OVS Weekly Update
Week of April 24-28, 2017, Volume 29
Mark Your Calendars!
Monday Class Connect Sessions
- 9:00am-Mr. Dowling
- 9:30am-Mr Gamble/Ms. Blackburn
- 10am-Mr. Jamshidi
- 10:30am-Ms. Rogers
Learning Coach Training: Don't Miss This Session!!!
- LC Online Training: Changes for 2017-18 school year and Re-registration
- Monday April 24th at 11am in Class Connect: Click here to log in or call 1-888-824-5783: participant passcode: 27135218 then #
- 9:45am Coffee Chat with Wendy- during face-to-face time Tues, Weds, Thurs at Dunkin' Donuts
Teacher Office Hours :
Every Monday & Friday from 1:30-3pm
- In-person: TAC Building (3215 Cuming Street) 4th floor, left off the elevators
- Class Connect Meetings: Links will be in K12
- By phone:
Mr. Gamble: 531-299-9447
Mr. Jamshidi: 531-299-9453
Ms. Rogers: 531-299-9367
Ms. Blackburn: 531-299-9325
Every Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday from 1:30-3pm
- In-person: DoSpace (2nd Floor)
- Class Connect Meetings: Links in K12
- By email
- Bring a sack lunch and stay following face to face time
T-Shirt Order Open Again
2017-18 Update
Notes from Dr. Loewenstein
Parents,
I take ownership of the fact that we held Kindergarten Roundup prior to sharing information with current families and understand that families are upset. This was not my intention. There were various reasons why KG roundup occurred first, but ultimately, I could have communicated better to current families regarding a few changes that were communicated during roundup. We cannot do this without your support. We are all still in this together, and I will do better at communicating changes. I am a lifelong learner, and I learn more every day from you and your students than you will ever know! Thank you for your patience and understanding.
When I asked parents at open house what the best way for us to share out information for next year, it was recommended that we do so in the newsletter. So, please look forward to updates in the newsletter for the remainder of the year. I promise they won't be this wordy;).
Please attend one of the below opportunities next week to learn more about next year's student experience and share your input.
Monday- Learning coach office hours via Class Connect (connection information is above in "Mark Your Calendar" section). I will repeat the presentation from Tuesday's open house and have a Q & A at the end. You can join online or just over the phone using the dial in numbers.
Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday @ 9:45 in Dunkin' Donuts- Coffee chat with Wendy-this will be an informal conversation, not a formal presentation.
K-4 history will be replaced by social studies
This decision was made because the K12 social studies curriculum aligns better to the Nebraska state standards and is a much more seamless, vertically aligned curriculum than the history curriculum we used this year. I will share a scope and sequence of this curriculum next week so parents can preview the unit topics. I have also requested preview materials from K12 in the hopes that this will help parents make decisions. Stay tuned for this preview.
Your Input is Important!
We are making decisions regularly to create an amazing experience for our students next year, and your input is important. Throughout the rest of the year, we will be gathering parent and student input in various formats. As always, your are always encouraged to share your thoughts and concerns with myself or Ms. Sechrest.
More information to come...Thank you all for everything you do.
Time to Re-register for 2017-18 School Year
- Log into the OLS (online.k12.com/login) using their Learning Coach username and password.
- Go to "My Info" under the Quick Links section
- On the My Info page, click the "Re-register Now" icon. This will take you to the registration page.
- On the re-registration page, the " re-registration status" in light blue box will default to the "unknown." Click "unknown" and a pop up window will appear
- Re-registering: Check "re-registering" from the drop-down menu if your student is returning next school year. If you have more than one student and they all will be returning, check the box next to "same for all students." Repeat the first step if not all students are returning next school year. Check the two boxes to to confirm understanding that previous agreements still apply and you have the legal authority to make registration decisions for each student. Press "Save" in agreement.
- Not re-registering: Select " Not re-registering" from the drop down menu if your studnet will not be returning for the next school year.
- Undecided: Select "undecided" if you have not yet decided whether your student will return. Please update your registration once you have decided if your student will be attending or not for the upcoming school year.
We ask families to complete their re-registration by May 1st to ensure a spot for the next school year.
Thrive World Culture Event This Saturday!
Take part in #OPSProud Week
During the week of April 24, Omaha Public Schools will host the inaugural #OPSProud Week celebration. The celebration is designed to show appreciation for our staff, students and celebrate the district’s successes. Below is a listing of activities specific for OPS students and families.
Monday, April 24
The Woodmen Life Tower will be turning blue and gold to kick off #OPSProud Week (snap a picture and share it with us on social media).
Friday, April 28
Students and staff are invited to wear OPS apparel or the color blue to show their OPS pride.
All Week: Post the reason you and your students are #OPSPROUD. Grab a card at DoSpace and take a picture, posting to social media! We want to see the reasons why so many of our students are #OPSPROUD!
For more details on each event or how to get involved, visit: district.ops.org. #OPSProud
Science NESA testing for 5th and 8th Grade Only!
Testing will resume in next week with Science for 5th and 8th graders. Each test will require TWO sessions. In order to accommodate both sessions, and not disrupt significant instructional time, we will use office hours for the second session of testing. If a student is unable to attend one of the sessions, please contact your student's teacher to set a make up date. If you are choosing to opt out your student, they will be marked a zero on the state report. All students are still required to attend face-to-face.
Please note:
send your 5th and 8th grade student with lunch on these days.
- Make sure your students are well rested and ready to go for the test.
Office hours and online lessons will be cancelled during these days (online and face to face).
