Dear Parents and Students,

Greetings from the DoDEA Virtual High School! As we begin the final quarter of the 2015-2016 school year, we look forward to the beginning of our 2016 Summer School program as well as to students already enrolling in courses for next fall!

In this edition, you will find a feature on next year’s DVHS Math, Science, and CTE Advanced Placement courses. AP courses are a large part of our course offerings at DVHS, and our teachers have shared some of the things students can do to be as prepared as possible to tackle these challenging courses. Additionally, you will find detailed information concerning this year’s Summer School courses and an article on the DVHS E-Library.

Thank you for being a part of our community! We are happy to be a part of yours!

Sincerely,

DVHS Staff

DVHS Vision: To prepare our students to live, learn, work, and serve the public good in a

digital, global society through engaging, synchronous and asynchronous instruction.

Ms. Patricia Riley, Chief DoDEA Headquarters – VA

Dr. Terri Marshall, Principal

Americas Hub – Quantico, VA

Ms. Scarlet Lake, Assistant Principal Europe Hub – Sembach, Germany

Dr. Keri Lohmeier, Assistant Principal

Pacific Hub – Okinawa, Japan

Ms. Lynn Lund, Assistant Principal Americas Hub – Quantico, VA

DoDEA Mission: To provide an exemplary

education that inspires and prepares all DoDEA students for

success in a dynamic, global environment.

WHO’S ELIGIBLE: All DoDEA students currently enrolled in grades 9-12 can enroll in one DVHS Summer School course. Successfully completing the class will earn students the equivalent of one semester credit.

SUMMER SCHOOL DATES: DVHS Summer School begins June 24 and ends July 29, 2016. Students should expect to spend 2-4 hours a day on their course.

COURSES OFFERED: Click HERE to view the courses offered this summer through DVHS. Note: Not all DVHS regular school-year courses are offered during Summer School.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Students will need a DoDEA Google School account, which will allow them to access Schoology.

Students will need access to a computer with internet for the duration of the course. Tablets and phones are not designed to work with the Summer School program.

Student login information will be sent to their sponsor’s email on file and his/her student Google address.

REGISTRATION AND WITHDRAWING/DROPPING A COURSE: Students are able to drop a course within the first six days of the registered term without consequence. Any student enrolled beyond July 1, 2016, will receive an official grade on his/her student transcript.

Students who haven’t logged into the class by July 1, 2016 will be dropped from the class. Because of the compressed nature of summer school, reinstatement is not possible.

Students may withdraw from a course between July 2-11, 2016. Students who withdraw during this window will receive a grade of Withdraw Passing (WP) or Withdraw Failing (WF) on their transcript. There will be no withdrawals allowed after July 11, 2016.

For more information or to register, please contact your

local school counselor.

DVHS E-Library: Available to All DVHS Students!

While based at our Pacific Hub in Okinawa, Japan, DVHS Teacher Kelly Dolan often burns the midnight oil as he works with students and teachers across the globe in his capacity as E.T. (Educational Technician) in his new role as DVHS’s Media Specialist. While students are used to having a library at their home schools, they find they have a new world of resources available to them through DVHS’s newly revamped E-Library.

The DVHS E-library is available to all students by accessing their “Courses” in Schoology. Once there, students have access to all of our online databases, such as EBSCO and ProQuest, and to MackinVIA, which has hundreds of full text novels for students to check out. They can even download checked out books to an e-reader via the Mackin VIA App for free.

Students are encouraged to take advantage of the e-library, and ask their course instructor if they need help finding a resource. Mr. Dolan is also happy to help students and staff with their questions, and can be reached by e-mailing james.dolan@pac.dodea.edu.

DVHS Students: Are you accelerating or PCS-ing?

Make sure to contact your

course instructor ASAP! You will need to work ahead and secure an adjusted assignment

schedule as you will still need to complete the course by your

withdrawal date.

Don’t Forget: Please Return DVHS Textbooks

or Classroom Novels!

If you have received a textbook or novel for use with your virtual school course, you will need to return it to your local school.

