December 27, 2016
I hope everybody is having a great holiday and spending it with family and friends! It’s a great time of the year to retool and of course, set yet another New Year’s resolution! Just remember though, it’s not necessarily the time of the year that makes us successful with a goal but what is within us that makes us successful. In some of my conversations with students, I tell them, “You have to want to do it to succeed, we can only guide you along the way.”
Our teachers continue to infuse technology into their classroom lessons. All of our middle school teachers now have their classrooms online, so to speak, in Google Classroom. If you have a child at the middle school age, please don’t hesitate to sit down with him or her and ask to see their classroom online. He or she should be able to talk with you about what it is they are learning and more importantly show you what it is they are learning. Ms. Heyduke is now working on developing a digital portfolio for grades four through eight within Google applications.
Parents in our pre-K through third grade can see what their children are learning on a weekly basis thanks to the Seesaw App that is now being utilized. The teachers have been diligent in collecting their students' work and placing it in each of their individual digital portfolios. Every teacher in the lower grades utilizes the same named folders at each grade level for consistency. Your child's portfolio will travel electronically from one grade level to the next. Fortunately, I have access to each classroom’s portfolio. It is absolutely impressive to see the work that is being accomplished by your children!
Speaking of technology; districts were not required to send in their three year technology plan to the county, however, we decided to do so along with only five other districts. A team of collaborators looked through each plan to check for each required part of the plan. We have not received the official word yet, but in speaking with the county education specialist, Susan Bruder, ours “passed” with flying colors! She was quite impressed as she always is with Califon.
Along those same lines, the Quality Single Accountability Continuum (QSAC) is the Department of Education’s monitoring and evaluation system for public school districts.The system focuses on monitoring and evaluating school districts in five key components that, based on research, have been identified to be key factors in effective school districts. The five components are program and instruction, fiscal management, governance, personnel, and operations. Districts are monitored every three years by the department. This year, we qualified for a waiver of the full process based on preliminary reports and findings! This means that after paperwork is finalized we will be designated a high performing school district!
Ms. DeAngelo continues to visit classrooms and incorporate STEM activities into student learning. Recently, she led a group STEM activity with grades two through four that will be referenced in the news. Students designed a chair to hold a bear made from only newspaper and masking tape. In her middle school science classes, she had students build bridges out of paper with specific guidelines to be followed. Please visit our website to learn more.
I am working on scheduling a Family Science Night. Thank you to all of you who responded that would be interested in coming. I am shooting for the end of January on a Friday. We will send out more information in the near future.
Mrs. Kooger and Mrs. Charleston have been leading our middle school students during their new community service class. The students recently presented their projects to a panel, which included me and Mr. Kornegay. We were impressed with their enthusiasm and ideas. For their first project, they will be assisting younger students and staff with technological applications, and they will be helping the younger students who may be having academic challenges. At least one group will be presenting their idea to the Board of Education at an upcoming meeting.
Students will be participating in their second benchmark assessment in January. I can’t stress the importance of these assessments, as they truly are diagnostic in nature as teachers use them to guide their instruction. I will send a letter out ahead of time so you are aware.
During this time of retooling and being thankful, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention our Tree-mendously Thankful Thoughts Tree which the Califon Kids Care Club erected. There is information about it on our website. Bottomline is that our younger students wrote on leaves for what they are thankful. Here are a few examples that I read: “I am thankful for my mommy because she helps me write my name.” “I am thankful for Mother Nature.” “I am thankful for friends, family, and meats.” “I am thankful for my dad who is going to make my closet bigger!” That’s the great thing about kids - they tell it like it is! How could we live without Mother Nature, meats, and carpenter dads?!
As a final thought, I have now been here for three and a half years as principal. I can’t say enough about our staff, the community and most importantly our students! They are fantastic. I have always maintained that I would want for your children what I would want for my own. That is how I have always gauged my beliefs as an educator. I do not say this lightly; I want you all to know that if I still had school aged children, I would send them to Califon Public School in a heartbeat!
|