As we dive into the second semester, we are excited about the academic journey ahead for our students. Academic success is a shared endeavor, and your support is pivotal. We encourage you to foster a love for learning at home by encouraging your child to read every night. This simple yet powerful habit enhances their language skills and comprehension.  Every student should be spending time every night working on school work or reading.  This simple step will really increase our student’s academic success and growth.

Our team will continue to work with our families and send out notifications every two weeks if their child has an “F” in Progressbook.  If a student is earning an “F” in nearly every case it is a result of students not turning in their work or not completing their work.  Again, please set the standard as students come home from school today that they should be spending time on school work (and if they do not have any) they should be spending some time reading.

If you have concerns about your child not getting off to a good academic start, please reach our directly to your child’s teacher or to our guidance office, they are readily available to assist you and provide supports!

In the coming weeks, our students will be participating in MAP testing. These assessments provide valuable insights into their academic progress. It's essential that each student gives their best effort during this time. Our leadership team met with each student this morning and focused on “showing up and showing out” when it is time to show what they know.  The best way that we have to measure our students Academic Success is through MAP testing (which is measuring growth) and during State Testing (which is measuring achievement).  For so many, it is a great reminder that our students will be competing for jobs, scholarships, college acceptance, etc… each of which success is based on hard work, growth and achievement!

During our meetings with our students, we emphasized key points crucial for a positive school environment. These include the importance of giving their best effort in all endeavors, refraining from the use of racial language including the term “monkey” the use of the “n-word”, “beaner”, “faget”, etc….  For whatever reason, this continues to be an issue with students.  Students who use this language will be disciplined via suspension on the first offense, and with a suspension and recommendation for expulsion during the second offense.  This has been made crystal clear to students in our meetings this morning.  In addition, taking pride in our school by keeping facilities clean, and refraining from vandalism in the school.  During the month of December, this was an issue in our restrooms.  Students participating in vandalism will also be met with serious discipline. Quite simply, our core value of respect is imperative to our students adhering to our mission of Academic and Social Growth for ALL students every day.

We appreciate your continued partnership in fostering a positive and enriching educational experience for your child. Together, we can make the second semester a rewarding period of growth and achievement.

Best regards,

Christian Tracy

Harrison Junior School