OVS Weekly Update
September 28, 2018 Volume 83
Mark Your Calendars!
Learning Coach Training
October 2nd-4th
OVS Connect- During K-5 art class, the K-5 learning facilitators will visit the LC Lounge to provide updates, previews of curriculum, and answer LC questions. See the times below for when your learning facilitator will visit:
- 9:15-9:45 - 4th-5th grade teacher, Mrs. Walker
- 9:45-10:15 2nd-3rd grade teacher, Mr. Dowling
- 10:15-10:45- K-1st grade teacher, Ms. Rogers
*Afternoon session times will be announced.
Attendance
- K-5 Learning Coaches must enter ALL learning in the attendance module in K12.com.
- 6-8th grade Learning Coaches must enter learning that takes place OFF K12.com.
Growth Mindset
OVS Spirit Gear
T-Shirts
Women's T-Shirts
Hoodies & Long Sleeve Shirts
Long Sleeve $25
OVS Open House
OVS Synergy
OVS Family Bowling Night
Where: The Mark
When: Monday night, October 22nd from 6pm to 7pm.
Details: $10/person includes pizza, pop, shoes, and an hour of bowling.
**Optional after bowling families can do laser tag on their own for an additional $5 each.
Box Top WARS!!!
Bring in your Box Tops now through Oct. 5th! The class who brings in the most box tops will win a prize! Loose box tops will count as 1 point. If they are glued on a sheet when turned in then they will count for two points. Blank box tops sheets can be picked up at the school! Help us reach our goal of collecting 100 sheets!
OVS Synergy Facebook Group
Connect with OVS learning coaches in a closed group on Facebook!
This group is for those of us who are enrolled in OVS. The group focuses on questions as we begin the year, questions regarding the children's homework, technology related questions that pertain to OVS, field trip information and updates, and anything else that comes up that we wish to discuss. Click the below link to request to join and engage in the conversations!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ovsfamilies/
OVS Synergy- Our non-traditional version of a parent teacher organization. All are included and invited to participate, donate, and engage.
OVS Synergy Mission: A collaborative Organization that Creates Engagement and Learning Opportunities for Teachers and parents to support Student success.
Ms. Rogers' Class Update
Learners worked on ordering numbers from 1-100. We logged into Prodigy for the first time this week. Prodigy is a math game that takes learners through a diagnostic test to see what math skills they have mastered and ones that they need to further work on. From here, the learners will answer math questions in a game type setting. I am also able to assign specific skills for specific learners to practice. We read the book The Napping House and discussed the setting and clues the author gave about the setting. Learners listened to a book on Epic Books and worked on completing the setting of the story organizer.
Next week:
We will continue to focus on place value and numbers next week too. Learners will be working in small groups to demonstrate mastery of this area of number sense. Writing will continue to be a focus, as we will work on writing our 5 Star Sentence: Capital letter to start my sentence, Punctuation to end my sentence, Use Finger Spaces, Use Neat Handwriting, and My Sentence Makes Sense. Learners will work in small groups to practice letters/sounds or sight words.
Take a look at the new resources to our Symbaloo page for letters, sounds, sight words, and phonemic awareness.
In your learners OneNote under Curriculum Resources I have added a list of the 300 most common words in reading and writing, along with ideas of how to practice at home. I appreciate your support in helping our learners become readers!
Don't forget to bring your BoxTops for our classroom competition!!
Mr. Dowling's Class update
Week in Review:
The students are settling into our daily routines. Our rotations went much smoother this week. We are really stressing teamwork in class. I want them to be able to rely on classmates to help them. I have been seeing a lot of cooperation in the last couple weeks. Also, thank you to those who came to Open House last night. It was fun to see the students showing off the classroom to you.
Next Week:
We started a new procedure for our morning assemblies. Mrs. Nommensen or Dr. Loewenstein will be covering them with all students at the same time. While they are doing assembly, we will be collecting their purple folders and checking their artifacts. It really worked smoothly last week. Second quarter is about 3 weeks away. We will be starting our Literature Circles/Book Club at that time. In the next week, I will be emailing you the name of the book your learner will be reading. You can either purchase it from Amazon/online or find it at a local library. Just know that we will be using it for the entire quarter. So if you choose the library route, you will need to renew it a few times.
**We are collecting boxtops! Please bring them in. Second and Third Grade wants to win the competition!!
Mrs. Walker's class update
Week in Review:
We continued to work in math stations this week. Many of us enjoyed finishing the math place value version of Yahtzee. We also got creative with our writing and wrote a story about why Simon cried. Ask your student about their story. They really enjoyed sharing it with their classmates.
