report will be mailed to your home). Have you completed all of your assignments for each of your courses? If you have, then you should probably expect pretty good grades. If you have not completed all of your assignments in your courses, then we need to talk about what can be done to help you to complete these assignments. Many students have found that coming to the online school in the mornings has helped to get their work completed. You are welcome to join us!
Attendance is taken daily in the online school. We just submitted our first attendance report. I was happy to see that there were 25 students with perfect attendance. However, I was disappointed to learn that there were 12 students who had poor attendance. Poor attendance means these students did not log in each day and did not complete their assignments. The online school attendance is based on student log ins and student work completion. Even more importantly, if students don’t complete their work, they can’t earn credit for completing courses. We want every student in the Clovis Online School to successfully complete every course. Make sure you are logging in every day and completing several assignments every day to ensure your successful completion!
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All students are expected to attend the COS leadership summit today (Tues. Oct. 20) from 12:30-5:30 here at the COS campus. We will be having some fun, getting a better understanding of how to make the technologies work for you to make doing an online course more effective, and you’ll get to meet your teachers face to face.
Tonight is the second monthly COS gathering. Parents and students have organized a pizza and movie night. The event begins at 5pm at the Me ‘n Eds at River Park, followed by a movie at Edwards Theater. You are welcome to join us just for dinner or for the dinner and the movie. See you there at 5 tonight (Fri. Oct. 2)!