To begin this post, I'd like to share some of
Dr. Yennie's words to frame why we have conferences. When I typed my first draft, I focused on the logistics of conferences, which are important and shared below. But Dr. Yennie helped me remember the why of conferences. Why we take the time to be intentional about discussing your student's growth, why we alter our busy schedules for conferences, and why in this age of digital communication, there is so much value in meeting face to face.
With parent-teacher conferences this week, we get the opportunity to connect in the presence of old and new friends. We get to share the stories about children and their amazing learning and growth. We get to hear dreams and aspirations. Please take the time to make meaningful connections this week. Parent –teacher conferences are a great celebration and an important milestone.
And now for the nuts and bolts. There are only three days of school for students this week. Students do not attend school on Thursday, October 25th or Friday, October 26th. Conference are from 3:30-7:30 on Wednesday and 8:00-7:00 on Thursday. There will be no Scout Learning Lab (SLL) on Wednesday, but we will have SLL on Friday from 8:00-11:00. Classes will resume on Monday, October 29th. Please
use this link to sign up for conferences if you have not done so already. Because of the short week, we will be following our 'all' schedule on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.
Attendance is crucial to student success. Our attendance mantra for this year is "Strive for Five" meaning our goal for all students is five or less absences excluding those absences related to school activities. There are many factors that influence school attendance, and at times students need to miss school for illness or other reasons, but students need to be in school as much as possible as there truly is no replacement for first time instruction and the learning that accompanies it. You might wonder, what's the big deal about attendance?
A study in Maryland found that only 49% of chronically absent middle school students graduated from high school on time compared to 70% of students who attended faithfully. Another study in Pennsylvania showed that students who struggled academically and who were habitually absent were significantly less likely to close the achievement gap than their peers who also struggled academically but attended school regularly. This research confirms what we already know, being in school is important. Please do everything you can to help your student be in school, on time, ready to learn every day. Certainly we will do everything we can to help students who are absent get caught up on what they miss, but there's just no substitute for being in school.
The last class at LMS dismisses at 3:00 every day. Unless your student is staying for SLL, or participating in an activity that starts right after school, they need to be out of the building by 3:10. Some students are staying long after that creating supervision issues. If your student is being picked up, their ride should be at the school by 3:10 or other arrangements need to be made. If your student participates in an activity that has late practice, they need to make arrangements to go somewhere after school until practice begins. They can not remain at the middle school until late practice starts. There is no one available to supervise students during that time. Thank you for your support.
- October 24 No SLL conferences
- October 24-25 Fall conferences
- October 25-26 No school-conferences
- November 6 No school-professional development
- November 29 Nellie T. Ross' birthday
