Congratulations to all of our Honor Roll students for the first quarter! We are very proud of their efforts. The October Students of the Month will receive their certificates on Friday, Nov. 7th.
Parent-Teacher conferences have been scheduled. We make every effort to give you your first or second choice. Your time sheet will be in the Friday folder.
Don’t forget the annual school auction on Saturday, November 8th. It is always a great time and is so important in raising funds for the school. The auction is the biggest fundraiser for the school and parish. Thanks to all who are working so hard to make this a profitable evening.
The annual pie sale special is here just in time for Thanksgiving. Next week’s folder will have a Market Day order form and an important notice about the pie sales. Our goal is to sell at least 100 pies. (The internet is a convenient way to order and pay your total in advance. That makes pick-up a breeze.)
Thanks to all of our students who participated in Red Ribbon Week. We held a special rosary service last Tuesday. Thanks to Mrs. Phetsadasack and Mrs. Jenifer Lohman for helping to make it a moving experience. We hold four rosary services a year. The next one will be in Advent. You are always welcome to join us.
KUDOS to: Red Ribbon Week participants.
Please see the next page for COMMON CORE #2
COMMON CORE #2
There are so many misconceptions and confusing data about what is Common Core. It has become more confusing as it has become a political issue in this election year. There are also parts that are specific to public schools that have no effect on our school.
The Common Core standards are just that- stated objectives for specific subjects at every grade level. We have always met the state standards to gain our current Recognition status by the State Board of Education. Whenever possible, we strive to exceed the required standard.
The textbooks, teaching methods, materials, and peripherals compose the curriculum of a subject. We use these to achieve the standard. Since our textbooks are older, we have to supplement them in order to align with the new standards.
Our current Reading/English series is aligned with the Common Core standards in most cases. You will see very little difference from previous years. The Science standards are not yet in practice and there are no changes in Social Studies. (We follow the diocesan Religion guidelines, since the state does not issue standards.)
The biggest change is the Math series. Our current Saxon series is not aligned, especially in grades 4- Algebra. We chose to use EngageNY as a supplement to cover the standards until we can get a suitable new series. I did not want to order new textbooks that may have been hastily prepared. We will be studying new series in the near future. Our goals are to find a Math series that is aligned, has been tested, and can be electronically loaded.
Your student may be challenged and even struggle at times. That would be normal, since the standards have become more rigorous. In addition, the standards have now focused more emphasis on how numbers function. Rote memorization is still required, but to a lesser extent.
If your student does poorly on a specific assignment, don’t panic. Our teachers are now required to teach the subject until a student achieves mastery and understanding. You may not recognize the method on the homework. Encourage your student to keep trying on their own. If they don’t understand, there is a good chance that other students don’t either. In that case, the teacher will reinstruct.
I have reviewed the grades from the first quarter. Overall, our K- Algebra Math scores are higher than in previous years. Historically, our first quarter scores are higher, since there has been a lot of review work. This year there have been more new concepts introduced. We are monitoring the Math program carefully as part of our research for acquiring a new series.
NEXT WEEK: Misconceptions about Common Core and the Reasons for Opposition