20 Tips For Success In School

Here are 20 ways that will ensure that your kids and YOU have a great school year.

1. A child should eat a good breakfast every morning, Don't let them skip breakfast.

2. Wake them up early enough to get up on time so they are not tardy! Even if that means waking them up 15 or 30 minutes earlier than they used to wake up.

3. Be sure your child gets a good night's sleep. Turn in early.

4. Have them prepare all of their things the night before, including clothes, socks, shoes, booksacks, homework assignments in booksacks,etc. down to the finest details, even hair accessories.

5. Children should keep their bookbags, desks and rooms organized so they can find what they need easily and nothing gets lost.

6. Praise your children, encourage them, use positive reinforcement, work closely with them. Let them know that you are available to help if needed.

7. Create a study routine for your child. A good rule of thumb is to have them do their homework right when they get home.

8. Go over homework together.

9. Check their backpacks and folders for notes, missed assignments, library books, etc.

10. Promote healthy habits like healthy snacks, low in sugar, fresh fruits and vegetables.

11. Children should ask questions. Let them ask questions. That is how we learn.

12. A stress free child is a happy child. A happy child will do better in school.

13. Children should start reviewing notes at least three days before a test. Don't wait until the night before or worse, the day of the test to study for it.

14. Children should write down their assingments carefully. Have your children check their class blogs. Have the number of a few classmates and your child’s teacher in case they have doubts.

15. Parents should be a role model to their children. Your children learn from you. Be positive and supportive of the school system and teachers.

16. Have your child read to you often and regularly.

17. Have them put all of their things in their room right when they get home. This will alleviate the chances of losing or misplacing something. More time is wasted looking for a lost shoe or where they put their backpack.

18. Children should take notes when the teacher repeats something, tells them to write it down or that is very important or will be on a test, or if she writes it on the board. Encourage this habit in your child.

19. Remind your child to avoid cheating and being lazy. Encourage them to do their projects and assigments like reports, ahead of time. Teach them to study and learn, which will make them proud of themselves.

20-Remind your child to read all of the directions, follow directions, read the questions carefully during tests, and to double check their answers after they are done.

The definition of excellence, according to the Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary is as follows:

1 : the quality of being excellent ; 2: an excellent or valuable quality : virtue; 3: excellency 

The dictionary continues to state some examples of excellence, such as these:

1. The school is known for the excellence of its teachers.

2. an award for academic excellence

3.setting a high standard of excellence

In our constant quest for growth and excellence, and in following with the recommendations of our 2010 SACS Accreditation Team, our faculty has embraced numerous projects and training to raise the academic level of our curriculum, to incorporate the proven teaching methods into our lessons, to stay current with international teaching practices, and to improve the assessment, reporting, and documentation systems for our students and parents.

Our teachers have been using the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) as a tool for not only validating our school curriculum, but also for adapting levels of instruction, differentiating for our diverse student population, and maximizing student learning in the classroom. On Thursday, September 6 and Friday, September 7 we have arranged for our teachers to participate in an on-site training with a MAP specialist brought down from Northwest Education Association (NWEA). For this training, all Elementary teachers some of the Secondary teachers will attend. Because of that,

there will be NO school for grades Nursery to Grade 5 on Thursday and Friday, September 6 and 7.

Our teachers are making the necessary accommodations in the delivery of the curriculum to make sure that this does not affect the instruction of our students. As only a few of the secondary teachers will attend the training,

the Middle and High School students will have classes as normal on Thursday and Friday, September 6 and 7.

We thank our parents for their support and understanding in this matter, and encourage anyone who has a question to email our Head of School at debgilespk@yahoo.com

NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GRADING SCALE

As you know, the Elementary School teachers worked very hard last year in developing Standard Based Report Cards, which will be implemented this 2012-2013 school year. As we have developed criteria for these new report cards that is linked directly to our standards of learning, the teachers have come up with a new scale of assessing and reporting each student's progress.

Teachers are using this new criteria in the classrooms to assess class performance and progress, and are training students in using this in their own personal asssessments. It is very important that parent

s understand what each numerical grade represents, and how that reflects student progress.

As parents, you can support your child and his or her teachers by becoming familiarized with this new scale and reinforcing it at home. If you did not get a chance to come to our Open House last Thursday, here is a copy of the rubric that was discussed by our Elementary Teachers.

Discovery School Grading Rubric

The Hamburger Model

4	Exceeds Standard The student´s performance and understanding are above the grade level expectations.	WOW!
3	Meets Standard The student has demonstrated proficiency. Performance and understanding are at grade level.	YES!
2	Approaching Standard The student is making progress toward the grade level expectation.	ALMOST
1	Does Not Meet Standard The student requires extra support and reinforcement.	OOPS!

It is important to remember that a 3 is the goal. It indicates mastery of the concept or skill. In standards based grading, the 1 through 4 scale is not equivalent to letter grades.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your child's teacher to talk about this.

We want to welcome all our Elementary students and parent to the 2012-2013 school year. Our teachers have been working very hard getting our classrooms ready and planning the first days of school. We are eager to meet and greet our students, and launch off this school year to a great start.

We encourage all parents (new and returning) to stop by your child’s classroom aand meet our teachers and students. Stop by the cafeteria to check out the services offered. Visit the rooms that underwent structural improvements over the summer. This is a very exciting time at our school, and we want all our parents to be a part of it!

Please remember that our OPEN HOUSE is scheduled for next Thursday, August 16 at 7:00 a.m. Very important information will be shared by all our teachers, which will be valuable for our students to have success this school year.

Remember, visit your teachers’ blogs every week. Each blog will be updated every Monday morning, and this will enable you all to see what each grade is working on.

We are delighted that you are a part of this wonderful educational community, and wish everyone an amazing school year.