February 22, 2013

Woodlawn families,

Welcome to the last Friday of February.  There was some hope in the Grana household that today would be a snow day.  Once reality set in that school would be in session, the grumpiness and whining continued, but eventually I got over it and made it to school.  If there ever is a day where school is cancelled, you will receive a School Messenger notice directly from the boss herself, Superintendent Julie Schmidt. A few of us are required to come in to work regardless of the weather, so if you ever want to irritate me, call on that snow day and ask me how I am doing. 

You have to visit the PTO Newsletter link at the top of this page.  Please go there, I do not want a bunch of angry PTO board members knocking on my door.  They can be very intimidating.  

Celebration time!

Our Woodlawn Math Team placed third in the MathCounts regional competition at the College of Lake County on Saturday, February 16 and will be heading to the state-level contest on March 9!  Students on the team are Albert Cao (seventh grade), Michael Chiasson (eighth grade), Reuben Gutmann (eighth grade) and Antony Simonoff (sixth grade).  The alternate participating in  the state-level contest will be David Lee (seventh grade).  Other students who participated in the contest last Saturday are Julia Qian, Leo Chen, Yogin Patel, and Alex Zhang , all seventh graders. The Math Team will be competing again this Saturday, February 23, in a regional contest at Carmel High School.

Celebrate part II

Kudos to all of the band and orchestra members on their performances this week.  Great job by our Woodlawn musicians, Mr. Duggan & Mr. Craw!  Woo hoo!  

How do the Common Core Standards connect to Standards Based Reporting?

In last week's blog, I shared some background information related to the Common Core State Standards. The goal of these new standards is to better prepare students for success in college and the workforce in a competitive global economy. The standards increase the rigor and complexity of student learning, asking students to do more and think more deeply related to core content. 

We have, as a district, already worked with the other feeder districts that attend Stevenson and with Stevenson teachers, too, to make sure we implement the standards with consistency so that our students are fully prepared for Stevenson's expectations, specifically in the areas of Language Arts and Math. These shared standards were implemented this year in Language Arts, and changes related to Math will start next year. 

So how do the new standards relate to our changes in reporting practices? The new standards described above drive WHAT we expect students to know and be able to do. Thus, the standards define our "3.0" or mastery level learning. The standards are our baseline for grade level expectations. We then, whenever possible, have extended the standards to identify what "4.0" (extends) learning would look like for students who have already mastered the already more rigorous standard. Likewise, for students who have not yet mastered the standard, we identify what "2.0" (below) and "1.0" (well below) performance means so we can clearly communicate to students and parents current learning and what needs to be done for a student to master the target. 

Additional information regarding student learning targets is now available on the District website.  Parents have always had access to the District Curriculum Frameworks which include the mastery expectations (3.0 learning targets) for students in each grade for every subject area, and represent the learning targets included on Report Cards.  These targets remain constant throughout the school year.  

Parents will now have access to the District Pacing Guides which include the mastery expectations (3.0 learning targets) and additional learning targets (2.0 and 4.0 learning targets) that teachers use for instructional purposes. The 4.0 learning targets indicate a more complex learning target related to the 3.0 learning target.  The 2.0 learning targets indicate a simpler version of the 3.0 learning target.  The 4.0 and 2.0 learning targets are fluid and flexible, sometimes adjusted throughout the school year based on information from student performance and teacher input.  

Put simply, the pacing guides illustrate what is taught when (the standards) and how each level of learning will be reported (standards-based reporting). I strongly encourage you to take a look, as this provides you with a great deal of information related to your child's learning path. Feel free to contact Mr. Murphy, any of your child's teachers or myself, if you have questions or need more information. 

Testing Results

Woodlawn parents… You will be receiving key information about your child's learning. Next Friday, March 1, MAP reports for 6^th  and 7^th  graders will be sent home with the students. On March 1^st, 8th graders' EXPLORE access codes will be mailed home so that you may access the online data, using a unique ID code for each student. Any 8th grader who took MAP will also receive their scores in the same envelope as the EXPLORE information. 

On March 13, we will publish Trimester 2 report cards online. We will email you directions for accessing the report card via PowerSchool. Please note that report cards will NOT be printed in hard copy, as you will be able to see all the information right on PowerSchool. 

Treat Reminder

As much as we would like to allow students to bring in treats at lunch for all of their friends, it is simply against the rules.  Too many incidences, allergies, and it is simply not a good practice.  Please check the parent/student handbook for further information. 

Attention parents of fifth-graders...(rewrite from last week)

The D96  Parent-to-Parent (P2P) Network is partnering with Woodlawn and Twin Groves Middle School principals and staff to present a brand-new transition program for parents whose current fifth-grade students will be attending middle school in August 2013. 

This don’t-miss program on Tues., Mar. 12,  @ 7 p.m., Woodlawn Middle School Gym, for ALL District 96 parents of current fifth graders will feature a student panel for Q&A and practical transition tips, middle school staff, and Greg Grana and me!

Please note that this program replaces the school-based programs presented in previous years. One program/one date for ALL parents of current D96 fifth-grade students: Tues., Mar. 12, 7 p.m., Woodlawn Middle School gym, 6362 Gilmer Rd, Long Grove 60047.

ISAT SCHEDULE (rewrite from last week)

As you may be aware this year's ISAT (Illinois Standards Achievement Test) will take place in March. Our schedule will be as follows:

Wednesday, March 6--testing all day for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade

Thursday, March 7--testing all day for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade

Friday, March 8--testing all day for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade

Monday, March 11--testing all day for 7th grade only

While students cannot study for the ISAT, they will certainly benefit from getting a good night's sleep and a healthy breakfast. It will also be important that students arrive on time each day, as we'd like as few make ups as possible. If you have specific questions regarding the ISAT, please contact me directly. 

Coming up…

I will be hosting some informal parent coffees with the topic of conversation being Standards Based Report Cards.  These will be in either late March or early April.  I can feel the excitement building. 

Finally

Thank you to everyone who commented on my blog last week.  It is a challenge to write interesting stuff from week to week.  If you have any blog themes for me to try, send me an e-mail.  ggrana@kcsd96.org  

Have a great week.

Mr. Grana