JUNE 2018

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

the Virtual View

It’s Summertime!

What a great feeling it is to successfully complete another school year! And, our virtual graduation rates continue to increase! I was fortunate to be able to attend Leon County Virtual School’s Graduation Ceremony on May 21st. It was so rewarding to be part of such a special night for students, parents and the staff at LCVS. Jessica Lowe is a remarkable leader as is each of You that give our Florida students the gift of virtual.

Take time this summer for yourselves and your family. Make those memories and reflect on a job well done my friends.

Sandy, Stephen, Lisa and Savannah

2018 Virtual GraduatesBroward — 71 Clay — 28 Hernando — 20

Pasco — 28 Okaloosa — 20 Leon — 17

Lee — 53 Indian River — 3 Manatee — 28

FLVS — 686 Marion — 55 Orange — 20

Dade — 16 St. Johns — 19 Brevard — 21

St. Lucie — 24 Osceola — 28 NEFEC — 24

Inside this issue:St. Johns 2

Leon 2

Brevard 3

NEFEC 3

St. Lucie 4

FLVS 4

Lee 5

Orange 5

Pasco 6

Broward 6

K12 7

“Education is not preparation for life;

education is life itself.”

- John Dewey

St. Johns Experiences Sally Corporation!Students from St. Johns Virtual School enjoyed a private tour of Sally Corporation in Jacksonville! The 22 students, 8 parents and 2 teachers saw how this company makes animatronics for amusement park rides and other displays. Students observed how the robots are made from the mechanical skeletons, to the “skin” and faces, intricate painting of the figures, wardrobe, and programming of voice recordings. They were also treated to time in the black light room as well as a visit with a 20ft. T-Rex and the Joker on his 4 wheeler. It was a wonderful tour and students learned about the interesting career opportunities available in the field of animatronics!

Submitted by: Michael Eisen

Leon’s Smiling Seniors!

2018 Leon County Virtual School Senior Class Photo! Congratulations!

Submitted by: Jessica Lowe

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Brevard’s Seniors Get Diplomas!Brevard Virtual had 21 seniors and 10 participated in the ceremony! Congratulations!

Submitted by: Heather Price

NEFEC Learning And Preparing!MyDistrict Virtual School (MDVS) is a cooperative educational option between the North East Florida Educational Consortium and the following participating school districts: Baker, Bradford, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, FSU Lab, Gilchrist, Glades, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Lafayette, Levy, Madison, Monroe, Nassau, Okeechobee, P.K. Yonge, Putnam, Taylor, and Union. The districts combined have 24 graduating seniors from their full time virtual instruction program this year!

MyDistrict Virtual School teachers will come together from all over the state for the 2nd Annual MDVS Virtual Instruction Program Teacher Meeting. They will collaborate on the best practices and new tools to use in the virtual classroom. This is a great learning opportunity and an exciting time for teachers and administration to come together to celebrate another successful school year working with school districts and their students. MDVS is looking forward to learning from one another as well as preparing for the kickoff to the 2018-2019 school year!

Submitted by: Melissa Kowieski

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St. Lucie’s Notable Awards!St. Lucie is delighted to share statistical highlights for the Graduating Class of 2018. Mosaic Digital Academy proudly celebrates the commencement of 24 Graduates! Nine seniors in the Class of 2018 have earned their Associates of Arts degree at Indian River State College. The Class of 2018 have already accumulated more than $616,000 in scholarship awards and this amount will continue to grow as seniors earn additional Bright Futures Scholarships before the summer deadline. The Class of 2018 Valedictorian, Abigail Shew-A-Tjon, has a weighted GPA of 5.09 and has earned the Distinguished Scholar Award from Indian River State College. Other notable awards include: Emma DeCoste, who has earned a full athletic scholarship for tennis to Ohio State and Christine Bourgoin who has earned both the Bronze and Silver Congressional Awards during her high school career.

Mosaic Digital Academy celebrated 8th Graders at their first ever High School Transition Ceremony! Notable Awards: Trevor Gill- Principal’s Leadership Award; Madison Hogan- Excellence in English; Brooke Madison-Excellence in Science; Geoffrey Wirth-Excellence in Social Studies; and Jessica Thiery-Excellence in Mathematics.

Submitted by: Jeanne Ziemba

FLVS Takes A Field Trip To SeaWorld!Florida Virtual School Elementary had 3,200 children and parents attend the SeaWorld Field Trip!

Watching children meet and greet their teachers and classmates in real life was a treat and parents were very appreciative of the grand staff.

Submitted by: Diana Furey

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Lee’s Largest Graduating Class!In 2010, Lee Virtual School had one graduate - this year, there were 53 - the most ever! 54% of those graduates were Cum Laude (GPA 3.5) or above; 26.4% were Summa Cum Laude (GPA 4.0 and above, one at 5.3); and 84.9% of the class were Honors (3.2 or above). Almost a quarter of these graduates plan to attend a Florida state college or university, 8% will enroll with a Florida private university and 10% at a Florida technical college. Approximately 10% plan to attend an out of state school!

While the focus this semester has been on getting the seniors out the door, the elementary team has been equally busy. Their semester included an educational presentation on mosquito control, a field trip to the Florida Reperatory Theater for “Curious George,” and a celebration of Cinco de Mayo!

Everyone is now looking forward to summer and another exciting academic year starting in August!

