The beginning of the year is quickly approaching, and we are so excited to see each and every one of you! Omaha Virtual School is truly a unique learning experience for the whole family. With this comes quite a learning curve for learners and learning coaches. We are here to support you. Our data shows that the first 2 weeks is pivotal in student success here at OVS whether you are returning to us or are new to us. We modify our first weeks of school so all learners are set up with the tools and knowledge to succeed at home. Every student NEW to the program and ALL 6th and 9th graders will come in person the first week according to the schedule below. The following is the required schedule for all learners and learning coaches.

We are compiling questions that we have fielded from families to help support us all. Please review AND come back to this newsletter as I can update it and add to it.

~Wendy

Frequently Asked Questions for Back To School at OVS

NEW Middle and High School Students and 6th-9th graders:

Q: What do I do for orientation if I have a new middle and high school student?

A: With new middle and high school students, we did the best we could to stagger it so LCs can support both learners.

Wednesday morning:

• Get your HS learner up and online at 7:40. His teachers will take it from there, online. We will (try our best to remember) to record the sessions for families who can't be with their high school learner at that time.
• Head to OVS with your middle school student for in person training.

Thursday morning:

• Do the reverse of Wednesday morning:
  
• Get your MS learner up and online at 7:40. His teachers will take it from there, online. We will (try our best to remember to) record the sessions for families who can't be with their middle school learner at that time.
• Head to OVS with your high school student for in person training.

• repeat Wednesday for Friday.

Returning Families

Q: I have not received materials for my middle or high school student, yet. Should I be concerned?

A: Middle and high school materials will not be shipped home. The only materials that we will have for them are:

• High School- English novels that will be distributed by their teacher.
• Middle School-7th grade social studies textbook, distributed by their teacher.

ALL Families

Q: Why don't have a K12 account for my middle/high school student? Or if returning, my middle/high school student shows that they are withdrawn in K12! Why?

A: Middle and high school learners will NOT be using K12.com to access their coursework. They will login to Canvas through clever and their login is attached to their O365/laptop username and password.

Week 1

ALL RETURNING 1st-5th grade learners will receive ONLINE instruction, Wednesday and Friday afternoons.

ALL RETURNING Learning Coaches will come to 1 training session, either IN PERSON Wednesday or ONLINE Thursday at 4:30-6:30pm.

• LCs: Please sign up HERE so we can prepare space.

(See visual below)

Week 1

ALL 6th Grade Learners AND Learning Coaches and NEW 7th and 8th grade Learners AND Learning Coaches will come ON SITE Wednesday and Friday.

Week 2

ALL 6th Grade students and NEW 7th and 8th grade students will come ON SITE during In-Person support times (Tues. and Fri.) and IN-Person required class time on their assigned day.

(See below visual)

ALL RETURNING 7th and 8th grade students will receive ONLINE instruction, Weds-Friday from 1-3pm.

ALL RETURNING Learning Coaches will come to 1 training session, either IN PERSON Wednesday or ONLINE Thursday at 4:30-6:30pm.

• LCs: Please sign up HERE so we can prepare space.

Week 2

Week 2 will be a “normal” schedule with returning learners attending their in-person day AND required to attend the online support sessions.

(see visual below)

Week 1

ALL 9th Grade Learners AND Learning Coaches and NEW 10th, 11th, and 12th grade Learners AND Learning Coaches will be online on, Wednesday, August 17th and come ON SITE on Thursday, August 18th. Friday, August 19th, learners will be online with their teachers. LCs can remain with them for support, but not required.

Week 2

ALL 9th Grade students and NEW 10th and 11th grade students will come on-site for in-person day and optional/highly recommended for in-person support. 12th grade required to come on-site for in-person support (Monday). Online support is required this week for all grades.

Week 1

RETURNING 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students will receive ONLINE instruction Wednesday-Friday, from 1-3pm.

RETURNING Learning Coaches will come to 1 training session, either IN PERSON Wednesday or ONLINE Thursday at 4:30-6:30pm.

• LCs: Please sign up HERE so we can prepare space.

Week 2--First day on-site for returning learners!

• Returning 10th learners on site Tuesday for in-person day 11:40-3:05pm
• Returning 11th grade learners on-site Monday for in-person day 7:40-11:20am.
• Returning 12th grade learners required on-site for in-person support Monday 8:45-10:40am.
• Online support required for all learners week 2.

Learners attend the same session per week, so they are able to establish friendships with their classmates. Below are the in person session days and times. Returning families should have received their in-person day via email from virtualschool@ops.org in EARLY JUNE.

