Caroline Newman, Class of 2004, has been awarded the 2012 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA)/Arthur Ashe Jr. Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship.
http://www.news-record.com/node/144501
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Electives Selection
This afternoon we had our electives pitch. The selection sheet can found at the link below:
Electives Choice Sheet, Trimester One, 2012-2013
Electives Choice Sheet, Trimester One, 2012-2013
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Mindset List
What a fascinating idea! This is, technically, the same generation that our middle school students are a part of so it is worth the time to peruse the list and see what it says. Besides, it's a pretty entertaining list! A sample:
5. If they miss The Daily Show, they can always get their news on YouTube.
9. They have never seen an airplane ‘‘ticket.’’
18. Their folks have never gazed with pride on a new set of bound encyclopedias on the bookshelf.
67. Chronic fatigue syndrome has always been officially recognized with clinical guidelines.
73. Lou Gehrig’s record for most consecutive baseball games played has never stood in their lifetimes.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
6th Grade Orientation Presentation and Notes
INTRO SLIDE
Hello! and welcome to the middle school. Over the next 45 minutes we will be throwing a lot of information your way. Some of you are middle school veterans, others are embarking on this stage for the first time.
We think we have something for everybody today. I’ll start by explaining what you can expect from your child in general during the middle school years, move into how we believe Canterbury's middle school best serves your child during those years, and end by highlighting some of what we have in place to accomplish our vision of what a great middle school child looks like at the end of 8th grade.
Next, Justin Zappia, our Athletic Director, will touch on Canterbury Athletics, and Kathy Durham, our Director of Student Life, will outline some of the nuts and bolts of the day-to-day Canterbury middle school experience. We’ll end with some time for your questions.
So let's begin:
SLIDE 2 (based on Developmental Designs research)
Adolescents undergo more growth during their middle school years than at any other point in their lives. Your child's adolescence will dictate their (and your) middle school experience. Essentially, their life will be defined by four goals during this time:
- Separate from the adults,
- Develop strong peer relationships,
- Find their identity, and
- Have adults sign off on who they want to become.
The most important thing we as the adults in their lives can do is understand where they are developmentally, meet them there, and create structures that will help accomplish these four goals in safe and healthy ways.
VIDEO: Ryan’s First Day in Middle School
Adolescent growth happens across three facets: physical, social-emotional, and intellectual
Physical
- Middle schoolers grow at different rates and at different times
- For some 6th graders and most 7th graders puberty begins and hormones begin firing throughout the whole body while,
- The brain is under construction and not ready to handle the overload of messages, hence:
- A lot of impulsivity and lack of self control - not all the time, but it is common
Social-Emotional
- Middle schoolers are exceptionally moody
- Because they are seeking to establish strong peer relationships, they are hyper-sensitive and self conscious
- At the same time, they are seeking their independence and identity so they push boundaries and often discover sarcasm as a primary means to push those boundaries. (and by the way, according to the middle school child, adults know nothing. Just FYI.)
- But, by the end of 8th grade they have begun to identify the values they believe uphold their perception of themselves and will demand fairness in all things.
Intellectual:
- Children often begin middle school as concrete thinkers: everything is right or wrong, black or white.
- They can be resistant to reflection and would like nothing better than to put something on paper and never be bothered by it again.
- They like to argue, but beginning at the end of 5th grade and into 6th and 7th grades they grow into an ability to think conceptually and abstractly.
- They begin to identify organizational and study skills that work for them.
- By 8th grade, our students are putting together Big Picture thinking skills, willing to reflect and revise, and want to do well on meaningful projects - still, don't expect them to admit this to you!
So through all of this growth, your children will experience highs and lows. They’ll need to know how to react to both. They’ll often be confused and sometimes anxious or frustrated and, while they would never tell you outright, they are craving guides and boundaries that will help them (as Developmental Designs puts it) "navigate the waters."
We are partners in guiding your children and our students through those waters. We believe our middle school is set up to meet the kids where they are developmentally. As you will see, the look and feel of a middle school is different than that of a lower school - a little noisier, a little looser. While it may seem very different, it is a natural off-shoot of the foundation that the lower school has provided.
The structure and processes of the middle school mean we are able to meet your children where they are developmentally and bring them to a point where they can enter high school as well-rounded, value-driven individuals, ready to contribute to their new school community and the community at large.
