March 2023 NSE Mustang Message

Happy March!

Spring is around the corner! We are excited to finish up the third quarter strong. Our students and staff have been working hard to squeeze in as much learning as possible before Spring Break. We are excited to let you know we met many of the goals we set for our Cycle 2 Targeted Improvement Plan! Our third and fourth graders are in line to perform well on the STAAR tests in April and May. Meeting these goals is the result of over three years of hard work from every grade level.

Our attendance has been struggling this year. We are hoping to finish the year strong and have fewer absences. Students need to be in school for at least 90% of the school days. Any more absences than that will have a negative effect on their learning. If you need any support with getting your child to school, please reach out to our counselor, Mrs. Cunningham. Congratulations to the Captains for winning the attendance trophy this grading period. Let's see who will win the next one! Your child can help their team win by being at school every day.

We hope you all have a fun spring break spending time together and making memories.

Sincerely,

Lundy Atkins

NSE Principal

Remember to wear your NSE shirt on Thursdays!

February 29-March 2 Book Fair

March 2 Read Across America & Dr. Suess' Birthday

March 2 Family Night 5:30-7:00

March 6 UIL Academic Competitions

March 10 - Last day for reading BINGO

March 10- Stock show begins. Good luck to the NSE participants!

March 13-17 Spring Break

March 20 School Resumes, Bad weather make up day. (Full Day)

March 20 School Board Meeting 7:00pm

March 22: Easter Pictures HS fundraiser

March 31 Kite day (Families are invited to fly kites!)

Throughout March: TEPLAS Online Reading testing, Listening and Speaking for Grades 2, 3, & 4

April 6- Easter Hunts! Families are invited.

Although we earned a B rating last year, we continue on the improvement plan for an additional year. As in the past, our improvement plan contains four sections called cycles. Three cycles are during the school year, and the fourth is in the summer. Each cycle during the school year has an academic goal. We assess the third and fourth-grade students' academic progress in reading and math. We are excited to report that we met many of the academic goals for the second cycle! Due to our success last year, we set our goals pretty high. Even with the higher goals, we met our goals in reading. We fell a little short of meeting the goal in math, but our cycle 2 scores this year are better than our cycle 2 scores last year.....So all in all we are on track to another year of success!

Our third and fourth graders took the STAAR interim assessments for the second time in February. The results give teachers a predictive score on how students will perform on the STAAR test. The results show what skills the students need to improve their performance on the STAAR test in the spring. A detailed report will be sent home to parents with third and fourth-grade students. Teachers will use the results to work with students on skills they need to improve. If you have any questions about your child's progress, don't hesitate to contact the teacher of that subject. The most important thing parents can do is encourage their child to work hard at school and make sure their child is at school every day unless sick. We learn a lot each school day.

We will take a STAAR Benchmarks Assessment at the end of March for reading and in April for math. Each third and fourth grader has set a goal using their second interim score and chart it in their data folder. They will work with their teacher to improve their reading and math skills to meet their goals. We are so very proud of the work they have done so far!

What is Courage?

Courage is the ability and strength to face something that may be difficult or challenging. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather perseverance in the presence of fear and the willingness to stand up for what is right or to try something new even though it may be uncomfortable or uncertain.

Why focus on Courage?

• Courage encourages engagement. Courage helps students raise their hand, participate, try new things, and voice their opinions.
• Courage builds self-confidence. Courage is the choice to act. By doing something, students increase their belief in themselves and their ability to do difficult or challenging things.
• Courage can help reframe a negative. When something does not go as planned or a student gets upset about a mistake or failure, courage can help reframe the event in a positive light.

Courage in Action:

• Provide leadership opportunities. Students can learn and demonstrate leadership by teaching and mentoring others, classroom roles and responsibilities, or community outreach.
• Encourage discussion and debate. Foster curiosity and empower students to formulate ideas and engage in respectful discourse and conversations.
• Celebrate failures. Create opportunities to reduce fear of failure and celebrate when students try something new, even if they are not successful the first time.

Email: atkinsl@nixonsmiley.net
Website: www.nixonsmiley.net
Phone: 830-582-1536
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nixon-Smiley-CISD-Home-of-the-Mustangs--264506510244649/?ref=br_rs
Twitter: @NixonSmileyEL