Hello Harmony / IHLA Families,
Welcome to the 2021-22 school year! We are excited to begin a new school year and are happy to partner with you and your families in educating your students.
We are excited to work with you and your students this year. Your teacher of record should have contacted you via email and also by phone to work with you and your child getting your courses chosen. We look forward to a great school year!
This is our touchpoint email, and you will receive one every other month. Look for it because it will contain pertinent links, important dates and other information to keep you fully informed. Be sure to add this email address to your contact list so that you never miss one.
In this Touchpoint:
- Calendars
- IRI Testing
- Field Trip
- Options Day Coeur d’Alene
- Options Day Meridian
- New Core Live Classes
- New Club Live Classes
- Canvas Logins
- Flex Direct & PLG Submission Dates
- PLG Learning Plan Dates
- Odyssey
- Resource and Curriculum Orders
- Logins for Canvas and School Pathways
- Parent Dashboard
- Get Social
Calendars
A great place to stay up-to-date on important dates is the calendar found on the parent dashboard. Here you’ll find information such as Flex submission dates, testing dates, school dates, etc.
Click here to view the IHLA Calendar (the official Oneida School District/Idaho Home Learning Academy (IHLA) calendar) for the 2021-22 school year.
Upcoming School Dates:
- August 23 – September 30: IRI Testing Dates
- September 13: Coeur d’ Alene – First Day of Options Day
- September 14: Meridian – First Day of Options Day
- October 11-15 Fall Break
Idaho Reading Indicator Testing
All students in grades K-3 will be doing a reading assessment called the IRI (Idaho Reading Indicator) two times per year. The first assessment period begins August 23 through September 30. You will receive a login for a program called Clever from your general education teacher/mentor, who will call and schedule a virtual meeting with you to complete this testing.
ISAT Practice Test
Below is a link for your students to practice and become familiar with the ISAT year-end test. Please be aware that this test has become very important to the school and the continuation of this amazing program. We strongly encourage your students to do their best and, as parents, please prepare them accordingly.
http://sampleitems.smarterbalanced.org/
Field Trip
We are excited to announce a field trip in Meridian for any students across the state of Idaho who would like to attend. We are going to Jump on It on October 7 at 10:00 am. Please come in some clothing that is comfortable and be ready to have some fun meeting other students enrolled in Harmony from across the state!
Options Day
We have a new location for Options Day in Coeur d’Alene! Options Day for students in the Coeur d’Alene area will begin on Monday, September 13, 2021. Classes begin at 10:00 am, and we will run until 2:30 pm. This is a new location for this year. If your student has not signed up in the Coeur d’ Alene area, contact your mentor to get signed up. We will be offering PE, art, drama & STEM. Jacquelyn Covey will be the site manager, jcovey@harmonyed.com, 208-620-8792.
Coeur d’Alene Options Day Schedule & Calendar (Check tabs to see schedule and calendar on this doc)
Location: Candlelight Church
5725 North Pioneer Drive
Coeur d’Alene, ID 83815
Options Day for students in the Meridian area will begin on Tuesday, September 14, 2021. Classes will begin at 10:00 am, and we will run until 2:30 pm. We have some awesome classes like STEM, art, science, and an amazing PE class at Urban Air, all different activities that are created to keep your students active! We still have room to add your child if you are interested. Kristen Jenkins will be the site Options Day manager, kjenkins@harmonyed.com, 208-371-5827.
Meridian Options Day Schedule and Calendar (Check tabs to see schedule and calendar on this doc)
Location: Urban Air
3876 East Lanark Street
Meridian, ID 83462
NEW! Live Classes
We are now offering LIVE classes to help you complete your Power Learning Goals. Each class is tied to the core requirements and is offered one time per week for the entire school year. Each class will be 30 minutes per class. The cost of the class per semester is $25.
The LIVE elective classes are something your student can benefit from. Each of the elective classes are offered one time per week for 30 minutes. The Literacy Class will be 1 hour. The cost of the class per semester is 25.00.
