Happy Fri-yay parents and guardians. I cannot compliment everyone enough for the way they worked through the extreme heat this week. The incredible perseverance of our students was put on display and they not only survived, but thrived this week in the face of less than optimal conditions. I also appreciate the staff and community’s response to support students throughout the week. Our students and staff turned into heat-resistant heroes, conquering odd schedules and room changes like true champions…and completed benchmark testing to boot! Their grit was so palpable, that I’m surprised the air conditioning didn’t start clapping.
Here’s to a week of blazing determination and proving that even in the face of heat, Thompson stays cool - metaphorically of course.
You know, raising a middle schooler is a lot like the weather. You have a baseline of what to expect on a daily basis, based on the time of year and the forecast, but sometimes the weather has other plans. I find the same thing commonly happens in the morning at the Clark household with my 8th grade daughter. Things can be humming along beautifully when all of sudden we get a flash flood or a hail storm (both of which I’d rather sit through than experience the wrath of my 13 year old).
Safety Day-Thursday, August 31st
Students will be going through a Safety Day next Thursday to exercise preparedness for unforeseen circumstances. On Thursday students will practice:
1st Period - Evacuate Drill
2nd Period - Lockdown Drill
7th Period - Shelter Drill
Last spring District 303 adopted new emergency response protocols to help streamline terms and action steps. This new Standard Response Protocol (SRP) is designed to provide consistent, clear, shared language and actions among all students, staff and first responders. The SRP comes from the I Love U Guys Foundation, a trusted brand for several area school districts which has the support of the St. Charles Police Department and other local emergency response agencies. In summary, the protocols are as follows:
HOLD-in-place and teach: Medical issue or escalating student
SECURE building and teach: Outside police activity or perceived danger
LOCKDOWN: Inside active shooter or aggressor
EVACUATE: Fire alarm, gas leak or other interior concerns
SHELTER: Tornado, severe weather or hazmat situation
ThinkCERCA Writing Benchmark
Dear Families of Middle School Language Arts Students,
In an effort to support student learning in the area of written expression, students will take ThinkCERCA, an online writing assessment and intervention, to provide a Benchmark Assessment three times a year at both middle schools.
Student data and feedback will be shared with students to set goals for learning during the school year. The writing information will also help teachers plan instruction to support student growth and achievement.
The assessment consists of two 30 minute sessions in which students read a text, answer multiple choice questions, and complete a written response to a provided prompt. The first benchmark assessment will be administered in your student’s Language Arts class and is scheduled during the window August 28 - August 31.
Thank you for your continued support.
