2014-2015 Lottery

Vision Charter School is accepting applications for the 2014-2015 school year! Vision Charter School will hold its lottery for enrollment for the 2014-2015 school year beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, March 21, 2014 in the secondary technology room.

Applications may be found at visioncharter.net under enrollment/lottery. Completed applications must be postmarked by March 13, 2014 and if hand delivered, no later than 4 p.m. on Friday, March 14, 2014. Applications received after March 14 at 4:00 p.m. will be placed into the pool for the following year and at the bottom of the wait list for each grade level.

Vision Charter School is a FREE K-12 College Prep Science and Art School! Vision Charter School offers students a small and safe school environment. Our accelerated and advanced curriculum ensures every class is taught to the highest standards. The school emphasizes character and leadership development, arts and science instruction, gifted and talented curriculum for all students, and music training. Qualifying high school students at VCS are offered dual credit college classes. Eligible students are able to graduate from high school with a two year Associate of Arts from CWI for half the cost. Now is the best time to turn in an application and invest in the future of your child!

All prospective students will be given the opportunity to enroll in the FREE public charter school, regardless of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, gender, social or economic status, or special needs.

Loteria  de Inscripcion para 2014-2015. Fech : 21 de marzo  2014; hora 9:00 a.m. Para obtener una aplicacion visita el sito webwww.visioncharter.net. Las aplicaciones completas deben ser recibidas antes del 13 de marzo y si es entregada por mano debemos recibirla  antes de las 4:00 de la tarde el dia 14 de marzo. Las aplicaciones  recibidas despues del 14 de marzo a las 4:00 de la tarde seran colocadas  en el fondo de usos por el uno siguinte. Todos los ninos de kindergarten al grado 12 tienen la oportunidad de hacer una apicacion sin tener  en cuenta la raza, el color, el origen nacional o entice, la religion, el genero, el estado social o economica, o las necesidades especiales.

Check out our website at visioncharter.net, call 455-9220, or e-mail the Administrator at wendyoldenkamp@visioncsd.org for additional information. Interested families may set up a tour of our school by calling 455-9220.

Send Applications to:

Vision Charter School

19291 Ward Road

SCHEDULE CHANGES:

IDLA

  All students who are taking an IDLA class next semester will be required to turn in an enrollment form and check for $75 to the counselor before Jan 17, 2014. Schedules and enrollment forms can be found in the library next to the counselor's office.

If students are currently enrolled in IDLA this semester they are still required to enroll for the Spring semester and are still required to fill out an enrollment form and are still required to turn in $75 for the semester. 

**Checks must be made out to Vision Charter School with the IDLA class name in the memo line.

Students enrolled in IDLA Fall semester and who do not wish to take IDLA in the spring will be required to turn in an Add/Drop to the counselor. Those are also due Jan 17, 2014.

SCHOOL CLOSURES/ SNOW DAYS:

 IN THE EVENT OF SCHOOL CLOSURE OR EMERGENCY CLOSURE: The most accurate updated information can be found on our Facebook page and our website at visioncharterschool.net.  We will also send out updates via this newsletter. If you would like to receive our newsletters, you may sign up on our website.

You may also check updates on KTVB channel 7, KBOI channel 2, KIVI/KSAW channel 6 and 9.

We are aware that many families are traveling a long distance daily to get to VCS.  In the event of snow and ice, we prefer that you and your family come late to school and be safe rather than rush to avoid a tardy and potentially encounter dangerous traffic situations. Therefore, we will not count your child absent as long as they are at school NO LATER than 10 a.m. daily during harsh weather conditions. Please notify the attendance clerk when signing in that the tardy was due to road conditions.  Tardies will always be excused during bad weather days. This grace period only applies on bad weather days.  Your safety is our first priority!  (Your child will still be responsible to make up missed work from any class per the attendance policy.)

SKI/SNOW TEAM:

It is not too late to join the middle school or high school ski/snow team! If you are a snowboarder or like to ski, this team is for you!

Middle and High School students can compete at their ability level ranging from Novice to Advanced. The races are every Saturday in January through February 8th. The Dotty Clark Tournaments will be Feb13th for Middle School students and February 14th for High School Students. To qualify for the Dotty Clark Tournament, racers must participate in three Saturday races.

Racers must check in each Saturday before racing with Piper Gerdes or Mrs. Lair on the third floor by 10 a.m. in Pioneer Lodge. Racers may compete in downhill and/or freestyle competitions. Racers must return the Bogus Basin waiver and the VCS waiver to Piper before their first race in order to race. Day passes can be obtained at Simplot Lodge with a student ID. You may ask Mrs. Brockert to write "Snow Team" on your Student ID Card. These passes are discounted for racers. Freestyle competition begins at 11:30 a.m. in the Terrain Park. High School races begin at 12:30 p.m. and Middle School Races begin at 1:30 p.m. each Saturday. If you are interested in more information about the Ski/Snow team, please stop by the secondary office and ask Mrs. Brockert for an informational packet. You may also contact Piper at caldwellcowgirl@gmail.com with any additional questions.

LUNCH ORDERS:   The window to order hot lunches for February will open on January 12th- January 26th. Payment is due no later than January 31st. If you have any questions regarding the hot lunch program, please contact Cindy Walgamott at 455-9220 or email cindywalgamott@visioncsd.org. 

Schoolhouse Rock Live!

