Volusia Online Learning Community Brief
Monday, September 4, 2023
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Volusia Online Learning Community Member,
Hello and welcome to the 2023-2024 school year at Volusia Online Learning! For those of you who are new to VOL, I am your proud principal, Dr. Serianni. The publication that you are currently reading is the Foxhole Flyer, a bi-weekly communication designed to keep us connected with worthwhile information delivered through inspirational stories about the amazing people who make up this unique and diverse school. By keeping you informed, my goal is not only to create a network, but also to connect our community by sharing how success is found by individuals and families working together towards common goals.
Since last school year, there have been a number of changes at VOL. First and foremost, we moved! Over the past several years, we had been stationed in Port Orange on Herbert Street, next to Silver Sands Middle School. This summer, we relocated to Building 3 at Deltona Middle School on Enterprise Road. We are extremely excited about this move and our new location as it checks all the boxes for a long-term home for VOL. For our east-side families, it will mean a longer drive to VOL headquarters, but in the long run, I believe this new location will serve VOL very well. In addition to a new home, we also have a new assistant principal, Dr. Tiffanee Grant! Dr. Grant comes to VOL from Manatee Cove Elementary School where she spent nearly a decade as a member of their administrative team. She brings a wealth of experience and knowledge and will be focusing on our part-time school and special programs. We are super excited to have her on our team and hope you get a chance to welcome her to VOL at some point.
I look forward to working with you this school year to help your students find success. Please take the time to read the content below for critical updates for all grade levels, testing, numerous celebrations and spotlights, as well as shout-outs to the community partners who support your children. As always, I welcome your feedback on how to make VOL and the Foxhole Flyer better and more effective for you and your family; you can reach me via email anytime at aaserian@volusia.k12.fl.us.
Thank you for reading and have a great weekend!
Dr. Serianni
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Current and Upcoming Events |
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Attention Seniors!
You may now schedule your sitting for Senior Portraits with Dean Stewart Photography in Daytona Beach. Use the link below.
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Save the Date!
Picture Day
Picture Day for students is scheduled for Monday, October 9th, 2023, from 8:30am to 5:00pm.
East side students may go to the Dean Stewart Photography Studio located at
955 Foster Way Suite 322 in South Daytona any time between the hours listed above.
Students on the west side may come to the VOL (Volusia Online Learning) office located at 250 Enterprise Road, Deltona, Bldg. 3 during the same times listed above. The VOL office is in Deltona Middle School.
* Please keep in mind the parent pick-up & drop-off traffic when planning your visit.
Community Spotlight
Stay tuned for some exciting community news in the next issue!
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Our School Advisory Council (S.A.C.), which meets monthly, assists in making recommendations on how our school operates. S.A.C. membership is comprised of elected parents, staff, and business community officials.
• Are you interested in what goes on at school?
• Are you one of our many working parents who cannot be at school during the day to help or volunteer?
• Are you willing to commit to attending eight face-to-face meetings during the school year for approximately 1 hour. Elected members serve for 2 years.
If you answered yes to the above questions, then you are just the person we are looking for to serve on VOL’s School Advisory Council!
See preview of upcoming meeting dates:
S.A.C. Meetings
The third Wednesday of each month at 4:00pm
(Tentative Dates)
- September 20th
- October 18th
- November 15th
- January 17th
- February 21st
- March 20th
- April 17th
- May 15th
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State testing for Fall Progress Monitoring (PM1) starts in September. Students in grades K-10 should have received emails from their remote testing administrators about their remote test dates and practice test sessions. Consent for remote proctoring and a secure browser are required for remote testing. All VOL students are required to participate in state testing.
Additionally, Fall EOCs and retakes for some secondary students will begin taking place at zoned schools starting September 13th. Students will receive emails if they need to take these Fall EOCs, and they will be notified of the specific dates for their test(s). Students should check their VCS email accounts regularly to see if any important testing updates have been sent there.
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VOL is so excited to shine the spotlight on some very deserving students this year so we can BRAG about how awesome they are. Be sure to check back RIGHT HERE in next month’s issue of our Foxhole Flyer to see if it’s your student who has the SPOTLIGHT shining on them! 😊 |
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FLVS PARENTS, DID YOU KNOW?
Parent/Guardian Account
FLVS values parents as partners. From approving course requests to monitoring
progress, the Parent/Guardian Account allows parents to have a hands-on approach.
with their student's academic life at FLVS. With your Parent/Guardian Account you will have:
• 24-7 online access to submitted and/or graded assignments and your child's
grade book
• Monthly phone calls from teachers
• Monthly progress reports emailed to parent emails
• Regular email updates from teachers
• Extensive access to teachers
How to create your Parent/Guardian Account:
1. Student Account Set Up: You will need this Student Username/ Password to
create your Parent/Guardian Account.
