News from the Village - Cyber Village Academy's e-Newsletter

Please plan to dress appropriately for outdoor recess time. If weather is above 0 degrees, we will be outside for � hour every on campus day. You may want to consider leaving an extra set of items in your locker.

Plan to wear or bring:

Warm coat

Hat

Scarf

Mittens/Gloves

Boots

Snowpants

Donations

All types of accidents, emergencies and wardrobe malfunctions can occur at any time. We are looking for a few donations of gently used clothing. Clean , in good condition & in all sizes. - Items needed: stretchy pants, (sweatpants or leggings) long sleeve shirts, t-shirts and sweatshirts to have on hand for those just-in-case moments.

We are also in need of kleenex & wipes if you have any extras available :)

Thank you in advance for your donation.

Our Mission

Cyber Village Academy prepares students to meet the challenge of a rapidly changing world with confidence by helping them to become

inquiring, knowledgeable, caring and active citizens who value academic rigor, integrity, self reliance and compassion.

Greetings!,

Our accreditation by AdvancEd (http://www.advanc-ed.org/) doesn't mean we're a perfect school. We're not, and there's no such thing. What it does mean is that we are engaged in continuous improvement processes. We regularly solicit feedback and examine our policies and practices against the AdvancEd standards. We also periodically welcome an external review team of experienced educators into the school to provide us with peer feedback, including strategies and goals for bettering our organization and ultimately student learning.

An important part of this process is gathering feedback from parents and students. We want to know if we're meeting the needs of our families and how we can do better. This week, all CVA parents and students received an email with a link to a survey for exactly this purpose. Please take 10-15 minutes to complete the survey sometime in the next week. With your help, we can make CVA even better!

Thanks,

Dave

Annual Spaghetti Dinner

& Silent Auction

Mark your calendars! Cyber Village Academy's 8th grade class will be hosting the Annual Spaghetti Dinner and Silent Auction to raise money for the Eagle Bluff trip. This event is open to the entire village! Feel free to bring family and friends to share a meal. We plan to offer vegetarian and gluten-free options as well as traditional meat sauce.

(Students: check your mailbox for take home flyer)

Thursday, January 21, 2016

6:00-8:00PM

Cyber Village Academy Gym

Cost: $5 or $20 for a family of 4 or more

(pay at the door with cash or check)

Silent Auction: bidding open from 6:00pm-7:30pm

We are in need of donations
for many items

We usually host 150-200 people for this event. Please sign up for what you plan to donate on the Donation List in Google Drive. If you are bringing noodles, they must be cooked. Please bring them in a crock pot with your name on it or a baggie. Cooked items may only be dropped off January 20th-21st due to food storage and safety. We will need:

Spaghetti sauce

COOKED spaghetti noodles

COOKED gluten-free spaghetti noodles

Pre-cooked meatballs

Parmesan cheese

Cookies, cakes, and other treats (some gluten-free)

Lemonade

Coffee

Paper plates and cups

Plastic forks and knives

Napkins

Gallon baggies

Silent auction items ($50.00 maximum, if a donation request letter is needed contact Cassie Lepp)

Please bring food donations to Amy Smith's room. Silent auction items should be taken to Cassie Lepp's room.

If you have any questions about silent auction, contact Cassie Lepp or Jillian Olson.

If you have questions about food donations, contact

Amy Smith or Kati Gosselin

The results are in

Congratulations to this year's winner of the CVA School Spelling Bee, 6th grader,

Alharith Dameh

who won in the 15th round with the championship word, "Smidge" and to second place winner, 5th grader, Isaac Capistrant.

As the winner of the spelling bee,

Harith will be gifted a one-year membership to Britannica Online for Kids. We had a wonderful group of spellers who gave each other great support and good competition. The other competitors were Cora Moore, Isaiah Donat, Mandy Swanson, Toby Kyle-Stickels, Lillian More, Seren Walstrom, Dane Buxman, Zena Martin, Nathaniel Bauer, Isaac Stein, Ian Filkins, and Eli Sorenson-Pearson.

This year, the local sponsor for the twin cities regional Scripps Spelling Bee pulled out and a replacement was not found in time so we do not have the option to continue competing. If Scripps does not find a sponsor for next year's bee, we will consider other options for the spelling bee. Thank you again to all the participants who worked so hard and did so well.

Thank you also to the spelling bee coordinator volunteer Elissa Kuchenmeister and the parent volunteers who helped on the morning of the bee - Leslye Taylor, Cindy Olk, and Norbert Kuchenmeister.

Enrollment Forms Now Available for 2016-2017

Hello CVA families! This year, we are NOT asking all returning families to fill out an enrollment form for the coming school year. Rather, we are assuming that every currently enrolled student is planning to return and will roll enrolled students forward for the fall. If you know already that your student will not be returning to Cyber Village Academy in the fall, please contact

Melissa O-R

in the school office so that we may release that space for a new student in the 2016-2017 school year.

