Friday, July 29, 2016

The Midsummer Update!

Ah, rain.  Though it was fleeting, it was refreshing indeed!

I hope this update finds you all relaxed and enjoying all that summer has to offer.

While I am not typically a fan of air conditioning, I must admit it has been necessary to utilize in order to remain productive over the past two weeks.  Mr. McElhinney and I have been working closely with iPass to make sure that all of the schedules will be ready for release on Monday, August 1, as mentioned earlier.  As of this email, the schedules will be ready but the general biographical information at the top of each schedule is still reflecting last year's grade level since the district’s roll over has been delayed due to necessary state reports required of each public school during the summer months.  However, I am optimistic that they will still be ready by the end of the day at the very latest.  I will send out a verification that they are available so that you don’t feel the need to keep logging in all day to see when they are posted :?)...of course, that will require you to keep checking your email, as well...well, whatever works best for you!

For those of you returning, you will notice a change in the way in which the Integrated Arts classes are organized on your schedule.  In an effort to allow for more continuity and momentum while students rotate through the courses, we decided to re-organize the way in which they are scheduled over the 6-day cycle.  Students will take Engineering for two days out of the 6 day cycle for half of the year and two days of Art out of the cycle for the other half of the year.  The number of classes remains the same over the course of the year, but it will allow students to continue working on projects more effectively as only half of the students will be enrolled in each course at a time allowing more access to resources and storage space for their ongoing projects. We have linked the sections of our Physical Education and Health classes in a way that the two teachers are able to better approach an overall Wellness focus for two days out of the six day cycle throughout the entire year.  It won’t necessarily look different on the schedule, but most students will have the two classes in sequence which will allow the teachers to combine classes when appropriate for specific units and bring the physical and more academic components closer together.  Time has been spent over the summer reorganizing our wonderful fitness facilities to include a climbing wall and increase alternative movement opportunities for students within our two Wellness content areas, as well.  The other two days out of the cycle will still be reserved for the Performing Arts classes Band, Orchestra, Chorus or Theater providing continuity and consistency for skill development throughout the year.

In looking at schedules, you may notice a lot of new names!  We have had a number of new people join us over the summer due to the retirements we had last year in addition to a few staff members transitioning to jobs closer to their homes.  Also, as many of you already know, we are reorganizing our teams to address the growing class sizes for the next couple of years.  Next year, all of our interdisciplinary content area teams will be four person teams with a separate teacher for ELA, Math, Social Studies, and Science.  We will not have two-person teams in any of the grade levels.  While there are tremendous benefits to two-person teams in regards to increased interdisciplinary opportunities and increased opportunities for the teachers and students to interact on a daily basis, the four person team model allows us to better balance the numbers and keep the class size averages to 20-23 students per class for those content areas across all grades and teams.  Therefore, we will have three four-person teams in sixth grade (Curiosity, Discovery and Imagination), two four-person teams in seventh grade (Aristotle and Plato) and three four-person teams in eighth grade (Peace, Valor and Victory).  We are looking forward to introducing all of our new staff members when everyone returns from the summer break.  

Not that I am trying to rush the summer vacation at all, but if any of you are getting excited for back-to school shopping, please remember that the suggested supply list for each grade is available on our website along with the link to the suggested reading lists. The large majority of our students already read for enjoyment to some degree and the lists are not there as an additional assignment as much as a guide to help students expand their interests and provide suggestions for grade appropriate reading.  When students come back to school, they are asked to complete a project based on something they chose to read over the summer.  It is not about quantity but quality and our hope is that students are enjoying the experience an engaging book can provide while they are taking a break from their regular studies.

Hopefully, you all still have plenty of fun, engaging, and RELAXING (which seems less relaxing in all caps...but you get the emphasis) activities on your agenda for the month of August.

Remember, the first day of school for 6th graders is Tuesday, August 30 which gives them an entire day of transition without the other two grades in the building.  The older students have to wait one more day before they are able to come back, but we happily welcome back the seventh and eighth graders on Wednesday, August 31.  The transition back that week is always so exciting that we give them Friday and Monday off to enjoy a last long weekend of summer as we ease back into the swing of things!

Be well and I look forward to seeing all of you when we return.


As always,


Chris