Math
Sixth Grader Takes Pre-Algebra Course Over the Summer to Accelerate Learning
By Katie Hodgins on August 8th, 2023
Bella V. didn’t know Florida Virtual School (FLVS) classes were an option until her Cypress Lake Middle School math teacher and team coach, Mrs. Wendland, suggested it. Since elementary school, Bella loved and excelled in her math classes. As a sixth grader at Cypress Lake Middle School in Fort Myers, Bella continuously sought to enhance her knowledge. This is why she jumped at the opportunity when Mrs. Wendland recommended she take pre-algebra, the 8th grade advanced math class, over the summer with FLVS before 7th grade.
Continue readingWhich New High School Course Should You Take with Florida Virtual School? Take This Quiz to Find Out!
By Elizabeth Jones on June 7th, 2023
Choosing courses for the next school year is exciting—but can also be a little bit stressful. Thoughts like, “What courses should I choose?” or “Which courses will help me reach my goals?” are probably on your mind. But at least with Florida Virtual School (FLVS), you know you won’t have to dress out when you take PE!
Continue readingStarliner Launch Brings Learning to Life
By Guest Blogger on February 10th, 2020
This post was written by Elizabeth Jones, a member of the FLVS social media team.
I recently had the opportunity to watch Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner make its debut flight to the International Space Station. This was a great opportunity to see the impacts of career and technical education in action! Continue reading
FLVS Math Club Celebrates Pi Day
By Guest Blogger on March 22nd, 2019
Our love for “Pi” at FLVS was evident when 92 students came together to celebrate this simple two-letter word on March 14, 2019. “Pi” is the term coined by William Jones in 1706 representing the ratio for the circumference to the diameter. The decimal equivalent for pi begins with 3.14 and it has become a tradition of Math lovers to celebrate “Pi Day” on 3/14 each year.
This year, the FLVS Math Club created a Virtual Escape Room to test participants knowledge in the use of pi. Continue reading
FLVS Follows Science on Its Way to Space
By Guest Blogger on April 30th, 2018
On April 2, 2018, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted into space with the Dragon spacecraft – sending fascinating science experiments and supplies to the International Space Station.
FLVS was invited to share the experience with our students and followers through social media, including a behind-the-scenes tour of NASA facilities at Kennedy Space Center prior to launch. Continue reading
When Will I Ever Use Math?
By Guest Blogger on April 21st, 2017
No matter what subject we face, the FLVS Curriculum Development team strives to connect complex concepts with everyday examples to motivate student learning.
This commitment to real-world connections is particularly helpful for anyone who has ever struggled with math.
What may have felt like a boring lesson in the past is now power-packed with exciting FLVS approaches to mathematical concepts!
Every click in an FLVS mathematics course answers the question, “When am I ever gonna use this?” Continue reading
How Career & Technical Education Changed My Life
By Guest Blogger on February 21st, 2017
In honor of Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month, I would like to reflect on the influence CTE has had on my life – even though I didn’t realize it until a decade later.
As a teenager, I wasn’t a big fan of school. Classes, homework, and way too much science! I couldn’t stand it.
However, every time I left my rural campus to assist nurses at the local hospital, I felt the thrill of escape and the fun of doing something new. So, for all the wrong reasons, I enrolled in my high school’s nursing program and was quickly on my way to plenty of time not in school. The perfect plan!
It didn’t take long for me to learn my first CTE lesson: there is much more to a nursing program than wearing scrubs and getting out of class. I’d signed up for a daily, three-hour block of anatomy and physiology, as well as an introduction to nursing skills. Yep, my brilliant plan to escape school somehow locked me into three hours of science a day. Continue reading
FLVS Attends GOES-R Satellite Launch
By Florida Virtual School on December 7th, 2016
On Saturday, November 19, I had the privilege of watching the GOES-R weather satellite launch from Kennedy Space Center.
Now you may be wondering what GOES-R stands for. It’s the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, a satellite system that orbits the earth and sends data back to National Weather Service computers. The R indicates what number or version the GOES satellite is on, so there have already been versions A-R. GOES-S is slated to launch next year and is the twin to GOES-R.
Of course, weather satellites get launched all the time, so why would this one be any more special than the others?
Well, right now we receive images of satellite scans every 30 minutes or so. The GOES-R satellite will provide data at least every five minutes, and in some circumstances every 30 seconds! So not only will it be five times faster than current weather satellites, but it will also gather three times more data and it will have four times better resolution. Continue reading
To Bennu and Back!
By Florida Virtual School on September 29th, 2016
Hello FLVS peeps!
I had the distinct honor of representing FLVS at the OSIRIS REx rocket launch a few weeks ago.
Now if you’re wondering what exactly that means, OSIRIS REx stands for NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer. That’s a mouthful, right?
In a nutshell, NASA is sending a spacecraft to an asteroid named Bennu. Once it reaches Bennu (after a trip lasting two years), the spacecraft will orbit the asteroid for about a year, find the perfect place to collect about 80 grams of the rock, and head back home, arriving back to Earth in 2023.
It won’t actually land on the asteroid, but instead hover over it – and with the help of Canada and their amazing knowledge of spacecraft arms – will grab a small sample. (To put this in perspective, 80 grams is about the equivalent of 80 Skittle candies.)
So why are we going to Bennu? Continue reading
Let Your Summer Sizzle with STEM
By Guest Blogger on June 30th, 2016
The countdown is over and summer is now in full swing!
Can you hear the rejoicing cries of school-age children saying “no more alarm clocks,” “no teachers,” and “woohoo, no homework!”
Ask students what they want to do as they’re just beginning to submerge themselves in summer-break mode and more than likely you’ll get answers like: relax, watch TV, see movies, go to the beach, and chill with friends. Continue reading