Principal’s Update & Important Dates
We are welcoming new students this semester from all around our district and beyond and we want to extend a special welcome to all of you! Please see this newsletter for important information and upcoming dates and experiences available to our students. Have a wonderful weekend!

~Julie Read, Principal, LaunchED Virtual Academy

🚀 Jan 16-23: ACCESS Testing
🚀 Jan 24: LaunchED Family STEAM Night (see below for more details)
🚀 Feb 7: LaunchED PLC/Late Start
🚀 Feb 5-9: LaunchED Virtual Academy Teacher/Parent Conferences

LaunchED Picture of the Week

Last week we hosted our first ever multi-grade learning experience with Oceans First Executive Director, Dr. Mikki McComb-Kobza. She helped lead an experiment looking at micro-plastics in water sources local to the LaunchED Virtual Academy area. Students both in-person and at home were able to see how microplastics impact a water source and have an opportunity to bring in water and look at it under a microscope at STEAM night next week! We had almost 90 students from 4th-12th grade join in this learning experience and we look forward to STEAM night next week where students will have even more time to learn from Dr. McComb-Kobza. A special thank you to Ms. Legrand, our LaunchED STEAM teacher, for facilitating this incredible opportunity! And to Ms. Blanken, Ms. Moore, Mr. Neiswander, and Mr. Reid for helping to lead and champion this work with their students.


JOIN US FOR STEAM NIGHT!

You are invited to join us at the LaunchED Virtual Academy STEAM night on Wednesday, January 24th from 4:00-6:00pm.


Where: SVVSD Innovation Center located at 33 Quail Road in Longmont, CO
Who: All students and families in LaunchED!
What: A chance to engage in real-world science experiments, explore robotics and coding, participate in art projects, and more! The Mobile Innovation Lab will also be present for our students to explore
*We will also have second semester materials that students will need for classes, teachers will let you know if you need to attend to pick these up!


Nominate an Educator for Teacher of the Year!

We have an incredible team of teachers in our school (including our interventionist and counselor!). Our teachers embrace innovation and compassion in equal measure–and they understand how to honor where a student is as a learner and help them see what they can be as they grow. And to teach online is truly magical, to build relationships through a screen that feel even more authentic and connected is a super power all of our teachers possess.

Please help recognize a teacher in LaunchED Virtual Academy by nominating a teacher who you believe exemplifies excellence for a Teacher of the Year Award. Visit St. Vrain Valley Schools Education Foundation’s website at https://stvrainfoundation.org/programs/tribute-to-teachers/ for the nomination form. The deadline for nominations is Thursday, February 15, 2024 at 11:45 pm.

Our admin team, Julie Read and Nannette McMurtry, can help you gather any information you need to fill out this nomination form–you can reach them via email or call the office. Thank you for all the ways you honor our teachers in LaunchED!


New Club/Team Opportunity!

Icon image of two talking bubbles with a help gear

Do you love learning about different online tools and resources? Do you like helping people problem solve their tech issues? Do you want to help teach students that are new to LaunchED how to use tools like Schoology or Notability? Then, the Tech Team is for you! Please fill out this interest form below! This team is open to students in 4th-12th grades. This team is an online-only team (we will not meet in person).


Link to Student Tech Team Interest Form (students you must be logged in to your SVVSD account to see the form) https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeH_a0hp8Wm1fSMtE3dWqA9BBVl1AUKkP1K14YPqLLbQUS8Jw/viewform

boy doing schoolwork with mother

Attention Students (and parents)!

Please make sure that your iPad is updated to the latest iOS. We recommend checking weekly to see if there is a new update for your iPad’s operating system. So many apps and websites for LaunchED rely on these updates.



LaunchED Virtual Academy