Epic, but Not Epic!

Howdy Friends and Families!

I am no longer with Epic Charter Schools. If you have questions about your schedules/classes, please log in to Epicenter to find out who your new teacher is and get their contact info.

I will miss you, study hard and do Great Things!

Mrs. Trina Menzie
Formerly Epic Educator
Currently Oklahoma City Public Schools Instructional Coach

Get Connected with Other Parents and Students

One challenge when joining an online or homeschool situation is providing socialization for students.  Next year, we will have Monthly MeetUps for Menzie's EpicEd students the Third Thursday of every month at the Lions Park in Norman, Oklahoma. There are great facilities and lots of parking.

Monthly Meet Ups

Lunchtime on the Third Thursday of Every Month

at Lion’s Park Group Shelter or the Norman Library in Norman when below 60’s

Dates and Tentative Theme/Activity

August 17^th Breaking the Ice with an Ice Cream and Shaved Ice Social

            Nametags with Math  Individual Activity—My name is __ and I am Epic!

September 21^st Goose Chase Ap Scavenger Hunt—Families or Duos—find people with things in common and or acting out in video EpicEd Rules, see GooseChase.com

October 19^th Dress Up as your favorite Scientist, Historical Figure or Animal. Name Tag is Mini-Report on Costume Subject and is for a grade. May have a sign up sheet so I don’t have 15 Kitties show up…

November 16^th Giving Thanks--making Thank You Cards and Letters

December 21^st Decimals and Decisions—math and simple balance scales, living place value line

January 18^th New Year’s Celebrations Around the World @ the Library (it’s cold in January!)

February 15^th Valentine Exchange @ the Library (it’s still cold!)

March 15^th Test Survival Strategies Presentation and Make and Take

April 19^th  Wacky Weather--Bring Kites or we may Make Kites

May 17^th Survivor-Style Games—Outwit, Outpace and Outlast—It’s Epic!

In addition to Monthly MeetUps, there are several resources available to parents online to find activities and groups for students to socialize or have learning activities.

Link coming soon!

Argumentative Essay Info

For 8th and 10th Grade Oklahoma state testing, Argumentative essay is the topic this year.

Here's a great resource about it:
https://www.mesacc.edu/~paoih30491/ArgumentsOutline.html#argoutl

Building Academic Vocabulary

Perhaps one of the most important building block to academic success is vocabulary. Reading comprehension is crucial in all subject areas, and by equipping our students with word knowledge they can "decode" the lessons as they encounter new words and concepts. The OSDE has a targeted list for each grade level available here: http://sde.ok.gov/sde/building-academic-vocabulary

Please print the Game Cards from the website above for your student's grade level.  I recommend using the Game Cards for your student's grade level in a variety of ways so word work does not become a chore, but something the student can enjoy and look forward to.  Pinterest.com or TeachersPayTeachers.com have lots of ideas on different approaches for word games, but here's a few to get you started.  Start small, don't try to use more word choices than the kiddo can handle, say use three to five words the first time you have Word Play, and see how successful the student is with that number of choices, and then add a Bonus word to the mix as a reward when the have gotten good at dealing with the number of choices you started with, that way it is a reward rather than a punishment.

• Create an academic vocabulary notebook for your student.  Here's one that uses flaps to allow for more information about the word.  An Academic Vocabulary notebook should be mostly in the student's own writing if at all possible to create ownership of the word and work.
  
   
• Scavenger Hunt: Display the word lists or Game cards in the area where the student studies, whenever a student finds one of the words he gets to put a star next to that word.  This opens discussion about the word each time they find it.  
• Word Sorts: sort a small group of the words at a time.  Switch up the concept: Alphabetical, by subject, by syllable count, nouns and verbs, et cetera.
• Create Word Stations and have a different activity at each station. Rainbow write the words in different colors at one, sort the words at another, use it in a sentence or fill in the blank letters at another, et cetera. Add sensory levels by using play doh or Legos to spell out the words.

How to Learn Online

How to Learn Online AND get an Awesome Grade: Take Notes!

