As the weather turns to Fall and the weeks progress, it has been incredibly fun to get to know your students and families.  We have been asked by people how we feel about the start of school… and we are thrilled.  One of the best parts of the days are the little interactions that we have with families when they drop off their children.  We want everyone to start their day off right, and we thank parents for their positive attitudes and supports as we start the school year.

COVID-19

This week, our school, along with others in our district faced their first case of COVID-19.  Immediately upon finding out, our team, in partnership with the Hamilton County Department of Health worked to identify students impacted, contact families, and meet with students.  We want to thank the families impacted for their willingness to work with us, and the trust they put into our school each day.  Our families made a tough situation much better by allowing us to keep the focus on our students.

It is also a stark reminder, that if your child does not feel good, please keep them home and contact their teachers through Microsoft Teams.  We do not want any child to fall behind, but more importantly, we want to keep our children (and staff) safe.  Each of us know there is a risk each day but working together we can minimize this risk as well.  In addition, we encourage families to establish a relationship with a pediatrician if they have not done so. 

Academic Growth

During the week of September 28^th, our students will once again take the MAP test for Reading and Math.  With students returning to school after the summer, alongside students being out of traditional school for over 6 months, it will be normal for students scores to drop a small amount.  Students are encouraged to do their best work as we use this assessment to evaluate how much a student grows over a certain period of time.

Following the week of MAP testing, our teachers (Math & ELA) will meet with students to go over goals for students to see how they have progresses, and what they can work on moving forward to ensure that they are growing academically.

In addition, I am happy to report how proud I am of our students and staff.  Over the past week, I had the opportunity to spend time in each of our classrooms.  Seeing science labs, STEAM projects, new learning, wonderful art, etc.. brings us great joy.  Thank you to our students, parents, and teachers that are working to make this happen.

Virtual Students and Families

At this time, each of our virtual students and families have been contacted by their academic coach and students are making progress on the program.  Overall, students who are engaging and putting in honest time and honest effort are doing pretty well.  Great job to those folks!

We do have some students who are not logging in and putting in the time, and those students are struggling with success within the program.  We will continue to contact and work to assist families in the planning and academic support for these students.  Please remember, like most things, you will get out what you put in.  Meaning that the best plan can be in place, but if the effort is not there then the best plan will fail.  Parents, thank you for your hard work in pushing your students!  It will make all the difference.

Don’t forget, this is the link for students to log their hours for activities inside and outside of the program.  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SwTpvrBsQlmKjVOzsfh4bQ3Rd89z3CudG7urAMI_3_0/copy

In addition, we have had several FAQ’s and our virtual families can go to this link and review the information, we have updated the link to make it easier for families: 

www.southwestschools.org/virtual

Social Growth

It is great to see our Fall Athletics continue to have success.  We have undefeated teams in Volleyball and Football, Boys Cross Country won the Eaton Invitational this past weekend, while Girls placed second in a very difficult course.

Dance Team tryouts took place this week and we want to congratulate those students who made the team.

Students also are starting to earn “Core Value” cards.  They earn these through being an example of our Core Values of Trust, Respect, Ownership, and Leadership.  Each week, teachers are encouraged to give 3-5 out as a reminder to students to continue to live up to these values.  Starting this Friday, we will pull tickets of students who have earned a card.  The winners will receive a gift card from our office.  Thank you to our families for helping us instill these important values into our kids!

Thank You

Thank you again to our families and students for such a great start to the school year.  Thank you for establishing routines with your children and helping them work to be successful students and better people.  We are looking forward to a great week three!