Thursday, August 13, 2015

Midsummer Update

Well, sort of...

If I had more energy at this point, I would try to conjure my best Shakespeare and present this missive in the spirit of Robin Goodfellow, affectionately remembered as Puck...but alas my iambic pentameter is rusty and you are all probably more anxious for information than humor at this point seeing as how we have been experiencing more typical summer like weather as we approach the end of July.

Although a glitch at iPass made earlier drafts of schedules available a week or two ago, they have finally been completed and tomorrow morning around 9:00 am the parent portal will be open for families to see the official schedules for 2015-2016.

Two noticeable changes for next year:

  • Our General Music classes are being replaced with a Theater Arts class which will be focused on providing additional opportunities for our students to work collaboratively and develop stronger communication and problem solving strategies as they explore the active world of an additional art element included in our integrated arts rotation.  For students less comfortable with public speaking and presentation, this class is designed to provide a stress-free environment full of theatrical games and activities that empower students to think outside of the box while developing their observation skills.  Fear not, it is not simply an acting class requiring students to constantly perform for each other.  It is a comprehensive program exploring all aspects of theatrical collaboration and the skills required to successfully communicate students' ideas and develop their unique voices.  Middle school theater programs have been instrumental in helping to instill a greater confidence in adolescents and providing opportunities for them to develop a stronger empathy in others which can often be lacking in these middle years.  It is an excellent addition to our already vibrant arts programming.

  • 8th grade students might realize that they are all organized into two teams rather than three.  In an effort to help begin the process of transitioning from middle school to high school, we will have only two teams: Victory and Valor.  Six teachers are part of the Victory team working with approximately 60% of the 8th grade and four teachers are on Valor working with...(you guessed it) approximately 40% of the students.  While research clearly indicates the benefits of two person teams at the middle level, there have been concerns about whether it was ideal for our 8th grade students to experience only transitioning between two teachers for the majority of their classes just prior to heading off to high school.  Our 8th grade teachers are excited about the change as they all collaborate regularly with each other and enjoy the increased ability to share more of the students while still maintaining the benefits of the middle school team model.

New Lockers assignments will be established when students report to their advisories for the first day of school.  As we have done in the past, 6th graders have the whole school to themselves on September 1 (well, they still have to share it with all of the adults) while the 7th and 8th graders join us on September 2.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Chris