How to Get an Awesome Grade in Odysseyware

Lessons

• In Odysseyware, students have 3 chances to work through the Lesson Questions.  

• Take notes on the lesson’s key concepts (the big ideas)

• Take notes on any missed questions.

• Notebooks are a great tool, it creates a study guide for the quizzes and test.  

• Notebooks are a great way to create a deeper learning experience.
• They can include printed material from the learning website, or you might even find things from other sources like TeacherPayTeacher.com.  Each learning website is different, but most have a Print icon on the upper right toolbar to print lessons
• Highlight, make flashcards, use multiple ways to guide a student to use the information in the lesson before they take the quizzes.

Quizzes

• Can only be taken 1 time.

• Need help during the quiz? Look in the notebook at the questions they struggled with in the Lesson, chances are it is a similar question.  Still not sure? Use http://homeworkhelp.epiccharterschools.org to get extra help 

• I may reassign specific missed questions to allow a student to bring a grade up.  

• Any missed questions should also be added to their notebook to help them with the Test.

Tests

• At the end of each Unit is a Unit Test. This is also a One Time test (like the quizzes), not a three chances like the lesssons. 

• Students may use their notes to help them be successful

• I will only reset tests if there is a technical problem or it was submitted before being completed.

• I may reassign specific missed questions to allow a student to bring their grade up.

No Computer or Internet? No Problem!

Sometimes, life gives you lemons and you need to make lemonade.  Here's a recipe to help if you need alternatives to access online classes due to technical problems.

No Computer? No Problem!

Local libraries will allow you to use their many workstations for school work.  For the most part, your online classes do not require you to download or install software, you are only using a web browser (that's what Chrome and Safari are) to access the information. Pack up your planner, class notebook(s), and headphones and get to the nearest library to log on.
Not sure where the local library is?  Here's a search window: https://www.google.com/maps/search/library/

Bonus: there's some awesome things going on at your local library, and did I mention, there's books there, too?  How's that One Book a Month goal going?  Great!

Many Learning Websites work on Cell Phones

Use a cell phone's web browser to connect to your online learning websites.  Most of these learning websites don't use too much data, and you cannot afford to start the year off behind!  Yes, it's a lot harder to type a paragraph on, but here's a secret bonus:  Use the little microphone button (circled in Red in the graphic to the left) and dictate your "written" responses.  Spellcheck, hello!  Proof your responses before hitting send (Always read your responses at least twice!) to make sure it makes sense. Smartphones can be pretty dumb when they hear homophones.

Free Wifi Access is Available (nearly) Everywhere--Go Get it!

According to Openwifispots.com, there are 66, 198 free wifi hot spots in the US.  It is really important to start the school year off right by working even if Internet is down or you have not received your MiFi device (or figured out how to connect to it yet).  There are at least 31 free wifi spots in Norman, Oklahoma, probably more!  I'd look for one that also has a pokestop so I can spin every few minutes, too...maybe drop a lure.  This is sounding great, I have Internet but I am ready to move my office to hang out with YOU at Starbucks!  Invite me, you never know, I might show up and buy you an ice cream cone for working so hard!  Follow this link to see Yelp.com results for Wifi in Norman, Oklahoma, and change the location to your hometown to see what's near you!

Safety First

If you are leaving the house to work on your class work, and you live with your parents--Always let a family member know where you are going, and check in with your home to let them know you are safe.If you do not have a Internet at home, please get to the nearest library, MacDonald's, Starbucks, or family member/safe neighbor and get on those classes right away!

Exploring and Changing Electives

Howdy Parents and Students!
I received a question today about choosing classes, and wanted to share with you how to see what your options are, and how to change them if you are interested in doing so. Below is a video on how to see what electives and extra curricular activities are offered.

Elementary and Middle School students may have electives as well. Please browse the level that is right for your student and check out the Course Catalog for each core to see what electives are available.  For Secondary (6-12) students, they will receive an enrollment email from Epic's Graduate Support Team/Counselors listing their class schedule.  Please be sure you are checking your email!  At this time, electives offered through the core curricula may be changed within 7 days of the beginning of the semester.