Principal's Message 1/12/09

ONE WEEK UNTIL THE ELA EXAM

It was a great first week back in school. Most of you did not hesitate to get right back to work. I did a couple more walkthroughs than planned last week. I saw teachers pushing instruction, I witnessed others pushing the preparation for the ELA exam, and I observed staff quickly adjusting to the high expectations we need to hold our students to. It was reassuring to know we are all on board with preparing our students for the ELA exam (which is now six school days away).

There are many things we can do within our classrooms, whether you teach ELA or not, that can help support the students. For example, increasing the amount of reading and writing in our classrooms will help out tremendously. With a week away from the school during the holiday break, there are a good number of students who did not pick up a pen or a book to maintain their progress. Statistics show it takes 21 days to establish a habit and only 3 days to break one. Being that we were away for over three days, we can probably assume many habits were broken (including our own, felt like I was getting back into shape last week making it through a 9 period day).

If all the subject areas can make sure we are including a reading and writing part in each class, we can build up our student stamina for the test. Judging from our responses last year, many students could not meet the expectations of a five paragraph essay. There was also evidence students did not even read the piece provided which limited their ability to answer the response questions. Hence, it is imperative we continue to include read-alouds, guided reading practice, and written responses to text so our students are ready to go by Tuesday next week.

Encourage students to use writing prompts within questions to answer short answer or essay questions. For example, if a question is asking, “How many times can Mr. Michelman talk about the ELA exam in one week?” We need to get our students to use the words within the question to begin their answer, ‘The amount of times Mr. Michelman can talk about the ELA exam in one week is….” Also, include as many read alouds as you can so the students can get used to listening, taking notes, and responding to questions. Many of you are doing a couple of things. Please ask your ELA teachers during your grade team meetings to find out what else can be done in class to help our students get ready. We are down to our last lap. Let’s make it a good one.

Finally, it is imperative we get our students to come to school to take advantage of every school minute to prepare for the exam. If students are not in school, then tell their friends to pick up the phone and call them. Create incentives to reinforce their desire to get ready for the test. Obviously, we can’t prepare them for the big day if they are not in our school. Remind them when the test is and how valuable each second in the classroom is worth.
I would like for us to echo the importance of getting to school early the day of the test, how imperative it is for them to eat breakfast (the cafeteria opens in the morning at 7:30am), and how valuable a good night’s rest is the evening before the test. Also, remind them how capable they are of getting a 3 or 4 on their exam score. There are too many of them questioning that. With that mind set, they decrease their chances of reaching their full potential. It is our duty to remind them what they are capable of.

ATTENDANCE FOR THE WEEK

Monday: 89%
Tuesday: 89%
Wednesday: 85%
Thursday: 88%
Friday: 89%

We have to get our attendance back where it was. We did not break 90% this week. We can do this by encouraging our students to come to school and welcome those who have missed a day or more. It’s important to stress the importance of being in school but avoid using guilt and exclusion to send this message. Some of you are not adjusting your procedures to help students who were absent to acclimate to what they missed. As for your class to class procedures, you should have something in place to help absent students catch up with the others and not feel uncomfortable with their return. Maintain your welcoming environment within your classrooms for everyone. Each day each of your students are present is another opportunity to make a difference.

STAFF BIRTHDAYS:

Ravi Seeram January 5th
Gabriela Vargas January 15th

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“Our lack of compassion stems from our inability to see deeply into the nature of things.”
--Lama Surya Das