2. Create your Parent/Guardian Account: Click here to begin creating your
How to add new students to your Parent/Guardian
Account:
2. Under “Student Records” – click on “Add Another Student.”
3. The page will refresh and ask to enter the student’s login information to connect
the two accounts.
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1) Did you know that students who attend live lessons and small group sessions continue to outperform their peers in their graded assignments, retention of skills, and state assessments? Please make live lessons a priority for your child. Specific information related to your coursework is shared and reinforced through this weekly communication with your teachers.
If your child is struggling with a concept or lesson, please book a tutoring session with your child’s teacher so that she/he can assist them now before they get too far behind.
2) Congratulations to the following students who completed the Superintendent’s Summer Home Run Reading Challenge:
- Fiona Miller
- Kaylie Shaw
- Hayleigh Echt
- Benjamin Ollis
- Daniel Ollis
These students earned prizes which included tickets to a Daytona Tortugas baseball game. Fiona Miller and Kaylie Shaw have been invited to the September 12th School Board Meeting to be recognized as top readers in the summer reading challenge.
3) Seniors, make sure you are in contact with your counselor, Mrs. Hamlin, regarding opportunities throughout the year. Stay on top of graduation requirements, including testing.
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Nicole Lenge, CTE Computer Science Teacher |
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Degree: Associate Degree in Computer Programming & Analysis from Daytona State College
Certification: Computer Science K-12
Organization: Volusia United Educators
Miss Lenge started her teaching career with Volusia County Schools in 2020. Prior to that she worked for Daytona State College as a Computer Science tutor for 3 years. The thing she enjoys most about teaching, especially with VOL, is how much time she gets to spend connecting with students one-on-one and she’s always excited when she gets to teach the same student across multiple years. When not working, she loves to go camping, read, write, program (games, apps, websites), walk her does (Sugar Cookie and Stella Rose), and (of course) play a lot of video games! Her most memorable VOL moments are definitely our Halloween Trunk or Treat events and actually getting to see her students in person and in costume.
Interview Q&A:
Who had the greatest influence on your education and/or career path?
In elementary school, I always wrote down "teacher" for what I wanted to be when I grow up. By high school, I was convinced I would become a Speech Pathologist. Somewhere along the way in college I got a little lost, found myself learning Computer Science, and listened to an Education Department recruitment speech while sitting in a Calculus class. My high school AP European History teacher, Ms. Dewar, let me call her up seven years after I'd long since graduated high school and told me the good, the bad, and the ugly of teaching. The next day I enrolled in Daytona State College's EPI program for aspiring teachers who already held a degree, and I've never once regretted it.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
"Listen to your inner eccentricity and follow your arrow wherever it points." - Jennifer Algard
Which three people (living or dead) would you invite to dinner and why?
Mary Shelley, Emily Dickinson, and Jane Austen. Imagine the ground-breaking literature that would come out of that dinner conversation.
Which movie makes you laugh out loud? Why?
Admittedly I am not a big movie person, but I think some of the funniest movies I've watched in recent years are the Sonic the Hedgehog movies. Shoutout to all my middle school students for convincing me they were worth watching!
Would you rather head to outer space or never leave your bedroom again? Why?
Outer space let's goooo! Why stay home when there are adventures to be had? Growth comes from being brave enough to push the boundaries of our comfort zones. And I think it would be really cool to fly over my house in a rocket.
Would you rather be able to Teleport or Read Minds? Why?
Teleportation please! I have a bad habit of getting lost very easily (I can and have gotten lost in a circle, which was the shape of the high school I attended). Teleportation would solve that problem and keep me from being late all the time.
What instrument would you like to learn to play? If you already play one, what is it?
In elementary school I learned to play the clarinet and bass clarinet. I was in band all the way through my high school graduation. Now I'm trying to teach myself how to play the piano and enjoy using computer code to make songs and sounds.
Please list any research interests.
One of my goals in life is to design and code an educational app that better supports student learning, language development, and literacy.
Please share something cool going on in your online class so we can publicize it!
Last year in Computer Science, my students designed their ping pong and trivia games using Scratch and learned how to use code to draw pictures in JavaScript!
Please provide any additional information that you would like to share with VOL that we may not have included. So that your VOL community can get to know you better.
I co-founded our Lego Robotics Club and it's been super awesome meeting up with VOL's elementary and middle school students once a month to build, code, and test different robot designs.
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Mrs. Michelle Beasley - teaches English and Speech |
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Degrees, Certifications, and Membership
-B.S. in Exceptional Child Education
-Specialist in Educational Leadership
-Certified in Deaf and hard of hearing
-Certified in Social Science
-Member of the International Literacy Association
Awards
-World’s Greatest Mom
-VOL Teacher of the quarter
-Model Literacy Classroom
Mrs. Beasley started working for Volusia County Schools in 2018 but she has been teaching since 2004. Mrs. Beasley started working for Volusia Online Learning in 2020. Prior to teaching, Mrs. Beasley was a banker, but she says teaching is way more fun.
