MEAP...So Far So Good.....

Well.....week one of the MEAP is behind us and I'm impressed with the way our kids are attacking the test. In talking to some of our students I really liked what they had to say. Parts were a little tough but I worked through it. I thought it was easy. I gave it my best. All things that I was hoping to hear. One more week to go. Keep doing what you're doing at home....it seems to be working.

E-mail Problems

Those outside the East China School District might not know that we went through a HUGE (I'd write it in bigger letters if I could) technology change over the summer. As a matter of fact we are still in the midst of change (I'm sooooooo happy I don't have our technology department's job). One of the changes has been our e-mail system/server/host (I'd through a few more technology terms in there to try to make me look smart but it would just be a waste of time). Anyway....I just heard from a parent, in a very nice way, that they have been trying to contact a staff member since the second week of school. Four e-mails have been sent with no reply. After a little research we found out that the wrong e-mail address was being used. It wasn't getting kicked back to the parent, so it's out there somewhere....it just isn't here. If you ever have a problem getting in contact with a staff member and it goes on for a few days, don't hesitate to pick up the phone.

MEAP'ing

It just doesn't get any better than this. We've got GREAT kids...and I mean that, but this MEAP testing scares me. If someone is having a bad day, or stayed up late, or is a Wolverine fan...all of those things can effect how they do on this test. Every year we have a handful of kids that fail the MEAP by a question or two. Every year when we look at the test results, the last 20% of the test is the part we do the poorest on. It's not because the MEAP gets tougher as it goes on, it's because the kids lose their focus and give up on the last few questions. Please help by stressing the importance of finishing strong....which applies to life, not just the MEAP It's a speech they are hearing at school....hearing at home will only reinforce it.

DC Survey

Thanks to everyone that filled out this year's Washington DC survey. Some of the results, and a few comments, I've posted on our Washington DC link off of our main webpage. We'll be having a meeting for this year's 7th graders within a month to expalin the trip, costs, etc...

No Posts?

For those of you whose day revolves around reading my Blog, I need to apologize for the lack of entries lately. I've been a tad under the weather...matter of fact, when I went to the doctor's I was diagnosed with a condition that I thought only old people get (pneumonia ?????). Still not sure how that happened. Anyway, things should start to pick up now that I'm back to working a full day (which is tougher than I remember it)

MEAP ....Need Some Help

Every year I plead for help. I plead to our staff, our parents and our students. Please, please, please finish strong. The MEAP is a test that is hard to prepare for. Students aren't used to sitting for a 2 hour block to take a test. If you look at our scores, every year, we do the poorest on the last 20% of the test. It's not because the test is progressive (starts with easy questions and gets tougher as it goes along), it's because the kids get tired/bored. If we can get the kids to take their time and finish the test with the same focus as they start with, our already good scores would be outstanding. Anything you can do to promote this at home would be appreciated.

New Saturday School Procedure

I tried to post this earlier with zero luck but I was able to post it to my (Mr. Alley) webpage. It can be found under Staff Directory/Teacher Web Pages on our main SCMS website. Sorry for all the bouncing back and forth...I have no idea why it would let me post it here (???)