VIDEO: 8th Grade Independent Latin Project - The End Game
It all begins with Canterbury's vision of what an excellent middle school educational experience for your child should look like.
SLIDE 3
We start with a whole child approach. A complete education necessitates that whatever we do, we make sure we address all aspects of your child’s life in ways that lead to the well-rounded individuals we seek to graduate. The cornerstone of that approach is an emphasis on academics. For this whole child approach to work, we must foster trusting and respectful relationships with our students, and also with you, the parents, as well as our colleagues at school. When decisions need to be made in the pursuit of our goal of educational excellence, we make sure those decisions are guided by middle school best practices and our students’ best interests. Linked to this last point, is that we must be certain those decisions and whatever structures are in place ensure the social and emotional well being of our students. As excellence connotes, we must have high expectations of the students and ourselves in pursuit of the 21st century skills that our students will need as they enter high school and beyond.
So what does that vision look like on a day-to-day, month-to-month, or year-to-year basis for your children here at Canterbury? We implement our vision in many different ways, but it can be divided into four main categories: Student Leadership, Structures, Student-Focused Support, and Communication.
Throughout the year, you will hear more about the various items that fall under the categories you see up on the SmartBoard, but I would like to highlight a few that I think are particularly relevant here today.
Developmental Designs
- DD is the "older sibling" to the Responsive Classroom philosophy the lower school uses. The research and practices of both are similar. The Iinchpin to DD is the advisory. As you saw in the Directory, your child is part of an advisory and that advisor will be your child’s advocate for the entire 5th grade year. It will be in this group that the students’ build their first sense of community in the middle school, but it will not be limited to the advisory.
- One of our goals as a faculty is to ensure that we continue to infuse the DD principles of relationship, autonomy, competency, and fun into all aspects of the school day including classroom routines, all school routines, discipline, and social norms. You will be hearing more about the Developmental Designs program from me and your advisor. You can also visit my blog to see some posts on the topic. We have been steadily working on DD in the classroom and beyond, and are excited to continue to implementation across the middle school.
Student Support Team
- Since my arrival at Canterbury we’ve had the Student Support Team to facilitate conversations related to our implementation of the middle school vision and to work to support our students in all aspects of their experience at Canterbury. This team includes myself, Kathy Durham, Director of Student Life and Unity in Diversity, Emily McCollum, Middle School Counselor, Judy Cram, Academic Counselor, and Nathan Finnin, our chaplain.
- With this team in place the middle school has multiple expert perspectives examining student life, as well as school processes, procedures, and frameworks to make sure we are doing the best job possible.
Communication
- Protocol: I ask that you follow the protocol laid out for you on the slide here when there is a classroom issue or nonclassroom issue that comes up. It often solves problems quickly and can get everybody back on the same page with only a minor bump in the road.
- Blackbaud Parent Portal: We will be rolling out a new website with vastly improved functionality and interactive capabilities. The part that will benefit you the most will be the parent and student portals that will allow you to sign in to a secure and individualized website that will show your child(ren)’s life at Canterbury. This page will include schedules, classes, assignments, grades, progress reports, report cards, activities, teams, announcements (class, division, and/or whole school), forms, and more. You will be able to choose from a number of different ways to be notified of any changes that are happening on this site. Once this site is ready to roll out, we will be offering parent education in a number of different forums, so don’t be too intimidated right now. Just know that this will be the one-stop-shop for everything Canterbury as it relates to your child. Most specifically, class assignments and grades will be open for all middle school students.
- Middle School Homework/Test Calendar: Until Blackbaud is fully functional, we will be using a Homework calendar that is embedded in the website under News/Calendar and Middle School Academic Calendar. We have had this system in place for some time. Two years ago we implemented a homework page for all homework assignments, tests, quizzes and projects. You will be able to go to this one page to see what is happening in 5th grade by day, week, or month. I am asking the faculty to post their homework assignments to this page by 3:30 on Monday for the week. If there are any worksheets to be completed, they will be uploaded to teacher’s individual pages, which will be linked to this master page. This Calendar Page is meant to be a guide to the homework assignments, and these assignments may change as a result of remediation, change of pace, or enrichment during the week. As such, teachers will make these changes in the students’ agendas. As a result, please refer to your Agenda first for homework assignments. By using a combination of the Homework/Test Calendar Page and agendas, we maintain our stress on personal responsibility, while providing guideposts for you in terms of where your child should be when it comes to homework.
