Week beginning October 8, 2007!
HAPPY SECOND WEEK IN OCTOBER, EVERYBODY! Man, I was a little behind schedule getting my Liberator online today, and I appreciated all of the e-mails and calls I got asking “Where’s my blog?” Man, that was great!
Today, October 8, is progress reporting date at Southern Lee. As part of our frequent monitoring of student progress initiative, teachers will send progress reports home by students today and tomorrow. We are 2/3 complete with our first grading period, and it is essential that all students are communicated clearly with so that they know where they stand scholastically. Further, the first grading period ends on Friday, October 26, 2007, and our students will take mid-term exams on Thursday, October 25 and Friday, October 26. These mid-terms are cumulative assessments on what your student has learned thus far in class, and is aligned with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study (available at www.ncpublicschools.org), and should be on par in terms of pacing so that the student/class will have completed all materials that will be presented on their state-administered finals!
We are in intense mode here at Southern Lee, as we have some ambitious academic goals that we must fulfill. I spoke before the full LCSS Board of Education on Friday, October 5, 2007 and presented the main goals that our faculty and staff have discussed at previous staff meetings and during our School Leadership Team meetings thus far:
We have set the following scholastic goals for the school for the 2007-2008 school year:
A minimum proficiency of 50% proficiency on the North Carolina Writing Test for Grade 10
A minimum proficiency of 70% proficiency on the North Carolina EOC’s
The fulfillment of Adequate Yearly Progress under No Child Left Behind
In order to fulfill these goals, we have to continue to do everything with a degree of intensity, planning, and effort. Here’s the deal:
We have to get our students to take writing seriously. Seniors have to write college application admissions essays and competitive scholarship essays. Juniors have to write on the SAT and in their English classes. Sophomores have the NC Writing Test for Grade 10 AND the Graduation Project. Freshmen have the Graduation Project and 1 year to prepare for the NC Writing Test for Grade 10. This affects all 1,174 students under our roof-NO ONE is exempt.
We have to get our students to understand that they have to apply themselves on their EOC’s/VOCATS/teacher-made finals. EOC/VOCAT teachers have goal summary/objective competency reports that highlight what goals/objectives constitute portions/questions on the EOC’s/VOCATS. Pacing guides have been written, lessons planned, and assessments created that are in alignment with the NCSCOS. The key is to follow them and to periodically assess student performance through the mid-term assessment, common assessments, and (new) the preliminary final exam that will be a valid and reliable tool to give our students a glimpse of what their final will look like, demystify the final, give or students a degree of confidence, boost their grade average (preliminary final should count for at least 2 quiz or test grades), and give US an idea of how our students will perform allowing us to tailor last week review to their needs.
AYP can be achieved by accurate record keeping.. When we generate test-builds, we will reference the names on the builds to those actually enrolled in our school. REMEMBER: Our AYP, in part, is determined by performance on the English 9 and Algebra 1 EOC’s by the subgroups in our school. A subgroup is constituted by student enrollment of over 40 in a subgroup (Exceptional Children, Limited English Proficient, Black, White, Hispanic, Economically Disadvantaged, etc.). Another component of our AYP is our graduation cohort rate.
In other news affecting your students at Southern Lee High School:
Southern Lee High School is participating in the Character Education initiative, with the following traits being observed:
October: Responsibility
November: Integrity
December: Selflessness
January: Honesty
February: Perseverance
March: Commitment
April: Courage
May: Self-discipline
The Cavalier Word for the Week is: Dissuade. Please be sure to highlight this word during your instruction this week!
What Does It Mean-Character Education Trait of Responsibility
“There are plenty of recommendations on how to get out of trouble cheaply and fast. Most of them come down to this: Deny your responsibility”
Lyndon Baines Johnson
GET YOUR STUDENTS TO TELL YOU WHAT THEY THINK THIS MEANS!
It’s been a pretty good semester thus far! I am still looking for some parents to come in and volunteer with us during the course of the instructional day. Don’t forget, we will have another PTSO/Parental Involvement initiative in November that will coincide with American Education Week. Featured plans are:
Principal for a Day
Teacher for a Day
Parental Visitation Day (Third Annual)
Thank an Educator Day
Thank a Parent Day
Thank you again for calling and e-mailing me demanding to know where your blog was! I promise I won’t be late again!
Until next time!
HDL
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