Science-April 25-27
Session 1 (F2F class time) 9:45-11:15am
Session 2 (office hours) 1:30-3:00pm
**Check out this resource to give more information on the purpose of NESA testing for students.
PTO Corner
- May Gathering: Joslyn Art Scavenger Hunt: Mark your calendar for Friday May 19th from 10:30-12:30pm. Families will guide themselves through the museum in search of works of art on their scavenger hunt. There will be plenty of room to explore inside and out! Bring a lunch for following the exploration! Entrance to the museum is FREE!
Still time to sell tickets for the Storm Chasers game on June 6th! Proceeds from the fundraiser go to support OVS! June 6th @ 12:05pm Storm Chasers Baseball Game
- PTO is selling tickets for the game as a fundraiser. Omaha Virtual School will be recognized as the Community Organization of the game.
- Tickets are $10 each and can be purchased here!
- PTO is having a contest between class days of who can sell the most tickets. Whichever day sells the most will get a visit from the Storm Chasers Mascot. The day with the most ticket sales by May 6th wins! Tickets can be purchased thru May 19th.
OVS STEAM Fest
Tuesday, May 16, 2017, 02:00 PM
Do Space, Dodge Street, Omaha, NE, United States
FREE Golfing Opportunity This Summer
To join the Junior Golf Club, students must attend one of the certification programs.
Certification programs will be held at 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm during our Family Golf Days or you may attend one of the Junior Golf Clinics. Dates and times for these events are listed below.
Family Golf Day Dates:
May 13th - Spring Lake, 12:00 - 3:00 pm
May 20th - Westwood, 12:00 -3:00 pm
May 21st - Steve Hogan, 12:00 -3:00 pm
Junior Golf Clinics:
June 5th, 6th, and 7th
Ages 8-12, 10:00 am - 10:45 am
Ages 13 & up, 11:00 am - 11:45 am
*Clinics are held at Johnny Goodman or
Schmidley's Driving Range
Assembly Theme: Anti-Bullying and RESPECT
Classroom Happenings
Star Student of the Week: Landry Keslar
Star Student of the Week: Ben Healey
Multiplication Station
Ms. Roger's Class
This week we talked about how nouns and verbs have to agree. We looked at situations when the noun was singular. During F2F time, students participated in a RESPECT performance to increase bullying awareness. The students enjoyed this interactive session. We also had the opportunity to interview a classmate to gain knowledge for an informational piece of writing. We reviewed how facts can be proven and opinions are people's thoughts or ideas.
Looking ahead:
Next week, we will continue discussing how nouns and verbs must agree to work with one another. We will work on using the classmate facts from last week to write an informational piece of writing.See you on Monday for our Morning Message @ 10:30 a.m. Reminders about Blue & Green Literature & Comprehension Lessons will be emailed!
Resources:
Mr. Dowling's Class
Week in Review
Students:
· participated in a performance by the RESPECT team.
· planted grass seed for our experiment for the STEAM Expo.
· worked on the final copy of their autobiography and created a cover.
· logged into Minecraft, finalized their Toriis and started building their Japanese Castles.
Looking Ahead
Students will:
· continue to build Japanese castles in Minecraft.
· create foldable about the their science experiment.
· finish their autobiographies and share them through padlet.
**Please note...
-Our online sessions are back to normal this week. Please make sure students complete those assignments by Monday. If they complete them after Monday, please email me and let me know.
Mr. Jamshidi's Class
Week in Review:
Students worked through finding the area of irregular figures. In doing so, students were introduced to a new lesson-delivery software, Classflow. Following our Classflow lesson, students recreated irregular figures with specific area dimensions in Minecraft. Students also participated in a performance by the RESPECT TEAM.
Looking Ahead:
5th Graders will take the NeSA Science Test. 4th Graders will dive into finding the perimeter multiple polygons and several irregular figures. They will also create structures that have specific perimeters within Minecraft.
Resources:
Mr. Gamble's Class
Week in Review:
Students began their project-based learning project in Minecraft. These projects were based on science curriculum and modeling the concepts in their worlds in partners.
Looking Ahead:
The class will continue to work on varied science concepts from their curriculum focusing on aspects we see in our everyday lives and model them in the world of Minecraft.
- I can create physical models of renewable energy in Minecraft to show how these resources can be beneficial to our environment through comprehension and mathematics questions. (Earth Science)
- I can create models of a natural disaster and the ensuing succession in Minecraft and synthesize the process through questioning and problem solving. (Life Science)
- I can create a roller coaster in Minecraft that will demonstrate the potential and kinetic energy used while operating it and calculate the potential energy during that operation. (Physical Science)
Resources:
- Renewable Energy Video will review the 5 major areas of renewable energy with examples of each.
- Mt. St. Helens shows still clips and video of the moments leading up to and active eruption of the volcano.
- Potential and Kinetic Energy has information on the two types of energy and calculating the amounts of each.
Monday Morning Message:
Join me Monday to discuss presentation techniques. Learn what should, and should not, be included or used when presenting content as we prepare to present our Minecraft models to the class.
Weekly Online Math Lessons:
Each week I am teaching the current math lesson, per the pacing guide, for each subject online 3:00-3:30 via ClassConnect. All students who attend this session, participate, and complete a few questions, will receive credit for this lesson by the teacher.
- Monday: Fundamentals of Geometry and Algebra
- Tuesdays: PreAlgebra
- Wednesdays: Algebra
- Thursdays: Algebra I
- Fridays: Algebra II
Ms. Blackburn's Class
Week in Review: This last week we worked on our Minecraft science projects.
Looking Ahead: This week we will finish our Minecraft projects and present them in class.
Monday Morning Message: Poetry notes and assignment.
Mission Statement
Omaha Virtual School
Email: virtualschool@ops.org
Website: omahavirtualschool.org/
Location: 3215 Cuming Street, Omaha, NE, United States
Phone: (531)299-0269
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OPSVirtualSchool/
Twitter: @OPS_Virtual