OVS Weekly Update
April 27, 2018 Edition, Volume 72
Mark Your Calendars!
May 1-3rd: LC Coffee Chat with Wendy-Reflection on 2017-18 School year & planning for next year!
May 1st: 11:30am-12:30pm & 2:00-3:00pm
May 2nd: 9-10am
May 3rd: 9-10am **Please note time change
May 10th: 2-3pm**Please note date change
Other Important dates
May 7th-10th: MAP testing for ALL Students. Sign up at the link below!Instructional Dates
Friday, May 4th: No online lessons or ISL- Staff Professional development day
Principal's Corner
Personalized Learning at OVS
As we work through our plans for the upcoming school year, our team is working hard on how we can continue to strive for a more personalized learning environment for our students. What exactly does that mean? When we discussed our core values for instruction, assessment, and environment with learning coaches, personalization and themes surrounding personalization kept rising to the top of our list of core values. It was heart-warming to see that the values of our school community were centered around valuing our learners (and all community members) and honoring the potential in each of us. Some examples of core value statements that were developed are:
- Instruction is personalized based on learners' skills, learning style, and interests.
- Assessment practices empower learners with choice in how they demonstrate their learning in various ways. Learners have multiple attempts to show proficiency and understanding.
- Our environment provides a positive and accepting place for all community members to learn.
While we are still word-smithing our core-values (to be unveiled very soon), the conversations around learning with learning coaches made it apparent that we are all on the same page towards striving for a more student-centered, personalized learning environment. The definition that we think best fits the level of personalization that we are working towards is the definition provided by iNACOL.
Personalized learning is:
“Tailoring learning for each student’s strengths, needs and interests–including enabling student voice and choice in what, how, when and where they learn–to provide flexibility and supports to ensure mastery of the highest standards possible.”
The shifts that we will make for the 2018-19 school year are based solely on our goal to create such a learning environment for our learners. While this only makes sense, this is not how education is traditionally done. We have made some great, incremental strides towards accomplishing this goal, we will continue to do so. And, with the support and partnership our learning coaches, because we can’t do this work without your support! I am excited to engage with you further next week at our coffee chats throughout next week to discuss this further.
Resource: https://www.inacol.org/news/what-is-personalized-learning/
MAP Testing-- Sign-Up TODAY
This year for Spring MAP Testing, we are trying a new testing schedule. To minimize the loss of instruction that comes with required state and district testing, we will be replacing our scheduled face to face enrichment sessions with testing sessions for the week of May 7th-10th. You must sign your child up, grades K-8, using this link for 2 separate testing sessions throughout the week. They must take a Math assessment and a Reading assessment in 2 separate testing sessions. It is up to you to decide what days and times work best for your child and your family.
Please keep in mind when your child focuses best throughout the day and the week. These assessments are used to assess our program and our curriculum’s effectiveness. We want an accurate picture of how our program and our curriculum are servicing the needs of the students.
Students must be signed for their TWO SEPARATE sessions by Thursday May 3rd!!
Upcoming Information Sessions
Pass Along to Anyone Interested in Learning about OVS
We will also being needing volunteer at multiple events we will be hosting in May and June. Please consider volunteering for the Curriculum Night and OVS 360 Experience. More details to come.
Synergy Corner
Learning HQ Deal: Missed out on getting a game? Take your OVS badge into Learning HQ and they will give you 20% off. Learning HQ is located at 2932 S 84th St.
OVS T-shirts Available: We still have grey and blue t-shirts available for sale. There are limited sizes and quantities. The blue shirts are $10 and the grey shirts are $17. Here is what is available:
- Blue Shirt: Youth Medium (2) and Youth Large (1)
- Grey Shirt: Youth Small (3), Medium (3) and Large (5), Adult Small (2) and Adult Medium (2)
Classroom Happenings
Art with Ms Barry
Coming up in K-5 Art:
- Art during face-to-face will be the week of May 1st-3rd
- Open Art for May 15th-17th
Ms. Roger's Classroom
This week we started using a writing organizer called 4-square. Each student completed their organizer about their favorite thing to do in spring or their favorite Star Wars character. The 4-square helps students organize their thoughts and have a topic sentence, details, and then a wrap up. We continued our fact fluency with new games in Math. The students brought the game sheets home this week. I would be happy to email you the PDF if you would like to practice more at home.
Looking Ahead:
Students will have Art next week, please be sure to bring any Art artifacts to Ms. Barry.
Using the organizer we completed this week, we will form our details into sentences and hopefully have a paragraph or more about our topic. Fact fluency will continue and I encourage you to practice at home, in the car, wherever you are!!
Just a reminder there are no online lessons on Friday, May 4th!
Mr. Dowling's Classroom
Week in Review:
We continued to work with Area and Perimeter in class. We introduced measuring with a group activity. Using a meter/yardstick, we measured 6 different shapes around the room. Based on responses, please keep reinforcing units of measure such as inches, feet, yards, centimeters and meters.
We also introduced a new app/website this week called Seesaw. It is a digital portfolio where students can upload work they do in class and explain their thinking. Eventually I will be inviting parents to receive notifications of student work. I look forward to using it more in the following weeks. I have included a link below that gives a quick explanation.
Along with Seesaw, we have been discussing what information is appropriate to share online. I will be handing out a Tip Sheet talking about privacy from Common Sense Media. Please take time to review it.
