OVS Weekly Update
November 9, 2018 Volume 89
Mark Your Calendars!
Learning Coach Training
Science Fair
Learning coach, Kelly Anderson, will be presenting about the OVS Middle School Science Fair Project- Tips for learning coaches. Topics include:
- How to find a topic you are interested in.
- How to set up your experiment.
- How to write your report.
- And many, many more topics!!
Sessions are:
Tuesday, November 13th @ 11:00 and 1:00
Wednesday, November 14 @ 11:00
Thursday, November 15th @ 11:00 and 1:00
K-8 Coffee Chat with Wendy
Wendy will sit with LCs in the lounge and talk about what is going well, what isn't, and listen to feedback on how we can continue to grow as a program and a community of learners. All of these sessions are the same, we strongly encourage you to attend one so your voice can be heard.
Tuesday, November 13th @ 3-4pm
Wednesday, November 14th @ 9-10am
Thursday, November 15 @ 9-10am
Other Upcoming events:
SkateDaze school PaRtY!!
- Tues., Nov. 13th--6-8PM
- More details below--See you there!
STEAM Day
- Tues., Nov. 20th-See details below
NO SCHOOL/No Online lessons- Thanksgiving Break
- Weds., Nov. 21st - Friday., Nov. 23rd
- Great time for learners to get caught up!
One Note Recording
STEAM Day!
November 20th
BrightBytes
Parent Survey
K12 Clubs!
Tech Tip--Clear your browser cache and cookies
Try clearing your browser cache and cookies, if:
OLS continually loads or redirects – “Redirecting…Please wait”
OLS navigation between pages is slow
OLS pages load but missing information
Browser error messages
Getting booted out of the OLS or LMS
After a planned maintenance outage
After an unexpected outage
How to clear you cache and cookies in Firefox (Windows OS):
- Click the Firefox menu on the browser toolbar (the 2 horizontal lines located under the X to close the window)
- Click Library
- Click History
- Click Clear Recent History and then select the items you want to delete (e.g., Browsing History, Cache, Cookies)
- Click Clear Now
- Close all open Mozilla-Firefox browser windows
- Open a new Mozilla-Firefox browser window
OPS Text Messages
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.
SkateDaze!!
OVS Synergy
If you ordered a t-shirt, they will be available for pick up at parent/teacher conferences.
We do have some extra shirts for sale if you were not able to order! They are $20 a piece. Sizes are limited.
SAVE THE DATE!
What: Parents Night Out
When: Dec. 7th 6:00-8:30 pm
More info to come!!
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
What a busy week with Art & Coding!! We focused on non-fiction text features this week. We were able to find the table of contents, heading, photographs, captions, bold text, glossary, and index. Students worked on Keyboard Zoo this week. It is a game that helps them recognize where letters are on the keyboard. This will help us as we move toward more official keyboarding skills. Addition War was a favorite this week!
Next week:
We will continue focus on writing, 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. We will review non-fiction text features and work on finding them in books or magazines. In Math, we will continue to work on mastering our math facts.
We will participate in the Skype-a-thon on Tuesday and then have a couple extra Skype sessions set up for Wednesday and Thursday!
Keep working hard! I appreciate all you do!
Mr. Dowling's Class update
Week in Review:
We had a busy week with Art and coding. It didn’t leave us much time for our regular rotations. So instead of the usual, we broke it up. We did a Breakout EDU box. I gave them a set of clues to unlock 6 different locks. I think they really enjoyed it! We posted some pictures to our Facebook and Twitter pages.
We also started our Literature Circles. We had some great conversations. Please make sure that all learners bring their books to school each week.
Next Week:
We will get back to a regular schedule next week. We will have our rotations in Math and Language Arts. I have given each learner a task to complete for Lit Circles. It is located in their purple folder. Please make sure this gets completed before next class time. We don’t have enough time in the day for them to fill out the sheet and also discuss it. Thanks for the help!
Resources: Click here for the link to Epic Books.
