OVS Weekly Update

Learning Coach Trainings

Jan. 30- Feb 1st: MAP Overview and Reviewing results-Plan to attend a session to receive your student's results.

Sessions will take place at the following times:

Tuesday AM at 9:15am

Wednesday AM at 9:15am

Thursday AM at 9:15am

Thursday PM at 2:15pm

Math Club Mondays

Every Monday starting February 5th from 1:30-2:30

Students engage in math groups with teachers and math specific training provided for learning coaches.

Week of Feb. 6th-8th

9:15am and 2:15pm: One Note/ One Drive Refresher

PE and Art classes are offered

Parent Teacher Conferences

Weds., Feb 14: 1:30-8pm

Thurs., Feb 15: 4:30-8PM

Fri., Feb 16: NO SCHOOL

Other Important dates

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!

Omaha Virtual School is a unique educational experience for students, parents, and teachers. First of all, we call our parents learning coaches. Our learning coaches work with their students and OVS teachers facilitate our students' education. Our students spend more time with their learning coaches than with our teachers, which is why the learning coach role is so vital. Equally as vital is the communication and connection between teachers and learning coaches. These conversations need to be student-centered on student's skills, strengths, areas of concern, and interests. There are so many research studies that support the importance of parent connection with the school in traditional, brick and mortar schools, but this importance is triple in our at OVS.

The biggest barrier we face as a school community is how to connect with learning coaches to support their efforts at home. Our main forms of connection are through our weekly newsletters and emails. It is imperative that learning coaches arm themselves with this information. Additionally, we offer learning coach trainings while students are in class with teachers, once per week. These topics range from educational technology resources, CommonSense Media digital citizenship trainings, and more.

This semester we will make the shift to provide trainings that will support our learning coaches in the area of educational strategies and practices at home with literacy and math strategies.

One way we are working towards making that shift this semester is with our Math Clubs on Monday afternoons at 1:30, where we will work with students on math skills while we train parents on math instructional strategies. However, we need to ensure that learning coaches are engaging in these trainings in order for our efforts to have an impact on student math growth. We will continue to strategize on how we can better coordinate training efforts for learning coaches, whether it is during different times of the day or online. Either way, the key to our student's success is parent engagement.

Our question to Learning Coaches is:

How can we better facilitate these trainings and our communication to learning coaches so these connections can be made to support students? We are eager to hear from you on your suggestions on how we can make our learning coach trainings more accessible to you.

Please email Dr. Loewenstein with your thoughts so we can continue to work together to support our students.

If you are interested, here is a link to a variety of studies about the impact of parent engagement on student achievement: https://www.familiesandschools.org/blog/the-importance-of-parent-engagement/. Ultimately, we know you are aware of these implications because you chose our program, so you could be more involved in your student's education.

Due to all of the crazy snow days in the first few weeks of school, some of our students were unable to complete the MAP testing for Math and Reading. We would like to invite you to have your student attend an alternative session. Alternative session dates are Friday February 2nd or Friday February 9th. Both sessions will begin at 9:30am.

Students will need to bring their device, headphones and mouse. Please make sure the student's device is fully charged when they arrive. RSVP to Ms. Sechrest by February 1st to which session your student will be attending so we can plan accordingly for each sessions.

Starting on Monday, February 5th, every Monday from 1:30-2:30, ALL students are welcome to join us for Math Clubs!!

Have you ever played Trashketball? How about Cup Stacking? Zap!? These are just a few of the games that we will be playing at Math Clubs! Students will be playing games to reinforce key math concepts that are appropriate for their learning levels. We encourage learning coaches to stay and engage in learning coach training on math strategies and supports to use at home.

Three math clubs are:

• Ms. Rogers will be reinforcing addition and subtraction.
• Mr. Dowling will be playing multiplication and division games.
• Mrs. Nommensen will be teaching higher level math rules.
  *If you have questions on which club your student should attend, please consult your teacher.

Join any club you like and enjoy applying math using fun games! After clubs are over, stay for ISL to get caught up on your K12 assignments! We are here to help you out! Sign up with this link: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/508084EABAB23A4FA7-math

THANK YOU to all of the families and friends who attended S.T.E.A.M. Fest this week. This was a fun, engaging event with community support from UNO and DoSpace. It is not often that our whole school community gets together, so we enjoy hosting events for families and students to have fun together!

Student created art from the art experiment with Ms. Barry is available on a table in the Common Areas. Please pick up by next week!

Congrats to the students who won prizes for checking out all of the fun exhibits!
K'NEX set- Ben Ingles
Watermelon Seed Ket- Lydia Muller
Squishy Circuit Kit- Reid Huebert

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

1. Create art that truly commemorates and celebrates Black History. You may use any materials you want: canvas, pencil, paint, charcoal, crayon, marker, etc.
2. Write your name, your grade, your Teacher’s name and your school’s name on the back of your art.
   
3. Turn in your art and the permission form into your Homeroom, Art, or Social Studies Teacher or Love Jazz Art Center at 2510 N 24th Street, Omaha NE by 28 February 2018.
4. Only one submission per student. Art must be original and students own work.
   
