OVS Weekly Update
May 4, 2018 Edition, Volume 73
Mark Your Calendars!
LC Coffee Chat with Wendy-Reflection on 2017-18 School year & planning for next year!
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!Principal's Corner
We have a mission & vision!!
This semester's focus was on developing our program's core values, mission, and vision. This process was driven by learning coaches and staff. We worked together on establishing our school communities' core values on curriculum, instruction, and assessment. We brainstormed words to define the core values of our school environment. These core values define how the members in our school community interact with one another. We also discussed what traits that we wanted our OVS graduates to exhibit (see below).
The strategic design process and conversations around what we value has been refreshing to witness and facilitate, because what I already knew in my heart came through on the many chart papers, post-its, and dry erase boards. We were already working towards the same goal, we already were aligned in our values as a school community. This was just an opportunity for us to articulate, and now celebrate, that we are truly all in THIS together. Now we have now defined what THIS, is.
As I stated in our coffee chats this week, that our year three experience for the OVS community will be one of clearly defined roles and goals. We are working hard to eliminate assumptions and provide clarity regarding who we are, what we do, and why we do it. Our vision is our rallying cry for what we know we can achieve, and that is to be a community of learners who are Future ready, today.
Our mission defines how we will get there:
Omaha Virtual School is committed to empowering life-long learners by developing collaborative relationships. Within our community, we provide an innovative, personalized learning experience. Success in this mission will cultivate critical thinkers who have the tools to contribute to a changing global society.
Our core values are our shared agreements of the beliefs that (see below core values chart):
- guide our behavior and interactions
- govern how we will work together as we carry out the mission and vision
- define qualities that are foundationally desired to be both modeled by our educational practices and established in the practices of learners.
OVS Graduates are:
Critical thinkers
Aware of how they learn
Life-long learners
Goal-setters
Able to learn from and persist through failure
Collaborative
Able to work on problems and persevere
Independent
Passionate
Forward thinkers
Analyzers
Self-motivated
Resilient
Respectful
Responsible
Self-advocates
Leaders
Hopeful
Culturally aware
Globally responsible
Contributors to democracy
Thank you all who have contributed to our conversations throughout this process. It was rewarding and necessary for us to continue to learn and grow together in order to support our learners.
If you have any questions or concerns about our process, mission, vision, or core values, please contact Wendy.
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)
Summer Activities for Youth
- General list of free activities in Omaha for your family! Click HERE!
- Great resource of Fun summer ideas for parents HERE!
- Omaha Public Libraries: Check out the Summer reading programs and other events!
- YMCA: The YMCA offers several activities like summer camps, day camps and sports programs to keep youth active all summer long. There are over 20 locations in Nebraska offering activities for all ages. Find a YMCA near you.
- Kids Bowl Free Summer Program: Sign your children up to receive two free games of bowling per day all summer long.
- Parks Nebraska Game and Parks has information about parks, trails, hunting and fishing on their website! Check out what they have to offer around you!
- The Durham Museum in downtown Omaha is a great attraction to explore and expand on the history of our community and state.
- Visit the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha for FREE!
- There are hundreds of museums statewide that have educational opportunities for all ages.
- Science and Math Camps: Aim for the Stars Science and Math camps at the University of Nebraska Omaha!
- The Henry Doorly Zoo offers day camps for ages 3‐12 and educational courses for all ages.
- The Lincoln Children’s Zoo offers day camps and overnight stays for ages 3‐12 and adventure camps forages14‐20.
- Aksarben Aquarium Outdoor Education Center is one of four education centers in Nebraska. Aksarben Aquarium Outdoor Education Center offers an interactive classroom experience, tours
- Pioneers Park & Nature Center is an 1,100‐acre park that includes public art, an outdoor amphitheater, picnic areas, hiking/biking trails, ponds, a sled run and a golf course.
Classroom Happenings
Art with Ms Barry
Coming up in K-5 Art:
- Open Art for May 15th-17th
- Registration will be sent on Monday to sign up!!
- All Art assignments are due May 18th
Ms. Roger's Classroom
We continued to work on math fact fluency, please continue to work on this with your student, either addition or subtraction or both. Last week we completed an organizer for writing using the 4-square organizer. This week we started taking our organizer and putting the topic sentence and details together into a paragraph. For some students, you may have heard them say, "this is a lot of writing!"
Looking Ahead:
We will have our online lessons as usual next week. There will not be ISL or Skill Support, though. The year is winding down. Please keep up the great efforts to get your artifacts turned in and to stay on pace to finish your courses.
Next week will be our MAP testing for Reading and Math. If you haven’t done so already, please sign up for 2 separate testing sessions throughout the week. You can follow this link to sign up!
Mr. Dowling's Classroom
Week in Review:
Our 3rd Graders took the Science MAP test this week during class. We also really dug into the Seesaw app. We made sure they all have the app on their computers as well. Please ask them to show you what they can do.
Looking Ahead:
We will have our online lessons as usual next week. There will not be ISL or Skill Support, though. The year is winding down. Please keep up the great efforts to get your artifacts turned in and to stay on pace to finish your courses.
Next week will be our MAP testing for Reading and Math. If you haven’t done so already, please sign up for 2 separate testing sessions throughout the week. You can follow this link to sign up!
Ms. Nommensen's Classroom
The end of the year is fast approaching! How are you doing on progress? Remember you need to be to at least 90% before May 25. If you would like to me to make a plan for your child to help ensure they get done, let me know. I’m happy to do it!
Please remember that there are no face to face times as we are testing. I will still see your children, but possibly not at their normal times.
Literature Circles are coming to an end. They should finish reading their book and have a completed packet (Thursday afternoon will have 1 page of the packet not complete) by the week of May 15-17. This must be completed in order for me to mark the unit as complete in K12.
As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!
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: Compare shape, center, and spread of data sets in a box-plot.
- Algebra: Describe the changes shapes go through when using similar transformations.
- Algebra 1: Perform basic operations on rational expressions to solve and simplify them.
- Geometry: Solve design and optimization problems using properties of geometric figures.
- Programming: Explain how a search engine works and find credible information.
Looking Ahead:
Students will be completing the MAP Spring tests in Math and ELA. Good luck to all!
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) 9.13 – Sampling bias.
- PreAlgebra: (Friday @ 9:30) Module check-up.
- Algebra: (Monday @ 10:15) 10.12 – Line of best fit.
- Algebra 1: (Friday @ 10:15) 6.05 – Adding and subtracting rational expressions.
- Geometry: (Friday @ 11:15) 6.05 – Geometry on Earth.
Ms. Blackburn's Classroom
Ms. Robison's Classroom
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