Mrs. Walker's class update
Week in Review:
Students had fun this week learning how to weave in art! They also got to spend time coding! This did not leave a lot of time for our regular rotations, but we did have our first Literature Circle! For next week students have a new job for them to do after they read the chapter in their book. Please make sure they complete both before class. Please send your learner with their Lit Circles book. We will be using it during Silent Reading so they can get a jumpstart on their reading at home.
Looking Ahead:
Many of the students are starting fractions in math. There are some great anchor charts they can make so they can remember the steps! Here is one for adding and subtracting fractions.
Mr. Gamble's Class Update
Week in Review:
Thank you to all for working so hard on getting assignments and assessments done for quarter grades. If there are lesson assessments not completed, learners may still submit work through the end of the semester. Learners will receive full credit for work submitted and the “0”s will replace themselves.
Online lessons continue to happen daily. See below for the schedule to ensure your learners are in attendance. If a student is optional, they are not required to attend, but are welcome to for additional assistance. “Required” learners must attend the session for lesson 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. Follow up with your learners and see what their next step is. Keep checking their progress and using the pacing guides to know what is due.
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.
We look forward to seeing everyone at conferences. Be sure to use the Sign Up Genius link in the newsletter to choose a block of time you will visit the middle-school team.
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. Geogebra provides a free graphing calculator and many other tools that are helpful for verifying or graphing equations, expressions, and inequalities as well as drawing geometric shapes and finding their properties. 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.
Mrs. Felten's Class Update
Most students have started the science fair process. They are working through lessons in the Online Lesson Module 1.06, 1.07, and 1.09 to learn the procedures. Many students are ready to start their actual experiment at this point. These experiments can take place now until January. Our printer is available for student use for their science fair tri-fold boards.
6th grade science students are working through the Geologic History and Plate Tectonics units.
7th grade science students are working through a photosynthesis lab and other labs on respiration.
8th grade science students are finishing their density labs and working on the science fair.
All social studies students are working through their workbooks. World history is working through chapter 4 Ancient Egypt. Global studies is working to get used to using the workbook in Onenote. They are working on the South America Unit. American history students are on unit 9 right now.
Mrs. Robison's Class Update
Are you checking on the progress of your learner? If not, now is the time. The end of the first semester will be here before you know it. If your learner is not on pace or is struggling in a course, now is the time to determine what needs to be put in place at home to finish the semester successfully.
In 6th grade, ELA’ers (no, that is not an official term, nor is it grammatically correct….but, you get it, right?) should have written a Problem/Solution essay this week. Ask them what problem they chose to address. There were some interesting solutions! Even better, I can see they are applying strategies to improve their writing. Growth is exciting.
7th grade is right in the middle of The Hobbit. If your learner has not started reading, please make this a priority. Learning comprehension strategies, vocabulary, and literary elements are just the side benefits of getting into a good book!
In 8th grade, learners are diving into memoir writing. Ask them about the memory they are sharing and why they are sharing it! They are not just telling a story but sharing an important lesson that was learned from their experience. I can’t wait to read these!
There are still learners that need to either give their presentations from their research or deliver their speeches. I would like these wrapped up the week we come back from Thanksgiving break. I will be sending communication to those learners who have not presented to notify them of this deadline.
In Computer Apps, learners are hard at work learning the basics of formatting text and use of tables in Microsoft Word. These skills will come in handy as they move forward in their learning career. Please encourage them to follow directions exactly! I have high expectations for their products. If they are following instructions, they should be successful!
If you have questions or need help with anything, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
Mrs. Barry's Art class update
All learners should be following the pacing guide for their grade band and completing one art lesson/project per week.
Week of November 5th: K-5 Face to Face Art
*Please remember to bring your portfolios with any completed art work that has not been turned in yet. Portfolios will be returned the following week.
Coming Up-
Week of November 12th: 6-8 Face to Face Art
Week of November 26th: Open Art Times - registration will be sent out soon
Please let me know if you have any questions or need any support!
9th Grade Newsletter
Troubles with your device?
Parents will get an email response following your submission. One of our staff members will email parents back to provide assistance, so be sure to check your email after sending your concern.
Mission Statement
Vision
Core Values
Positivity
Collaboration
Integrity
Self-advocacy
Accountability
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
Hoodies & long sleeve shirts
Long sleeve $25