Operation Homework a Success

As I stated in an earlier post we tried sometime a little different in an attempt to get missing work turned in. After attendance I had every student with any missing assignments report to the cafeteria where they got to spend time with me until all their missing work was completed. The majority of students were back to class fairly quickly after finishing (finding) an assignment or two that hadn't been turned in yet. All in all we had over 400 missing assignments turned in by the end of the day. The down side is that the staff didn't get those assignments until the end of the day so I'm sure that they won't show up on Parent Connect as being turn in until we get back from break. Great Job to our students for getting caught up.

It was a good day....

SCMS Students and Families....Amazing

As everyone knows, we have a number of families in the community that have been hit hard with the current economic climate. We asked our school family to help out with a few very worthy causes. Toys for Tots, coats for Kids in Distress and the Annual Pat LaCroix Food Drive were three charity activities that SCMS were involved with. Once again the generosity of our students, staff and their families was nothing short or amazing. A huge thank you to everyone involved especially our NJHS and our Student Council. Great Job.

Great Time of Year

One of the advantages of having experiences (I was trying to find a witty way of saying being old) is that you get to reflect on those experiences. I was talking to a younger friend of mine the other day and they were mentioning how much fun they were having with their young child. The reason I bring this up is that if you're reading this, chances are that you have children that live at home. Take a minute or two to reflect and enjoy this time of your life. I can most definitely tell you, from my experience, that this time in your life will be gone in a heart beat.

Tis the season to enjoy what you have and make sure everyone knows how lucky you are to have it.

Happy Holidays.

Student Anti-Bullying Committee

The response to our Student Anti-Bullying Committee has been outstanding. Phase two of this process is to have the students that signed up for the committee pick up a permission slip in the office to bring home to be filled out (both sides) and signed. I could not be happier with how this is coming together.

Missing Homework Thought

Had another idea to help cut down on zeros(I have a lot of ideas). Next Friday, the day before break, my thought is to have every student that has any missing assignments report to me in the cafeteria. Once they finish their missing work they report back to class. If it takes 20 minutes...great, if it takes all of first hour....great, if it takes all day, then it takes all day. For any student that is having a test or classroom assessment on Friday, they will released to that class and then report back to me when that class is over. I announced this plan today in hopes that everyone will clean up all missing work by next week. Any encouragement you can give them at home would be appreciated.

Facebook Thoughts

Had a staff member overhear a few students mention that their parents had "friended" them so they could keep an eye on what they were doing on Facebook (good idea). The students then shifted the conversation to tell each other that they now can see what their parents are posting (could be a bad idea). Keeping an eye on what your child is doing on the Internet is a must but please be very careful "friending" a young adult (aka kid). You could be opening up yourself to problems.

No Bullying Update

I could not be happier with the progress we're making and the direction we're heading. Our No Bullying Committee has done a great job is putting together our thoughts and moving toward a No Bullying Week January 10th - 14th. During that week we'll have activities each day that will focus on what are different types of bullying, how to handle it, what to do and how we can be part of the solution. As part of our committee we are also including a Student Anti-Bullying component. I announced the sign up sheet is in the office yesterday and I could not be happier with the response. The sign up sheet will be available until Friday for any student that is interested.

This is going to be good thing....

Borders Give Away

On Dec. 4 and Dec. 5, any Borders customer making an in-store purchase, whether of a book or a bagel or a latte, will receive a $15 gift card to donate to a public school of choice through DonorsChoose.org, an Internet-based charity. It's hard to beat free. If you happen to be out and about this weekend, this sounds like a pretty good deal.

For more information visit the site below:

http://tweentribune.com/borders