Student Edition
FLVS Joins St. Jude’s Walk for Children
By Guest Blogger on September 8th, 2016
At FLVS, our teachers and support staff make up the heart and soul of our organization. All of our efforts are centered on the lives of the individual students we serve.
This month, one of our staff members and his daughter (a student at FLVS) are especially representative of this mission as we join the statewide 5k Walk for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Mike Smith, FLVS Peer Counseling and Critical Thinking Skills teacher, says that his family has been a proud supporter of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for more than 25 years. His cousin (who happens to be getting married the same day as the walk this year) was treated and cured there in the early 1990s. Now, Mike’s family is once again part of the St. Jude mission to cure all children stricken with cancer. 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
FLVS Yearbook Club: Unbound
By Guest Blogger on August 22nd, 2016
Nearly five years ago, the first edition of the Florida Virtual School yearbook, Unbound, was published.
Many things have changed since then, but one thing has not – this is a yearbook created by and for “unbound” students. At FLVS, students are not bound to four walls of a classroom, nor are they bound to lectures that feel endless. Unbound was created to show off these exemplary students and our exemplary school.
My name is Scott Schneider and I am the Editor-in-Chief of this year’s Unbound yearbook. I am a Junior at FLVS Full Time, and I can testify to the unbound feeling that FLVS provides. Our goal is to provide that same feeling to students in the yearbook. We have created many ways to get involved this year without being bound to deadlines, countless hours of work, etc.
One of the ways to get involved is through the Summer Cover Challenge! Continue reading
Meet FLVS Alumna Makaila Nichols
By Guest Blogger on August 18th, 2016
This is the first post in a series by former FLVS student Makaila, a model, author, and anti-bullying advocate.
Hey blog readers! I’m the new kid on “The Virtual Voice” block.
My name is Makaila, but all my friends call me Mak and I’m 18 years young. I was once an FLVS Flex student and attended a small private school in Windermere, Florida. So why did I take classes from FLVS when I was already in school full time?
Opportunity.
I started modeling when I was 14 with Wilhelmina Models and had to spend a lot of time in Miami, Los Angeles, and New York (and not at school).
I found myself on a plane quite often and was always told the same thing by the people I worked with, “take classes online.” So I did – and by the time I completed high school, I applied 18 credits from FLVS to the final total that resulted in my diploma from Windermere Preparatory School. Continue reading
Back to School: Virtual Style
By Guest Blogger on August 15th, 2016
It’s August and that means it is back to school!
For much of Florida Virtual School, our teachers and students have been hard at work – even through the summer months.
Of course, the new school year always brings with it anticipation and excitement for the year to come. In traditional schools, there are some eagerly anticipated back-to-school traditions.
So how do we do these in our virtual world?
Let’s walk through a few back-to-school basics!
Continue reading
Why Back to School is Better Online (Remix!)
By Dr. Jeanne Giardino on August 5th, 2016
A few years ago, I wrote a blog post sharing why going back to school is way easier online.
Now that it’s August and students are once again headed back into classrooms across the state of Florida, it seemed like a great opportunity to revisit our list of reasons why students at FLVS Flex and FLVS Full Time have it made!
We all know that there all kinds of benefits to virtual school…
From the value of learning how to study and succeed online in general to the fact that Driver Education meets the online high school course requirement for students in Florida, there are plenty of advantages. But the perks we’ve outlined below are much cooler than these!
Here is our new and improved top 15 list of reasons the first day of school at FLVS is infinitely better than the first day at “regular” school… Continue reading
Cooney World Adventures Blog Series
By Guest Blogger on July 19th, 2016
If you’ve ever dreamed of traveling the world, it may not be as complicated as you think.
In 2008, Mike Cooney traveled the world with his wife, Catrell, and three teenage sons, Morgan, Zach, and Harrison, who studied online with FLVS. After selling their home, downsizing, and packing up their belongings, the family traveled across six continents and 22 countries…more than 61,000 miles! Today, Mike shares their experiences at speaking events and talks about his book which details their adventures. As Mike likes to say, “If we can do it, anyone can!”
In a year-long blog series on The Virtual Voice, Morgan, Zach, and Harrison and their parents shared their experience: Continue reading
Meet FLVS Student Lauren Mackey
By Guest Blogger on July 15th, 2016
My first course with Florida Virtual School was M/J Language Arts II with Ms. Wilson.
At the time, I was in seventh grade and planning on majoring in English at New York University to pursue a career as an author. One of my Language Arts assignments had me writing a five paragraph essay about the definition of love, which I definitely had enough experience to write about at the age of 13.
When I presented the essay to Ms. Wilson over the phone, I recall her describing my essay as something she expected to hear from an adult, out of a magazine, and encouraging me to join the FLVS Newspaper Club, News In A Click (NIAC). Continue reading
FLVS Full Time Class of 2016: Emma Cahoon
By Guest Blogger on July 6th, 2016
This article was originally written and published in the FLVS student newspaper, News in a Click.
When Emma Cahoon first logged onto Florida Virtual School as a freshman, she was “amazed by the course opportunities.”
Now a graduate of FLVS Full Time, Cahoon clearly took advantage of the unique course offerings that FLVS provides with a schedule that consisted of five AP Classes and resulted in a diploma with 5 and ½ extra credits.
Cahoon plans to attend the University of Florida in the fall, and credits her success to the flexibility of FLVS. “I applied to 16 schools, which is a large time commitment,” said Cahoon. “I wouldn’t have been able to do that without FLVS.” 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