Heights' Highlights: Thursday, March 29, 2012

Hope you are having a wonderful spring break. Not much sun around here but maybe you found time for yourselves.

Today I'm going to empty my inbox and try to catch you up with everything.

ISATs are very important this time of year. We need to provide all the support we can to make the testing experience as accurate as possible. I hate hearing after the fact that a student needed additional support. It reminds me of when my golf coaches, after I hit the ball the wrong directions say, "That's is exactly where you were aiming!". So why didn't you tell me before I hit the ball? So, before the student 'hits the ball' or clicks too fast, or.... let me know your needs. Cathy, Glendi, Yvonne, Megan and Dana will need to adjust schedules to be of help in the computer lab as proctors. Rhonda, Konnie, Greg, Letti and Dona may need to change groups or schedules to assist with special students and testing schedules. Darcy and I have updated the information sheets and she will have them in your boxes next week. Everyone who might see the test needs to sign a waiver and turn it in to me, please.

Deb Yates is assisting us with the required data collection for our single-sex classrooms. We are required by law to conduct an evaluation of our program every three years. In addition to our test data we need survey results from parents and from all staff. Notes will go home with students. The parent surveys are to be returned to the office. We will collect from students and provide an incentive reward. Please encourage them to bring these back. I also need ALL STAFF to go to this link and take the survey during the next two weeks. PLEASE. (The picture represents survey monkey, the website. Not intended to represent our support from Deb.)

Math intervention trial: Our account has been set up and you may register the students you listed. Log in at http://www.whizz.us/ with the username middletonheights@whizz.com and the password hawks. We will have 30 days of use beginning April 2nd, so don't delay in starting. I will host a video training in the computer lab on Wednesday at 2:10. I would invite teachers and educational assistants who might use the program. This is before District collaboration and can be used as collaboration for classified staff. If you enroll students with this as an intervention, for it to be 'research based' as in IPlans, you need to get them on the program 60 minutes a week or 10-15 minutes per day. They can access from home, so you may share the log in with parents who wanted something else to try with their child.

Our Character Assembly is scheduled for Friday (first grade field trip and Wagon's Ho). Please complete your character tracking sheets early in the week so we can be prepared to announce percentages and honors.

Midterms post Monday the 9th. Didn't we just finish conferences? Wow this year is packed into a small space in time.