Weekly News and Notes

Happy February Vacation everyone!

Speaking to many of you this week, this vacation comes at a time when you have just hit some momentum in the third quarter, having dug out after the storm and just established the routines. Hopefully you will be able to keep that going through March, knowing that the next stretch we have is a difficult one!

Belief Statements Workshop!

Great job on Tuesday with the development of our Belief Statements. We are obviously just at the beginning of this, but we have a number of great starting points from which our students and parents can build. In the coming weeks and months, we will continue to build on our core values, solidify our belief statements, and move toward revising learning expectations and developing rubrics based on them.
The statements have been compiled; expect to see something after vacation.

Coming Attractions

The Program of Studies will be finalized in the next couple of weeks, and we will begin engaging students in the process of selecting classes for 2013-14. From there, we hope to be able to move into the scheduling of the building and looking at class numbers. The department heads have been involved in a critical and creative look at the way some classes are described and offered, and the conversations have been productive so far!

Marcie Tudor will be in the building after vacation, beginning additional MCAS support for our grade 10 students identified as needing support in math, and eventually those in need for science. Study hall teachers - you will be provided with the list of students involved, in case they arrive to study on certain days, so you can direct them to Marcie. Full instructions will be sent next week.
We have instructions prepared for MCAS proctoring; there will soon be a meeting for all those involved in MCAS proctoring, as well as some who are not, to ensure that we have backups in case of absence. As always, that week will require a great deal of flexibility. Mark your calendars: March 19, 21 and 22 will be the ELA test!

We have heard of folks sharing the wealth with the additional free periods with the seniors leaving. We will hopefully be able to use that time for common planning, looking at student work, Atlas work - all the things that we didn't have time built into the schedule for. Hopefully, as the kinks are ironed, we will be able to structure this common time more concretely!

As next week is vacation, there will be no notes published next Friday.

Have a great week!