About Florida Virtual School
Florida Virtual School (FLVS) has been leading the way in Kindergarten-12 online education for 25 years. FLVS provides a robust, award-winning curriculum to public, private, charter, and homeschool families and school districts nationwide. Learn more at flvs.net.
Meet our 2016 Photo Contest Winners
By Florida Virtual School on October 10th, 2016
Over the last several weeks, FLVS students have been sharing what makes them unique in our fall photo contest on social media.
Using Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, participants were asked to submit a photo showing what makes them one-of-a-kind using #IAMFLVS.
It was truly inspiring to see so many entries (including many of our new elementary students!) and hear all of your stories. We also enjoyed following the journey of several students who participated in our contest in years past!
We loved hearing how the flexibility of FLVS allows you to be yourself and follow your dreams.
As we have in previous contests, three winners were selected…one at random, one by our judges, and one by popular vote.
And now, we’re excited to present them to you!
FLVS Corkboard: October Highlights
By Florida Virtual School on October 5th, 2016
It’s October and there’s a bushel of activities we know you’ll FALL in love with!
First, we want to let you know that the deadline for Fall 2016 Virge Literary Magazine submissions has been extended. Submit your original artwork, photography, and/or writing entries by October 7, 2016 to be considered for publication.
The theme for this edition is Muse (to consider something thoughtfully; a person who is a source of artistic inspiration). Find more details and download a publication form here.
If you’re looking for other ways to connect with classmates, we have a few more suggestions! Start by viewing our upcoming events in the student resources section of our website. Our clubs page also includes a calendar of upcoming dates and opportunities for specific groups.
Looking for other ways to get involved? Check out a few of these opportunities:
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
FLVS Corkboard: August Highlights
By Florida Virtual School on August 31st, 2016
Whether you’re a student, teacher, parent, or administrator, heading back to school and starting a new school year can cause a flood of varying emotions.
How is it possible to feel excited, nervous, happy, sad, encouraged, jazzed, and anxious all at the same time?
A new school year brings new opportunities and we have some just for you!
First, welcome to reading a new segment on our blog named FLVS Corkboard. As part of our efforts to streamline school-wide communications, we decided to fold our previous stand-alone newsletter, The Pulse, into this new monthly series!
Here, we’ll offer highlights and news bits for all our students and parents on all things FLVS. Consider subscribing to The Virtual Voice to help keep you connected. Continue reading
Become a Research Jedi using Google Search
By Florida Virtual School on May 11th, 2016
Become a research Jedi so you will never have to go to the Dark Side.
In a galaxy far, far away…all of Padawans turned in their research projects on time and received perfect scores every time…and…uh…wait a minute – this does sound like a fictional world!
Let’s land in the real world where a research project requires time and effort and especially some serious research skills. Cue the dramatic music and let’s begin your training! Continue reading
A Puzzling Dilemma
By Florida Virtual School on April 25th, 2016
April is Autism Awareness Month, so I decided to do some reading and brush up on the subject of autism.
In doing so, I came across a surprising blog post about the negative connotation of the puzzle pieces that represent autism in the Autism Society’s ribbon logo, which is now widely used to create awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
The post called my attention for two reasons. First, I had no idea that the puzzle ribbon was so controversial, and second, it was written by an autistic person – so naturally I was interested in reading about her particular point of view. In her blog, Alex says that the puzzle implies that autistic people need to be figured out, fixed, or completed as if parts of them were missing. Continue reading
Got Notes? (Part 2)
By Florida Virtual School on November 5th, 2015
sketch – note
/skeCH nōt/
Noun
1. A substantially awesome method for taking notes that is easy, fun, and does not require drawing ability (stick figures welcome!)
Verb
2. Combining doodles and notes and increasing your memory retention by transferring an idea from your head to the paper!
This definition summarizes some of what we learned in part one of this series. Continue reading
Writing: A Family Affair
By Florida Virtual School on October 20th, 2015
This is one of several posts celebrating Connected Educator Month during the month of October. October 20th is National Day on Writing and we are joining The National Council of Teachers of English to celebrate how writing helps us connect. Join the #WhyIWrite and #CE15 discussions on Twitter to share your thoughts!
As we celebrate the National Day on Writing today, what better way to encourage our younger writers than by getting them involved in daily family routines that involve writing!
When my daughter was younger, she helped me write our grocery list every week. She loved using the “special” checklist notepaper I kept on the fridge and writing the words she already knew (milk, juice, apples, cereal). For new words, I encouraged her to “sound it out” and write it the way she heard it.
Now that she’s older, we take it a step further and have her be in charge of the list – checking off each item as we pick them from the shelves at the store. Continue reading
Celebrating My Hispanic Heritage
By Florida Virtual School on October 2nd, 2015
In our Spanish for Spanish Speakers course, an assignment asks students to compare their lives in the United States with that of a fictional character in the lesson.
This character writes an entry in her diary describing her struggles to fit in with two different cultures, dealing with attitudes towards her language and towards her, and even learning to speak “Spanglish.”
I especially like part of her entry where she talks about another Spanish-speaking lady she meets at her kid’s school who owns a store in town where she can meet for a cafecito* and some very-needed Spanish conversation.
Teaching this lesson, I suddenly realized that I struggle with the very same things! Continue reading
Congrats to our 2015 Photo Contest Winners
By Florida Virtual School on September 26th, 2015
This year, we saw all kinds of inspiring and amazing student stories in our fall photo contest.
Over the last two months, students have been sharing images on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook showing how they have succeeded with the help of Florida Virtual School. In the photo caption, students were asked to explain how FLVS has allowed them to do great things using the hashtag #SuccessAtFLVS.
Three winners were chosen – one at random, one by popular vote, and one selected by FLVS judges. We received images from hospitalized and homebound students, students entering the ROTC, community service volunteers, musicians, artists, athletes, and aspiring entrepreneurs – all of which made us wish we could have chosen more of you!
Continue reading