Newsletter November 2016

Let’s get off to a fabulous start as we begin Quarter 2 on Thursday, November 3rd! If you are new to our school, be sure to

attend all four days of mandatory Walk To Class Ori-entation in our virtual classroom at 9:00 a.m. (parents are welcome to come too)!

Get into each class, each day and work, work, work! You will be so proud of yourself when you real-ize how much you have accomplished in such a short period of time.

We have many opportunities here to help you along your way at school, in your family and relation-ships, and beyond. Be sure to check out our clubs, workshops, and opportunities to give back to our communities!

We will be discussing tips for navigating our system,

looking where to find student lessons, how to check

grades, communication, Class Connect sessions plus get

your questions answered!

What: Learning Coach University (LCU) is a monthly

workshop for parents and learning coaches.

Subject: OLS Basics and Testing

When: Wednesday, November 9th at 12:00 p.m.

Where: Click on your parent or learning coach

scheduled Class Connect link to join!

Teacher and Support Spotlight

Contests and Celebrations

Clubs

Online Workshops

In-Person Events

Testing and Intervention

Virtual Learning Tips

Quizzes, Projects & Test, Oh My!

Tips For Writing Well

Healthy Habits

Mathematician's Corner

Student Tips for Succeeding at Insight

This Month in History

Counselor’s Corner

Student’s Unite!

Connect With Us

Inside This

Month’s Newsletter:

Learning Coach University

Quarter 2! By Dana Mendez

Do you desire to be a part of our newsletter’s

Student’s Unite?

Are you passionate about your art, hobby,

craft, writing, giving advice or storytelling?

Then join us in making our newsletter reach

even more people by contributing to it!

Email Dana Mendez for more information!

Make entering daily attendance easy-

download the free K12 Attendance App

for smartphones!

Attendance!

My name is Chantel Garcia and I am a Program Specialist here at Insight. This

is my 6th year in the virtual education world and my 8th year working with

Special Education. This is my 3rd year working with our amazing and awesome Insight staff. I live with my family

in La Quinta, California which is in the desert near Palm Springs. I have three children (2 daughters and a son),

two dogs, two cats, and two turtles. I love living in the desert and being surrounded by mountains! One of my

favorite activities is hiking at sunset, so being surrounded by the mountains is a plus (when it’s cool enough to

hike)! I also love the beach and

road trips with my family. I am

lucky to work with such dedicat-

ed and caring staff and families!

Chantel Garcia

My name is Jenny Kline and I am so thankful to be working here at Insight. I have been teaching

math for a few years, starting as a math tutor in col-lege and then going on to do my student teaching in the William S. Hart School District in Santa Clari-ta. Before coming to Insight I spent four years teach-ing math and music at Trinity Classical Academy, a private Christian Classical school in Santa Clarita where I had the privilege of working with students from kindergarten up through 12th grade, though I spent most of my time teaching 7th through 11th grade. I received my bachelor’s degree and teaching credential from The Master’s College and I am credentialed to teach both music and mathematics, which gives me the unique opportunity to work in both of the fields I love—music and math.

On a more personal note, my husband is also a math teacher and we have been married for five years. We have a beautiful baby girl who is just about a year old. She is the happiest baby I have ever met! We also have a one-year-old Australian Shepherd mix, who is hyper and crazy and loves playing and running. The baby thinks the puppy is hilarious! As I mentioned, I am a musician as well as a mathematician and flute is my primary instrument (in fact, I met my husband while we were both playing in the college Wind Ensemble together; he plays the saxophone). I am also working on my piano skills (I’m getting there…) and my most recent musical ambition is to master the ukulele! I also enjoy walks, reading books, playing board games, and spending time with my family.

Teacher and Staff Spotlight

Jenny Kline

CONTESTS AND CELEBRATIONS!!!

Do you have some-thing you would like

to celebrate with us? Let us know by

emailing Da-na Mendez so we can

publish your celebration, good deed

or thank you to someone in our next newsletter!

ONLINE CLUB MEETINGS

NOVEMBER ONLINE CLUBS

NOVEMBER ONLINE WORKSHOPS

NOVEMBER ONLINE WORKSHOPS

Fun during Red Ribbon Spirit Week!

NOVEMBER SCHOOL TOURS

NOVEMBER IN-PERSON ACTIVITIES

NOVEMBER IN-PERSON ACTIVITIES

DECEMBER IN-PERSON ACTIVITIES

THE NEW LIVE LESSON SCHEDULE!