K-5th grade In-Person Sessions

Tuesdays Noon-3pm

Wednesdays 9-Noon

Thursdays Noon-3pm

6th-8th grade In-Person Sessions*

Wednesdays 7:40am-3:05pm

Thursdays 7:40am-3:05pm

*Middle school students will pack their lunches or boxed, school lunches will be available. Grab and go breakfast will be provided as students walk in, in the morning.

High school days are assigned by grade level:

• Refer to the schedule below to know when your high school learner will attend class. Further details were emailed to families.

  
  

  12th graders

  • Mondays 8:45-11:20am (optional)
  • Thursdays 10:45 Required online advisement

  11th graders

  • Mondays 7:40 AM-11:20AM (no lunch served)

  10th graders

  • Tuesdays 11:40 AM-3:05 PM (no lunch served)

  9th graders

  • Wednesdays 7:40 AM-3:05 PM*
  • Thursdays 7:40-3:05PM*

  
  

  *Learners will bring their lunch or can order school lunch. Grab and go breakfast available.

The learning coach still has access to the student experience through the Canvas Observer role. We will get the observer role setup in the fall for learning coaches.

Below is an overview for learning coaches to preview.

I hope this newsletter will provide you some information that will help you prepare for the fall. Below are some updates and there are more to come, so please look for similar newsletters in the coming weeks. I miss you all, dearly! Peter does not work in the summer. If you have questions, please call my direct line: 531-299-9618 or email me at wendy.loewenstein@ops.org.

-Wendy

Curriculum

We will remain with K12 curriculum for the 22-23 school year. We tested out a few options this last school year and input/feedback from our school community was, "Why change, just to change?" Products we reviewed provided us with the same experience, not necessarily a BETTER experience for our learners. K-5 students will remain in the K12 platform, with little changes (1st grade curriculum was updated). Middle and High school students will experience K12 curriculum using the Canvas learning management system. Content will be the same, the navigation and system will be a little different. Nothing we can't handle!

Materials

K-5th grade will get ELA and math materials

6-12th grade will get ELA materials

These will be delivered at end of July/early August.

Enrollment

We are still accepting applications for the fall. We currently have 300 students registered and have room for more. If you are aware of a family who is interested in applying, please have them do so soon!!!

Schedule

K-11th grade will remain BLENDED and require in-person, weekly class sessions.

High School- 12th graders will be all-online this year, or asynchronous, if you want the technical term for it. This is due to a gradual shift that we making so that in the next few years the 10-12th grade experience all online. This shift will help us all figure out procedures and routines to ensure the best learning experience possible for students. That is why you will notice that 10th-11th graders are only on site for a half day in the fall. Another way we are preparing for this is that all electives will be all online/asynchronous for high school students.

Let's not forget our 9th graders! They will be on site for a full day (Wednesday or Thursday). That full day includes lunch and a grab and go breakfast.

Middle School- Middle school students will be coming on site for a FULL day (Wednesday or Thursday)! That includes lunch and a grab and go breakfast!

Elementary- Schedule remains mostly the same. However, science and social studies will be taught at home by the learning coach. The 21-22 school year, teachers tried to take over both courses and we did not make the progress in the content we would like.

Staff

We have hired new staff for the fall and they are amazing!

KG-1st grade: Mrs. Kathy Neville

Middle School Math: Mr. Phillip Medeiros

Middle School Social Studies: Mr. Michael MacConnell

Counselor: Mr. Mike Emmer

School Support Liaison: Mrs. Kristin Nelson

We will be introducing them to you in the coming weeks via social media and in our newsletters. Please follow us today on Facebook and/or Twitter as another way to stay connected with us throughout the school year.

Getting better every year

As a new, innovative program we strive to learn from each year to improve our practices in order to improve our learner's experience. We have adopted some shifts in our MS/HS schedule this year to provide more access/support to our teachers through online and in-person support times. We will strive to connect with each learner through mentoring and advisement times to best connect with learners to increase engagement. Our PTO will be amping up to connect families and bring us together.

Other adjustments to note (MS/HS)

Last school year we tried CARL (Community Academic Recovery Lab) for MS/HS to support learners who were not on track or needing additional support. We learned that the executive functioning skills (goal setting, time management, organization, etc.) that we were teaching learners in CARL were really needed by all students. So, no more CARL. We will be teaching all learners these skills during Advisement, Freshmen Seminar, and/or guided study hall when they are on site. We will be sure to share with learning coaches what these skills are so they can be reinforced and supported at home.

We are better together

Our community is growing and we are growing stronger. Thank you in advance for supporting us as we support you and your learner(s).

Here's to a healthy school year!