Core: Math Class
Does your student need a little extra help with math? We are excited to offer a live class with Mrs. Ellis, who will review math grade-level standards for grades 3-8 following the Flex Direct sequence. Anyone is welcome to sign up!! We will offer two half-hour sessions, one for grades 3-5 and one for grades 6-8. These classes will align directly with the Flex direct courses. However, any questions on PLG or state standards can be addressed. Classes will be held on Wednesdays. The purpose of this class will be for re-teaching and review of the lesson. She will provide a recap of the math concept, spot check student work for errors and provide an opportunity for questions. The goal of having the class midweek is to provide feedback and support to the students after they have had the time to watch the Flex video and attempt the skill on their own.
Cost: 25.00 per semester
Grades 3-5: Wednesdays, 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Grades 6-8: Wednesdays, 2:30 pm – 3:00 pm
Core: Writing Class
We are excited to announce that we are offering a live writing workshop for our 3rd-8th grade students! Mrs. Ellis will be presenting Step Up to Writing. This is a writing plan formulated by Maureen E. Auman and has been used in classrooms for more than 20 years. The plan aligns with state writing standards, as well as college and career readiness standards. There will be one class for 3rd-5th grades and one class for 6th-8th grades. The class will consist of modeling and mini-lessons on techniques which will help students organize their writing, as well as improve clarity and vocabulary. They will then have the opportunity to write over the week and then do peer review, editing and revising. The final step will be sharing/publishing the finished products. This is a great opportunity to build your students’ writing skills!
Cost: 25.00 per semester
Grades 3-5: Wednesdays, 1:00 pm – 1:30 pm
Grades 6-8: Wednesdays, 1:30 pm -2:00 pm (if the younger students want to stay, they are welcome to.)
Core: Literacy with Mrs. Goodwin
Do you want your student to have the chance to use books to learn different skills? In the live Language Arts class, Mrs. Goodwin will be using literature to reinforce the K-2 Language Arts standards. Students will practice skills such as the main idea, key details, predicting, inferring and making connections. In each class, students will practice retelling the story using the key parts and practice writing using different prompts. Class will be one hour one day a week. Come work with me as we read picture books and practice our PLG skills.
Cost: 25.00 per semester
Grades K-2: Mondays, 11:00 am to 12:00 pm
Elective: Yoga
Get excited for our upcoming Yoga class that will be offered through Harmony! My name is Carly Gonzalez, and I am a mentor/general education teacher through Harmony. I love my job and working with children. I have also been a yoga instructor since 2002. I love the benefits of doing yoga! It is a great way to stay in shape, helps with balance and flexibility, helps manage stress, relaxes the mind, benefits heart health, and is a great way to get more energy.
We are excited to offer yoga this year for Harmony students! There will be two groups: Kindergarten through 5th, and 6th through 8th grade. Each yoga session will be 30 minutes. I also incorporate a little pilates and barre with my classes as well. There will be a short 5 to 10 minute health lesson beforehand.
Cost: 25.00 per semester
Grades K-5: Mondays, 11:00 am to 11:30 am
Grades 6-8: Mondays, 11:30 am – 12:00 pm
Elective: Leadership Club
Learn to “be all that you can be!” Our Leadership Club will focus on being well-rounded in mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual strength. Principles in leadership long taught to adults are now ready to be taught to even Kindergarten students. Well established principles like “win/win” and “begin with the end in mind” are taught in ways that children can understand and thrive.
I will open up the class to grades K-8. I will begin with leadership stories and activities all can enjoy. In the last half hour, I will focus on more advanced activities for the older students to further internalize and discuss how to be a leader. (Younger students will be given the option of staying or leaving the Zoom.)
Cost: 25.00 per semester
Grade K-5: Thursdays 12:00 pm – 12:30 pm
Grades 6-8: Thursdays, 12:30 pm – 1:00 pm
Canvas Logins
If your child has a Flex Direct or Flex Independent, you should have a login to Canvas, a learning management system for these courses. Please be sure to log in and make sure you can access your child’s account. This is where you will submit Flex worksheets or take the Flex Quiz in Canvas. Instructions for submissions will be included in the parent handbooks for these courses. You can also access the submission instructions in the Curriculum Orientation in the “Working with…” section for each of those courses.
Flex & PLG Submission Dates
Here are the Flex Direct and Flex Independent submission dates for 1st semester. Be sure to submit your students’ worksheets on time as this tracks attendance and progress.
