Glossary

Accelerated Reader

Accelerated Reader allows teachers to guide students with engaging reading quizzes and activities, to hone their reading skills with authentic practice, and to encourage growth.

Students in Grades 1-5 have been building their reading skills using Renaissance Learning’s Accelerated Reader all year long. Now, at home, students can continue reading books of their choice and take AR quizzes to help monitor their progress and growth even when they are not on our Minnehaha Campus.

 
Home Access Instructions

Grades 3-5 may continue to login on their school issued iPad as they have been doing all year at school. If students do not remember their AR login please contact your child’s teacher. Grade 3-5 students may also use the steps described below for grades 1-2 for access using other types of devices available at home.

Grades 1-2 must access their Renaissance Learning hosted Minnehaha account through this web address https://global-zone20.renaissance-go.com/welcomeportal/1959455. To login students will use the same AR username and password they have been using at school to take AR quizzes. If students do not remember their AR logins please contact your child’s teacher.

 
Accelerated Reader Bookfinder

Would you like to know if a book you have in your home collection or through any other source has an AR quiz and find its reading level? Here is a link to a tool for that: https://www.arbookfind.com

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ClassLink

Classlink is like a one-stop shop where your child can easily and safely access all their school apps and websites with just one login.

Login
  1. Visit https://launchpad.classlink.com/minnehaha
  2. Users can login with the school credentials

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eduroam

eduroam is an international WiFi roaming service designed for students, faculty, and staff. This wireless network provides internet access at any participating organization for all Minnehaha Academy affiliates with a valid wireless login. In addition, eduroam allows us to serve our community and extend hospitality by providing connectivity to any fellow eduroam participant. You’ll find eduroam on campus at Minnehaha, most college and university campuses, and at a growing number of other public and government buildings worldwide.

 

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Explode the Code

Explode the Code is phonics helps students K–4 build essential literacy skills needed for reading success: phonological awareness, decoding, vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, and spelling.

Start Playing
  1. Visit explodethecode.com and login with the account information provided by your teacher.
  2. If accessing the site from an iPad then tap on the "Aa" icon in the URL bar and select "Request Mobile Site". The site will not work unless you make this change.

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Google Meet

Google Meet is for easy-to-join video meetings and may be used for classes, small group collaboration, or to chat with a teacher.

Join a Google Meet from email:
  1. Verify Google Meet is already installed on your iPad. Open the Self Service app and install it it’s not already.
  2. Click on the Meet link emailed to you by a teacher.
  3. Let the teacher know in advance if you will need to join by phone instead.
 
Join a Google Meet from Schoology:
  1. Verify Google Meet is already installed on your iPad. Open the Self Service app and install it it’s not already.
  2. Click on the link to a Meet posted by your teacher.
  3. If it looks like it won’t work then click on the arrow icon in the lower right corner of the Schoology app and select Open in Safari.
 
Google Meet Best Practices:
  1. Mute yourself when you’re not speaking by tapping on the microphone icon
  2. Close any other applications or tabs you have running
  3. Align with your family to carve out times and locations where you aren’t video conferencing at the same time/place
  4. Student should review our Meet Etiquette
  5. Must abide by standards set in the Student Handbook
 
Troubleshooting Google Meet
  • If you’re experiencing poor audio/video quality first determine if it’s you or the other participant (for example, if all viewers are receiving poor video quality from the same participant, then it’s likely to be a sender-side issue)
  • Make sure the sender and receiver have enough CPU power and memory
  • If the audio/video is not working first verify you have granted permission for Meet to use your mic/camera and that you meet the system requirements. Select which mic/camera to use by selecting the ellipses in the More menu.
  • You may experience poor video quality due to poor lighting or network issues (use this tool to determine if your network is unstable — performance below 100ms is desired). Visit fast.com to determine your network speed. Try moving closer to the router or minimizing household network connectivity.
  • Review Known Issues
  • Submit Feedback to Google

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Google Takeout

Eventually, your Minnehaha Academy Google account will be deactivated. After the deactivation, all emails, data you have in your MA Google Drive, and logins associated with your MA account will no longer be accessible. This includes any personal websites or services that you may have signed up for using your MA email address (using single-sign-on), so it is a good idea to change any of those over to a personal email account. Google Takeout can help you keep your data accessible for the future.

You can save a local archive of your MA Google data by visiting Google T​akeout.  To transfer data from a school account to a personal one follow these steps instead:

  1. On your school account (https://myaccount.google.com/), go to Transfer your content.
  2. Enter the email address of the Google Account where you want to copy your content.
  3. Select Get code.
  4. On your personal Google Account, check your Gmail inbox for a confirmation email from Google. In the email, select Get confirmation code. A new tab will open with a code.
  5. On your school account, go back to the "Transfer your content" page. Enter the code, then choose Verify.
  6. Choose the content you'd like to copy, then select Start transfer.

iPad Setup

Use this guide if you've received an iPad from the school that needs to be setup for the first time. Follow along with the prompts on the iPad or use the instructions below for a more detailed step-by-step guide.

