Railcat News

Dear Railcats,

I would like to take this opportunity to discuss something vitally important to your overall educational experience here at Turner, your daily attendance. We all know that there are legitimate reasons that require us to miss the occasional day of school. There have been times that I have had to stay home from school because of an illness or because of some sort of family emergency, and I acknowledge that students are in the same boat. We all get sick from time to time and taking care of ourselves is part of the human condition. So, it is difficult to expect a perfect attendance record from any student.

However, it is also important to realize how our absences negatively impact our education. When I am sick and I miss a day, I cannot consider it as a “day off.” I know that when I return to campus the work on my desk my work will have compounded, and I will have to spend the next few days catching up. I am always amazed at how quickly the work piles up. And its no different for students. When they miss a day of school, it is their responsibility to catch up on what they missed, turn in work assignments that had been collected during their absence and arrange to make up missed exams. It can be hard catching up after having missed just one day. It is much harder to catch up from an extended absence.

There have been many studies done both nationally and internationally about how absences from school can negatively impact school performance. Curious about what the Turner data might look like, we decided to conduct our own informal study. We collected all the attendance and gradebook data for our students at the end of the first term (9-weeks report card). We then sorted our students into three categories based on their 1st term attendance to see how students’ attendance affects their grades (see chart below).

Of course, there are issues with all studies and this one is far from perfect. Given the way we collect Dual Enrollment grades, those data were not readily available, so we chose to exclude them from the study. We also chose not to do any analysis of why each student missed class. For the purposes of this study any time a student missed class (i.e. illness, field trip, UIL competition, etc.) we considered them absent.

So this study isn't exactly perfect or official in any way. But, it is valuable to me because it gives us some excellent information. What I learned from this exercise, and the message that I would like to relate to you, is that one of the very best ways to maintain good grades is to come to school as much as possible, and to be diligent in making up your work on those rare occasions that require you to take a sick day.

I hope you all have a great evening.

Sincerely,

Dr. Bouchard

Congratulations to the Pearland FFA students who competed in the Gulf Coast District LDEs earlier this week!

The chapter earned 127 points, and took home the Gulf Coast District LDE Sweepstakes Award, while advancing 12 teams to the Area competition on November 20th!

Gulf Coast District Results:

Senior Creed Speaking – 1st

Greenhand Skills Demonstration – 1st

Ag Advocacy – 3rd

Ag Issues Forum – 3rd

Public Relations – 1st

Radio Broadcasting – 4th

Senior Chapter Conducting – 1st

Greenhand FFA Quiz – 1st

Senior Skills Demonstration – 1st

Greenhand Chapter Conducting – 2nd

Senior Spanish Creed Speaking – 2nd

Greenhand Creed Speaking – 2nd

Senior FFA Quiz – 1st

Job Interview - 4th

Congratulations to Michelle Moeller (senior) who won 5th place out of over 400 entries in the high school 2D division at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. She received a $2,000 scholarship for her work.

The Balfour Company will be on campus tomorrow speaking during Junior and Senior Class assemblies. The Junior Class will be presented information about purchasing their Class Rings, and Seniors will be given information regarding purchasing their Graduation Caps and Gowns and other graduation supplies.

There will be a student holiday on November 15th, as THS faculty and staff will be participating in a Campus Professional In-service day.

We’re excited to announce that this spring, we will be offering all juniors the chance to take the SAT right here at school – for free! I wanted to share this with you early so that you can make any necessary arrangements, and to help you avoid paying for an SAT that we’ll be providing at no cost.

The SAT is valuable for all students, not just those who know they’re college-bound. Scoring well on the SAT can demonstrate college readiness and may allow students to skip certain entry-level courses once they’re in college. Even for students who aren’t yet sure about their post-high school plans, taking the SAT can be a confidence boost, reminding them that they are capable of success in higher education.

We will proctor the SAT to juniors in late March, 2025. Parents who would prefer that their student not take the SAT will have the opportunity to Opt-out of the exam, but we encourage all of our students to give it a shot and take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.

We hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving Holiday. There will be no school November 25th- November 29th. Enjoy your time off!