The PAC Mission:
To serve as the front line of communication facilitating cooperative efforts between home mentors, the school, and the RVA School Board with the intention to give a voice to families.
Well, first of all, what is the PAC? The state of Wisconsin will tell you that the PAC is the Parent Advisory Council, a mandate that every charter school have available for you as parents. So if there is an issue you have someone to go to.
Here at the RVA that would be me, The Parent Advisory Council President, Charlone Nikolaus. I will run any concerns up the ladder and get to the bottom of every question for you. You can reach me at nikolaus@ruralvirual.org or 920-255-6665.
You can expect the PAC at the RVA to create change for you as parents. This is how the Mentor Series came to be. We heard from one of our RVA moms with a desire to learn and grow as a home mentor and the Mentor Series was created!
You can voice your opinion too!
I will be holding four open forum discussions, not recorded. Where you as parents can discuss how you are doing, how you are implementing what you learned from the most recent Mentor Series or just pick my brain about the last Board Meeting. These sessions are all you. Just RVA parents having time to talk.
I will also be sending out four newsletters for the year updating you on what is going on within the RVA. I will be including any updates from the Board Meeting, Mentor Series or things from other parents.
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me; The RVA’s PAC President, Charlone Nikolaus at 920.255.6665 or nikolaus@ruralvirtual.org.
Teaching Kids About Internet Safety
Age-appropriate strategies to teach your children about internet safety
With precautions being taken to help prevent the transmission of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) we're all spending more time online - whether it's for work, school, or entertainment, the internet can help us stay connected.
It's important to be safe about our internet usage and it's even more important for us to help children learn to navigate the online world in a safe way.
Here are some top tips for children of any age:
Keep laptops, tablets, and other smart devices in a common family area so children’s internet use can be supervised.
Create a list of family rules around internet use. For example, young children must ask a parent’s permission before accessing the internet.
Caution children to never reveal personal information including passwords, full names, addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers, or even where they go to school.
Encourage children to come to you if they encounter anything that makes them feel scared or uncomfortable.
Bookmark favorite or acceptable websites for your children to use.
For more information regarding internet safety tips for your children and to learn more about how to keep yourself and your kids protected, click here.
School Deadlines
As we are already into the last part of the year, remember to keep an eye on your deadlines. Plan accordingly and make adjustments as needed to reach your goals. For the elementary students, remember that if you are not doing live classes, you do have the option to work year round. Always maintain those important communications with your teacher too in order to put a little more ‘spring’ in the end of your school year. Ending strong with a plan can be a wonderful way to start your summer together.
Informational Meetings & Springing Ahead Day March 28 & 29
We will be holding Informational Meetings in just under two weeks to go over what our Elementary, Middle, and High School grade levels will look like for next year for families who want a refresher, families who are curious about any updates or changes we have for next year, newer families, and families who have a child moving from either the elementary school to the middle school or the middle school to the high school. Really, the informational meetings are for everyone who plans on being a part of the RVA next year!
Please mark your calendars...
Returning Family Elementary & Middle School Informational Meeting
Date: Monday, March 28th
Time: 9:00 am - 10:00 am
The meeting will be held in Zoom here: https://ruralvirtual.zoom.us/j/81821113563
Returning Family High School Informational Meeting
Date: Monday, March 28th
Time: 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
The meeting will be held in Zoom here: https://ruralvirtual.zoom.us/j/81821113563
...we hope that you are able to join us! If you are unable to, we will record the sessions and email them to everyone.
Know someone thinking about joining the RVA next year that would like more information?
We will also be holding Informational Meetings / Online Open Houses for any new or prospective families for next year. If you know of anyone who is interested in joining the RVA next year, please feel free to share this information with them...
New Family Elementary & Middle School Informational Meeting / Open House
Date: Monday, March 28th
Time: 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
The meeting will be held in Zoom here: https://ruralvirtual.zoom.us/j/81821113563
New Family High School Informational Meeting / Open House
Date: Monday, March 28th
Time: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
The meeting will be held in Zoom here: https://ruralvirtual.zoom.us/j/81821113563
This year we are also hosting an in-person open house for prospective families at our RVA Learning Center in Mosinee! Families interested in learning more about the RVA can watch the presentations on the big screen, meet other families, ask questions, view the curriculum, and Win Prizes!
New Family In-Person Open House in Mosinee
Date: Monday, March 28th
Time: 1:00 - 5:00 pm
Location: RVA Mosinee Learning Center, 888 WI-153 • Suite 140, Mosinee, WI 54455
Last, in addition to the Informational Meetings, we are planning a "Spring Ahead Day" for all of our students on Tuesday, March 29th. It will be a day where students can move up to their next grade level, join online classes, meet the teachers, ask questions, have some fun, and experience what the online, direct instruction classes are like. We will send out more information regarding details of the Springing Ahead Day prior to the date.
Reminder - Internet Reimbursement
Internet reimbursements are sent quarterly!
The new policy states that you don’t need to send in your internet bill for reimbursement, you just need to have an active student in the RVA to get the funds. The email will be sent to you on your RVA email asking if you would like to accept the allotted funds every semester. You will have the ability to decline the funds if you would want to do that as well.
This change was made starting this year. So remember to not send in your internet bill anymore, and respond to the email that gets sent if you would like to receive the funds.
If you have any specific questions the policy can be found in your student handbook, or reach out to me at any time!
The RVA has a program for you, our home mentors, called the Mentor Series. This is informational and educational to help make your experience of being a home mentor easier and better for your children. These will be announced by email invite and listed on the RVA calendar prior to airing in the Zoom Room.
You can view all the current scheduled topics, dates and times on the events calendar. If you have missed previous Mentor Series webinars feel free to visit our Mentor Series Library. Here you will find great resources to better your practices as a home mentor.
PAC Meeting
Our next PAC Meeting will be held on
Thursday, May 5th at 2 pm
Open Forum Parent Discussion
This meeting will be an open discussion, after the Mentor Network meeting at 1:15pm. If you have any questions or would like to be there to answer questions for other parents, please come. We hope to see you there!