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Back to School Night 2015 - Parent Presentation
- 1. Back to (middle) School Henderson International School Sep 11, 2014
- 2. middle school is a unique period The range of academic, physical, social, and emotional development is huge Relationships among adolescents, and the adults in their lives, change on a daily basis It is a time of self-exploration and self-definition It is a time of great curiosity Children enter this period as concrete thinkers and exit with a far greater capacity for abstract and higher-order thinking
- 3. middle school - a brief history • Our education system has been grappling to meet the need of early adolescents for over 100 years • Until the early 20th century, US schools were mainly K-8 • By the mid-century, an increase in enrollment fueled the move to junior high schools • In the 1970s, there was a deliberate shift to middle schools with a focus on the specific needs and developmental stages of children • In 2007, there began a significant shift back to K-8 schools
- 4. four essential attributes The Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE): Developmentally Responsive Challenging Empowering Equitable
- 5. middle school mission We provide a supportive environment, challenging academics, and developmentally-appropriate programming so that our graduates can: Be comfortable in their own skin (self-esteem) Know their learning strengths and styles (self-awareness) Positively assert themselves Advocate for themselves and others
- 6. strategic initiatives for 2014-15 This past February, we committed to providing the best middle school education possible by: Strengthening the middle school team Providing our students and families with grade-level standards (ERB, NGSS, NCSS, ACTFL, NCCAS, SHAPE) Enhancing our assessment, feedback, and reporting practices Increasing enrichment opportunities for our students
- 8. goals for tonight Meet the middle school team Visit classrooms and see samples of student work Learn more about individual classes and teachers
- 9. the middle school team Fifth/Sixth Team: Heather Berg, Stephanie Rasar, Tanya Yamada, and Tim Williams Seventh/Eighth Team: Tara Cadena, Anne Michelle Perkins, Joe Petrelli, and Donna Raucher Spanish: Rikki Martin Digital Media & Technology: Krissy Waldman, Brandon Lindsey, and Erika Crowe Art Rotation: Gabe Cadena, Debbie Levy, Jillian Petrelli, and Nick Stamanis Physical Education: Ricardo Baldizan, Ali Cohen, and Andy Corridori
Editor's Notes
- Children today move about in a world that is far different from the world of previous generations: More media, wider roles for boys and girls, more complex family dynamics, new technology… What holds true is that children continue to develop through the same developmental stages
- Laura Rodgers, Author of Fires in the Middle School Bathroom Junior highs were essentially holding pens until there was enough room in high school The shift to stand-alone middle schools was in response to the unfortunate realities of junior high, but external pressures prevented the middle school model to live up to its mission… Education Next article that cited research that” the relative achievement of students in standalone middle schools declines each year they spend in such schools” There is no perfect model, but the indicators of success for K-8 schools include: small schools, the lessening of transitions, leadership opportunities for older students, and strong relationships
- Education leaders in the Developmentally Responsive – Deliberate division of our middle school into two distinct teams, a 5/6 team with a focus on the transition from elementary school to the middle years… Challenging – We ensure that every child learns through a personalized approach that is built upon rigorous academic and non-academic standards that prepare students for a lifetime of learning… Empowering – We promote independence by providing students with multiple opportunities to assume ownership of their own learning through student-led conferences and student-driven PLPs, and we provide opportunities such as the Change Project for students to positively impact their communities… Equitable – We believe that talent, ability, and intelligence are malleable… we strive to find the genius in each child through strong student-teacher relationships that are built on mutual respect and a shared love of learning
- Strengthening – creating two distinct grade level teams to meet the divergent needs of pre-adolescents and adolescents, and achieving this by creating two new full-time middle school faculty positions Standards – along with the rigorous ELA and Math standards from the Education Records Bureau, we have adopted standards from Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACFTL), National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS), Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE) Enhancements – to best prepare our graduates for high school, our assessments, feedback, and reporting practices (Skyward grade book and our report cards) will continue to provide the letter grade you are used to seeing, and will include feedback on the individual academic standards within a content area Enrichment – we created an electives program to maximize our human capitol and provide important enrichment opportunities for our children that did not require afterschool participation… In the first trimester alone we are able to offer 8 new courses including guitar, chess club, robotics, bridge building, student news show, and science explorations… including four STEAM classes. We are excited to see the number of girls that elected to be in these science, technology, engineering, arts, and math courses
- Strengthening – creating two distinct grade level teams to meet the divergent needs of pre-adolescents and adolescents, and achieving this by creating two new full-time middle school faculty positions Standards – along with the rigorous ELA and Math standards from the Education Records Bureau, we have adopted standards from Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACFTL), National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS), Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE) Enhancements – to best prepare our graduates for high school, our assessments, feedback, and reporting practices (Skyward grade book and our report cards) will continue to provide the letter grade you are used to seeing, and will include feedback on the individual academic standards within a content area Enrichment – we created an electives program to maximize our human capitol and provide important enrichment opportunities for our children that did not require afterschool participation… In the first trimester alone we are able to offer 8 new courses including guitar, chess club, robotics, bridge building, student news show, and science explorations… including four STEAM classes. We are excited to see the number of girls that elected to be in these science, technology, engineering, arts, and math courses
- Strengthening – creating two distinct grade level teams to meet the divergent needs of pre-adolescents and adolescents, and achieving this by creating two new full-time middle school faculty positions Standards – along with the rigorous ELA and Math standards from the Education Records Bureau, we have adopted standards from Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACFTL), National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS), Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE) Enhancements – to best prepare our graduates for high school, our assessments, feedback, and reporting practices (Skyward grade book and our report cards) will continue to provide the letter grade you are used to seeing, and will include feedback on the individual academic standards within a content area Enrichment – we created an electives program to maximize our human capitol and provide important enrichment opportunities for our children that did not require afterschool participation… In the first trimester alone we are able to offer 8 new courses including guitar, chess club, robotics, bridge building, student news show, and science explorations… including four STEAM classes. We are excited to see the number of girls that elected to be in these science, technology, engineering, arts, and math courses
- It truly is a pleasure to work with and learn from your children each and every day.