7th Grade DC Parents

For those of you that haven't signed up for the Texas Hold'em fundraiser, the deadline is this Friday. It's a very easy way to defray some of the costs. If you're like me, the sign up sheet very well could be under a stack of papers on the counter. Please fill it out and send it in to the office. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, ask your child where the info sheet is that they were supposed to give you. I've also put it on our main SCMS webpage...click on the Washington DC link. Any questions, don't hesitate to give me a call.

For Those That Don't Get the Newsletter

Here is part of what I wrote in the current Newsletter. Sort of a re-cap of the year. Wow…this year has flown by. Hard to believe that it’s May already. It won’t be long and this year will be in the rear view mirror (but if any students are reading this, all of our school rules still apply right up to 11:48 on June 12th). In September I asked the eighth graders to be leaders. I explain that the success of our year will be determined by them. They have done an outstanding job setting the tone of the building. That’s not to say that we didn’t have a few bumps along the way but all in all, it’s been a great year. For our eighth grade parents I’d like to take a moment to wish you and your student all the best in the next four years. You’ve done a great job so far raising your child and even though they might at times say and act like they don’t need your help, the next four years are critical as they will be faced with many challenging choices. Making sure that they hear (over and over) that every choice has consequences…some good and some bad….will pay dividends as they cross the stage in four years and head out into the real world. For my seventh grade parents, next year I will be expecting even more from your student. They will be my leaders of the school. How they except that leadership role will determine how much more grey hair I have at this time next year. For my sixth grade parents, the transition to adulthood will continue. Your student will be given more opportunities to fall and learn from their mistakes. It’s painful as a parent, but sometimes learning from failing is the best learning. I’m already looking forward to next year.

Math Clarification

For those of you that were at the incoming 6th grade parent meeting last night, this post has to do with the question of math credits at the high school. If you weren't at the meeting, stop reading now...it'll just confuse you. Here is my answer. As a Mathematics major and a former instructor of math, every student should take math for all four years of high school, whether you took Algebra I in 8th grade or not. If you were given the opportunity to take a year off, when would you take it? The state mandates that you take a math class your Senior year. Not taking math as a Freshman seems silly (you'd forget or lose the momentum you had from middle school). Do you want to take off a year as a Sophomore or Junior right before the MME's? Sooooooo, my answer is, regardless if I was right or wrong with what the requirements are at SCHS, take the four years of math. (How was that for a roundabout, politically correct way of saying something without saying who was right and who was wrong)

6th Grade Orientation Parent Meeting

Thanks to everyone that was able to make it to the parent meeting last night. Hopefully it answered a few questions. Raise your hand if you found the meeting helpful (OK...put your hand down, no one can see you. That was a test). We have been dealt a pretty good hand here at SCMS and one of the reasons that we have a good thing going is because of the communication bridges we've been able to build. If at any time you have any question or concern, please don't hesitate to shoot me an e-mail, pick up the phone or stop in. My door is always open. On a separate note.....had a question regarding high school math credits. I'm still hunting down the correct answer. As soon as I get a 100%, this is the way it is answer, I'll post it on this Blog. Thanks for having great kids...looking forward to the next three years.

Typical Dress Code Conversation

If you've read many of these Blogs or my newsletter or listened to me speak, then you know I hate dealing with the dress code. Being an older (some would say much older) and larger male, puts me in a bad spot in talking to young females about our dress code. Here is a conversation I just had with an 8th grade girl at lunch. She was walking by me with some rather large holes in her jeans. Me "Kiddo....come here for a second" Student "Sure...whatz up?" Me "I'm not sure those pants are appropriate for school" Student (shocked look on her face) "why????" Me "can you reach down and touch skin?" Student reaching down(even with crocodile arms) "well....sort of" (her hands went all the way past one of the larger holes) Me "Then you can't wear them to school" Student with a slight smirk on her face "ok......" as she is walking away Me, noticing that her shirt has slits in the back, "hey....come on back here" Student, turning back around and walk back "yes?" Me "that shirt isn't school appropriate either" Student "why not????" Me "does it have slits in the back?" Student...smirk returning to her face "yes...." Me "then you can't wear it to school......but I do like your shoes...they're ok to wear again" This is only going to get worse as the weather gets warmer.....

6th Grade/Half Day Confusion

Gotten a few phone calls from our 6th grade parents about our upcoming half days....Here is what's happening. As I hope you’ve heard, tomorrow, Wednesday May 2nd, is our annual 5th Grade Orientation. Because of that, current 6th graders will be dismissed at 11:30. It just so happens that we also have a district wide Professional Development Day on Thursday, May 3rd. All students will be dismissed at 11:48. That’s two half days in a row for our 6th graders. Sorry for any confusion that this may have caused.

7th Grade Scheduling

As you probably have heard, there is a boat load of graduation requirements that are mandated by the State. One of those requirements is that you must have two years of a foreign language. We offer the exact same Spanish I that is offered at SCHS. Same course, same exams, same class. It counts as one of the required years and this coming year (for the first time) the student's grade will count toward their high school GPA. If at all possible....do your child a favor and sign them up for Spanish in 8th grade. I know there are some other things to consider. Maybe you want them to have French (the other option at SCHS), maybe you feel that they aren't quite mature enough yet to handle a very rigorous class. But if at all possible, taking this class at SCMS helps to open up their schedule (a little) once they get to SCHS. Talk it over with your child, but again....if at all possible, taking it now will help in the long run.