Mrs. Beasley enjoys working for VOL. She enjoys working individually with students and teachers to achieve their academic goals. When Mrs. Beasley is not working, she is spending time with her family. Mrs. Beasley’s family loves to play games, watch movies, and spend time outside.
One of Mrs. Beasley's most memorable moments at VOL was the first time she met everyone in person at the VOL holiday party in 2019. Yvette Lescano was the first person to say hi and invite her to join her for a meal. Everyone was so kind and, although they didn't know Mrs. Beasley, she was still included in all the festivities. VOL instantly felt like home.
Mrs. Beasley started out in elementary education but made the switch to Exceptional Child Education when her cousin was young, and her aunt was having a difficult time getting the services she needed to be successful. Watching her aunt go through such a challenging time propelled her to pursue a degree in education.
Q & A
The best advice she has ever received is to keep in mind how precious the time is that we have to spend with our friends and family. Tomorrow is never guaranteed.
Which three people (living or dead) would you invite to dinner?
Anne Frank, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Joan of Arc.
Which movie makes you laugh out loud and why?
One of our favorite family movies is Cheaper by the Dozen (2003). There are so many scenes that remind us of our crazy, big family and Steve Martin's physical comedy is always spot on.
Would you rather head to outer space or never leave your bedroom again? Why?
I think that it would be awesome to see Earth from outer space and take a walk on the moon. Being among the stars would be surreal.
What instrument would you like to learn to play? If you already play one, what is it?
I play the flute and piccolo. I would love to learn to play the violin.
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Community Reminder: Sales Tax Holiday ends Friday |
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Florida's 2023 Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday runs through Friday, Sept. 8th.
During this time, Floridians can purchase everything from generators and carbon monoxide detectors to everyday household items like dish detergent, all free of the state's usual sales tax. Plus, there's no limit on how many items you can buy.
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- Portable generator costing $3,000 or less
- Tarp or flexible waterproof sheeting costing $100 or less
- Ground anchor system or tie-down kit costing $100 or less
- Smoke detector costing $70 or less
- Fire extinguisher costing $70 or less
- Carbon monoxide detector costing $70 or less
- Non-electric food storage cooler costing $60 or less
- Portable power bank costing $60 or less
- Gas or diesel fuel tank costing $50 or less
- Portable radio costing $50 or less
- AA-cell, AAA-cell, C-cell, D-cell, 6-volt, or 9-volt batteries, excluding automobile and boat batteries, costing $50 or less
- Flashlights, lanterns or candles costing $40 or less
Pet supplies are also tax free.
The tax holiday also include a number of items related to the safe evacuation of household pets. Exempted items include:
- Bags of dry dog food or cat food weighing 50 or fewer pounds with a sales price of $100 or less per bag.
- Cans or pouches of wet dog food or cat food with a sales price of $10 or less per can or pouch or the equivalent if sold in a box or case.
- Over-the-counter pet medications with a sales price of $100 or less per item.
- Portable kennels or pet carriers with a sales price of $100 or less per item.
- Manual can openers with a sales price of $15 or less per item.
- Leashes, collars, and muzzles with a sales price of $20 or less per item.
- Collapsible or travel-sized food bowls or water bowls with a sales price of $15 or less per item.
- Cat litter weighing 25 or fewer pounds with a sales price of $25 or less per item.
- Cat litter pans with a sales price of $15 or less per item.
- Pet waste disposal bags with a sales price of $15 or less per package.
- Pet pads with a sales price of $20 or less per box or package.
- Hamster or rabbit substrate with a sales price of $15 or less per package.
- Pet beds with a sales price of $40 or less per item.
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Have a wonderful Labor Day!
Dr. Serianni, Principal
Volusia Online Learning
Sunday, September 3, 2023
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Volusia Online Learning 2023-2024 Leadership Team |
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This communication may contain information that is legally privileged, confidential or exempt from disclosure, and intended only for the use of the addressee(s) named above. If you are not the intended recipient, please note that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. Anyone who receives this message in error should notify the sender immediately by telephone or by return e-mail, and delete the message from their computer and any printout thereof. Please note that Volusia County Schools utilizes spam and junk e-mail filtration applications in its e-mail systems. That filtering process may prevent or delay delivery of certain e-mail communications. If you do not receive a timely response to an e-mail communication, please contact the intended recipient by phone. |
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Copyright Notice
Reproduction of this material, either written or electronically, including the general layout, graphics, analyses, and content topics without the express approval of Target Performance Systems, Inc., a Florida corporation, and Volusia Online Learning is forbidden without written consent. Thank you for your support of the Volusia County Schools and especially Volusia Online Learning. Please contact Dr. Serianni at aaserian@volusia.k12.fl.us with any questions related to the program.
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Volusia Online Learning | Dr. Serianni, Principal | 386.506.0014 | VOL Website
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