OVS Weekly Update
September 8 ,2017 Edition, Volume 40
Mark Your Calendars!
IMPORTANT: NO ONLINE LESSONS OR INDEPENDENT STUDY LAB/SKILL SUPPORT ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH DUE TO TEACHER TRAINING
September 19th-21st @ 9:15/2:15- Office 365 OneDrive Training (cloud/online document storage)
September 14th from 6-8pm: OVS Open House and Synergy Meeting
Open House THIS THURSDAY
Learning Coach Training: Social Media 101
Missed the training this week? Check out the video with great resources on what to know about the various social media platforms.
Next month, our Common Sense Media topic for next month is on Digital Addiction the week of October 10th-12th.
On Thursday September 14th @ 5:00pm at DoSpace (7205 Dodge St) for Cyber Sense: Digital Safety for Families. Join Do Space, Omaha Public Library, Common Sense Media and Metropolitan Community College for a family-friendly event on ways to keep your kids safe in today’s digital world. Speaker Karen Haase will share some simple tips and some real-life cases of what can happen if you are unprepared. Activities for kids and teens will be available, and light refreshments will be served.
Independent Study Lab and Skills Support
K-5 Independent Study Lab and Skills Support time is up and going. Independent Study Lab will run from 1:30-3:30 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. They will be held in two separate rooms and will have different expectations.
Independent Study Lab
Independent Study Lab (ISL) is a room where students can work independently on K12 Lessons. There will be a teacher facilitating the Independent Study Lab to support students. We know that many of the Kindergarten and 1st grade lessons require reading to students. If you are wanting your K-1 student to work with Ms. Rogers, please sign up for a Skill Support time, link below. Learning Coaches are welcome to work with their students during this time. There will be a separate ISL room for K-5th grade students and 6-8th grade students.
Skill Support
Skill Support is provided by teachers to support individual students or small groups of students who need additional support in order to master a skill. Teachers may recommend that a student attend skill support OR Learning Coaches can sign up for 30 minute blocks. Students are limited to one block per day and no more than two blocks per week.
Ms. Rogers Skill Support Schedule Sign up
Mr. Dowling Skill Support Schedule Sign up
Mrs. Nommensen Skill Support Sign up
6th - 8th Grade
Office hours are 1:30 – 3:30 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This time is divided into two 1-hour blocks. These will be held in different rooms and have different expectations. The first block will be Independent Study Lab (ISL). This will be a time for students to work independently, yet receive help with content as needed. Either Mr. Gamble or Ms. Blackburn will attend daily to assist with K12 coursework.
The other room will offer skills support for students in need of individualized assistance focusing on Math with Mr. Gamble or ELA with Ms. Blackburn. These 1-hour blocks will alternate with ELA and Math switching times to allow varied times. These times are targeted for students requiring more focused attention.
Online assistance will still be available during office hours, but students must be patient and may need to wait. If teachers are engaged with students face-to-face, they will be with you as soon as possible.
Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteer Descriptions
- K-1 Room Monitor: A K-1 grade parent will assist students in getting set up for the day. They will help students find their designated seat and get laptop/materials set up. They will assist students with signing into their device and finding their appropriate screen to begin the day. Volunteers will need to arrive 15 minutes prior to the start of class. A background check is required since volunteer may be left unsupervised with the students.
- K-5 Science Material Facilitator: Science Material Facilitators collect and organize materials for science projects. They will organize materials by lesson and have materials available for when students get to the designated lesson for the materials. This task can be done at home and brought to school once organized. A volunteer will be needed for each grade level for K-5. No background check required.
- Independent Study Lab Aid: Independent study lab will be a time and space where students work independently on coursework. There may or may not be a teacher present to assist students when they get stuck on an assignment. Students will work independently and quietly through their K12 work. It is highly recommended for volunteers to be experts in the fields of math, language arts, science or social studies/history. This is recommended so students have the ability to ask for help if they get stuck in a content area. Volunteers may need to be left alone with students so they will need to complete a background check.
- Lunch Room Supervision: On Wednesdays, Students are able to bring a lunch and stay after face to face time so they do not have to leave in order to attend study hall. Volunteers will need to sit with students (ranging from K-8th grade) so they are acting appropriate while eating their lunch. Volunteers may be left alone with students so they will need to complete a background check.
- Door Monitor: To keep our building safe for all students, learning coaches and staff, we are in need of volunteers to monitor the door in the entry way during student sessions. Tasks would include locking and unlocking the door for visitors during the school day and directing students and parents to independent study labs and skill support sessions. No background check is needed for this position.
Synergy Corner
There are some vacancies on the Synergy Board. The following positions are open:
- Vice President
- Secretary
- Co-Treasurer
- Co-Secretary
If you are interested, self-nomination period runs until September 13th where interested parents can complete the online nomination form with a brief bio and picture in preparation for voting that will take place on Sept. 14-17.
If you have any questions regarding board positions or Synergy: omahavirtualschoolpto@gmail.com
There are also committee openings in events and fundraising.
Classroom Happenings
Ms. Roger's Classroom
Week in Review:
Our full time students participated in Art this week. We will Art once a month during Face to Face time.
