Interaction Time at the Middle Schools

In an effort to constantly improve the educational program that we offer our students, we have been exploring different ways to provide more support for all of our students. Our high school has used the practice of Interaction Time (IT) for many years now, and it has proven itself to be an effective way to give our students more time with teachers.

Essentially, IT is a 30 minute period at the end of the day where students can meet with teachers for a variety of purposes.  This time could be used for students to connect with a teacher for a class that they missed due to an absence or music lesson, to make up a quiz or test, to complete a lab, or for an extension of the classroom experience. In addition, it would provide an opportunity for our students to access our computer labs and library. This is much more than working on homework, this is about improving how we support all of our students in a time of tremendous change in education. After working closely with the Director of Transportation on the logistics and presenting this information to the Board of Education last week, we are happy to tell you that we are ready to implement IT at the start of the 2013-14 school year.  

We have created a series of FAQs at the bottom of this blog post that will help you understand IT. Please keep in mind that the times are approximate until will solidify transportation schedules.  Please feel free to call or email us should you have any questions. 

We Celebrate Learning!

  

Beth Lozier

Principal, CMS                  

blozier@westgenesee.org

Phone: 672-3159     

What will the middle school hours be next year?

The day will begin at 7:35 a.m. and end at 2:10 p.m. Interaction Time will occur from 2:10-2:50 p.m. There will be two bus runs, at 2:10 and 2:50 p.m.

Will my children have to get up much earlier with the new start time?

Most students will have to be out and ready for the bus approximately 5-13 minutes earlier than this year.

Will some middle school students be riding buses with high school students?

Yes, depending on the bus route some Middle School students will be riding with High School students on both bus runs. There is often a perception that the behavior of older students will have a negative influence on the younger students on the bus and some parents have expressed an initial concern with having them ride together. First and foremost we have terrific high school students and generally have few issues on our High School bus runs. In addition, we currently have our parochial students (over 300) in grades K-12 ride the buses with High School students each day and we have not had any behavior or other problems with younger students riding with older students since combining those bus runs in 2008. The other piece to this that Elementary and Middle School parents are typically not aware of is how few High School students actually ride our buses.  On average we have 17 or fewer students riding any of our High School buses to or from school and our buses hold at least 55 students. The majority of our bus runs for next school year will be primarily Middle School students.

Will Interaction Time occur Monday-Friday?

Students will have IT on Tuesday-Friday.  On Mondays, IT will be used for staff development and faculty meeting purposes. Students who participate in modified sports, clubs, school musical, etc. will stay on Mondays and attend a supervised study hall until 2:50 p.m. at which time their practice or club will start.

How much instructional time was lost as a result of creating Interaction Time at the end of the day?

None. With careful planning and looking at scheduling and transportation in a different way we were able to maintain the current amount of teacher-student instructional time and make better use of some dead time that existed on the front end and during the school day.

                   

Testing This Week

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week your child will take the Common Core Assessments in English Language Arts and Mathematics. Our faculty and students have been preparing for these tests all year by focusing on the instructional shifts and standards, day in and day out. With that in mind, we approach these tests with a positive attitude. 

The best way for you to help your child is to simply encourage them to do their best. A good night’s rest and some breakfast each morning will allow them to remain focused and attentive. It is critically important that all students be in school and on time during testing days. Students perform better if they take these assessments in the regular setting rather than on make-up days. We are not certain when the scores for this year’s assessments will be available, but you will sent an individual report by mail when they arrive. You can learn more about the assessments by visiting this web site:

  

http://www.ocmboces.org/tfiles/folder874/ParentExplanationAssessmentChanges.pdf

We are also encouraging parents to have their child leave all electronics (cell phones, iPods, MP3 players, e-readers, etc.) at home during testing days. If your child does bring one of these devices to school they must be in the off position and stored in their locker as they are normally required to do. Students may not bring these devices into the classroom during testing sessions. Test administration rules require that any such device must be turned over to school staff and cannot remain in a student’s pocket or desk during the exams.

Our testing schedule is as follows:

Grades 6-8  ELA                   April 16-18     8:00-10:00 a.m.

Grades 6-8  Mathematics     April 24-26     8:00-10:00 a.m.

I am always available should you have any questions regarding the assessments. Please feel free to call me at 672-3159.

We Celebrate Learning!

Beth Lozier

Principal

Call Me and Optimist

Call me an optimist, but I really think spring has arrived in CNY. Just yesterday I heard birds chirping as I got in my car to come to school. These last few months of school are known to pass in a blink of an eye. In the midst of your busy days I know you continue to prioritize the academic journey of your children. We live in a time, thanks to technology, where we have more resources than ever before to keep us informed about the changes in education as well as ideas for helping our students become career and college ready. 

In this blog I have written about www.engageny.org, a Web site organized by New York State that is a depository for everything you might need to know. Last week I gave a workshop for parents entitled “Math In The Middle” where I shared information about the Common Core Learning Standards and helpful hints including the connection between literacy and math. If you missed it, I would be happy to give you the information personally or in another small group…perhaps a group of neighbors. Just give me a call to schedule another showing! Many of the resources I shared are available here. 

  

At CMS we pride ourselves on being a learning organization. Improvements only come through a process of feedback and reflection. I would very much appreciate your thoughts about our school. Please take this brief, anonymous survey. It shouldn’t take you more than 10 minutes and the information will help us look at our strengths and weaknesses. I’ll share the results in my June blog. The survey will remain open until April 19.

Wishing everyone a relaxing April break…keep your ears open – our bird friends are the harbingers of spring.

We Celebrate Learning – together!

Beth

"Time with Text"

It won’t surprise you to learn that I go to a lot of meetings and training sessions; it’s just the nature of the business of education. I really enjoy listening to other people at these meetings because, many times, they phrase big ideas in a way that seem to stick. Last week I went to a meeting about AIMSWEB. (As a reminder, AIMSWEB is a screening tool that we use for every student in the building, three times a year, to ensure that they are making growth in reading and math.) During the meeting the trainer told a story about how his own child learned to read, and he reminded us that “time with text” is critically important. Time with text…what does that mean for a middle level child? Well, I think it means that we want to create an environment, both here and at home, that encourages our students to READ– all kinds of text, all the time. In last month’s blog I talked about variety (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, opinion articles, newspapers, magazines, manuals, etc.), complexity (providing opportunities for challenging reading material) and amount (reading every single day). You will be receiving a letter in the mail in the next day or two with your child’s Lexile level, the directions for using lexile.com and a list of books generated from that site that your child selected. February Break would be the perfect time to put a few books on your child’s Kindle or head to the library to browse and select something from their shelves. If you are traveling this week consider a book on tape. Children of this age (although they would hateto admit it) still enjoy a good read-a-loud and this is a great way to introduce books that are a little more challenging but high interest. I hope that the week off provides you with some time to relax, get outside and enjoy a good book. We Celebrate Learning! Beth