SBAC AND CST TESTING

Diagnostic & Interim Assessments

Intervention!

Why is it important? So we can support you!

All students enrolled in an ELA or Math course are required to take the diagnostic and

interim assessments as directed by your content teacher(s).

PARENTS AND STUDENTS- It’s MANDATORY!

For more information, please check out the website:

http://www.smarterbalanced.org/parents-students/

Testing dates will be this Spring, May 1, 2017—May 26, 2017

This is a free program for students who want extra help in Math or English. By participating, you will earn up to 5% of your course points in extra credit, in your

class! If you are enrolled in Pre-Algebra or Algebra: You will be automatically invited to workshops, targeted lessons for extra help and support If you feel you need more in-depth support in ELA or Math, just fill out the survey to let us know you want help! http://tinyurl.com/GetMeHelp Once you fill out the survey , an intervention teacher will call you to discuss the days and times available. You will attend classes just 90 minutes per week.

SBAC AND CST TESTING EXAMPLES

MATH

ELA

Not all turkeys gobble: Males turkeys are the only ones that gob- ble because they use it as

one of its mating technique to attract females.

Turkey isn’t the only thing that makes you sleepy: Turkey has an amino acid called trypto-

phan that is used to make serotonin, a chemical that helps regulate sleep. Other foods that you might eat

for Thanksgiving that have tryptophan are cheese, nuts, and shellfish.

Turkeys can fly: Wild turkeys can fly up to 55 miles/hour, but the commercially bred turkeys cannot because

they are bred to be much heavier.

Turkeys have stones in their stomachs: Turkeys do not have teeth, so they collect stones that they swallow

in a part in their stomach called the gizzard. Once food enters into the turkey’s gizzard, the stones help

break down their food before the food passes to its intestines.

Turkeys can change color based on their emotions: They can turn red, white,

pink, blue, or gray depending on how they feel.

Want to learn more? Go to LiveScience.Com and search for “Turkey Facts”

5 Surprising Science Facts About Turkeys

By Caroline Nagayama

Healthy Habits By Courtney Dale

What does it take to become a proficient mathematician, and how can students find academic success in math

courses here at Insight?

Why does Algebra seem easier for some students while many others struggle? What does it take to become an “x-

pert”?

To start with, those of us that enjoy puzzles and logic games have a slight advantage. I actually love solving the

most difficult Sudoku. (You do know what a Sudoku is…don’t you?)

I can actually feel my brain heating up, and I’m sure I save the life of a few more brain cells.

Here are a few suggestions to build mathematical intelligence and become more successful in math courses:

Become 100% proficient in the basics - Adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing with positive and negative

numbers, fractions and decimals.

Learn from your mistakes – If you don’t care why your answers are incorrect, then you just missed out on a

great learning opportunity.

If you are confused, do not give up – You have to take on the challenge and USE the internet “to understand”!

Here are a few great websites that can ease your pain:

100’s of videos, with every math topic: https://www.khanacademy.org/math

Math Papa – see any equation or problem solved step by step. Use this to learn, not to cheat:

https://www.mathpapa.com/algebra-calculator.html

Graphing Calculator – see the line and the points:

http://my.hrw.com/math06_07/nsmedia/tools/Graph_Calculator/graphCalc.html

Complete and submit this Sudoku to one of your Math teachers for

bonus points!

The objective of sudoku is to enter a digit from 1 through 9 in each

cell, in such a way that:

Each horizontal row contains each digit exactly once Each vertical column contains each digit exactly once Each smaller square region contains each digit exactly once

Mathematicians Corner By Joe Grisafi

This Month In History By Monique Kroese

Nov 6, 1860 Abraham Lin-

coln is elected the 16th

President of the United

States. He delivered the

Gettysburg Address on

Nov 19, 1863.

Nov 7, 1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt wins re-election

becoming the only U.S. president to be elected to

a fourth term.

Nov 8, 1960 John F. Kennedy is elected as the

youngest US President in history. He was assassi-

nated on Nov 22, 1963.

Nov 11, 1918 World War I ended, Armistice Day.

Major conflicts of World War I were formally end-

ed on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th

month of 1918, when a cease-fire with Germany

went into effect. The United States observed Ar-

mistice Day, until it was renamed Veterans Day in

1954.

