Principal's Weekly Update

I quite intentionally went with the snowfall background this week. After a season so far of snowy dustings, we are primed for our first “real” storm on Sunday. I often find myself conflicted, as a lifelong snow lover who nonetheless wants school to end at a reasonable time in June. I suppose it’s the best possible compromise when the snow falls on a weekend.

We are now just one week away from the annual Crosstown Showdown basketball event, which will take place Saturday, January 25th at Trumbull High School. The boys game tips off at 3:00 followed by the girls game at approximately 4:30. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased online using this link. During the games, our PTA will sell items at a concession stand– they are asking for donations of full sized candy packs, boxes of snack-sized chips and boxes of snack-sized cookies. If you would like to send items to school with your child, there is a donation box in the Main Office. In addition, parents may drop items off with the security guard at any time during the school day Donations will be accepted until Friday, January 24.

Students completed the i-Ready Math test this week. During Wednesday night’s PTA meeting, I took some time to explain how a parent should interpret the scale scores, and I thought I would repeat that in this letter. Based on a student’s score on the Fall administration, the program itself sets both an “annual growth” and a “stretch growth” goal for each student. The annual growth goal is most typically in the range of a 10-12 point improvement by the end of the year. It can be viewed as the “expected growth”, or, what the result should be after a year of grade level math instruction.I mention that, because, if your child’s scale score went up 5 or 6 points, then they are exhibiting the amount of growth which we hope for. What is very exciting to see is that there are students who far exceed their growth goals. Some of you will see that your child went up 20 or more points, which is remarkable improvement. In those cases, students might have also hit the much loftier “stretch goal”, which is meant to be an approximation of a student’s “ceiling”, how high it might be possible for them to reach on the test. Students take great pride in their growth on this test and we look to do our part to praise them for their hard work.

During our Advisory session on Thursday students thought about their favorite brands and then brainstormed how they envision their “personal brand”-- defined as “the way you show up to the world, and how people perceive you”. They learned that such a brand is ‘built on the decisions you make and the way you carry yourself”. Students then had the opportunity to design a piece of merchandise– T-Shirt, hat, sneaker, etc. which might express their brand and capture it with a slogan. Our students demonstrated some real thoughtfulness and creativity while engaging in this exercise.

Our students are in the process of completing a “Student Activity and Engagement” survey. This is something that we have done for several years now. Students provide us with information about the clubs which they participate in, as well as what new clubs they might like to see. We also ask them if they have ever stayed after school for extra help, and whether or not they have received any special recognition from their teachers. You may remember that one of our school goals is to try to do more to recognize the efforts and achievements of our students, ranging from simple, in the moment praise, to more conspicuous recognitions such as “Student of the Month”. As another example of public praise, I will share this link to the Trimester 1 Honor Roll-- (this has also been posted to our website). We will have the students take the survey again just before the end of the year to see how much progress we have made toward our goal of promoting student involvement and celebrating their achievements.

Clubs & Activities:

Eighth graders who are interested in Makerspace, please sign up here. Maker sessions will be held from January 29-31.

The next meeting for Crochet Club will be Monday, January 27th in Room 101.

The next Panther Pals meeting will be Monday, January 27th in Room 109.

Attention 8th Grade NJHS Members: Reminder to bring your TWO toiletry donations to Mrs. Pacelli’s room (227) by Friday, February 7th.

Last week I referenced the main hallway bulletin board which features some of our teacher's New Year's Resolutions. I promised pictures. This week you can see a sampling. I have also decided to share some pictures which portray the service projects which our NJHS students complete as part of their membership requirements. The two rows of pictures are therefore both forward looking and backward looking, sharing the aspirations of our staff and celebrating the community service of our students. In the final photo, you can then see the work of some of our KARE Club students, who were motivated to come out one night to make some blankets for the "Binky Patrol", which will deliver those blankets to those affected by the California wild fires. We are always so proud of the empathy which our students show for others, of their willingness to give of their time and talents to assist those in need. As we head into this three day weekend, many of our teachers have linked this theme of service to the holiday on Monday which celebrates the contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr..I hope that you all enjoy the weekend and of course the snow.

Take care,

Peter Sullivan