Principal's Message - November 2009
The first marking period has ended, the weather is turning around and the kids are very excited to know that the holiday season will be here soon. We continue to see tremendous successes happening each day around the building. Our overall academic performance is improving; students are demonstrating much more self-confidence which leads us to believe that their self-esteem has also improved.
Continue to use Power School to keep track of your child’s progress. If you have forgotten your username and password, call the office and we will be glad to give you another. Go to the Mancelona Public Schools website; find the Power School icon and input your username and password – it’s that easy!
Character Education is underway and the Caught Red Handed program has already identified several students for exemplary achievement. The process of identifying students has improved and our sincere hope is that we continue to see the high level of character being shown by our students. Other positive behavior support programs that we are continuing from last year include: Kudos 4 Kids and the Ironmen Challenge. In addition, we thought we would add yet another way to acknowledge our students. We will be starting a new program called Principal’s Student of the Month.
Kudos 4 Kids will recognize students for some of the more obscure areas that often go unnoticed. For example: Zero Tardies, Perfect Attendance and Outstanding Citizenship. Students will be asked to come to the RTC where they will be presented with a certificate of accomplishment and a small token of our appreciated.
The Ironmen Challenge will follow the same guidelines as last year. The idea is to offer a positive incentive for students to read for pleasure; and, to select specific reading materials that indicate a growing interest in the classics. Donna Jones is again running this program. Feel free to contact her anytime to ask questions. If you have a child who enjoys reading OR you are a parent who would like your child to increase their interest in reading – this program is a wonderful way to start!
The Principal’s Student of the Month will be decided by the Principal. I will talk with staff members to get some ideas and then I will choose a student who I have witnessed showing exceptional school spirit. This does not mean dressing up in school colors. I am looking for those students who love their school and find ways to make life at the Middle School just a little nicer. Some of the things you can do include coming to extra curricular events, joining after school activities, helping staff members with specific duties to improve the school and so on.
Parent-teacher Conferences were a wonderful success! We have collected the Parent Surveys and will post the results once they are tallied. If you were unable to meet with your child’s teacher, or would like additional time to discuss an important topic – call the school and we can set another day and time for you to meet.
We are still looking for parent volunteers to take a more active role here at the Middle School. If you would like to volunteer, but are not quite sure of the commitment or work that needs to be done, please contact Amy Derrer (extension 208) as she is the coordinator and will be able to answer all your questions.
Sincerely,