We are beginning to collect enrollment forms for NEW students for the 2016-2017 school year. We will hold the new student lottery on March 1^st to fill any available openings in our programs in each grade level. Any new students who would like to be included in the new student lottery should complete and submit the

2016-2017 Enrollment Form to the office before February 29^th.

Did Someone Say..........

There has been a lot of talk among students & staff about having PROM. We are in the process of connecting with other online and charter schools in the area in hopes to provide a larger group, DJ, a True PROM experience, the whole shebang! This would be for you CVA High School students! With just a few short months left, the planning needs to begin, so the time is now to

get this party started!

Next week, in each advisory class, there will be 2 sign up sheets. We would like to know how many would be interested in attending PROM if one was offered, and how many students would like to participate in the planning process.

More info will be discussed in advisory next week.

Stay tuned....

Pajama Day January 27th!

Plan to wear your school appropriate, comfy jammies!

January Book Orders

Each month we place an order for Scholastic books. The orders usually come within 10 days. If you would like to purchase books as a surprise gift for your student, simply send Christy an email and she will be sure to contact you when the order arrives. Otherwise, the books will be sent home with the student. Happy Reading!

Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub

One-Time Class Activation Code: DWYCB

VISIT scholastic.com/readingclub
ENTER the one-time Class Activation Code DWYCB
SHOP from a carefully curated selection of the best books and value packs

SUBMIT your order online by Wednesday Jan. 27, 2016

If you have any questions, please contact Christy

No Name Calling Week

Everyday, every week, is no name calling at CVA, however we would like to offer this opportunity to participate in a fun nationally recognized week of celebrating kindness and show our support to this important cause.

No Name-Calling Week was inspired by a young adult novel entitled "The Misfits" by popular author, James Howe. The book tells the story of four best friends trying to survive the seventh grade in the face of all too frequent taunts based on their weight, height, intelligence, and sexual orientation/gender expression. Motivated by the inequities they see around them, the "Gang of Five" (as they are known) creates a new political party during student council elections and run on a platform aimed at wiping out name-calling of all kinds. Though they lose the election, they win the support of the school's principal for their cause and their idea for a "No Name-Calling Day" at school.

This year, No Name-Calling Week will take place the week of January 18-22, 2016.

Celebrate Kindness!

We believe in celebrating kindness while working to create safe schools free of name-calling, bullying and bias.

Themes for the week:

Monday 1/18: No School

Tuesday 1/19: Wear your favorite winter shoes to understand how it feels to walk a mile in someone's shoes

Wednesday 1/20: Wear mismatch clothing to show that we are all different and that we can appreciate each others differences

Thursday 1/21: Wear backwards shirts to show that words hurt and you can't take them back. It also shows that a good person has others backs

Friday 1/22: Wear sports clothing to show that we all come together as a team.

Annual Community & Service Fair

Dear CVA Families,

As a part of the "village" focus at Cyber Village Academy, we are asking that each child participate in community and service activities throughout the school year - it is quite possible that they are involved in one of these activities already.

Students should volunteer regularly throughout the year. Students are not assigned a certain amount of volunteer hours or activities, but hope that everyone will find something they enjoy doing to help others...and do it often (weekly, monthly, etc. depending on the activity).

In advisory, students will receive a handout with possible volunteer activities. This is not an extensive list by any means, just something to help you get started.

Students will also be completing a journal based on their volunteer activities. This journal is not only to keep students accountable, but it is a way for them to really reflect on what they are doing. The journal will help students see the growth in themselves, how much they are contributing to the community, and understand their importance to others. We are also asking that parents read the journal entries and sign off on each one. Advisors will address how students can keep track of their journals, as they will need them for the Community and Service Fair.

At the end of the year, we will be having a Community and Service Fair to celebrate the efforts of the students. This fair will be on Wednesday, June 3 (more information on that will come later).

Students should collect brochures and pamphlets from the

organizations where they volunteer to help make their Community and Service display.

If you have any questions or concerns about Community and

Service, please don't hesitate to contact your child's advisor.

Thank you for all of your support,

The CVA Staff

***************************************************

Excellent example of Community & Service

During the Month of December, Ms. Patnaude's 4th grade class has been raising money for "Coins for Cancer" as they worked with a fellow class in New Prague, MN raising money for families with children who have cancer. Pictured above is Day 2 of the project and

pictured below shows final result.

Way to go !

Yours for the kids,

The Team at

Cyber Village Academy

Cyber Village Academy is authorized by Innovative Quality Schools which is responsible for providing oversight of our school. For information about IQS go to www.iqsmn.org The website will also provide you with names, phone numbers and email addresses.