Benchmark Message to Parents and Students

Parents and Students,

This week we will begin our Fall administration of our district's benchmarks. Benchmarks will be administered in ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies. All students in grades 6th-8th will be administered the test on the days identified below. The teachers have done an outstanding job of preparing our students for the assesments and I have no doubt that our students will rise and meet/exceed the expectations. You are encouraged to ensure that your child is present and on time at school. We are striving to have 100% participation! Also, encourage your child to relax and to do their best.  We are The Panthers and all we do is WIN!

Fall Benchmark Administration Dates

•  ELA: October 27th
• Science: October 28th
• Make ups: October 29th (ELA, Science)
• November 4: Social Studies
• November 5: Math
• November 6: Make ups (Social Studies, Math)

Testing Schedule

Benchmark News

Happy Sunday!

Benchmark Update:
This week begins the Fall administration of Benchmarks! I know that you are all so excited. In an email you will find the Benchmark at a Glance. It is a lot of information but I encourage you all to read it in its entirety. I shared the training presentation from last week. If you were absent, please review it and see me if you have any questions. I will be out Tuesday for my AP meeting at the BOE. Please see Dr.Blankenship, Ms. Hayes, or Mrs. Luthi if you need immediate assistance. I will also be available by email.


A Request for the Panther Pride:
I also have a special request. Our students had some difficulty last week during transitions.We had several incidents of verbal and physical altercations that occured in the halls. Please make sure that you are on duty and helping to remind our students of the hallway expectations. In addition, limit hallway passes to the restroom and unneccessary passes to the front office.

Uniforms:
Be sure to check for uniform violations, specifically jackets. If students are not in uniform, gently remind them and send them to see Mrs.Griffith. This should happen during homeroom.

Cafeteria:
A special shout out to 7th and 8th grades for the students' behavior in the cafeteria! They were AWESOME! Keep up the good work! Continue to encourage them to follow the Panther PAWS! It was a pleasant experience.

Final Word
Thank you for going the extra mile in the classrooms! While conducting walk throughs I have observed nothing but excellence in teaching! You are all doing a phenomenal job! Thank you.

AP Student Expectation Reset

Greeting Parents!

We are excited about the direction that we are headed in this school year. The students heads are in the game and the teachers are working diligently to provide an engaging and challenging learning environment. As administrators we are working to continue maintaining a positive school culture that hold ALL students to excellence in academics, leadership, and service.

We are almost half way through the first quarter and to ensure that we are all on the same page we are gathering in a huddle to review our game plan for the remainder of the school year. Today we met with students to review our PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Support) plan and other daily student expectations.  As parents, we want to make you aware of the expectations so that we can continue to strengthen our partnership. Below you will find a brief overview of what will be delivered to the students in grade level town hall meetings.

Uniforms

• Students are expected to wear a solid white, black, or gold collar shirt. Undershirts that are visible must be one of the identified colors.
•  Students are expected to wear khaki bottoms. No jeans, jeggings, joggers, or leggings are permitted
• We understand that the weather is beginning to change and students are now wearing jackets. Jackets must be solid black, white, yellow, or grey. 
• Gentlemen are expected to have their shirts tucked inside their pants at all times

There will be no exception to the uniform policy. If there are students that are in need of assistance, they will be referred to Mrs. Griffith. 

Behavior

• Students are expected to follow the PAWS expectation at all times. Our PBIS plan allows students to earn merits when they are observed going above and beyond the expectations. Merits are then used to participate in class, team and school wide incentives. 
• Demerits are given to students that are in violation of the PAWS expectations. Once a student earns a specific number of demerits, a consequence will be given. Consequences range from silent lunch, after school detention, parent conference, and ISS. 
• Merits can offset demerits 
• Emails are sent weekly to students informing them of their status. Please check with your child to see their weekly standing with the system.
• PAWS posters are located on the walls throughout the school. Feel free to request a copy of the expectations or read them throughout the school

Buses

• There are PAWS expectations identified for the school buses. Students are aware of the expectations and are expected to comply. It is a major safety hazard when students are not complying with the safety rules on the bus. We take discipline referrals from the bus seriously and consequences are in place for habitual violators. 

Cafeteria

• Students are doing a great job of following PAWS expectations in the cafeteria. Soft jazz music is being played as a way to help students monitor their noise level. Students are expected to respect the cafeteria and custodial staff. In addition, they are also held accountable for cleaning their eating area. Please encourage your child to keep up the great work!

News That You Can Use!

Good evening teachers,

I hope that you are off to a great week. Listed below are some very important updates. Please read carefully and email me any questions or concerns.

Benchmarks:

The window for Benchmarks opens on the 25th of October. In an effort to provide you with more instructional time the tests will be administered on the following dates:

• October 27   ELA
• October 28   Science
• October 29   Make Ups (ELA, Science)
• November 4 Social Studies
• November 5  Math
• November 6  Make Ups

This is a hard deadline! Due to the extra instructional time provided, we must be sure to get everyone tested! Push for perfect attendance during the administration of the tests.

Discipline:
Many of you have expressed concerns about the number of demerits and the consequences. I will send a more detailed email that will allow you to make better decisions about the consequences. However it is important to remember that a merit offsets a demerit. Be sure that you are following the protocol for consequences (phone call to parent, detention, in-team, kid talk, referral). 

Last week we held grade level meetings to reset expectations building wide. Please make sure that we are all holding the students accountable for PAWS expectations and uniforms. Transitions and uniforms continue to be an issue for us. It is important for every adult to communicate the same message to the students. We MUST be consistent.

All teachers that do not have an afternoon duty are expected to be on the bus loop. The bus drivers reported that this is extremely helpful to them and it has also reduced the number of verbal/physical altercations on the bus loop. We have been doing a great job! Keep up the good work.

In a like manner, we need everyone at their morning duty at 8:00 sharp. We want to greet every student with a smile and help them feel welcomed to school. Please know that your presence in the morning is greatly appreciated and the students are beginning to clear the halls in less time each day. Thank you for your help with this! 

RTI:
If your team has not met with me for the first RTI meeting, you must schedule it this week. RTI meetings are to be held during planning on Thursdays. I have also agreed to do a grade level on Tuesday. Considering that this is a component in our SIP, we must meet to place proper data collection procedures in place to address our students academics/behavior concerns.

Parent/Teacher Conference:
If you are in need of an administrator to attend a conference, please send an invite as soon as possible. This will allow me to properly plan to attend the meeting.

Tomorrow you will receive the comment form to complete for students that are failing your class. It is suggested that you begin filling out the information so that homeroom teachers can be properly prepared to share the feedback to the parents.