OVS Weekly Update
January 19, 2017 Edition, Volume 58
Mark Your Calendars!
Learning Coach Trainings
Jan. 30- Feb 1st: MAP Overview and Reviewing results
Other Important dates
January 23rd-- STEAMFEST @ 6-8pm at K-8 School
Every Friday at 1:30-3:30 Ms. Sechrest will be offering LC Office Hours in the LC Lounge. Come in for some hands on assistance or to answer any questions you may have!- No Office Hours on January 26th due to being out of town
Principal's Corner
Adapting to the needs of many!
These connections could be regarding a pacing guide or portfolio question, concerns about a learner not understanding a concept, and/or advice on how we can meet the needs of your student. Sharing about what works at home and sometimes, what doesn't work, is powerful information for teachers to be aware of so we can continue to connect with your student. The most powerful aspect of our school is the learning coaches' involvement and investment in their students' education. We value your perspective, feedback, and experiences.
We know learning coaches are working hard to develop schedules, routines, and supports to guide their students through their education. Our staff is working to create learning experiences for you and your student. Oftentimes, we don't know what may work best for a learning coach to be successful with their students. We are all unique in how we learn, even as adults! If there is a question or concern or a suggestion in which we can help support you support your student, PLEASE let us know. More often than not, your suggestion will help all learning coaches. Your perspective and input is valuable.
One of the benefits of being a new, small program is that we can adapt. I prefer to use the word adapt instead of change, because what we are doing is trying to adapt to the needs of a variety of learners (adults and children). That is our job! We not only teach our students to have a growth mindset, but we aim to model a growth mindset as well. We will continue to grow and adapt as our school community learns and grows more about what we need to ensure student success, because that is at the center of what we do.
Thank you all for your engagement and encouragement so far this semester. We appreciate you!
Join Us For the STEAMfest!!
Tuesday, January 23rd @ 6-8pm
There will be STEAM fun for the whole family, with various stations including:
- STEM Stations facilitated by UNO STEM education department
- Robotics
- Dash and Dotrobots
- Bee Bots
- 3D Printers
- Osmo
- Art Station w Mrs. Barry
And let's not forget the prize drawings.
We hope to see you there!
Synergy Corner
Boxtop Collection Box Top Classroom Challenge: Deadline: February 15th
Bring in your box tops and place them in your teacher's jar on the front desk. The teacher with the most box tops by February 15th will win Pajama day during the following week!!
Be on the lookout for Ocelot paw prints We have asked our teachers to let us know of any classroom needs. They will keep posting these items on the Learning Coach Lounge door. Please consider adopting a paw print! You can then return the items directly to the classroom teacher. THANK YOU!
Synergy Board Vacancy The Synergy board is still seeking board members. Please contact us at omahavirtualschoolpto@gmail.com if you are able to help serve our community.
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 Extra Small (2), Small (3), Medium (3) and Large (5), Adult Small (2) and Adult Medium (2)
UPCOMING EVENTS
Friday March 23rd: Family Game Night
Cost: $10 per family (if eating pizza dinner)
5:30-6- Pizza Dinner
6-7:30- Learning HQ will provide games for families to play! Join us for a fun family night! Games will be available for purchase during the event.
Friday April 20th: Storm Chasers Game
Save the Date! More Info Coming Soon
Classroom Happenings
Ms. Roger's Classroom
Mr. Dowling's Classroom
Week in Review:
Students took the MAP-Reading test. For the second week in a row, they did a great job! Due to our snow days, we did not assign any reading in our Lit Circles books. Next week we will be handing out the graphic organizers and assigning pages. The students will be able to tell you about it.
Looking Ahead:
Our 3rd graders will be taking the Science MAP test this week. I will be assigning them reading in their Lit Circle books. They will need to have their book in class. I have linked a page from my OneNote with students and their books. Please review it. It is important they have their book with them and that they complete their reading at home. Thanks!
Q3 Students and their books (Web view)
Lit Circle Job Descriptions (Web view)
Mr. Dowling Skill Support Schedule Sign up
Ms. Nommensen's Classroom
MAP testing is well underway at this point and Reading and Math is nearly complete. Because of the snow days that we had, we still have a few to make up, but we should be done by next week. The kids are really showing progress and blasting through their goals!
