Ms. Beal and Mrs. Miller's advisory classes were the winners of the survey contest! They will have a donut and juice party on Thursday, December 20th to celebrate their hard work in returning the most parent surveys.
All students did a great job--we had 53% of parents fill out a survey either online or a paper version and therefore achieved the goal of having at least 50% of parents fill out a survey.
There is still time to fill out a survey, if you haven't done so already. The deadline has been extended to January 28th, 2013. Students whose parent/guardian fills out a survey will be entered into a drawing to win a GEAR UP flash drive wristband. The drawing will take place on Tuesday, January 29th. Good luck to all students and a big thank you to all the parents!
Instructions on filling out the online survey are here.
Due to recent events in Newtown, Connecticut, parents may be wondering how to talk to their children about this tragedy. The American School Counselor Association has compiled a number of resources which can be found here.
A requirement of the GEAR UP grant is to have 50% of all 7th and 8th grade parents complete a survey. The survey can either be taken online or in a paper version. There is a paper version being mailed home with the newsletter.
In order to encourage parents/guardians to complete the survey by Tuesday, December 18th, 2012, the two advisories who have the most parents/guardians complete the surveys will have a donut party on Thursday, December 20th.
To fill out the online survey, here are the steps to complete it:
1. Go to the website:
http://praed.net/mt_parent/
2. The username is your son/daughter’s last name.
3. The password is your son/daughter’s date of birth. For example, July 1, 2000 would be typed in as: 07012000
If you prefer to complete the paper survey, simply fill out the enclosed survey and either drop it off at the school, or have your child bring it to school and give to his/her advisory teacher. Please make sure your son/daughter’s name is on the survey.
Thank you for your cooperation and for taking the time to fill out a survey!
On Thursday, January 10th, 2013, all of Troy’s junior high students will go to Kalispell to visit Flathead Valley Community College.
College visits are a vital part of the GEAR UP program because it exposes students to a college campus at a young age, gives them time to ask questions of college admissions employees, and introduces them to current college students.
Our students will learn about the options to attend college close to home and learn that a college education is affordable and vital to succeeding in today’s world. By learning about the diverse programs available to them, students will gain confidence that their futures are bright and open to the many possibilities awaiting them.
As for the immediate results after a college visit, students will be more educated about college and financial aid options and see the link between doing well in school now in order to be able to continue their education in the future.
On Thursday, December 6th, Mr. Palmer and Ms. Davis spoke to all the 8th graders about their individual EXPLORE results. All 8th grade students took the EXPLORE assessment on October 10th. The EXPLORE test is a test similar to the ACT and is provided to our students by GEAR UP.
All students received a personalized score report, a booklet titled “Using your EXPLORE Results,” and the test booklet they used to take the EXPLORE.
Looking at the students’ EXPLORE results helps answer three important questions for each student:
1. Where do I stand right now?
2. What are my plans and goals after high school?
3. Am I on track for college?
On the front of the personalized score report, there are five main scores reported: Composite Score, English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science. In the box below that one and to the right, there is a box that shows whether or not the student is college ready. The EXPLORE benchmark score is in the purple line and depending on which box is checked, you can tell whether or not the student is below, at, or above the benchmark.
The bottom of the page shows which careers the student may be interested in based on his/her responses to an interest inventory.
The back of the sheet tells which was the right answer for the question and which one the student answered. Students were given the test booklets so they can go back and look at the correct answers. Skills the student may need to improve upon are listed on the right side of the back page.
Parents will have the opportunity to attend a workshop during second semester on interpreting these scores. Mr. Palmer and Ms. Davis will work with students in more depth about this assessment as the year continues.
The rules for the National Geographic Bee are different from a spelling bee, so here is a brief summary of the rules:
· The Preliminary Round is for up to 35 students. There are 7 rounds and in every round, each student is asked a question (most questions give the students two choices for the answer). At the end of 7 rounds, the students with the most points move onto the Final Competition. So, students are not eliminated after a wrong response but instead participate throughout all 7 rounds.
· The Final Competition is for up to 10 students (there are tiebreaker questions at the end of the Preliminary Round if there is a tie). Students answer questions until they answer two incorrectly at which time they are eliminated. When only one student remains, that winning student receives a medal and will take a written test at a later date to qualify for the State National Geographic Bee.
If you are a student interested in participating, either speak to your teacher or to Ms. Davis to get access to some resources. Parents and guardians—you can help your student revise at home using atlases and maps or the National Geographic Bee website or geography games on this website. Or you can contact Ms. Davis for some other ideas on how to prepare.
The location and time of the Bee will be set once we know how many students have signed up. Parents and family members are welcome to attend!
