Principal’s Update & Important Dates

October is here, and it’s like turning the page to a new adventure–the leaves are changing, the daylight is shortening, and there is a feeling of excitement about what is to come. In this newsletter, we’re sharing some amazing learning our students are doing (check out the picture of the week below) as well as opportunities for students to connect with each other–including an amazing Spirit Week! It’s a great month in LaunchED!

~Julie Read, Principal, LaunchED Virtual Academy

🚀 Wednesday Oct 25th: Make Up 11th Grade NMSQT/PSAT
🚀 Friday Oct 31st: End of grading trimester for elementary school students
🚀 Week of Mon Oct 30th-Nov 3rd: LaunchED Spirit Week! Stay tuned for the themes!
🚀 Wednesday Nov 1st: Late Start/PLC
🚀 Week of Nov 20-24th: No School for Thanksgiving Break
🚀 Week of Nov 20-24th: ALSO–MyON & SORA Reading Challenges!

LaunchED Picture of the Week

Image of a properties of matter experiment including a box where a student has typed in their hypothesis

Super exciting Science happening in Elementary this week!  4th and 5th graders worked with their first Gizmo, which is a Science tool to perform virtual experiments.  4th graders explored the laws of motion using a virtual fan cart to learn about friction and drag.  5th graders are forensic scientists investigating a counterfeiting case and learning about the properties of matter. There is some amazing learning happening in LaunchED!


LaunchED Virtual Academy Spirit Week! October 30th-November 3rd

Students–Join us in our LaunchED Spirit Week (thank you LaunchED Student Leadership Team for coming up with this great list of options!)
🎤 Monday, October 30th: Generations Day–60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s–which is your favorite style?
🎃 Tuesday, October 31st: Halloween Costumes/Fall Celebrations and Backgrounds
🤩 Wednesday: November 1st: Twin Day–dress to match a friend, teacher or Principal!
🧢 Thursday, November 2nd: Crazy Hat or Hair Day
📺 Friday, November 3rd: Choose Your Adventure! Dress up as your favorite character from a book, movie, or show!

Poster with "Save the Date" and pictures of the event including students launching rockets, attending a career lecture, and playing with robotics.

Save the Date! LaunchED Virtual Academy STEAM Night is January 24, 2024! Get ready to join your student and our LaunchED community for a fun evening of STEAM activities, celebrations of projects and student work, and STEAM career explorations. More info coming soon!


Attention 8th-11th grade students!

The SVVSD Career Elevation & Technology Center (CETC) and Innovation Center (IC) will be visiting with our students in 8th-11th grades to showcase their programs for LaunchED students to take next year during the 2024-25 School Year. These presentations will be held during our Advisory Classes in Webex on Wednesday, October 25th, and Friday, October 27th, from 10:30 – 11:00am. Parents are also invited to attend the virtual presentations to view their programs along with their students. Links for each meeting will be available in your Advisory Schoology folder. LaunchED students will start registering for next year’s classes in November–so take advantage of these meetings to find out more about your options at the IC and CETC.


A poster with title Art Club and paint splatters on the image.

Attention 6th-12th grade students–join the ART Club! There are three upcoming dates–October 20th, November 17th, and December 8th. Art club will be from 10:45-11:30am. You can join in Mrs. Freeman’s Webex Room: https://launched.webex.com/launched/j.php?MTID=m3e10e3b468f9335a5aaf7ae819f4004f


STEAM CLUBS RETURN TO LAUNCHED!

We have three STEAM-focused clubs available at LaunchED:
STEAM Stars: Students in Grades K-2, meets one time a month, and 3rd-5th meets two times a month.
STEAM Club: Students in Grades 6-12 meet two times a month.
Students can join in person at our LaunchED campus or online!

Collage of images with students participating in the STEAM clubs. There are pictures of students showing science experiments and pictures of students participating in an online class.


LaunchED Virtual Academy