Submitted by: Ann Taylor

Orange Strives For Academic Success!Twenty OCVS Seniors along with their families were honored for reaching this wonderful milestone. Long Tran,

Valedictorian and Jackson Hanson, Salutatorian, both shared an inspirational message of motivation and courage. Mrs. Gurley, School Principal, greeted families and friends and left

the graduating Seniors with a message of following your dreams, striving, and working hard in all you do and challenged the class to “Just Stand.” This was truly an

evening to remember! This group of seniors are ready to make their mark on the world. Congratulations to the 2018 Class!

Orange County Virtual School elementary

and middle school students were honored at an annual awards banquet for their stellar accomplishments! Mrs. Besuden and Ms. Manal worked hard this year with

their students and joined administrators to congratulate them on their success. The middle and high school class took home

several awards and showed that OCVS strives for academic success!

Submitted by: Zundra Aubrey

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Latest News From Pasco!Pasco eSchool wrapped up an amazing year by hosting three celebrations! Pasco celebrated the middle school and elementary school students, as their core and specials teachers recognized their accomplishments. The middle school teaching team, along with Principal JoAnne Glenn and Assist. Principals Lori Wiggins and Pam Willoughby, joined 8th grade and several 6th & 7th grade students at their celebration! The class of 28 students is the largest senior class in Pasco’s nine-year history! Eighteen participated in the graduation ceremony, crossing the stage to receive

their diplomas in front of family, friends, teachers, and staff. Pasco is so proud of the accomplishments of these young scholars!

Three students represented Pasco eSchool at the district STEM Fair, and one of them was the first-place winner in his age group. Three students participated in the district's TEDx competition, speaking on the topic of "Taking A Stand." While preparing to end the school year, Pasco eSchool received news that they were one of five Pasco County Schools named to the "U.S. News & World Report" list of 2018 Best High Schools! Finally, staff wrapped up their year-long work in their Professional Learning Communities with a day of sharing and celebration. They inspired each other with their dedication, growth, and impact on student learning, and are already planning to implement new strategies in the 2018-2019 school year!

Submitted by: Pam Willoughby

Broward Is Embracing The Future!Broward Virtual School is getting ready to wrap up another successful school year. BVS has successfully completed 16,260 enrollments. They had a 98% participation rate for state standardized testing. When surveyed, students felt prepared for the state tests thanks to the face-to-face Writing and Math workshops presented by amazing teachers! In April, the National Junior Honor Society and the National Honor Society welcomed 6 inductees into the program. In addition, BVS partnered with a local school to attend the Senior Grad Bash at Universal Studios in Orlando! As May quickly ended, students attended a BVS Bucks Brunch recognizing student participation in various school activities. BVS will be celebrating 71 graduating seniors this year as they

leave to pursue their dreams for their future!

Senior Grad Bash

Amongst the celebrations, Broward County Public Schools experienced a tragedy that impacted everyone. Broward Virtual School was able to become a beacon of light and hope to students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas by offering them the opportunity to finish out their academic year online. Despite the horrific incident, it has brought everyone closer as a district, community, and a school, focused on the overall well-being of students. Broward is not sure what the 2018-2019 school year will bring, but they are ready to embrace it!

Submitted by: Antonette McGregor Senior Leaders of Distinction

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K12 STEM Contest Winners!K12 Florida Virtual Instruction students participated in this year’s Make a Splash STEM Contest! They received many creative Rube Goldberg inspired inventions from students nationwide displaying their scientific abilities. K12

would like to congratulate the following Florida winners:

Dalilah K. (2nd Grade), Volusia County Virtual – Third Place The Foot Bombenator

Ariana A. (5th Grade), Mosaic Digital Academy - First Place The Morning Rise

Submitted by: Kristen Randolph

K12 Senior Spotlights!

Aiysha Sulaiman is a graduating senior at Miami-Dade Online. She has always been able to work at her own pace and challenge herself by taking many honors, AP, and college courses via dual enrollment at Miami Dade College. She reflects on the great experience with MDO/K12 as she will be moving to the next stage in her academics by attending Florida International University in the fall where she received a Gold and Blue Achievement Award!

Eduardo Clavijo is a graduating senior with Miami-Dade Online Academy and a Jazz Saxophonist and Classical Oboist. Since 2009, Eduardo has participated in orchestras, ensembles, and bands at Miami Arts Charter School, Miami Music Project, and New World School of Arts where he played a classical oboist at the Orchestra and the Wind Ensemble, directed by Alfred Gershfeld and Brent Mounger respectively. He also participated as a tenor saxophonist at the Jazz Combo after school program. Eduardo has been studying Jazz with saxophonist and composer, Professor Aldo Salvent since 2016. Eduardo plays tenor sax at Florida International University Latin Jazz Ensemble directed by Professor Mike Orta and also plays at Jazz Educators Community Coalition Boot Camp & Ensemble directed by Nicole Yarling. Lately, he has studied with Ira Sullivan at the Young Musician’s Camp at University of Miami Frost School of Music. He plans to attend FIU in the fall where he received a scholarship.

Submitted by: Brenda MacDonald, Sonia Mosher, and Kristin Randolph

The Welcome Back to School edition of the Virtual View will be published in September. We look forward to sharing the new and exciting opportunities students will have! We will send requests for articles in August. Thank you!

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