November 6, 2015
It’s hard to believe that we are already into the month of November with the 2015 – 2016 school year! I always maintain that once November arrives, the days move like lightning. Our teachers have been very busy keeping up with all of their responsibilities in making sure your children receive the best education possible. Your children have been working very hard to succeed each day as the demands of their learning increase with the new rigorous standards, expectations, and societal pressures. The good news is that we, as a learning community, have been able to maintain our course and we continue to strive to be the best we can be working together as a team to succeed!
Teachers have submitted their Student Growth Objectives (SGOs) to me and I have reviewed all of them. These objectives are part of their evaluation attached to student learning. I must say that they did an excellent job setting goals for themselves and their students, and we look forward to monitoring the progress and growth of all of our students as the year progresses.
Our benchmarks were recently completed as well. Teachers have been looking at them as part of a formative assessment process to gauge where their students are at academically. Through the use of this data, teachers can ascertain which students need additional assistance and which students can use more enrichment activities based on topics, standards, or skills. There are a number of different reports that can be run with the data gained from these benchmarks.
Recently, the DOE released information regarding the results of the new Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessment. The information released discussed the setting of the cut scores, the proficiency levels named and defined, the requirements for graduation, and general trends and comparisons across the state based on the score results. Later this month, specific district results will be disseminated.
Along with all of our recent purchases and upgrades to our technology equipment and infrastructure, we are pleased to announce the beginning of our 1:1 Chrome Book initiative. Our fifth through eighth grade students will all be issued Chrome Books at some point in the near future. Students will be able to take these home with them once we finalize the policy and procedures. Teachers have already begun to use the “cloud” through the use of various Google Apps. This will make work between home and school much more efficient and collaboration on projects will be more readily possible.
I have been working closely with the PTA on various spending initiatives. The PTA leads a number of events and programs designed to benefit your children, and these cannot be taken for granted. I wanted to thank all of you for your input on the PTA survey that was sent out. Recently, we have been in communication on funding various programs and initiatives. We are working on bringing more opportunities for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) activities to your children. I will keep you updated about this but for now the plan is to hold potential after school activities in the area of STEM.
As always, please check our school website for information on what is going on within the school. Feel free to check out your child’s teacher’s web page for the latest that is happening in their classroom, as it’s always exciting for me to visit the classrooms to see all of the student engagement that occurs every day! You will soon be receiving a brief survey about Califon Public School. Please take the time to fill it out as your input is important to us. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact us in the office
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