Preparing for the ACT - College Readiness Standards

As students prepare for success after high school, one thing that is essential is some sort of post-secondary training.  As a gauge of a student's readiness, the State of Michigan requires all students to take the Michigan Merit Exam (MME).  This test is administered in March of a student's 11th grade year.  There is really no way through all of the MME tests to see growth over time because it is just a "snapshot" in 11th grade.  However, a part of the MME is administration of the ACT.  The ACT has been around for many, many years as a college entrance exam.  The creators of ACT have established College Readiness Standards that correlate to success in college and the student scores.  

The folks at ACT have also developed tests that can be used in lower grades.  These tests are based on the College Readiness Standards so, if they are administered in lower grades,there is an opportunity to show growth over time.  Shepherd High School and Middle School administer these test.  The 7th and 8th grades will take the EXPLORE, and 9th and 10th grade students will take the PLAN.  The data from these assessments can help identify instructional and skill gaps. 

The links below are very helpful to show the standard and how they relate to a student's score.  They can also help identify what skills need to be improved to make improvements on the tests.

Mathematics College Readiness Standards

Science College Readiness Standards

English College Readiness Standards

Reading College Readiness Standards

Writing College Readiness Standards

Health Safety Alert - Snorting Kool-Aid

We had a brief issue this year with a potential health request.  Some alert teachers noticed students "making deals" with quarters and Kool Aid.  The transaction smacked of a drug deal - but for Kool Aid?  We quickly did a little research to see why students might do this.  We found that indeed there was an issue with students snorting Kool Aid.  There were several articles.  To see one of the articles, click here.  It is very interesting.  What kids will do!

Though there doesn't seem to be much of a "high" for the students, there are some serious health risks.  One is that snorting the powder puts a solid substance or crystal into the respiratory system, which is designed for gases or vapors.  Even smoke is a gas, not a solid.  Additionally, there were reports that the sugary crystals get caught in the nasal passage and while people sleep, flies enter the nasal passage (attracted  by the sugar) and lay eggs, leaving larvae to grow in the individual's nasal passage.

Though this is a concern by itself, the activity of trying to get a "high" is maybe more of a concern.  Why would a student seek this "high"?  It they don't get the feeling they want, will they try some other substance or activity?  There can be much bigger issues in the future from this behavior.

So, if you are a student reading this, please consider the harm that you may be doing to yourself and talk to someone, like a school counselor or teacher, about any struggle you may be having.

Power School Parent Access Setup

Power School Parent Access Setup

Power School allows parents to have a single personal log-in for all of their students.  In the past, parents had to have a separate log-in and password for each student.  The link below is a tutorial on how to set up the parent access.  The tutorial walks you through the entire process and is very good.  It is under five minutes, but will give you all that you need to set up this access.  If you have difficulty, please contact the office for assistance. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yk9UBBJ4BP8

Parental Involvement with Homework - Repost

I published this post about a year and a half ago, but I thought it was appropriate to share it again at the beginning of this year.  There are new students to the high school and new people may view the blog.

A friend of mine recently sent me an article on the importance of parental support when it comes to the academic success of the students.  The article contained many good points, but what I want to share is a simple list of "10 Ways to Help Your Kids With Their Homework."  I don't want to steal from the author of these suggestions so I will provide the link rather than copying them in this blog, but I would encourage you to look at the 10 suggestions.  They may not all be practical for your situation, but how can you use this information to maximize your student's success?  I hope you find this link helpful!

Click here for - "10 Ways to Help Your Kids With Their Homework"

Settling In

It has been a few weeks and things are starting to settle into a routine.  This is a good time for parents to do a quick check on student grades.  We have been having some trouble with our parent access to Power School, but a quick email to the teachers and you can get a progress report.  You can also ask your student about his/her grade. They can sign into their account so you can check on progress.  It is important to know progress at this point before they get too far behind and it becomes very difficult to pull the grades back up.  Parental support and accountability is a critical factor to student success!  

Shepherd Alumni and a Current Students Take the Trip of a Lifetime

I recently received an email from a former student and Shepherd High School Alumnus, from the class of 2001.  He shared with me information about a trip members of his family were planning in recognition of his grandfather's 90th birthday.  His email was a testament to his grandfather's sacrifice during WWII and description of a wonderful trip that some of his family will take to celebrate this special birthday.

The student is Derick Brumley and with his permission I am sharing his information with you.  

"...On October 21st, 2012, my Grandfather, John Priest (a graduate of Shepherd in 1941), will be turning 90 years old. To help celebrate this important milestone, the family has begun preparations to return him to Europe from September 24th – October 9th, for the first time since the end of WWII in 1945; that’s 67 years! Once there, he’ll retrace the footsteps of his battalion, the 1277th Combat Engineers, 1st Platoon, 3rd Squad of C Company.

Joined by his son, Kenneth Priest (a graduate of Shepherd in 1967), two grandsons, Kevin Priest and Derick

 Brumley (a graduate of Shepherd in 2001), and one great grandson, Walker Priest (current student at Shepherd), our party will fly across the pond on September 24, 2012. Another grandson, Kirk Priest, currently living in Berlin, Germany will meet us in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Over the course of two weeks, we will roughly follow the path that Grandfather and the other soldiers took across France, Germany and Austria in 1944/45.

We've created a blog for family and friends to follow us virtually on this trip of a lifetime (http://johnrpriest.tumblr.com/) and we're also in the process of working with the Morning Sun for a story. 

It is a unique opportunity for my family and to honor the sacrifices that he and so many others made. I know Grandfather has participated in the veterans ceremonies at Shepherd in the past (since Taylor and Walker Priest are current students) and maybe this veterans day will be a unique opportunity for him to be involved again. If anything else, I just wanted to let you know because I believe it is another small testament to the caliber of students that come from Shepherd..."

Derick is correct.  There is a tremendous number of high quality and high caliber students who come through Shepherd Schools.  I am proud to be alumni as well as acting principal.  I hope many of you will follow this trip at the link provided.  Thanks, Derick!

First Day

The first thing we did today was have a welcome assembly.  As the students were filing into the auditorium, I commented to one of the teachers that it was amazing we were starting a new school year.  It seemed like such a short time ago that we were telling the students to have a good summer.  The rest of the day was spent going to each of the classes that were shortened due to the half day.  The day went very smoothly and it was good to get back in the swing of things.  Welcome back Jays!