- Middle School Director's Blog: l often write blog posts highlighting what is happening in the division including curriculum previews, Developmental Design information, Student Support Strategies, the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of the middle school adolescent, examples of student work, and a list of special events. My intention is to keep you abreast of what is happening in the building and help inform you about the intricacies of middle school life.
While there is a ton left to discuss on that schematic, I do want to allow time for Kathy to give you her information, and leave time for questions.
SLIDE 4
SLIDE 5
New and Very Cool Things About 6th Grade
SLIDE 6
I hope this has been informative for you - I’m sure you have a ton of questions. Please know that my door is always open, my phone (almost) always open, and my email definitely open! So please do use me as a resource when you need me. We are all here to help make this transition and your middle school years the best possible years they can be. In an effort to practice sustainability and save paper I've posted this presentation, my comments, and two articles that highlight how to handle adolescents at home and the importance of partnership between school and families in children's education.
THE ARTICLES
What’s Best For Kids? Tips for ParentsUnderstanding and Appreciating the Wonder Years by John H. Lounsbury
Monday, August 20, 2012
5th Grade Orientation Presentation and Notes
INTRO SLIDE
Hello! and welcome to the middle school. Over the next 45 minutes we will be throwing a lot of information your way. Some of you are middle school veterans, others are embarking on this stage for the first time.
We think we have something for everybody today. I’ll start by explaining what you can expect from your child in general during the middle school years, move into how we believe Canterbury's middle school best serves your child during those years, and end by highlighting some of what we have in place to accomplish our vision of what a great middle school child looks like at the end of 8th grade.
Next, Kathy Durham, our Director of Student Life, will outline some of the nuts and bolts of the day-to-day Canterbury middle school experience. We’ll end with some time for your questions.
So let's begin:
SLIDE 2 (based on Developmental Designs research)
Adolescents undergo more growth during their middle school years than at any other point in their lives. Your child's adolescence will dictate their (and your) middle school experience. Essentially, their life will be defined by four goals during this time:
- Separate from the adults,
- Develop strong peer relationships,
- Find their identity, and
- Have adults sign off on who they want to become.
VIDEO: Ryan’s First Day in Middle School
Adolescent growth happens across three facets: physical, social-emotional, and intellectual
Physical
- Middle schoolers grow at different rates and at different times
- For some 6th graders and most 7th graders puberty begins and hormones begin firing throughout the whole body while,
- The brain is under construction and not ready to handle the overload of messages, hence:
- Alot of impulsivity and lack of self control - not all the time, but it is common
Social-Emotional
- Middle schoolers are exceptionally moody
- Because they are seeking to establish strong peer relationships, they are hyper-sensitive and self conscious
- At the same time, they are seeking their independence and identity so they push boundaries and often discover sarcasm as a primary means to push those boundaries. (and by the way, according to the middle school child, adults know nothing. Just FYI.)
- But, by the end of 8th grade they have begun to identify the values they believe uphold their perception of themselves and will demand fairness in all things.
Intellectual
- Children often begin middle school as concrete thinkers: everything is right or wrong, black or white.
- They can be resistant to reflection and would like nothing better than to put something on paper and never be bothered by it again.
- They like to argue, but beginning at the end of 5th grade and into 6th and 7th grades they grow into an ability to think conceptually and abstractly.
- They begin to identify organizational and study skills that work for them.
- By 8th grade, our students are putting together Big Picture thinking skills, willing to reflect and revise, and want to do well on meaningful projects - still, don't expect them to admit this to you!
So through all of this growth, your children will experience highs and lows. They’ll need to know how to react to both. They’ll often be confused and sometimes anxious or frustrated and, while they would never tell you outright, they are craving guides and boundaries that will help them (as Developmental Designs puts it) "navigate the waters."
We are partners in guiding your children and our students through those waters. We believe our middle school is set up to meet the kids where they are developmentally. As you will see, the look and feel of a middle school is different than that of a lower school - a little noisier, a little looser. While it may seem very different, it is a natural off-shoot of the foundation that the lower school has provided.
The structure and processes of the middle school mean we are able to meet your children where they are developmentally and bring them to a point where they can enter high school as well-rounded, value-driven individuals, ready to contribute to their new school community and the community at large.
