Happy Thanksgiving

Well it has been a while since the blog has been updated.  Not because there have been a lack of activity.  I will try to be more efficient as time moves on.

It is hard to believe we are officially at the Thanksgiving break, with school closed for five days.  As always the time has moved fast.

Today we had the annual football game here at Hale.  The 8th grade girls prevailed over the 7th grade in an exciting game.  In the boys game there was a bit of an upset as the Shannon Sarno led 7th grade boys scored a narrow victory of the Kevin Keaveney led 8th grade boys.  Kevin is taking comfort in the fact next year's 8th grade team is already a well oiled machine!  It was a fun day and thanks to the student council for their organization and to all Hale staff for their assistance.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving holiday and I will look forward to seeing everyone after the well deserved break.

Costume Day

It was a school spirit day at Hale, and it was well displayed all morning.  There were some very creative costumes that were displayed.  I admire both the courage and the creativity many of our students exhibited.  Some of our staff members were also very impressive participants.  It was a fun monring for all!

Cross Country Excels!

Tuesday afternoon I had the opportunity to attend the Hale School Cross Country meet.  It was a beautiful late October day and the meet was held at our new course at the Delaney conservation area. 

We have an amazing number of students who have run on both our boys and girls cross country team this year.  They have been very successful this year and it was quickly obvious why.  It was very impressive to see how many student athletes can run 1.8 miles in a very short period of time and look like they took a brief casual stroll through the neighborhood.  I was very impressed with the athletic ability and spirit among the team.  So many kids mentioned to me they could easily run the course again.

I often say that I love the way the school community comes alive through athletics and extra-curricular activities.  It was certainly that was Tuesday as I was amazed by the large number of spectators who were able to view this meet.  It really added to the spirit of the day!

The Many Uses of Data

                I would like to use the blog from time to time to explain some of the educational initiatives we are undertaking here at Hale. 

One of the terms we often hear in society is “data driven decision making”.  Education is certainly a field where this has become a keystone and it something we are dedicated to in the Nashoba Regional School District as a whole.  We believe ii we have good data informing our instructional decisions we are able to be more precise in helping students through their journey to learn.

                Recently we released MCAS scores for all our students and this represents a key piece of data we utilize to inform instruction.  MCAS data is a broad indicator; it shows us where we stand from year to year.  Our teachers at Hale do a magnificent job studying this data, not only to allow us to individualize learning for specific students, but also they reflect upon it to determine changes in the overall instructional approach.  Teachers in each grade and MCAS subject area develop an action plan each year that identifies areas of the MCAS where we underperform and they develop specific strategies around instruction in those areas.

                We also develop and use data that gives us insight into what is happening in the present.  For the first time this year we are using a new program called AIMSweb.  This program utilizes “probes” in Math and ELA to get a baseline on a student’s progress.  All students in the entire school were tested over the last couple of weeks.  We will test students two more times over the school year to evaluate progress.  In addition there are additional “probes” that can be used more often than three times a year with specific students.  We can progress monitor students every couple of weeks.  This approach immediately informs us if instructional techniques are working.   The software provides a myriad of reports that assist staff in progress monitoring at different levels such as individual students, class, grade and entire school.

                The AIMSweb program was piloted by the District the last two years in Lancaster, and has been shown to be a very effective tool in monitoring the effectiveness of instruction.  One of the nice things about this program is the probes are informative, yet they are efficiently administered.  We do not need to sacrifice a lot of class time to be informed!  We are excited to be able add this data set to the resources available to help students be successful at their job of learning.  I will keep you informed as to the success of this program.

Student Council Elections!

My blogging is not as regular as it should be, I apologize.  I hope to improve my frequency and also get some pictures up on the blog of some of the action here at Hale.

Last week we finished our student council election process.   It is a very thorough process that had widespread participation this year with four candidates for president, six for vice president, three for treasurer and two for secretary.  All very well qualified.  Last Tuesday they spoke to the entire school assembly as part of a candidates forum.  They even took questions.  The speeches were very varied in terms of approach and content, but truly all well done.

Last Thursday was election day and the rule was any race that the winner did not obtain a majority of votes would result in a two person run-off.  The vice presidential contest required such a run off on Friday.  At the end of the day Friday the executive board was in place.  The members are:

P.J. Anastas                      President

Sarah Clopeck                  Vice President

Lyndsey Hawkes              Treasurer

Brooke Perisho                 Secretary

Congratulations go to the executive board and all the other candidates.  The level of participation was great.

Thanks to Mr. Keaveney for making it an enjoyable, informative and educational process for all involved!

Well it was an extremely busy week at Hale, with the open house last Thursday night and the first dance of the last Friday night.   Dances are great events as the kids have a lot of fun and it is great to see them at the school relaxing and enjoying themselves.   One goal I have as prinicipal is to perfect, or at least vastly improve, the after dance pick up routine!

I was very pleased with how many people were able to attend the open house last week.  I received a lot of positive feedback from the staff  as to the number of people they were able to talk to.  I hope it was obvious to everyone attending what a vibrant school this is, a great staff and kids who are eager to be an active participant in their education.  I really enjoy being able to be part of it.

Last Friday was an early release day for the students, but the staff was busy at work beginning to analyze the MCAS scores.  We have a multi step process when we do this.  First we look at the overall results and analyze which standards the largest number of students struggled with.  We then reflect upon the curriculum and instruction to see what actions can be taken to help students become proficient in the standards in which we underachieved.  When that work is done we turn to individual student scores and analyze them in depth and develop an individualized improvement plan for any student in the needs improvement or warning levels.  There is a great deal of work that goes into this process from beginning to end.

I know some people have MCAS fatigue, as it has been often mentioned to me.   Although I understand that sentiment, the reality is MCAS is the standard to which we are presently held to as public educators.  What I think is great about the approach in this District is that although our curriculum is aligned with the state standards and therefore should produce positive MCAS results, we do not just teach to the test.  We work hard to assure a full, well rounded learning experience that should be reflected in our students experiencing true learning, while being prepared to meet the MCAS requirements.

A Big Week Ahead at Hale

The fourth week of school at Hale is going to be a busy one.

On Thursday evening our annual back to school night open house will be taking place.  The program begins at 6:30 pm. with a presentation in the auditorium, and is followed with full run through the schedule of classes.  This is an informative night that hopefully as many people as possible will be able to attend.

Friday evening is going to be the first dance of the school year for all grades.  The dance is held in the gym from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.  The cost is $5.00 and it is sponsored by the student council.  It is important to note that attendance at the dance is limited to current Hale students.

MCAS results are being mailed today and should be received later this week.  Overall the performance at Hale was very good.  The new reporting format is informative and I am hopeful you will have a clear idea of the strengths and weaknesses of your child’s answers.  Please feel free to contact us with any questions.

Please continue to suggest any blogging topics of interest to you.