OVS High School Weekly Update

Learning Coach Training Next Week

Where: MCC- Fort Omaha Campus, Building 10, Room 201

Topic: Attendance refresher & K12 Q & A

When: Tuesday Or Thursday at 8:30-9:30

Learning Coaches are encouraged to attend trainings while their learners are in class. However, you are welcome to attend ANY training, as EVERY session is the same! You are always welcome to bring your non-school aged children to trainings. I am doing this same presentation at the K-8 school, as well.

MAP testing

All OVS learners will take the MAP reading, math, and science MAP assessments the week of August 27th and September 3rd during the 1-3:00 ISL time. Please have your learner pack a lunch and be prepared to share what they know on this adaptive assessment. More information below.

Tuesday learner's MAP testing

August 28th from 1-3pm--Reading and Science

September 4th from 1-3pm--Math

Thursday learner's MAP testing

August 30th from 1-3pm--Reading and Science

September 6th from 1-3pm--Math

Order OVS T-shirts, sweatshirts and hats

Deadline to order is Monday, August 20-Link to order is below

If you have questions or concerns about your K12 curriculum, your learner, pacing guides, etc. Your learning facilitator is your first line of support. Their contact information is below, on our website, and in your student handbook. Please stay connected!

High School Office Phone

Metropolitan Community College-Fort Omaha

Contact Information

Phone: 531-622-6111

Learning Facilitator Contact Information

Mr. Derrick Brannan

Social Studies/Computer Fundamentals/Anthropology

Sociology/Computer programming

Email: derrick.brannan@ops.org

Phone: 531-299-9457

Mrs. Jennica Ignowski

Science

Email: jennica.ignowski@ops.org

Phone: 531-299-9240

Mrs. Teresa Mendoza

English/Public Speaking/Creative Writing/Journalism

Email: teresa.mendoza@ops.org

Phone: 531-299-9739

Mr. Thomas Gamble

6th-8th grade Math facilitator

Email: thomas.gamble@ops.org

Phone: 531-299-9447

Whew! We made it through the first week. It has been such a joy to meet all of our new learners and learning coaches and welcome our returners back. This week, while stressful, is my favorite part of this job. I hope you can tell! The positive energy this week was palpable. Learners were excited!!! However, we know that our learning coaches may feel overwhelmed and stressed, along with excited.

We feel the same way!

As you reflect on this week, please remember these important things:

• We are here for you.
• We are all in this together.
• It will get easier.
  

Please continue to communicate with us. Thank you to parents and learners who have reached out if there are errors, concerns, questions, etc. We need to know, so we can support you.

Take some time this weekend to relax and breathe and continue to have those great conversations about learning at home!

It is an honor and a pleasure to work with you and your learners!

-Wendy

NWEA-MAP is the interim assessment that OPS learners take in the fall, winter, and spring to measure individual learner's strengths and areas of concern. This data will be shared with learners, learning coaches, and learning facilitators to ensure that we are all on the same page with what each learner needs to grow.

The testing schedule is found in the "Mark Your Calendar" section above.

The purpose of this first week of school was to get acquainted with the computers, K12, and one another. We realize attendance for this week will be minimal, as it wasn't a full week.

Please be aware that we our attendance weeks are from Friday-Thursday the following week. Friday, August 17th-Thursday, August 23rd is the first week of attendance that we will be tracking. During this time frame your learners will need to have the appropriate amount of hours logged based on the number of courses they are enrolled in. Full-time learners are expected attendance at home should be 27 hours. OVS takes attendance for the 3 hours that they are at the learning center.

If you have issues with attendance, please let your learning facilitator know. It is HIGHLY recommended that you attend LC training next week to support your understanding of attendance.

As shared during orientation, logging attendance daily is recommended practices.

K-5 learners- LCs log ALL activity on K12 and Off K12

6-10th grade learners- LCs log only activity that occurs off of K12.com (reading a book, powerpoint, journaling, etc.)

Other attendance notes:

• The first day that is available to log attendance is August 15th. If your learner did work on August 14th, please log it on August 15th or another day.
• If you are a K-5 learning coach and you are using the K12 attendance app, the courses are listed as course numbers, not names. We are aware of this and are working to adjust this.
• Refer to the below tutorial on how to log attendance.

Did you know that you can track your learner's materials through your learning coach login? Click on your LC name in the top right corner. Go to "My Info" and then "My Orders" to find tracking numbers and additional information.

Teachers will post weekly updates and messages here in the future. Stay tuned! In the meantime, check each courses' announcements in K12.

It was great to see everyone back from last year and to meet all of the new students. I am excited to get the Stock Market Game going for sophomores and looking forward to a great year.

This week has been packed with a lot of information!! Thank you to all for digesting everything we have thrown at you. I am eager to get to know the new faces I have in my classroom and learning coaches supporting those new faces. Please note that I have updated my pacing guides for all of my courses (biology, earth science, physical education, and physical science). I had the wrong document uploaded prior to this afternoon. Please reach out as you need.

Week in Review:
Thank you to everyone who attended the orientations this past week. It was great to see all the new faces and reconnect with returning families. We covered A LOT of information. PLEASE feel free to reach out, as some of you have, and ask all the questions you need. Despite the daunting task of a new system or method it does get easier and we are here to help you any way we can.

Looking Ahead:
I am looking forward to working with all your learners. I will be splitting my time between the high school and the middle school. I will try to be punctual and proactive with my responses, but please be patient as it may take a little longer than normal pending quantity.

This coming week we will continue to review procedures and policies. We will also begin working on the curriculum and any needs your learner may have. The new fluid model will allow us to address concepts and needs based on where your learner is rather than teaching to the middle. Keep us posted with any concerns or needs for your learner. We will make note of them and address them during our face-to-face time.

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.

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 week’s resource can be effective for all courses. It provides procedures and solutions for algebra, geometry, and more. I would encourage coaches to use it sparingly with learners so they don’t rely on it for solutions. It can be effective to check your learner’s work.

Symbolab

Weekly Online Math Lessons:
Online lessons will begin regularly, for Math, the week of August 27th. 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.

The schedule for regular online Math sessions is as follows:

• PreAlgebra: Thursdays @ 1:00 – 2:00.
  
• Algebra 1: Wednesdays @ 1:00 – 2:00.
  
• Geometry & Honors: Tuesdays @ 1:00 – 2:00.
  
• Algebra 2 & Honors: Thursdays @ 1:00 – 2:00.
  
• PreCalc/Trig: Thursdays @ 1:00 – 2:00.
  

If you are having issues with your student's device, please email your issue/concern to this email address: ovs-techhelp@ops.org

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.

We are a dynamic and nurturing community of learners that empowers students to reach their individual potential by providing a creative atmosphere for innovative learning and academic excellence.

Future ready, today.

Growth mindset

Positivity

Collaboration

Integrity

Self-advocacy

Accountability

The first K-8 Virtual School in the state of Nebraska.

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