1st Semester Due Dates Learning Plan Submission Dates 2021-2022
- September 10 – (Kindergarten – Language Arts, Math, Science)
- September 24 – (Kindergarten – Language Arts, Math, Social Studies)
- October 8 – (Kindergarten – Language Arts, Math, Science)
- October 29 – 2 Submissions – (Kindergarten – Language Arts, Math, Social Studies)
- November 12 – (Kindergarten – Language Arts, Math, Science)
- December 3 – (Kindergarten – Language Arts, Math, Social Studies)
- December 17 – (Kindergarten – Language Arts, Math, Science)
- January 7 – (Kindergarten – Language Arts, Math, Social Studies)
To find helpful information about Flex Direct or Flex Independent courses, log in to the Family Resource Center and go to the Curriculum Orientation. Select the course that you would like to review. You’ll find FAQs, which include submission instructions and a submission video.
PLG Learning Plan Submission Dates
1st Semester Due Dates
- August 27 – (Kindergarten – Language Arts, Math, Science)
- September 10 – (Kindergarten – Language Arts, Math, Science)
- September 24 – (Kindergarten – Language Arts, Math, Social Studies)
- October 8 – (Kindergarten – Language Arts, Math, Science)
- October 29 – 2 Submissions – (Kindergarten – Language Arts, Math, Social Studies)
- November 12 – (Kindergarten – Language Arts, Math, Science)
- December 3 – (Kindergarten – Language Arts, Math, Social Studies)
- December 17 – (Kindergarten – Language Arts, Math, Science)
Odyssey
We are excited to bring back Odyssey for the 2021-22 school year. Odyssey is an online program for grades K-8. Each Odyssey course is organized into learning paths that align with state standards. Math courses are sequential, and students follow the organized outline to complete lessons and assignments. Other subjects (Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies) are organized so that students can do any assignment whenever they want, but the course is outlined in the suggested order. All course material is provided online, so there is no textbook. Parents may choose to order learning resources that supplement the Odyssey course content. On average, students spend 30 minutes a day working on assignments for each subject.
*Odyssey Social Studies or Science for 6th, 7th and 8th grades is not offered in Idaho.
If you are interested in Odyssey, please refer to the Curriculum Orientation for more information or contact your Teacher of Record.
Resource and Curriculum Orders
We are so excited to have so many new families join us this year! We are working as quickly as possible to fill orders for curriculum and resources. Orders are placed within 2 weeks of when they are received. We started ordering on July 15 for IHLA students.
Parent Dashboard
Get to know your way around the new Parent Dashboard in the Family Resource Center. All the information about your children, course selections, resource orders, and available funding is included there! Also, refer back to the Orientations throughout the school year.
IHLA Counselors
We have a great new resource put out by Idaho Home Learning School Counselors, Here is the link: https://sites.google.com/malad.us/ihlaschoolcounselors/home I would encourage you to look at what is offered!
Get Social
Are you on Facebook? 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. Find us at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/harmonyedidaho/
Sincerely,
Stacey Snow (ssnow@harmonyed.com)
ID Account Manager
801-310-7520
Cheryse Hooste (chooste@harmoneyed.com) 208-200-6245
Melanie Hodgkin (mhodgkin@harmonyed.com) 208-851-1166
Josie Alder (jalder@harmonyed.com) 208-220-1893
Erin Jones (erinjones@harmonyed.com) 208-244-8733
Paula Thorpe (pthorpe@harmonyed.com) 208-540-2646
Melanie Coleman (mcoleman@harmonyed.com) 208-757-7501
Anneleise Atkinson (aatkinson@harmonyed.com) 208-251-9309
Marla Dredge (mdredge@harmonyed.com) 208-766-3357
Deneka Beck (dbeck@harmonyed.com) 832-381-4234
Lacey Bean (lbean@harmonyed.com) 801-602-6595
Lauren Ellis (lellis@harmonyed.com) 208-304-7745
Carly Gonzalez (cgonzalez@harmonyed.com) 435-979-0136
Brittany Goodwin (bgoodwin@harmonyed.com) 208-419-5993
Meaghan Rockwood (mrockwood@harmonyed.com) 208-680-0857
Emily Wengert (ewengert@harmonyed.com) 520-560-3306
Jacquelyn Covey (jcovey@harmonyed.com) 208-620-8792
Robin Sanderson (rsanderson@harmonyed.com) 425-223-0586
Alexis Jean (ajean@harmonyed.com) 503-592-740
Marty Ellis (mellis@harmonyed.com) 559-679-5424