Hello Discovery Parents and Families,
Spring vacation is next week! While I am hopeful we will start to see some sunshine and the trees starting to bloom, it is hard to believe we are already over two-thirds of the way through the school year! Of course, that also means we have a third of the school year to go. We are not done yet, and there is still much to learn. Our focus on creating a culture of caring and respect is a mission we work on every day. Ensuring rigorous learning for every student is our goal every day. Preparing our students to be college, career, and life ready as they move on from middle school is part of our work every day. We want to help our students learn to be globally minded and value the diversity we bring to our community and our world. There is much for us to do this spring! I hope you have a safe and enjoyable spring vacation, and students return to school refreshed for the final trimester.
Some spring reminders:
-Third trimester just started on March 20th. Please encourage your students to take advantage of a new trimester and finish their school year academically strong.
-The last day of school is June 21st. This has now been school board approved so you can plan your summer activities with a firm date in mind after all of the snow day cancellations this year!
-Be respectful, Be responsible, and Be safe. These are our three expectations. 80% of our students follow them ALL of the time. Another 10% follow them most of the time. If your child is in this group of 90% of our students, please praise them for that. If your student is not, please encourage them to set some goals around improving.
-Parent conferences are April 20th and 21st. We will again have a drop in format for those of you who would like to come check in with teachers. When you come in for a conference, please bring your child with you. Student success is a three legged stool: student, parent, and teacher. Conferencing about how things are going should involve all three.
-State SBAC testing for most students will begin in early May this year. Please encourage your students to try their best. The results give us good information about where students are in their understanding of common core standards. Results are also used to determine intervention needs and high school placement.
-Track season starts right after spring vacation. Please encourage your students to consider joining the track team this year. Studies show the more a student is involved in school activities, the better they do academically. Track is a great spring opportunity to show your school spirit and get involved.
The MYP Learner Profile focus for the month of April is KNOWLEDGEABLE. Students who are knowledgeable explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance. In doing so, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop understanding across a broad and balanced range of disciplines. Please notice: they EXPLORE so that they ACQUIRE. Being knowledgeable is about putting in the effort to work at gaining knowledge and understanding about the world around you. It takes effort to be knowledgeable. The world is a fascinating place and there is much to learn about it. Please share with your child the ways in which you become knowledgeable about your world, and encourage them to bring the curiosity and purpose required to become more KNOWLEDGEABLE citizens.
Make a difference for kids,
Mark Cain