We have started Literacy Circles! Wednesday and Thursday students received their packets and first assignments. Tuesday students will do the assignment in class this week because of the snow day. Some of the students chose to be the Summarizer. Check with your student. If they are the summarizer and in 4th grade, they can work on writing their summary essay required for composition! Please make sure that they are only reading the assigned reading and not reading ahead.
The students are really doing well in Algebra. We haven’t started Hands On Equations yet because of MAP testing, but will hopefully start this coming week. Although I recording the Class Connect Sessions, they are not showing up in K12. This has been happening lately and we aren’t sure why. I will be covering similar objectives next week so we are all ready to talk about Inverse Operations and know what we are talking about!
This coming week in QAR, we are talking about In the Book/In My Head. This gets the students thinking about their reading, understanding that they need to think in their head as well as read the words in the book to better understand the book. We will be practicing how to find answers to questions directly from the book and how to answer questions about the text, but pulling the information from ourselves. This is what I will be covering in Class Connect. If you would like to listen in and even hang out after the session to ask questions, you are more than welcome to do so!
We will be starting Math Clubs in February. I’m gathering a list of really fun activities to get the kids excited about learning as well as pushing them further! There will be more information soon! Please remember to send 1-2 pieces of graded work per subject with your child so I can enter them into the grade book! Have a great weekend!
Mr. Gamble's Classroom
Week in Review:
Students took part in the science fair and showed off all their hard work. Great job students!
Looking Ahead:
In class we will work on varied math concepts from their curriculum involving real-world math.
- Fundamentals: Calculate surface area of nets of solids. (Lesson 6.05- Nets of Solids)
- PreAlgebra: Draw figures with specific measures and requirements. (Lesson 6.07 - Drawing Triangles)
- Algebra: Convert between different units of measure in real world systems. (Lesson 6.06 - Dimensional Analysis)
- Algebra 1: Find the constant of variation and solve problems involving quadratic variation (Lesson 1.11: Quadratic Variation)
- Geometry: Prove the Pythagorean Theorem using triangle similarity. (Lesson 1.08: Similarity and the Pythagorean Theorem)
Resources:
- Fundamentals: Online Math has definitions, calculation instructions, and examples of finding surface area of nets of solids.
- PreAlgebra: Math Open Reference has definitions, examples, and proofs on drawing triangles with given measures.
- Algebra: Alysion has definitions, examples, and practice problems on dimensional analysis.
- Algebra 1: Virtual Nerd has a video showing a definition, examples, and explanations of constant of variation.
- Geometry: Khan Academy has explanation on how to prove the Pythagorean Theorem using the concept of similarity.
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. Recordings are available within the Content area after each session has completed.
- Fundamentals: (Monday @ 9:30) Volume (6.06).
- PreAlgebra: (Friday @ 9:30) Polygon types (7.01).
- Algebra: (Monday @ 10:15) Irrational numbers (6.07).
- Algebra 1: (Friday @ 10:15) Inverse variation (1.12).
- Algebra 2: (Monday @ 11:45) Varied topics.
- Geometry: (Friday @ 11:00) Unit check up (Unit 1).
Ms. Blackburn's Classroom
9th Grade
Community Events
Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day
Inspire a Girl’s Future! Introduce her to the world of engineering.
Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day will occur during national Engineers Week: February 18-24.
Calling all girls to celebrate and learn:
Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018; Nebraska Innovation Campus – 2021 Transformation Dr.
Dream Big, Engineering Our World will be shown followed by engaging and age appropriate hands-on activities.
Two sessions: 9-11am & 10am-Noon
Event is free for girls grades 3-12, but registration is required. Register here today!
Questions can be directed to swei2@unl.edu.
Make. Hack. Build
Checkout these FREE Resources for student learning!
A few great and free resources that are research based for instruction or can be used as interventions and are aligned to state standards are:
- Learn Zillion Close Reading Lessons https://learnzillion.com/resources/17016
- SAS Curriculum – reading comprehension and strategies https://www.sascurriculumpathways.com/portal/Launch?id=1503
- Read Works http://www.readworks.org/
What they have to offer:
•Facilitate close reading, precise questioning based on evidence in the text and focused discussion
•Include read-aloud lessons and paired text questions
•Come with graphic organizers, student worksheets, and authentic paired texts
•Prepared lesson plans, inclusive of materials and aligned to state or common core standards feature
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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