5. Art must arrive at Love’s Jazz and Arts Center, 2510 N. 24th Street, Omaha Nebraska, by 7 March 2018. Center hours are: Tuesday-Friday, 11am-5pm & Saturday, 11am-3pm.
6. Permission slips can be picked up at the front desk.
   

Coming up in K-5 Art:

• Week of February 5th- February Face to Face Time - Bring in portfolios with any 3rd quarter work completed this far.
  
• NOW OFFERING: Open Art Time 9:30 -11:30 AM February 20, 21, 22 *Registration is Required
  • Registration will be sent out Week of Feb 12th
• All 3rd Quarter art should be turned in to Mrs. Barry by Friday, March 2nd

Reminder: Ms. Rogers will be out for the next few weeks. She assigned tasks in Study Island in replacement of her online lessons for next week.

Ms. Andrea Yager-Neuzil is Megan's sub while she is out. She had a great week with the students. Thank you all for your support for Ms. Andrea and Ms. Rogers during these few weeks.

Ms. Rogers Skill Support Schedule Sign up

Week in Review:
Our 3rd Graders took the MAP-Science test. Our Winter session MAP testing is finished! If your child was absent during any of our face-to-face sessions in January, they probably missed one of the MAP tests. There is a make-up day on Friday, February 9th at 9:30. If that day will not work for you, please contact me to discuss options.

We sent home their first reading assignment for our Literature Circles this week. They should have a large, yellow envelope in their backpacks. Inside the envelope is a folder containing a sheet that needs to be filled out and brought back to school each week.

Looking Ahead:
I’m looking forward to hearing the conversations about these books. It is important they have their book with them and that they complete their reading at home. We will continue our work with Geometry and Mental Math. I will be attending a Minecraft training on Saturday. Hoping to get that started next week as well. Thanks!

Mr. Dowling Skill Support Schedule Sign up

We are finally nearly done with MAP testing!! We have a few to make up because of snow days and absences. If your child was gone because of a snow day, we will be making up the test in class. If your child was gone because of illness or was not able to make it for some other reason, they will need to come in during ISL to make up the test. Make up tests will be this Wednesday 1:30-3:30 or Friday 1:30-3:30. Please contact me to let me know what day you will bring your child in. Again, this is only for kids who missed for reasons other than the snow days.

We are going to be doing a writing graphic organizer this week for a personal narrative. 4th grade parents, those organizers should be coming home, and you can use them for Unit 8 in composition.

I will be taking a day of bereavement for my uncle’s funeral, but I taped the on-line lesson today. It is required and is the first lesson in QAR. I recommend parents watch it as well, so you know what QAR is!

Hands on Equations went well this week. The kids were really catching on quickly! I’m excited to see where they take it!

Mrs. Nommensen Skill Support Sign up

Week in Review:
Students learned varied concepts from their K12 curriculum.

• Fundamentals: Calculate surface area of nets of solids.
  
• PreAlgebra: Draw figures with specific measures and requirements.
  
• Algebra: Convert between different units of measure in real world systems.
  
• Algebra 1: Find the constant of variation and solve problems involving quadratic variation.
  
• Geometry: Prove the Pythagorean Theorem using triangle similarity.
  

Looking Ahead:
In class we will work on varied math concepts from their curriculum involving real-world math.

• Fundamentals: Simplify numerical expressions to find multiplication patterns. (Lesson 6.10- More Patterns)
  
• PreAlgebra: Identify and calculate the relationship between diameter and circumference. (Lesson 7.08 - Circumference)
  
• Algebra: Estimate square roots using the Babylonian method. (Lesson 6.10 - Estimating Square Roots)
  
• Algebra 1: Order and write rational numbers in multiple representations. (Lesson 2.01: Rational Numbers)
  
• Geometry: Calculate the area of composite figures using coordinates. (Lesson 2.04: Composite Figures)
  

Resources:

• Fundamentals: Math is Fun has definitions, calculation instructions, and examples of number sequences.
  
• PreAlgebra: Math Goodies has definitions, examples, and practice problems on calculating circumference.
  
• Algebra: Ducksters has definitions, examples, and practice problems on squares and square roots.
  
• Algebra 1: ck-12 has a definition, examples, instruction, and practice of comparing and ordering rational numbers.
  
• Geometry: ck-12 has explanations, examples, and practice on finding the area of composite figures.
  

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) Multiplication patterns (6.08).
  
• PreAlgebra: (Friday @ 9:30) Circumference (7.07).
  
• Algebra: (Monday @ 10:15) Pythagorean Theorem (6.14).
  
• Algebra 1: (Friday @ 10:15) Unit check-up (Unit 1).
  
• Algebra 2: (Monday @ 11:45) Varied topics.
  
• Geometry: (Friday @ 11:15) Circumference versus area. (2.03).
  

Have a student in 9th grade at OVS? Check out their newsletter each week HERE!

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 is a collaborative community for creators 12-18 years old to learn life, tech, and leadership skills. The focus of this workshop is to learn and design physical technology, engage in a hackathon and showcase projects at the DoSpace Mini Maker Faire. Classes begin on February 1st on Thursday nights from 5-7pm at DoSpace. Twenty applicants will be accepted into the program that runs February-April. Check out DoSpace's website for more details or apply now HERE.

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

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.

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

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