The 2nd through 8th grade students plus the musical theatre class at Vision Charter School have the privilege of watching Schoolhouse Rock Live! as presented by Music Theatre of Idaho.  The assembly will be Tuesday, January 14 starting at 9:30 a.m. in the gym. The production is FREE for our students! We are very excited to host this production.  There will also be evening performances January 16-18, with a matinee on the 18.  Tickets for evening productions may be purchased through MTI at their website. 

DATES TO KNOW:

Friday, January 17:  End of 2nd Quarter/Semester

Friday, January 17: The deadline is 4 p.m. to submit Drop/Add Schedule Change forms to the counselor for 7th-12th grade students. Students are encouraged to submit these asap to have a better chance of having their requests granted.

Monday, January 20:  NO SCHOOL MLK, Jr. Day

Saturday, January 25: GOLDEN EAGLE Middle School Robotics Team competes at State in Twin Falls at CSI.

Saturday, January 24: FUTURE CITIES COMPETITION for A/V Tech.  BSU Engineering Center.

Friday, January 31:  The Senior class will be sponsoring the High School Winter Semi-Formal Dance on January 31st, 2014. The theme is Winter Masquerade. It will be held in the high school gym, from 7:30 to 10pm. Tickets will cost $7 per person. The proceeds will go to the Senior class for their Senior trip. Dessert and drinks will be provided.

Friday, January 31: The Middle School dance theme is black and white winter in Paris. Details to be announced......

Monday, February 17: NO SCHOOL/ President's Day

Thursday, February 27: 6th-12th grade Science Fair from 4:30-6 p.m. (Details to come)

March 13: Deadline to have applications post marked to be considered for the lottery.

March 14: Deadline to hand deliver lottery applications is 4 p.m. to the VCS office.

Thursday, March 20: Last Day of 3rd Quarter

March 21: The 2014-2015 Lottery starts at 9 a.m. in the technology room in the secondary building.

March 21- 28th NO SCHOOL/ Spring Break

Monday, March 31: School Resumes

Thursday and Friday, April 3rd and 4th: PT Conferences from 3:30- 7 p.m.

Wednesday, April 16: Junior SAT Day

Thursday, May 15: Elementary Science Fair, Math Carnival, Book Fair, PFA Auction from 4-7p.m. at VCS.

Tuesday, May 20: Last Day Seniors

Friday, May 23: Last Day of School K-11th grade Early Release 1:40

Saturday, May 24: Graduation practice at 10 a.m. and Graduation at 7 p.m. at the Nampa Civic Center 

College Prep Websites and updated information from the Guidance Counselor, Ms. Radmall may be located at her blog at http://www.visioncharter.net/counselor. 

SAT PREP:

Parents of college bound students are encouraged to go to http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice/ to have your high school student take a free SAT practice test and have the results sent to you!  You can also answer a free SAT question of the day in multiple subject areas. This is a fabulous college prep website!

Students who have taken the PSAT may sign in to collegebboard.org and go to  My College QuickStart™ to receive Personalized feedback, practice and college planning based on your PSAT/NMSQT results.

• See your scores and your projected SAT score
• Review questions you got wrong - and why
• Practice for the SAT with hundreds of practice questions
• Save your college searches
• Take a personality test to find majors and careers fit for you

Students may take the PSAT in October of each year starting in 7th grade. The cost is $14. This past year, every tenth grader was able to take the PSAT for free paid for by the State of Idaho. 

Paper results of the PSAT will be given out at the end of January to the students and mailed home to parents. Tenth grade students will meet with Ms. Radmall to discuss PSAT results and how to maximize the information to improve their SAT results.

www.knowhow2go.org/  KnowHow2GO is a campaign designed to encourage students and veterans to prepare for college. Explore the site to learn more about the steps you need to take to be college-ready.

GRADUATE FROM VISION CHARTER SCHOOL WITH A TWO YEAR LIBERAL ARTS AA FROM CWI!

Vision Charter School is excited to announce our collaboration with the College of Western Idaho to offer a Liberal Arts Associate degree. This degree may be completed concurrently with Idaho State High School graduation requirements. Per CWI, a Liberal Arts AA degree allows students to work specifically toward an intended vocation or to meet requirements of a variety of transfer institutions. The degree is a combination of core coursework and electives totaling 64 credits. To maximize cost-saving, it is encouraged that those interested in the AA program look into aligning their HS coursework to qualify for the state early completer requirements, allowing for state-paid dual credits in their Senior year.

Vision Charter School offers over 80 dual college credits while in high school sitting at Vision Charter School!  

Dual credit requirements have been modified in an effort to align with CWI standards: 

Freshmen: must hold a minimum 3.0 GPA with Counselor recommendation

Sophomore- Seniors: must meet CWI Dual Credit requirements (2.5 GPA and counselor recommendation) 

SEEKING SUBSTITUTES: Applications are on our website at visioncharter.net under "We are Hiring".  

Philanthropy Grant:

Tuesday morning, Mr. Boothby was notified that his was one of nine Idaho classrooms that had been awarded a grant from the CenturyLink Middle School Philanthropy Program. According to the program announcement, it began "...in 2012 to increase awareness among Idaho middle school students of the various needs in their communities, create a lifelong interest in volunteerism and community involvement, develop skills to allocate limited resources, and increase civic engagement."

Mr. Boothby's students will begin by researching nonprofit organizations in the area, completing a written summary and an oral argument/presentation, advocating for their chosen nonprofit. It is then up to the class to determine which nonprofits will be awarded grant money and how to allocate the $3000 among those chosen.

Later this spring, they will host CenturyLink representatives and representatives of the award recipient organizations to present them with a check and speak about the philanthropic process they have just completed.