Welcome to the 2019-20 school year! We have much to be excited and thankful for as we enter the fall. At Ignite Christian Academy, we hope to challenge and inspire all learners to succeed through our school and, as a result, impact the world for the sake of God’s glory. We want to encourage all students to deepen their faith, pursue knowledge, cultivate character, and ultimately be released as servant leaders into the world. As a school, we value and are motivated to present education through a biblical worldview, so students understand that all knowledge reveals God’s truth and character for us as His children.
This past summer, teachers went through intensive training to refine their biblical integration skills, and administrators developed processes and systems to help students become more successful. As a school, we want to be intentional about shaping a Christian worldview and help train children in the ways they should go.
The largest change you will see this back to school season is a move to more individualized help. In previous years, teachers held open online whiteboard hours for all students to attend for one hour per day. Based on feedback and data analysis, it was clear that this was not a solution that was working. Often, students weren’t able to get the help they were looking for if a teacher’s hours were busy either because they had to wait for their turn or they weren’t able to ask all of their questions before the hour was over.
This year, we have moved to individualized online whiteboard sessions to help students get the allocated one-on-one time they need with their teacher. We hope this will be an environment that is more conducive to student learning. Students do have to sign up in advance and can do so up to one week before the session. To access your teacher’s page to book a session, you need to visit your Genius Dashboard, clicking on the course you need help with and selecting the Bookings Page Link. From there, you will be redirected to sign up on a different website. You have the option of signing up for an online whiteboard session or a phone call. If there aren’t any available times, that most likely means your teacher has already been booked for the day, is out sick, or has scheduled time off. Please try another day on the calendar.
Don’t forget, if you don’t want to wait for an individualized session, you can always receive immediate help Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (CT) at 877-543-0148. You can also message your teacher through your coursework or see if they have any cancelled bookings. Additional information on different types of academic support offered and getting started tips are available on ICA’s virtual campus.
Lastly, ICA is pleased to offer three different options to attend ICA’s Fall Open House to better suit your schedules. Each session will have the same information, so there is no need to attend more than one. Please register now to join us for more information about ICA, tips for how to be successful students, changes that were made for this school year (including the moves to individualized help sessions), meet and greets with ICA administration and teachers, and an opportunity to ask your questions.
We are thrilled to partner with you this year, and we are eager to serve you and your children. Thank you for entrusting us with them, and we will do our best to help your child find success at Ignite Christian Academy. We are here for any questions you may have, and we hope to see you at one of our Open House events in September!
Julia Ellis
Principal, Ignite Christian Academy