With a special family night, Minnesota Virtual Schools celebrated their new home in Roseville with students, families and staff. Pizza, games and activities were all around the school.
One of the things that made the event so special was the in-person connection between students and the teachers and staff they have worked with all year, but have maybe never met in person. Shoulder to shoulder drawing, sitting across the table playing a game of chess, sharing advice and tips, staff and students had a real chance to be together and talk about all kinds of things and just enjoy common interests.
When they arrived, each person was asked to share advice on how to best succeed at online school. Here are a few from MNVS students: “Make sure you ask for help. All the teachers are great!” Or, “Get a schedule figured out.” One twelfth grader shared, “Always ask for help if you are stuck, and never give up on school!” A 6th grader said, “Be nice.”
Staff and teachers had a lot of advice as well, like: take breaks to do something you love, check google chats daily, make a schedule for yourself, and a common theme was to always reach to staff with any questions (this was a common reply for students as well).
Minnesota Virtual Schools is committed to personalized education. As one teacher shared, “When I was a classroom teacher I had so much less time to connect with individual students. At Minnesota Virtual, I sometimes spend a half hour a week talking or explaining something to a student. It’s pretty cool.”
