Sunday, January 27, 2013

Week of 27 January

Good Evening,

I hope you enjoyed your long weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed my weekend, but I will confess...I spent a lot of time sleeping! I find I need a few extra hours of sleep on the weekends so I can keep up with your kids through the week! I love it!

Although it is difficult for me...I will require myself to write in bullet points as I know you receive lots of information in the course of a day so it is best to just get to the point...


  • Teachers are working on report cards this week so Power School will be down for the week. 
  • Students were sent their second semester schedule on Wednesday and they received an email over the weekend explaining the change of schedule request process. I know this may be frustrating for you as a parent, but our goal is to create opportunity for the students to be active participants in their own learning activities...this is why information of this type is sent directly to students. I understand, as a parent, students do not always share such information with us...I will do my best to supply you with the right questions to ask! Sometimes we parents need to stick together....so, ask your child about their schedule for second semester and ask them about the schedule change process. 
  • Encourage your child to bring lots of books to read on Thursday as the NJHS will be sponsoring a full afternoon of reading and reading activities on Thursday. One can never do enough reading nor have enough time for reading!
  • Session 3 After School Activity information will be sent to students this weekend. Sign ups will be Feb 3-7 and session dates are as follows: Feb 10, 19, 24, Mar 3, 10, Apr 7, 24
  • Thank you again for your support regarding our changes to lunch time expectations. It is great to see so many students outside running around now instead of sitting in front of a computer!
On a personal/professional note...I want to encourage you to communicate with me when you have a concern about your child's learning. I worry about parents feeling like they cannot express a concern, I get it,  but please know I welcome communication about your concerns. We are in this together...we, as parents and educators, both want the same thing..what is best for your child...so I truly hope you feel comfortable communicating when you have a concern. We may not always agree, but I do believe in assuming goodness...we, parents and school, are striving for what is good for your student.

And, if I may be selfish for a moment...today I had the privilege of witnessing a shy student speak up for herself for the first time, a student who took initiative with his own learning, a student who took a risk and asked a question, and a whole bunch of students who smiled at me and said, "hello"--a big deal when we are dealing with teenagers on a Sunday morning!  I don't mind saying, I have the greatest job!

Have a good evening,
Rhonda Isley
MS Principal


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