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Volusia Online Learning Community Brief
Monday, October 21, 2024
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Dear Mark,
One of my great intents as the principal of a school is to build a strong, close-knit community. This is particularly challenging in the virtual world since the VOL community is spread across the 1500 square miles of Volusia County. However, the shared experience of the recent hurricanes is an opportunity to become closer and develop the proverbial ties that bind. The effects of Hurricanes Helene and Milton vary from complete devastation to a mere inconvenience, but we all share in the aftermath, and I want all our VOL families to know that we are here for you. While we cannot control the school year clock, we can work with you and your students to ensure that everyone has the ability to access their courses and is given the appropriate amount of time to recover before being held accountable for their progress. We are also here for families who are in need of additional support due to the effects of the storm. Volusia County Schools has put together a Hurricane Milton Relief drive and has collected donations from community members and business partners (if you are interested in donating, please see the information in the flyer below). If your family is in need of support, please contact our counselors, who can help connect you with essentials that were collected as part of these efforts.
This year, all schools in the State of Florida are participating in the Resiliency Florida initiative by focusing on a specific character trait each month. This month, Volusia Online Learning is focusing on honesty and how we can grow in showing positive behaviors and be truthful in our communication with others. The message we want to share with your children is that when we work to grow our ability to be honest, it can also make us less stressed or anxious because we don’t have to worry about keeping secrets or lying. We build trust with others and feel better about ourselves. We should also try to be leaders and help teach others about the importance of being honest but be aware that sometimes being honest can cause others to be upset. While it is sometimes hard for people to accept, we can learn to show honesty while still respecting others and their feelings. This week, take some time to talk to your child about honesty and encourage them to find a friend, family member, or teacher to talk to about their honesty and share a time that they were honest and how good it made them feel.
That is all I have for this week. Thank you for your continued partnership and support. Please scroll down to read about the great things happening in the VOL Family!
Dr. Serianni
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Key Dates and Special Events! | |
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Friday, October 25th - Trunk or Treat @ VOL Headquarters
Tuesday, October 29th – All Middle School students will need to change their password for school devices and network.
Wednesday, November 6th – Picture Retakes @ VOL Headquarters 8:30am to 5pm and @ Dean Stewart 9am to 5pm
Monday, November 11th – Veteran’s Day (No School)
November 25th to the 29th – Thanksgiving Break (No School)
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Special STEAM Event this Wednesday, Oct. 23: | |
* Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) | |
Trunk or Treat this Friday, Oct. 25: | |
Required Password Change: | |
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What's happening?
On Tuesday, October 29th, all middle school students will reset their password to access school devices and network. Your new password MUST follow 3 rules:
RULE 1: Password must be at least eight (8) characters long.
RULE 2: Must include at least three (3) of the following:
- uppercase letters,
- lowercase letters,
- numbers, and/or
- special characters
RULE 3: Must NOT use birthdate or name.
If you need help coming up with a good password, ask a teacher for some advice.
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* In cryptography, a brute-force attack consists of an attacker submitting many passwords or passphrases with the hope of eventually guessing correctly. The attacker systematically checks all possible passwords and passphrases until the correct one is found. | |
Monthly S.A.C. Meeting (Oct. 30) | |
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The Quarter 2 grading period has officially begun. Students should be working in their courses consistently, following their course pacing guides. By staying on pace in their courses, students will be able to successfully complete their semester 1 courses on time.
Parents and Learning Coaches, we encourage you to monitor your student’s progress in their VOL courses in all VOL platforms.
Edmentum Sensei is available for families to monitor student progress in Edmentum courses. If you have not received an invitation to register for Edmentum Sensei, please contact Rachael McQueen at the VOL office so that she can ensure your correct contact information is in the system to send you a new invitation.
The FLVS platform offers parents and guardians the ability to create their own account to monitor student progress. For more information about creating a parent/guardian account in FLVS, please contact Christina Avram at the VOL office.
Upcoming Events
Join us for VOL’s Trunk or Treat event on Friday, October 25th from 5:30-6:30 PM at Volusia Online Learning Headquarters located at 336 East Highbanks Road, DeBary, FL 32713. Our staff can’t wait to see you! Pizza and ice cream will also be available onsite for purchases.
Red Ribbon Week is October 23-27, 2024. Be on the lookout for more information that will be posted on our social media pages and sent out by teachers.
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Senior Spotlight: Jayla Sing | |
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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
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Fall EOC Make-up Sessions: Due to Hurricane Milton, the state has extended the make-up window for Fall EOC testing through October 18th. Additionally, the make-up window for PERT has been extended through October 23rd.
Upcoming Testing:
· SAT SD and PSAT NMQT: October 24
· Winter EOCs/ELA Retakes: December 2-20
· Florida Civic Literacy Exam: December 2-20
· Remote PM2 FAST Test Window: January 9-24
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
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.
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For the month of October, we want to recognize three wonderful students at Volusia Online!
Elementary:
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Sebastian Wilson, a 5th grader at VOL, was nominated by his teacher,
Ms. Spencer.
“Sebastian is a new-to-VOL student this year. However, he is a natural with virtual learning, having had experience previously in Philadelphia. He always attends our live Zoom classes, contributes to the conversations, follows the pacing calendar, and completes his work neatly and thoroughly. His reflections are superbly written and contain deep thought and connections to his learning. During our class discussions, he is able to connect what we are learning to other topics that are relevant to our studies, deepening the understanding for the class. He is a model VOL student and exemplifies our school logo: innovative, effective, and flexible.”
Congratulations, Sebastian!
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Emilie Lindemeyer, an 8th grader at VOL, was nominated by her teacher, Mr. Dunaway. She is a student in his World History class.
“Emilie is an awesome student. Her assignments are all done with attention to detail and care. She is always at my Live Lessons participating with her classmates. Emilie is always kind and appreciative of her teachers and classmates.”
Congratulations, Emilie!
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Mikaelyn Brown, an 11th grader at VOL, was nominated by her counselor, Mrs. Hamlin.
“Mikaelyn has been enrolled in VOL since 6th grade. In her time with us, I have watched her mature and become a true advocate for herself. She takes her academics seriously and is an amazing and responsible student. I think Mikaelyn is a model VOL student and deserves to be recognized.”
Congratulations, Mikaelyn!
Well done, we are so proud of you all!
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Business Partner of the Month: Rotondo Construction | |
Volusia Online Learning Leadership Team | |
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Dr. Anthony Serianni, Special School Principal - aaserian@volusia.k12.fl.us
Ms. Amy Ervin, Online Learning Specialist - aservin@volusia.k12.fl.us
Ms. Melissa Shaw, Special School Assistant Principal - msshaw@volusia.k12.fl.us
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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. | |
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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