1. Turn on the iPad

Use the Sleep/Wake button on top of the device. Select a language and country and, if offered to “Quick Start”, instead you should choose to Set Up Manually.

2. Connect to a WiFi network (e.g. “MA_Secure”)

Continue past the “Data and Privacy” screen.

3. When prompted, select “Setup as New” or “Don’t Transfer Apps and Data”
4. Proceed with Remote Management to enable Minnehaha Academy to manage the device.

Sign in with your Minnehaha Academy ID credentials. This will be the same as your school email address without the "@minnehahaacademy.net".

5. Please setup Touch ID and/or create a passcode for your device

6. Optionally sign into an Apple ID with your school email. DO NOT use a personal Apple ID.

Use the same credentials from step 1.

7. Proceed Through Setup.

After 5 minutes most apps will have downloaded on their own but students may need to use Self-Service to download class-specific apps (e.g. Notability).

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Jamf Parent

The Jamf Parent app empowers parents to manage their children’s school-issued devices. Please note that limited support will be available for these tools.

We are excited to announce a new optional parental oversight feature for students in grades 3–8 that will help support responsible iPad use at home. Our iPad management service, Jamf, developed a new tool just for parents called Jamf Parent. Jamf Parent has many features, but the ones we expect to be the most useful are App Lock, App Restriction, and Locations.

  • App Lock: While your child’s device is in App Lock, they will only be able to use the apps you allow during a specified time period.
  • App Restriction: App Restriction enables you to restrict apps from student use. This feature will allow you to lock apps like Safari and keep your student from using the internet when you feel it is the right time to be done.
  • Locations: Locations, as the name implies, can help locate your student’s iPad if it is on and connected to the internet.

These are optional benefits for our families as a means to support responsible iPad use at home. Use them in tandem with Screentime for a better understanding of how time on the iPad is being spent. Please note that limited support will be available for these tools.

Basic Setup
  1. Start the process by downloading the Jamf Parent app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
  2. Open the app and tap on Get Started.
  3. Tap Scan QR Code.
  4. To access the QR code on your student’s iPad open the Self Service app and tap on the icon in the upper right corner. Scan the QR code.

Setup Instructions
Jamf Parent User Guide

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myON Reader

 myON Reader (from Renaissance Learning) offers students access to thousands of digital books – and so much more. It is a collection of high quality leveled texts that allows for the creation of individualized and scaffolded reader libraries. Teachers can use the application to assign reading and writing exercises to students and track student work.

Accessing myON
  1. Students will access myON through their Clever portal. Just tap the myON tile.
  2. When students enter myON for the first time they will be asked to take a short interest inventory and a reading test. These steps help build a personalized library for each student and brings books to the top of their searches that will both interest them and reflect their grade and reading level.
  3. This link will take you to myON’s “Getting Started” videos and much more.
    https://help2.renaissance.com/myON/get-started

 

myON News

Accessed from within the myON Reader application, myON News delivers five age-appropriate, leveled, news articles to students every weekday. Professionally recorded audio, maps, slideshows, a built-in dictionary, and more make each article come alive, deepening student engagement. Authentic reporting by professional journalists and a careful review by a child psychologist help ensure every article is unbiased and appropriate for children. Plus, with a searchable archive of thousands of published articles, students can stay up-to-date on the latest news, discoveries, world events, sports, and more as they build critical literacy skills.

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ParentSquare

ParentSquare is a safe and secure platform we use for school-to-home communication and district-wide alerts and notices. Users will receive all messages from the school even if they have not registered their account. Users need to register their account to participate in two-way communication features. 

Parents who have registered for school and are entered into our student information system will automatically receive all messages from the school via ParentSquare. However, users need to register their account to participate in two-way communication features.

Register for a ParentSquare account in one of 3 ways:

  • Click the activation link in the email you receive from the School in the fall
  • Sign in or register for ParentSquare from their login page (https://www.parentsquare.com/signin)
  • Click the link in a post or message. Users who did not register previously in response to an invitation, will be asked to register the first time they click on a link to sign in or sign up. For example, if an unregistered parent/guardian receives a post with parent-teacher conference sign ups, clicking the link to sign up for the conference will first lead them through the process of registering their ParentSquare account.

