Hello Harmony / Garfield Online Families,
We hope all is going well! As we hit the halfway point in the semester, please remember to reach out to your mentor or teacher right away if you have any issues submitting your student’s work.
In this Touchpoint:
- Calendars
- Re-enrollment is open for 25/26
- Options Day
- Family Focus Fridays
- How to keep your students engaged
- Flex Submission Dates
- Portfolio Submissions for 4th Quarter
- Resources and Resource Ordering
- Monthly Trivia for Students
- St. Patrick’s Day Crafts
- Garfield Online Contact Information
- Get Social
Calendars
Stay up to date on important dates and events with our calendar found on the parent dashboard. Here you’ll find information such as Flex submission dates, testing dates, school dates, etc.
Click here for the official Garfield Online calendar for the 2024-25 school year.
Upcoming School Dates:
Mar 17: PD Teachers (No School)
Apr 14-18: Spring Break
May 22: Last Day of School
Re-enrollment is open for 25/26
Re-enrollment for the 2025-26 school year has begun. An email with the subject line, Register Your Student for the 25-26’ School Year with Garfield Online / Harmony, was sent to families the last week of February. This email, sent from the Garfield Online Secretary (gosecretary@garfk12.org), contains instructions on how to re-register. If the email was not received, please check your spam folder or reach out to your mentor for help.
Options Day
Our Options Day program brings your child a dynamic, in-person program where learning is an adventure! Your student will join us once a week for a day packed with exciting elective classes, hands-on activities, and the chance to make new friends—all while meeting curriculum requirements.
Every week, students enjoy 4 hours of varied, engaging classes plus a half-hour lunch break at a location convenient for you. Each year, our offerings are uniquely tailored to each site, featuring favorites like art, music, P.E., self-defense, creative writing, drama and many more interactive experiences. Join us for a fun-filled day of discovery and creativity!
Tuition is $700 for a full year of Options Day for Harmony enrolled students. Bring your friends! Those who aren’t enrolled in Harmony can also attend for $825. Space is limited, so secure your child’s spot today! We have sites in American Fork, Cedar City, Logan, Morgan, Payson (NEW for 2025-26) and Roy.
Visit Harmonyed.com under the Options Day tab for the classes and the calendar at a site near you. Questions? Email Michelle at msymkoviak@harmonyed.com.
Considering Options Day for your kindergartner? Every child is unique so we invite you to consider whether your child is ready to enjoy the full-day, immersive classroom experience our program offers.
Family Focus Fridays
Guiding Families with Proven Strategies and Insights!
Join us for our interactive Family Focus Fridays sessions designed to support and empower parents in the homeschooling journey. In these trainings, we’ll explore the effective use of curriculum offered by Harmony, to create a positive and enriching learning environment at home.
What to Expect:
- Practical tips for utilizing the curriculum offered by Harmony
- Q&A sessions to address specific family curriculum needs
Whether you’re new to homeschooling or a seasoned pro, this training is tailored to help you and your family thrive utilizing the various curricula Harmony offers your family.
Time: 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm MDT/MST
Location: Google Meets: meet.google.com/ckw-pyow-fyw
3/14 Dream box
4/11 Portfolio Regular
How to keep your students engaged
- Warm-up: Start with something first that gets them excited. That could be trivia, a quick game, or a short story. Find what interests your students.
- Movement: If your student is getting restless, let them get up and move around. Even just a few minutes of movement can help students re-engage.
- Location: Students don’t all think or work the same. Changing location can help! That could be a table, couch, bed, bean bags, and even going outside can help students get back into their work.
- Hands-on: If students are struggling to absorb a concept, find a way to give them a more hands-on experience. That could be a field trip, things around your house, or even someone you know is an expert who can help teach it. The options are endless.
Flex Submission Dates
Here are the Flex Direct and Flex Independent submission dates for the 4th quarter. Be sure to submit your student’s worksheets on time as this tracks attendance and progress.
March 14
March 28
April 11
April 25
May 9
To find helpful information about Flex Direct or Flex Independent courses, log into the Family Resource Center and go to the Curriculum Orientation. From the sidebar menu in the Flex Direct and Flex Independent sections, you will find FAQs, which include submission instructions and a submission video.
Portfolio Submissions for 4th Quarter
All portfolios need to be submitted no later than May 9 to give the teachers time to review and grade them.