This week our Kindergartners worked on AAB & AABB patterns in Math. Students logged into Prodigy Math during our station rotations; you may have heard them talking about it! 1st graders worked on telling time to the nearest hour and half hour. They made a clock to use during our Face to Face time. During our Reading rotations, students used Teach Your Monster to Read to practice letter/sounds, sight words, and reading sentences. Kindergarten students looked at text features of non-fiction articles and 1st graders continue to read different legends and compare similarities and differences.
Looking Ahead:
Kindergarten students will continue to expand on working with patterns and extending them based on color, shape, or size. 1st grade students will tell time to the half hour and discuss AM/PM during Math. In Reading, kindergarten students will read an article about litter; we will come up with ideas for helping reduce litter in our world. 1st grade students will be discussing identifying characters, setting, and plot.Please be here on time everyday; it is important that we start our day at 9:00! Thank you for all of your hard work and support as we get the year going.
Resources
Mr. Dowling's Classroom
Week in Review
Our classes are definitely starting to build a flow. We had Art for the first time this year. Everybody really seemed to enjoy it. We focused on recognizing number patterns in math. We also worked on practicing addition through skip counting. We opened Study Island for the first time this year and they began working on grade level material.
Looking Ahead:
Our 2nd Graders will be focusing on place value through the use of Base Ten blocks. We began the lesson in our online session Friday and will continue during our F2F. In Language Arts, we will continue with Main Idea and Supporting Details. Our 3rd Grade will be focused on Addition and subtraction. In Language Arts, we will be continuing our discussions about genres.
Please make sure your student knows their K12 username and password. If they don't know it, please write it on a notecard and stick it in their laptop sleeve. We may need it for an impromptu Class Connect session.
**Please be here on time everyday. We will be going to our classrooms at 8:55 so we can start the day with instruction at 9:00.
**NO ONLINE MATH SESSIONS ON FRIDAY DUE TO CURRICULUM DAY FOR TEACHERS.**Ms. Nommensen's/Mr. Jamshidi's Classroom
Week in Review:
Students used descriptive writing to show the reader their experiences in their journal and memoir. They outlined their journals/memoirs, and also created their settings in Minecraft. 4th graders transitioned from estimating to solve problems to adding whole numbers to solve story problems. 5th graders continued to use estimation to solve problems, rounding numbers up to the millions.
Students will get to meet their new teacher, Mrs. Nommensen! She is excited to meet her new students and looks forward to building relationships right away. Students will begin writing the first drafts of their journals/memoirs. 4th and 5th graders will both start working on multiplication strategies to help them solve problems multi-digit multiplication problems.
Mr. Gamble's Classroom
Week in Review:
The class worked through various science concepts from their K12 curriculum and completed Exit Tickets related to the content.
Looking Ahead:
In class we will work on varied math concepts from their curriculum focusing on aspects we see in our everyday lives.
- Fundamentals: Analyze an assignment that helped reach personal goals and reflect on its successes and failures.
- PreAlgebra: Identify the sign rules for division and evaluate expressions involving signed numbers.
- Algebra: Identify values that can be represented by powers of ten and calculate the value of negative exponents.
- Algebra 1: Name the property used to write an expression and justify the steps in a proof of an algebraic statement.
- Algebra 2: Solve logarithmic equations.
- Geometry: Justify each step in solving an equation or inequality by constructing a viable argument.
Resources:
- Sheppard Software has practice problems that focus on units of conversion with both standard and metric.
- Math Info has simplified explanation of dividing signed numbers with examples.
- Kahn Academy has practice problems on negative exponents with explanations of solutions.
- Math Planet walks students through proving an algebraic expression with properties.
- Purplemath walks students through varied logarithmic equations.
- Studyit walks students through varied geometric reasons.
Weekly Online Math Lessons:
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.
- Fundamentals: (Monday @ 9:30) Equations with negatives (1.16).
- PreAlgebra: (Friday @ 9:30) Properties of multiplication (2.04)
- Algebra: (Monday @ 10:15) Negative exponents (1.13).
- Algebra 1: (Friday @ 10:15) The distributive property (2.06).
- Algebra 2: (Monday @ 11:00) Open lesson assistance (module 2).
- Geometry: (Friday @ 11:00) Reasoning and proof (2.02).
Ms. Blackburn's Classroom
Sept. 12th -14th - Students need to bring a paper copy of their rough draft story to class. If you don't have a printer, please have students come in during office hours the week before to print. We will be peer-editing in class. Students will need to type a final draft at home. The final draft will be due in class on Sept. 26th - 28th, where students will read their stories to the class.
Sept. 19th - 21st - Students will be engaged in project-based learning. They will learn about Mars and the expedition NASA will conduct in 2026 to colonize Mars. Students will brainstorm and design a prototype of a colony. They will build it out of recycled materials. Please send your child with as much recycling as you can the next three weeks. Bubble wrap, foam, felt, pipe cleaners, Popsicle sticks, buttons, or any other craft left overs you have at home would be greatly appreciated. If you have a hot glue gun that your child can use, please label it with your last name and send it to school. It will come home with your child.
Mission Statement
Omaha Virtual School
Email: virtualschool@ops.org
Website: ovs.k12.com
Location: 3215 Cuming Street, Omaha, NE, United States
Phone: (531)299-0269
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OPSVirtualSchool/
Twitter: @OPS_Virtual