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Volusia Online Learning Community Brief

Monday, December 9, 2024

Welcome to December! I hope you all had a restful and (ful)filling Thanksgiving! 

As I mentioned in this space prior to the break, the time between Thanksgiving and Winter Break is a sprint to the finish, packed full of events and deadlines. Here are some key reminders:

• The end of the first semester is December 20th, but all VOL students should be done with their coursework by this upcoming Friday, December 13th. This will give students time to take their segment exam the following week and allow teachers time to close out the semester as we move into break. 
• Is your child stuck on an assignment or in need of in-person support? Secondary students can sign up for our next WIN Lab. Teachers will be available to provide in-person assistance at our Volusia Online Learning Headquarters located at 336 East Highbanks Road, DeBary, FL 32713 on November 20th from 12:30-3:30 PM. This is a perfect time for you to get back on track or brush up on skills that your child is struggling with. Sign up here. 
• Elementary students and families, please mark your calendars now for our Annual Winter Wonderland event on Friday, December 13th from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM, sponsored by Jennifer Edwards. Students will have the opportunity to create winter crafts, visit with Santa (if they choose), and learn more about our Lego Robotics Club.
• As a general reminder, all Volusia County Schools are closed from December 21st to January 5th. January 6th is a Teacher Workday, and the Second Semester officially begins on January 7th. While students may have access to their courses during the break, they will not have access to their teacher, as they are all off for the holidays. 
• Finally, this month, each VCS school is focusing on perseverance, which fits nicely with our overall theme of finishing first semester courses! Perseverance is the ability to continue to work towards a goal even if there are obstacles along the way. We encourage you to discuss this character trait with your child and have them think about a time in which they had to overcome an obstacle. How did they overcome it and persevere? Helping students identify what helped them succeed in difficult spots will aid in building that capacity and character trait as they grow and face challenges in their life. 

That’s all I have for this week. Please continue scrolling to find important updates about our full-time programs and spotlights on some of our outstanding faculty and students.

Thank you for reading.

Dr. Serianni

December 10th – Lego & Robotics Club K-12

December 11th – NHS/NJHS Meeting 

December 11th – SAC Meeting 

December 12th – Volusia County High School Showcase @ Volusia County Fairgrounds 

December 13th – Winter Wonderland 

December 16th to the 20th - Holiday Dress Up Week 

December 21st thru January 6th – Winter Break 

Superintendent's Winter Reading Challenge:

LEGO Robotics Club (Dec. 10):

Elementary Winter Wonderland (Dec. 13):

Holiday Season Dress Up Week (Dec. 16-20):

VOL Online Store:

VOL Clothes Bin:

Ms. Gutierrez is a wonderful office specialist with VOL. She is our school secretary and data clerk and is an invaluable asset to our school. In her free time, she enjoys reading, cooking, and attending her grandkids functions.  

Fun Fact: One of my duties in the military was as a mechanic for 5ton trucks 2 1/2 ton trucks CUCV's (Blazer) Jeeps that came back from Desert Storm but I didn't have a driver's license.

Inspirational Quote: A smart person learns from other people's mistakes, so they do not have to go through the same experience.

Senior Photos: DSP-PHOTO.COM

Senior Brochure - Click Here (Cover page shown below):

VOL Graduation Calendar: 

• VOL Senior Awards Ceremony – Tuesday, May 27th @ 7:00 PM

• VOL Graduation Rehearsal – Thursday, May 29th @ 12:30 PM

• VOL Graduation Ceremony – Friday, May 30th @12:30 PM

Senior Information:

https://www.volusiaonlinelearning.com/student-life/senior-class-2025

Upcoming Testing Windows:   

• Winter EOCs/ELA Retakes: December 2-20  
• Florida Civic Literacy Exam: December 2-20 
• Remote PM2 FAST Test Window: January 9-24  

Winter EOCs, ELA Reading Retakes, and Florida Civic Literacy Exam (FCLE):  

Personalized testing emails were sent last week to specific secondary students with EOCs, ELA Retakes, and FCLE tests scheduled during the winter testing window. These tests will take place from December 2nd-20th at zoned schools. The testing emails from Dr. Markell contained site-specific dates and times for these tests, which vary by school.  

PM2 Remote FAST Testing: 

The second FAST Progress Monitoring assessments (PM2) will take place in January. These tests are taken remotely using the Florida Secure Browser with remote proctoring for full-time VOL students in grades 3-10. The links to the secure browser download instructions and the remote proctoring consent form are listed below for any new VOL students who still need to complete these tasks prior to PM2 testing. Students in grades K-2 take PM2 tests using the web-based Renaissance program on Vportal, which does not require a download or remote consent.

Remote Testing Action Items Grades 3-10:  

• Directions for Florida Secure Browser Download: https://bit.ly/3UOKDNj   
• Remote Proctoring Consent Form: https://forms.office.com/r/WuBBBETAt6  

Looking ahead to Spring:  

For the Spring state testing window in April and May, all state tests must be taken in-person for grades 3-12. We are offering our full-time VOL families a choice to test with VOL teachers at our VOL building in Debary, or at their zoned school. We are collecting test location preferences to guide test planning and registration. Parents and guardians should complete the short survey below for each full-time VOL student in grades 3-12 to indicate whether they will be testing at VOL or their zoned school this spring.  

Spring 2025 State Test Location Survey Link: https://forms.office.com/r/38WdApPvsX  

As a reminder, participation in state testing is a mandatory condition of full-time enrollment at VOL. Please reach out to Dr. Markell by emailing bgmarkel@volusia.k12.fl.us or by calling (386) 734-7190 ext. 72701 if you have any questions about state testing.    

For the month of December, we want to recognize three wonderful students at Volusia Online!

Elementary School:

Our Elementary Student of the Month is Kaiden Lyn. Kaiden was nominated by Mrs. Woodward and is a 2nd grader in Mrs. Woodward’s class. Of Kaiden, Mrs. Woodward wrote, “Despite some big challenges this year, Kaiden has made school a priority. He continues to turn in outstanding work that shows thought, care and a deep understanding of what he is learning. He meets with me with such a positive attitude and does not hesitate to reach out for support when he needs it. I am so proud of how you keep pushing forward Kaiden!” 

Congratulations to Kaiden on being selected!

Middle School:  

Andrew Clark is our Middle School Student of the Month! He was nominated by Mr. Dunaway and is a student in Mr. Dunaway’s World History class. For the nomination, he said of Andrew, “I have had the pleasure of teaching Andrew for 3 years. Andrew is a consistent straight A student. He takes time and care with his assignments. He attends and participates in Live Lessons. He does more than just enough to get the A. He cares about the learning and pushes for the knowledge. Andrew spends part of his days working on the family farm. Andrew is an athlete that plays on a travelling volleyball team. Andrew loves playing video games in his spare time.” 

What a wonderful nomination, congratulations to Andrew!

High School:  

Xavier Santana is our High School Student of the Month. He was nominated by Mrs. Connelly and is a student in her Physical Science course. Her nomination for Xavier said, “Xavier is an all-star student! He is consistently working ahead of pace in his physical science course, demonstrating his strong work ethic and dedication to learning. Xavier attends every live lesson and actively participates. He sets a great example for his peers by being both friendly and engaged. I genuinely enjoy having Xavier in class and look forward to seeing his continued success throughout the course.”  

Great job, and congratulations to Xavier!