Nov 20, 1984 McDonald's makes its 50 billionth

hamburger

Tips for Writing Well By Niki Billingslea

Student Tips For Succeeding at Insight By Grace Margain

1. Schedule your day around Class Connect live sessions and interacting in them to be successful; those that only watch recordings or don't attend Class Connect ses-sions at all are in many cases less successful.

2. Do assignments every day to prevent from having to cram in multiple assign-ments in the last few days of the quarter.

3. Reach out to your general education teachers, special education teachers, homeroom teachers, and etc. for help. Reach out to anybody and everybody as soon as you know there is an issue or a problem with grades, classes, tech-nical issues, etc.

4. Use both digital and physical organization methods (i.e. weekly assignment wall chart or calendar) to stay orga-nized of when quizzes and teacher graded assignments are due.

5. Take advantage of retaking quizzes up to 5 times if you don't get a passing grade at first, after 2 or 3 tries, ask your general education and/or special education teacher for help before you attempt the 4th or 5th try.

6. Make sure you have a quiet and organized place to work.

Major World Religions Celebrations November 2016

1: All Saints Day – Christian Samhain - Beltane * Wicca/Pagan Northern and southern hemispheres Birth of the Bab - Bahi 2: All Souls Day - Catholic Christian Birth of Baha'u'llah * - Baha'i 14: Birthday of Guru Nanak Dev Sahib - Sikh 15: Nativity Fast begins - ends Dec. 24 - Orthodox Christian 20: Christ the King - Christian 24: Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahdur – Sikh Thanksgiving - Interfaith USA 25: Day of the Covenant * - Baha'i 27: Advent begins through Dec. 24 – Christian Christ the King - Christian 27: Ascension of 'Abdu'l-Baha * - Baha'i 30: St. Andrew's Day - Christian

*Please let us know if we are missing any important information on this calendar so we can celebrate YOU! *Information courtesy of www.interfaithcalendar.org

Trevor Project : Online community support, suicidal

LGBT hotline, etc: http://www.thetrevorproject.org/

pages/programs-services

Any crisis, including bullying, abuse, rape, counseling

or suicide, call 310-855-4673 or text “TEEN” to

839863.

24 Hour Crisis Numbers: https://teenlineonline.org/

youth-yellow-pages/24-hour-crisis-numbers/

Need Guidance and Don’t Know

Where to Turn?

Counselor’s Corner By Jaime Forrest

All students with Insight are receiving a copy of their Individualized Learning Plan (ILP) via email. The ILP is a tool that shows you how many credits you already have, how many credits are currently being attempted, and how many credits are still needed to meet the graduation requirements for Insight. We hope you find your ILP to be a helpful tool in understanding your grad-uation status, however, always remember to contact your counselor if you have any questions about your gradu-ation status – we are happy to help! For last names A-K, contact Jaime Forrest at jaforrest@k12insightca.org, for last names L-Z, contact Kelly Mortensen at kemortensen@k12insightca.org. Also, don’t forget to check out the counseling site at https://sites.google.com/site/iscacounselingresources/home for other helpful information!

Students Unite!

Celebrating our students through a

collection of stories, inspirations and

art created by our amazing students!

This month’s theme is:

Giving Thanks/Thanksgiving

By P. Henderson

Being Thankful in Turbulent Times By N. Denise

When Thanksgiving Day comes around, and your family is all gathered around the table piled high with food and drinks, will you be prepared? Soon enough the question will come up. You know what question I’m referring to. “What are you thankful for?” What will you say exactly? Will you make something up because you feel like you don’t have anything you want with life? Will you simply push it off because it’s greedy to be thankful when others are in need of basic necessities? Or will you realize that you have so much to be thank-ful for.

It’s so easy to focus on all the bad things. Especially in the times we live in today. With all the murder,

suicide, and terrorism we hear of each day, it gets hard to let yourself feel joy any longer. I am guilty of this myself. The constant dread, the fear, the sadness at what our world has become. It’s so easy to let it get to you. Even if it doesn’t immediately affect you, it still hurts.

The media has the tendency to rely heavily on bad news to meet their quota of stories to report on.

Let’s be honest, they wouldn’t make as much revenue if they didn’t. But should the public follow suit? That’s what ends up happening most of the time. We hear a story and our natural course of action is to repeat it. When all we hear is bad news, that’s all we share. It’s a terrible reality.

