SAT10 Assessments begin this week

1st through 5th grade students in Unit 5 began taking the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT 10) this week. In addition to SAT 10, 2nd grade students will also take the Otis Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT).

These are annual assessments for all Unit 5 students that are used to measure student progress over the years.  SAT 10 assesses what students have learned in the areas of reading, mathematics, language arts, science, and social studies.  The OLSAT for 2nd graders is different in that it is designed to measure students' abstract thinking and reasoning ability.  These are the same assessments we have used for a number of years in the district.

You will receive a parent report of your child's achievement on SAT 10 in a couple of months, usually before December.  As always, feel free to post questions and I'll be happy to respond.  :)

Volunteer ID badges are on the way!

The first batch of volunteer badges are ready and will be delivered to Prairieland on Wednesday.   I appreciate everyone's patience with the district as they are setting up this process for the first time.  Once we get through this intitial bulk of volunteers, we expect the badges will come within a week of completing the online application.

Volunteer badges will be delivered to the first school listed on the volunteer application.  In addition to the badges, volunteers will recieve a Handbook, which they will need to sign for upon receipt.

The district's original goal date to have the ID badges back to everyone was Oct. 1.   After that, people are still allowed to sign up, but they will then have to wait until they receive their badge before being allowed to volunteer with children.

We appreciate ALL our volunteers do to help

Miscommunication or Going Green?

I received a question from a parent who was confused about the switch from “Club Night” to “Chess Club sign-up”. They were wondering if this was due to our efforts to be more "green" this year by reducing the amount of papers that come home with kids. It's a great question. The short answer is no, this confusion was not due to an effort to be more green.

First of all, I would like to apologize for any confusion there might have been with switching Club Night to just Chess Club sign-up. That was my fault. I should have sent home a note clarifying the change for parents and posted the information on our website, rather than only making an announcement to students.

Secondly, the reason we made the switch was because we realized that by Sept. 15, nearly all of the clubs had already signed up students, with the exception of Chess Club. Chess Club is by far our largest club and we wanted to make it easy for parents to sign up, so we kept the time slot for them.

To make Club Night more productive next year, I will work with all of the club sponsors to set a date earlier in the year so that this problem won't pop up again.

On a final note, I really appreciate two things related to this:
1) The fact that we have parents who take the time to share concerns with me.
2) Having so many students involved in activities here at Prairieland!

Thanks,
Tim

President Obama’s Speech to Students on Sept. 8

On Tuesday, Sept. 8, President Obama will speak directly to our Nation's children about persisting and succeeding in school. At Prairieland, we have received phone calls and e mails from parents about the upcoming national address from the President. The comments from parents have been both in support of and not in support of their children watching this address.

I have reviewed the suggested lesson activities that the Whitehouse has distributed (http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/lessons/prek-6.pdf) and see nothing about controversial topics such as healthcare, the economy, or any other political hot topic.

I have suggested to our teachers that they preview the address before showing it to their students.  If after viewing it themselves, they may or may not decide to share this message with our children. 

I have told teachers that they have my full support to share this experience with their classes.  I realize that as adults it can be easy to get wrapped up in politics.  In thinking about this, I think back to when I was 8 years old and how I would have responded if the President was speaking to me about doing my best in school.  I believe that would have left a very positive impression on me as a student, and a citizen.  I appreciate the fact that our President is so concerned about our Prairieland Cougars and is taking time to speak directly to them.

Here are two links in case you'd like additional information:

Frequently Asked Questions (http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/academic/bts.html#faqs)
Classroom Activities (Pre-K – 6) (http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/lessons/prek-6.pdf)

As always, I welcome any comments or questions from parents or the Prairieland community at large.

Have a safe and fun-filled Labor Day weekend!