The onset of August brings the start of a brand new school year at Ignite Christian Academy. Some students have already started their courses for the year, and over the coming weeks hundreds more will join them in a new year of learning and growth. The new school year also brings a number of changes to Ignite Christian Academy.
One of the changes that families will notice this year is the new student orientation. We have changed the orientation from an assignment at the beginning of each course to a short, stand-alone course. This new mini-orientation course has four assignments that provide students and parents with important information about the academy. I recommend that parents take some time to watch the videos in those assignments to ensure they have all the information they need about ICA for this year. The total run time for the videos is less than one hour.
Another change that we have implemented this year impacts online LIFEPAC testing. The online LIFEPAC tests have been converted from a platform called Moodle into our Ignitia system. Ignitia provides a more seamless experience between LIFEPAC courses and other online courses that students may be taking. It also provides gradebook information in the parent portal that is easier to read and interpret.
Specific start dates, a change that was first mentioned in the May edition of the ICA Today, is a third change that ICA is implementing this year. For the 2015-2016 school year there are 28 start dates available to choose from, all of which fall on Mondays throughout the year. This change will enable teachers to more closely correlate online classroom content with where students are at in their course work.
The final significant change this year is a new semester structure. Moving forward, students who enroll in ICA will have 22 weeks to finish each semester of coursework. This replaces our old policy of having one deadline for the whole school year. The new semester structure provides smaller, more manageable goals for students to meet.
These changes are all things that will help improve the student experience at Ignite Christian Academy and ultimately support the success of students. I look forward to all the exciting opportunities our students will have to grow at Ignite Christian Academy this year.
Mr. Joseph Bakker
Principal