Friday, September 9, 2011
Dear Parents,
I am happy to report that we have made it through our first week of the regular schedule and have come through with flying colors! The weather and your children have both cooperated to allow for a lot of great learning.
I am writing to tell you about two upcoming events that are both new additions to our school routine. First, our class will be taking the Iowa Test of Basic Skills starting next week. The testing will run for parts of the next two weeks. In the past, St. Mary’s only took these tests in grades 3, 5, 6, and 7. This year we are including fourth grade in testing which will allow me to see the strengths and weaknesses of the class early in the year so that I can gear my teaching accordingly. Mr. Morehouse has brought some amazing ideas from his last school regarding testing. We are attempting to psych the kids up for testing by having an ITBS pep rally today, allowing the kids to chew gum and have hard candy during each test, and starting/ finishing the testing period with casual days. The dates for casual days are Monday, September 12, and Friday, September 23. This year Mr. Morehouse is allowing any shorts to be worn as long as they are the length of our uniform shorts. Next week children are encouraged to get plenty of sleep and eat a good breakfast each day. They should also bring water bottles so they can stay hydrated, and I would like to have a treat each day for between tests. I will bring treats Monday, and Mrs. Greil will be bringing birthday treats for Liam on Tuesday. If you would like to help us out by sending a treat for any day from the 14th through the 23rd, please drop me a note.
Mr. Morehouse also announced at the pep rally today that the class who raises its scores by the most percentage points will be awarded the prize of five casual days. Of course everyone wants to win this prize, so hopefully they will try to do their best. At his last school, one class improved its total score by twenty points! There is also a letter going out from Mr. Morehouse regarding some testing tips that you should be receiving via email. If you did not receive it, check the St. Mary’s website for a link to it.
The second new change this year is our adoption of a program called Option C. This program is being used for many aspects of our school’s record keeping, but most importantly for our grades. Mr. Morehouse had planned to open this grading website to parents and students of grades 5 through 8 this Friday. We were going to work out any “bugs” before we opened it up to everyone. (These grades were chosen because they involve eligibility.) However, on Tuesday we found out that we must open the website to all the grades at once. Passwords were mailed Thursday to each family. You will be able to see a parent view, and each of your children will have the opportunity to see a student view of his/her grades. Since this system is new to ALL of us, I am asking in advance for your patience. I will be glad to answer any questions you may have at any time, and I will try to send a more detailed explanation of my grading system in the near future. I currently have grades in every subject online; however some subjects have more assignments than others. I will try to post grades at least once a week or more, but I am still getting used to the system, so please bear with me.
You may reach me at either mrsvoigts@hotmail.com or through the contact us section on the St. Mary’s website. That address is: voigts.carole@stmaryspontiac.org. You are always welcome to simply write me a note and send it with your child as well. J
Thanks for all of your cooperation and understanding. I am having a great year so far with all of your wonderful children! Have a great homecoming weekend. Go Indians!
God Bless,
Mrs. Voigts