Does this mean humanity has lost hope? Short answer, no. We have a responsibility to ourselves to try and find happiness. If you feel like you have nothing to be

thankful for, or nothing to be happy about, it’s because you aren’t looking in the right places. You’re reading this article, right? There you go, be thankful for vision and the education that taught you how to read. Indoor plumbing? Be thankful for that.

Be thankful for laughter. Laughter makes almost anything better. Be thankful for diversity. It makes

socialization so much more interesting. Be thankful for entertainment, the ultimate showcase of creativity. You should even be thankful for pain, because without pain we wouldn’t truly appreciate the joys of life. Whatever you have, be thankful for it, because without it you wouldn’t be where you are right now.

We take so much for granted every day. Next time you feel like you have nothing, take a look around.

You have everything. You have a beautiful earth to call home. Someone cares about you, even if it doesn’t seem like it sometimes. You have fresh air, step outside and take a breath. You have emotions. Without them, life would be nothing. Most importantly, you have your knowledge, the basis of everything you feel.

So, this Thanksgiving, when you don’t think you have anything for, look around. You only have eve-

rything to be thankful for.

By A. Palma

We found this cat a couple of days before Thanksgiving last year. He was a couple of weeks old and malnourished. Now he is a thriving, playful kitty and a member of the

family.

Being Thankful By S. Danielson

When I think about giving thanks and things like that, it always makes me remember my family and my friends

where I grew up and the struggles we went through trying to barely get by. I am so thankful for the family and

friends and the people I have in my life because without them I would not be the person I am today. It’s always im-

portant to love your family even if they get on your nerves because tomorrow isn’t promised and you should be

thankful every day for waking up and living another amazing day in this world. Growing up in the ghetto in not so

great areas really brings people together and makes you realize you need to cherish what you have. I have a great

life in a beautiful city with great people. And I’m sure a lot of people do, even though I’m a bit spoiled and I get a

lot of the things I want I have been in the opposite situation where we just couldn’t afford it, when we spent mon-

ey on the things we had to, not for fun. I’m so thankful to have what I have and the help I get from others, when I

think of the word thanks just so many things run through my mind because I have so much to say. It’s a daily thing I

think about. But I guess what I’m trying to say is don’t take things for granted, because I’ve had to talk to friends

one day and the next they aren’t here anymore and it sucks. Be thankful for what you have because not everyone

has the nice things you do.

The Thanks of Giving By T. Martinez

Unfortunately many of us are not blessed with helpful opportunities. There is a great percent of us who take

what we have for granted. For example these things that we have could be a jacket, a jacket that is of a color you

despise so much that you choose not to wear it. Right now, there is someone who is in desperate need of warmth

and would take any jacket regardless of its style or color. For sure we all have a moment where we don’t want to

do anything for anyone or anything. We can gather the motivation and courage to help others in need. It’s all part

of sacrifice. Sacrifice is something part of life that we need to learn to deal with. A quote my grandpa always used

to say and still says is, “Today for you, tomorrow for me.” It means today you can help someone and tomorrow

some can help you. Brings us to the seasonal topic of November, thanks giving. Native Americans were generous

enough to feast a meal with the pilgrims when they first arrived to the states. Me being a Native American myself,

I’ve though the value it means to help someone. I also know what it feels to be helped. Now I have my own point of

view of when a time comes that I need to help someone. Of course me being me I will always help someone when I

can and do the best I can even though the person may have been not so nice to me. Not everyone thinks the way I

do but it’s very important that we pass on to the future generation that it’s important to help because one day we

might need help. Also not to take the precious things they have for granted because right now there is more peo-

ple than you think that would do anything to have what you have. So readers when you go to bed tonight in your

warm bed or get dressed for school in the morning remember to be grateful and to take part in helping others be-

cause one day you or someone you love may need it.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!

Connect With Us!

Have a

November!

Like Insight Schools of California on Facebook!

Make entering daily attendance

easy- download the free K12

Attendance App for smartphones!

Your homeroom teacher can help! Call on them with

any question through email or by phone!

For technical issues, please call: 866-512-2273

Have a Question? Attendance!

Tell Us Your Story!

We want to know why you came to Insight!

Tell us about your experiences before coming to our

school and how our school has helped you to achieve!

Fill the survey out at:

http://tinyurl.com/ISCA-Tell-Us-Your-Story

Si necesitas ayuda en español, manda un correo electrónico a Dana Mendez o

llama/manda un text a 714-519-6584