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Password Reset

Enable two-factor authentication:

  1. Open the “Password Reset” app > enter your username and password without the email address (i.e. lastnamefirstname) > Sign In > tap Setup > you’ll now be prompted to setup Google Authenticator so tap Next
  2. Get your secret key:
    1. open “Google Authenticator” > Get Started > Enter a setup key > enter your account username (e.g. lastnamefirstname)
    2. reopen the “Password Reset” app > and select “Can’t scan it” to get the secret key (e.g. 79 KLHS KS)
  3. Connect your account to Google Authenticator:
    1. copy the key and paste it into Google Authenticator’s “Key” field > tap Add
    2. you should now see a 6 digit verification code in Google Authenticator
    3. tap on the code to copy it and paste it back into the “Password Reset” app > tap Done
    4. Success! You can now use “Password Reset” to change your password

 

Changing your password:
Verify you have first enabled two-factor authentication with the steps above

  1. Open the “Password Reset” app > tap Change Password
  2. Enter your old password before creating a new password
  3. Tap your account icon in the upper right corner and sign out
    Note: The next time you open a Google app you’ll be prompted to enter the new password

 

Forgot your password:
Verify you have enabled two-factor authentication with the steps above

  1. Open the “Password Reset” app > tap Forgot your password?
  2. Enter your username without the email address (e.g. lastnamefirstname)
  3. Pass the human verification test
  4. Open the Google Authenticator app and copy the one-time 6-digit code to paste back into the password reset portal and you can now reset your password!
  5. Note: The next time you open a Google app you’ll be prompted to enter the new password

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Schoology

Schoology is a learning management system (owned by Powerschool) that Minnehaha Academy 3rd – 12th grade classes use to give and collect student assignments, share resources, and keep grade books. Using it will allow you to monitor assignments and grades for your student(s).

Accessing Your Account

  • Login to an existing Schoology account at https://app.schoology.com/login. If you cannot remember your password, please click “Forgot your password”.  To add a new student please follow their instructions.

  • Create a NEW Schoology account using the guardian access code you were emailed, please enter that on their registration page. Schoology access codes are sent close to the first day of school so that when guardians login they see their child's most up-to-date schedule.
  • If your child just changed schools and your email address was previously associated with a different school's Schoology system, you will need to contact their administrators to have your email address removed before it can be used with Minnehaha's Schoology system.

For help with your Minnehaha Academy Schoology Account, please email schoology@minnehahaacademy.net.

 
Find Multiple Children as a Parent

The Schoology app makes it tricky for parents to find multiple kids they should have access to. Click on the menu up in the left corner and tap My Children. You should see three menus: COURSES, GROUPS, and MORE. If you don’t see the name of the child whose information you are viewing currently below those menus, tap MORE and you should see a dropdown with the options: Grades, Calendar and your child’s name. Click on their name and you should see a list of all users you have access to including yourself and your other children. Clicking on their names from there should load their information instead.

Minnehaha Academy does not have control over the design. If you still don’t see your other children’s information, please try uninstalling the app and re-installing.

Signing into Schoology as a Student
  1. Open the Schoology app (access the web portal from: minnehahaacademy.schoology.com)
  2. Tap the top option Log in through your School and search for “Minnehaha Academy”
  3. Tap the top option again Log in through your School and login using your school email credentials

Need more help? Visit Schoology’s Family Support

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SeeSaw

Seesaw is a digital portfolio that gives you real-time glimpses into your child’s school day. Seesaw helps you stay in the loop and gives you an opportunity to support your child’s learning at home. This system is our learning management system for PreK-2nd grade students and teachers. It allows students and teachers to post content and allows parents access to help their students with their learning. You can login with your Minnehaha email and password.

To launch the app: Open the ClassLink app and tap on SeeSaw.

Note: Your child will use the Seesaw Class app for home learning. This is different than the Seesaw Family app. Students/Parents can sign in with their school email address. The best way to get help is to visit SeeSaw’s support page — it should have everything you need to get started.

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Skyward

This is our student information system and it handles things such as student records, academic history, scheduling, and guardian information.

You may use Skyward during enrollment or when signing up for a sport.

Note: Parents should be sure to navigate to the "Guardians" portal. Students should login to Skyward from the "Student" portal using their school Google single sign-on credentials.

🔗 SKYWARD Family Access

image of skyward login portal

Be sure to sign in using the correct portal.


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Wi-Fi

In addition to offering wired access to the school network via Ethernet, wireless network access is available throughout both campuses. You are able to automatically join the network and move around campus without needing to re-authenticate or lose network connectivity. Minnehaha Academy offers two networks for access to the internet and campus resources.

"eduroam"

eduroam is an international WiFi service designed for our students, faculty, and staff.  You’ll find eduroam on campus at Minnehaha, most college and university campuses, and at a growing number of public buildings worldwide.
Learn more.

"MA_Guest"

This wireless network is for guests of Minnehaha Academy. MA_Guest is available at both campuses and also requires a login. Please DO NOT use unless absolutely necessary.

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