The guidelines for portfolios are as follows:
Language Arts Portfolio Submission
Please submit 5-8 artifacts that meet the following requirements:
- Students have completed grade level work.
- At least 4 artifacts must be from your chosen curriculum.
- Student work is of a high quality, meaning:
- Learning objectives are explicit and/or explained
- Work is completed correctly
- Artifacts are clear and legible
- Artifacts cover an appropriate range of different concepts. For language arts, that means:
- 1 writing work sample
- 1 reading work sample
- 1 grammar/spelling work sample
- 2+ work samples of your choice
Math Portfolio Submission
Please submit 5-8 artifacts that meet the following requirements:
- Students have completed grade level work.
- At least 4 artifacts must be from your chosen curriculum.
- Student work is of a high quality, meaning:
- Learning objectives are explicit and/or explained
- Work is completed correctly
- Artifacts are clear and legible
- Artifacts cover at least 3 different math concepts.
Science Portfolio Submission
Please submit 5-8 artifacts that meet the following requirements:
- Students have completed grade level work.
- Student work is of a high quality, meaning:
- Learning objectives are explicit and/or explained
- Work is completed correctly
- Artifacts are clear and legible
- Artifacts cover at least 3 different science concepts.
Social Studies Portfolio Submission
Please submit 5-8 artifacts that meet the following requirements:
- Students have completed grade level work.
- Student work is of a high quality, meaning:
- Learning objectives are explicit and/or explained
- Work is completed correctly
- Artifacts are clear and legible
- Artifacts cover at least 3 different social studies concepts.
Resources and Resource Ordering
At Harmony, we are always excited about the resources we can offer to students to help with their education. You will want to order your curriculum and technology first, and use remaining funds for a variety of things to help your student learn. We have included a few fun ideas and examples of how you could use the funds we provide for your student. Most items have price limits so if you are wondering about them please ask your mentor.
- Kinetic Sand
- Lincoln Logs
- Seed Starter Tray with Grow Light
- Science Kits
- Yoga Ball
You have until May 31st to submit a reimbursement.
Monthly Trivia for Students
Answers are at the bottom of the Touchpoint email.
Question #1: What is celebrated on March 17th?
Question #2: Who made the first phone call?
Question #3: What year was Coca Cola invented?
St. Patrick’s Day Crafts
Clover Crown
Felt Shamrocks
Leprechaun
Rainbow Jar
Toilet Paper Roll Leprechaun
Garfield Online Contact Information
Here is the contact information for Garfield Online.
Rowdy Miller, Principal
Email: rowdy.miller@garfk12.org
Danette Verde, Secretary
Email: gosecretary@garfk12.org
Phone: 435-676-1307
Brittney Dodds, Kindergarten Teacher Last Name A-K
Kimberly Blood, Kindergarten Teacher Last Name L-Z
Email: kimberly.blood@garfk12.org
Email: brittney.dodds@garfk12.org
Diona Jones, 1st Grade Teacher
Email: diona.jones@garfk12.org
Taylor Steed, 2nd Grade Teacher
Email: taylor.steed@garfk12.org
Kimberly Blood, 3rd Grade Teacher
Email: kimberly.blood@garfk12.org
Mckaylie Ruhr, 4th Grade Teacher
Email: mckaylie.ruhr@garfk12.org
Robin Gibbs, 5th & 6th Grade Grade Teacher
Email: robin.gibbs@garfk12.org
Get Social
Are you part of our growing community of Harmony parents? If not, please join us and get social! It’s a great place to share what is working with your family, ask questions of other parents, and receive updates on Harmony activities.
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/harmonyedutah/
- Instagram https://www.instagram.com/harmonyed_/
Happy March!
Brianna Webster, Garfield Account Manager (bwebster@harmonyed.com)
Denise Glines, Paraeducator (dglines@harmonyed.com)
Abbey Teran, Mentor (ateran@harmonyed.com)
Carly Purdy, Mentor (cpurdy@harmonyed.com)
Jaisha Anderson, Mentor (janderson@harmonyed.com)
Kristen Nielsen, Mentor (knielsen@harmonyed.com)
Trivia Answers
#1: St. Patrick’s Day
#2: Alexander Graham Bell
#3: 1886