The big news this week comes at the State level where New York State Education Commissioner John King announced he would be leaving his current post to take a position as an assistant to Federal Education Commissioner Arne Duncan.
Among King's most volatile initiatives are the alignment of New York State standardized exams to the Common Core and the association of teachers evaluations to these assessments. As to what's in store for New York any observations at this point are pure speculation and conjecture.
WOW- What A Concert!
Our first 6th grade concert is always one of my favorites because our 6th graders get to play with a much larger ensemble than in elementary school and it sure sounded like it on Thursday Night. Congratulations to all of our musicians and singers for what one parent called "one of my favorite events!" Thank you also to our parents who have remained resolute in supporting our musicians through all of their hard work.
WOW - What a Week! A weather week that is...
We truly appreciate having a community whose priority is education! In a week that saw cancellations of after-school events and a delay to school both due to inclement weather we have been fortunate to make the most of a 5 day week academically. 5 day weeks are like lottery tickets to educators. We treasure these (weeks) because continuity lends to rigor. The greater continuity in our time the less students are disrupted in being able to link related concepts together.
Teaching Empathy and Gratitude
A reminder to parents and students that our Food Drive comes to a close Monday, December 15. What comes as a shock to many of our students is that we have so many needy families right here in Bethlehem. As a Middle School we are trying to fill at least 100 meals to help many of these families. Thank you to our parents for supporting this small part of our character programming!
Important BOE (Board of Education) Meeting Next Week
Next week's BOE meeting is moved from Hamagrael to the High School. Important topics up for discussion are two issues that may affect residents' taxes (one a property exemption and the other is the Veteran's exemption) and our board will review the progress of the committee charged with evaluating the construct of our High School's Lab School. The Lab School is a school-within-a-school and with budget shortfalls the committee has been working to preserve as much of the program as possible while remaining true to the original mission of the Lab School. The meeting is Wednesday, December 17 and begins at 6:30 PM.
Quarter Two Interim Report
Interim reports are 5 week reports that provide students and parents a mid-quarter update about progress. Our 2nd quarter interim reports will be posted next Friday. Parents should be sure that your email address is updated in Aspen, be sure that you have set your SNN (School News Notifier) settings to receive notifications from the Middle School, and have your student activate the Middle School Home Page within Aspen. Once students activate this page in their accounts, parent can also (for your parent account). The Home Page in Aspen is where we post important Middle School documents.
Next Week's Calendar
Monday, December 15
- FOOD DRIVE ENDS
- School Bus Safety Drill AM (some students may be late to HR)
- All students who have an AM bus route should ride the bus Monday morning
- Grade 7 Concert
- Hanukkah begins at sundown
- BOE 7 PM (AT HS not Hamagrael)
Thurs, Dec 18
- Grade 8 Concert
- Q2 Interim grades posted on Aspen
Have a great weekend!
Mr. K