Looking Ahead:
We will have our ELA online lesson on Monday, but there will be no math lesson on Friday, May 4th. There will also be no ISL or Skill Support on Friday due to our teacher work day.
Next week is will be our MAP testing. Please sign up for 2 separate testing sessions throughout the week. You can follow this link to sign up!
Ms. Nommensen's Classroom
Spring is finally here!! The weather is absolutely gorgeous and I love getting outside as much as I can! We are getting so close to the end of the school year. How is your progress in K12? Your goal is to get to 90% in all courses, but you have the option to work through all coursework to get to 100% if you would like. I would recommend checking your progress now to make sure you are on track!
This week we will be doing our Science MAP test in class. It’s a pretty quick test and will show us your student’s individual growth in Science this year. We also have art this week! Make sure you bring your portfolios!
Speaking of portfolios…I am looking for Science and Social Studies/History artifacts in the red folders. I sent home a slip of paper with how many of each I still need. If you have completed the course, just let me know and I will mark it down!
This coming Friday, May 4, there is NO class connect sessions. We have teacher meeting all day long. Yay?
The week of May 7-10 is scheduled for MAP testing. Normally we do this during our normal face to face times, however, that seems to take up a lot of our time! We liked wiping out state testing in one week and decided to try this again. The MAP testing is NOT state testing. State testing evaluates the programs, schools, and districts as a whole. MAP testing assesses personal student growth. While we do not have our normal face to face sessions, we should still see the students twice that week; one session for math and one for reading. Please use your best judgement when signing up for testing session times for when your child performs at their best. They have been working so hard on their personal goals and I want to make sure they get their most accurate information. Sign up on the link above!
Mr. Gamble's Classroom
Week in Review:
Students learned varied concepts from their K12 curriculum.
- Fundamentals: Identify outliers in a data set and explain their effect on measures of center.
- PreAlgebra: Use random samples to make inferences from, and assess the validity of, data.
- Algebra: Use similar figures to measure distances that are too large or small for direct measurement.
- Algebra 1: Identify the parts of the quadratic formula and apply it to equations to solve.
- Geometry: Identify the shapes of two-dimensional cross sections of three-dimensional objects.
- Programming: Identify which facts on websites and search engines are accurate or false.
Looking Ahead:
In class we will work on varied math concepts from their curriculum involving real-world math.
- Fundamentals: Identify outliers in a data set and explain their effect on measures of center. (Lesson 9.11 - Skewed Data and Outliers)
- PreAlgebra: Compare shape, center, and spread of data sets in a box-plot. (Lesson 10.13 - Numerical Distributions of Data)
- Algebra: Describe the changes shapes go through when using similar transformations. (Lesson 9.16 - Similar Transformations)
- Algebra 1: Perform basic operations on rational expressions to solve and simplify them. (Module 6: Rational Expressions)
- Geometry: Solve design and optimization problems using properties of geometric figures. (Module 6: Modeling with Geometry)
- Programming: Explain how a search engine works and find credible information.
Resources:
- Fundamentals: Math is Fun has explanations, models, and practice on quartiles and their application to outliers and their effect on data.
- PreAlgebra: Kidzsearch has a definition and link to key words on inferential statistics.
- Algebra: Study.com has practice problems, examples, and explanations of scale.
- Algebra 1: Math Is Fun - Discusses rational expressions. Offers sample problems with solutions and vocabulary related to the topic.
- Geometry: Math Is Fun - Discusses geometric modeling in depth with examples, models, and practice problems.
Each week I am teaching the current math lesson, per the pacing guide, for each subject online via ClassConnect. These sessions are mandatory and students will learn the concept through interaction with the teacher. Upon completion, students will take their check-up and be complete with that lesson. Recordings are available within the Content area after each session has completed.
- Fundamentals: (Monday @ 9:30) Module check-up.
- PreAlgebra: (Friday @ 9:30) No school – Teachers off.
- Algebra: (Monday @ 10:15) Module check-up.
- Algebra 1: (Friday @ 10:15) No school – Teachers off.
- Geometry: (Friday @ 11:15) No school – Teachers off.
Ms. Blackburn's Classroom
Last week we worked on completing our social studies projects. World history students started to make their book page by printing pictures of their topic to glue on their page. They took selfies and completed their illuminated letter. Geography students worked on creating keys for their map of Africa. Their project involves teamwork, so at the end of the lesson they self-evaluated how their team worked together. American history students worked on a PowerPoint about the 1960's. They learned four new tools they needed to incorporate into their presentation: notes function, design ideas, slide transitions, and content animations. They will present next week during their ELA station.
This week students will finish up their social studies projects and present in class. The kids have done a great job picking out topics they are interested about and working together to get the projects done.
Ms. Robison's Classroom
ELA students have been showing what they know and have learned in their face to face lessons.
In 6th grade, students wrapped up their essay on the Middle Ages. Take some time to ask them how their topic was important to the Middle Ages! In 7th grade, we wrote articles about a topic that has impacted Africa. These articles expand their knowledge of the continent, as well as the world. In 8th grade, students shared what they learned about the 1960’s with some “groovy” presentations. They all did great!
If your students haven’t finished these tasks, encourage them to do so and email it to me!
9th Grade Newsletter
Phase 2 Bond Program Overview
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Mission Statement
Omaha Virtual School
Email: virtualschool@ops.org
Website: ovs.k12.com
Location: 4640 S 59th St, Omaha, NE, United States
Phone: (531)299-0269
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OPSVirtualSchool/
Twitter: @OPS_Virtual