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, mandated that every charter school have for you 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 myself; The RVA’s PAC President, Charlone Nikolaus at 920.255.6665 or nikolaus@ruralvirtual.org.
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.
If you have or would like to contribute ideas for future Mentor Series please contact our Mentor Series Coordinator, Tracie Moldenhauer at 715.459.6827 or tracie.moldenhauer@ruralvirtual.org.
You can view all the current scheduled topics, dates and times by viewing the Mentor Series Schedule. If you have missed previous Mentor Series webinars feel free to visit our Mentor Series Library. Here you will find a great resources to better your practices as a home mentor.
Tips for the start of the year
Some of us have chosen to homeschool our children. Others of us may not have planned to be here, yet here we are. All of us are asking ourselves; “Now what?”
It takes time to settle into a routine, feel like you are hitting all the bases and finding joy amidst all the chaos of the homeschool day. Don’t fret, for most of us this took a few months.
Your school is unique, just as unique as your children are. My daughter likes to read her novels at bedtime, while my son learns more with a hands on approach. As you get used to your curriculum you can adjust your child's day to the way they learn best. You are not in a public school 8am -3pm schedule. If you choose to have Math at 8am and Science at 11am and that works best for you, perfect. But make sure to take advantage of the RVA’s flexible schedule. It can make your life a whole lot easier, and more convenient!
Communication is key to making your schooling with the RVA a success. Your teachers need you to communicate with them on a regular basis. If you are not planning on sticking to the schedule the RVA set out, you need to let your teacher know. Please keep in touch with your teacher about any issues, complications or adjustments you're hoping to make. There are many avenues for assistance and your teacher can serve as your guide.
The Student Spotlight
Every year the RVA holds the Student Spotlight, where our RVA students get to showcase something they like or have done.
This could be a musical instrument, school project, art project, household pet or basically anything they would like to showcase. With the start of the school year your student will be doing a lot of fun school activities! If you have anything that you are proud of, or something that your kiddos worked really hard on, share it so we could showcase this for the Student Spotlight.
Contact me with any questions at nikolaus@ruralvirtual.org!
Leroy Butler at our RVA Kick Off Event on Aug 24, 2020
Online clubs, field trip ideas
With Covid19 moving everything to an online venue, at least for a while, things have changed on the field trip front for a bit. That being said, it doesn’t mean we can’t still make connections, form relationships and have great experiences through online events! If you have any ideas for an online event please let us know!
If you don’t know which event co-ordinator to contact in your area, you can always contact me and I can forward that information on. nikolaus@ruralvirtual.org