Please return any DVHS textbook or novel to your school facilitator no

later than the day of your final exam so that it can be returned to

the local DVHS hub.

THANK YOU!

Among the many things DoDEA schools can be proud of is the wide variety of Advanced Placement (AP) courses offered throughout our global school system. DVHS fills a special niche in this arena, as we offer a complement of 17 AP courses that serve students worldwide.

Due to our online nature, we are able to serve students in many diverse situations, whether they are located in a far-flung area such as Israel or Australia, at a school where there may not be an AP teacher for a particular subject, or when students PCS or join a DoDEA school mid-year.

One thing these courses have in common is a high amount of rigor and demand on a student’s time and energy. If a student has not had enough experience in certain courses, they may struggle with the advanced content of an AP course which are intended to present a college-level challenge to students. However, there are things students and parents can take advantage of in order to make sure they are well prepared and ready to tackle the challenges of an AP course. Here are some tips and advice from the DVHS Math, Science, and Computer and Technical Education departments:

Students can take advantage of the online computer programming and technology courses offered through DVHS. One unique offering is our AP Computer Science course. Teacher, Ms. Sue Gafford, suggests that students who wish to take this advanced course can take advantage of any Java I/II course offered through DVHS or their local schools to ease the transition into the AP level class.

While it is not required, Ms. Gafford emphasizes that any preparation in Java can really help lay the foundation for students to succeed in the AP Computer Science course. Algebra I and II courses can also help prepare students for AP level computer science.

The DVHS offers Java I in the fall and Java II in the spring as part of its normal course offerings. However, Java II often fills to capacity. Both sections are also offered as part of our DVHS Summer School program, and students are encouraged to register!

Computer programming courses can be useful for students who want to study software engineering or design, web design, programming languages, or if they want to apply to any sort of technical school or computer-related field.

Statistics is often a requirement for many college majors! While Mrs. Thompson does not recommend AP Stats for the casual math student, students looking to study research-based fields, medical research professions, certain areas in business, or psychology may find it helpful.

Advanced math courses can be helpful for students interested in studying engineering in college or another field with a heavy math component. At least one year of AP Calculus will be beneficial for these career tracks.

Among DVHS’s AP math offerings is a unique course which offers students the chance to utilize advanced skills in math inference, logic, probability, reading, and writing. Students who enjoy working with word problems, probability and theory, and logic may enjoy AP Statistics.

AP Stats teacher, Mrs. Michelle Thompson, suggests that students take advantage of this class during their junior or senior year, and not to discount the rigor of this particular course. Due to the challenge of this course, Mrs. Thompson suggests that students who are confident they are strong math students may feel more prepared.

Additionally, students have shared that they find certain concepts learned in AP Statistics pair well with other AP courses such as AP Biology and AP Psychology!

Students who seek the challenge of an AP math course will want to prepare by taking as many prerequisite courses as possible. DVHS teacher Mr. Riley Cooper recommends that students wishing to “tackle” AP Calculus prepare by completing Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, and, if offered at their local school, Math Analysis and/or Trigonometry.

DVHS offers AP Calculus AB and BC during the regular school year. It is recommended that students take the “AB” course first, and Mr. Cooper strongly suggests students take advantage of our DVHS Trigonometry course, which will help set students up for success in AP Calculus. Trigonometry, a semester course, is offered during DVHS’s Summer School term as well as during the regular school year.

One misconception about AP science classes such as AP Physics is that they are basically the same as their non-AP equivalent. A tip for success from DVHS AP Physics teacher, Mr. Gary Sooy, is that students can actually be better prepared for the rigorous challenge of AP Physics by taking non-AP Physics first as an introductory course! This, along with math studies in Algebra I, Algebra II, and Trigonometry, can give students the tools they need to be successful at the AP level in Physics.

“Physics is a great course that’s the basic building block for all engineering courses,” advises Mr. Sooy. Pre-med students will also find they will need college-level Physics as part of their training.

Courses such as AP Physics I will help students gain a solid footing in the basic principles of physics and inquiry labs. It will also hone their problem-solving skills, preparing them for success in future physics classes.