Looking Ahead:
Just as a reminder, I will not be here next week. That means no class connect sessions on Monday or Friday. You also do not need to bring your red folder to class, I will get any artifacts that you have the following week. Students will still be coming to face to face, I have some fun stations planed for them!
Bring in those boxtops and 4th and 5th grade wants to win!
Mr. Gamble's Class Update
Week in Review:
Our face-to-face time is running smoothly. We are in full swing of addressing learners where they are in their lessons. This has allowed us to do a lot of reviewing, reteaching, and retaking of assessments to assure comprehension of topics. Learners are learning the system and adjusting to the new flow using our “road map” each day.
Online lessons continue to happen daily. We are missing A LOT of "Required" learners in the online sessions. See below for the schedule to ensure your learners are in attendance. I am looking into why K12 is not listing some learners as “Optional” when I change their status. If a student is optional, they are not required to attend, but are welcome to for additional assistance.
Looking Ahead:
Learners will continue to use their Passports to check in with each Learning Facilitator and discuss that subject area. These passports will also notify Learning Coaches what was done in class and what the next steps are for learners. There may be days when your learner does not visit with me as they are on pace and showing mastery of topics.
Should your learner have a question or struggle, please encourage them to reach out to us. If they are reserved, then please email the appropriate teacher and we will make note of that need and address it. We are a team and encourage all parties (facilitator, coach, and learner) to communicate.
PIT Stop is available on Friday mornings from 10:00 – 11:00 for learners that need assistance. This is an ONLINE session. I will be actively in the session and available to answer questions or model lessons for learners in need.
Resources:
There are countless resources on the internet for math. Throughout the year I will post some here that could assist your learner or yourself. Learning coaches can use these to check the work of a learner or preview topics.
This month’s resource can be effective for all courses. Desmos provides a free graphing calculator that is helpful for verifying or graphing equations, expressions, and inequalities. It can be used to show graphs if equations in assignments or to check the work of a learner.
Weekly Online Math Lessons:
Most online sessions will not last the entire block of time, unless needed for individual help. We will work in mini-lessons addressing specific needs. If “Required” is listed on the session, you must attend that session. If “Optional” is listed, you do not have to attend, but CAN attend if you’d like help or a review.
- Math 06: Mondays @ 9:15 – 10:00.
- Math 07: Mondays @ 10:15 – 11:00.
- Math 08: Fridays @ 9:15 – 10:00.
- Algebra 1: Wednesdays @ 1:00 – 2:00.
- Geometry & Honors: Tuesdays @ 1:00 – 2:00.
Mrs. Felten's Class Update
6th grade science students are working through some labs on rocks and minerals. They are enjoying hands-on identification.
7th grade science students are working on labs about cells. They were very excited this last week to use the microscopes in class for the first time.
8th grade science students are working on density and measurement labs. We did a lab using gum drop models to balance equations this week as well.
All social studies students are working through their workbooks. World history is working on a book about Early Man using Minecraft to create pictures. Global studies is working to get used to using the workbook in Onenote. They will do a research project in class before the end of the semester. American history students are on unit 8 right now. They will have an optional field trip to the Lewis and Clark Headquarters coming up. Be on the look out for an email from Angela Nelson for group details. Learners can also choose to read the book Jefferson's sons.
Mrs. Robison's Class Update
If you are following the pacing guides, you will notice that we are coming to the end of our first module. In each module, your learner will have an opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned through writing assignments and module exams.
For the module exams, please remind your learner that there are two parts to each test. The first part will be multiple choice. The second portion of the exam will be a written exam. Remind your learner that they will need to read and answer all parts of the questions! As a reminder, good grammar and mechanics are always expected!
Your learner should also be spending time on their writing assignment (if they haven’t already turned it in!). Please help them by reviewing the rubrics and being that second eye that can provide some helpful hints when revising and proofreading. As a reminder, the writing assignments for the first module are:
ELA 6-Compare/contrast essay after reading two poems.*
ELA 7-5-paragraph essay on a topic of their choice.*
ELA 8-Short story or personal narrative.*
*Rubrics for all assignments can be found in K12.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions. Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Barry's Art class update
K-8 art for the year is underway! Learners should be following the pacing guide for their grade band and completing one art lesson per week.
Next Face to Face Sessions:
- K-5, Week of October 1st.
- 6-8, Week of October 8th.
*Please bring your portfolio with completed artwork to be checked these weeks.
9th Grade Newsletter
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Mission Statement
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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
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Long sleeve $25