VIDEO: 8th Grade Independent Latin Project - The End Game
It all begins with Canterbury's vision of what an excellent middle school educational experience for your child should look like.
SLIDE 3
We start with a whole child approach. A complete education necessitates that whatever we do, we make sure we address all aspects of your child’s life in ways that lead to the well-rounded individuals we seek to graduate. The cornerstone of that approach is an emphasis on academics. For this whole child approach to work, we must foster trusting and respectful relationships with our students, and also with you, the parents, as well as our colleagues at school. When decisions need to be made in the pursuit of our goal of educational excellence, we make sure those decisions are guided by middle school best practices and our students’ best interests. Linked to this last point, is that we must be certain those decisions and whatever structures are in place ensure the social and emotional well being of our students. As excellence connotes, we must have high expectations of the students and ourselves in pursuit of the 21st century skills that our students will need as they enter high school and beyond.
So what does that vision look like on a day-to-day, month-to-month, or year-to-year basis for your children here at Canterbury? We implement our vision in many different ways, but it can be divided into four main categories: Student Leadership, Structures, Student-Focused Support, and Communication.
Throughout the year, you will hear more about the various items that fall under the categories you see up on the SmartBoard, but I would like to highlight a few that I think are particularly relevant here today.
Developmental Designs
- DD is the "older sibling" to the Responsive Classroom philosophy the lower school uses. The research and practices of both are similar. The Iinchpin to DD is the advisory. As you saw in the Directory, your child is part of an advisory and that advisor will be your child’s advocate for the entire 5th grade year. It will be in this group that the students’ build their first sense of community in the middle school, but it will not be limited to the advisory.
- One of our goals as a faculty is to ensure that we continue to infuse the DD principles of relationship, autonomy, competency, and fun into all aspects of the school day including classroom routines, all school routines, discipline, and social norms. You will be hearing more about the Developmental Designs program from me and your advisor. You can also visit my blog to see some posts on the topic. We have been steadily working on DD in the classroom and beyond, and are excited to continue to implemention across the middle school.
Student Support Team
- Since my arrival at Canterbury we’ve had the Student Support Team to facilitate conversations related to our implementation of the middle school vision and to work to support our students in all aspects of their experience at Canterbury. This team includes myself, Kathy Durham, Director of Student Life and Unity in Diversity, Emily McCollum, Middle School Counselor, Judy Cram, Academic Counselor, and Nathan Finnin, our chaplain.
- With this team in place the middle school has multiple expert perspectives examining student life, as well as school processes, procedures, and frameworks to make sure we are doing the best job possible.
Communication
- Protocol: I ask that you follow the protocol laid out for you on the slide here when there is a classroom issue or nonclassroom issue that comes up. It often solves problems quickly and can get everybody back on the same page with only a minor bump in the road.
- Blackbaud Parent Portal: We will be rolling out a new website with vastly improved functionality and interactive capabilities. The part that will benefit you the most will be the parent and student portals that will allow you to sign in to a secure and individualized website that will show your child(ren)’s life at Canterbury. This page will include schedules, classes, assignments, grades, progress reports, report cards, activities, teams, announcements (class, division, and/or whole school), forms, and more. You will be able to choose from a number of different ways to be notified of any changes that are happening on this site. Once this site is ready to roll out, we will be offering parent education in a number of different forums, so don’t be too intimidated right now. Just know that this will be the one-stop-shop for everything Canterbury as it relates to your child. Most specifically, class assignments and grades will be open for all middle school students.
- Middle School Homework/Test Calendar: Until Blackbaud is fully functional, we will be using a Homework calendar that is embedded in the website under News/Calendar and Middle School Academic Calendar. We have had this system in place for some time. Two years ago we implemented a homework page for all homework assignments, tests, quizzes and projects. You will be able to go to this one page to see what is happening in 5th grade by day, week, or month. I am asking the faculty to post their homework assignments to this page by 3:30 on Monday for the week. If there are any worksheets to be completed, they will be uploaded to teacher’s individual pages, which will be linked to this master page. This Calendar Page is meant to be a guide to the homework assignments, and these assignments may change as a result of remediation, change of pace, or enrichment during the week. As such, teachers will make these changes in the students’ agendas. As a result, please refer to your Agenda first for homework assignments. By using a combination of the Homework/Test Calendar Page and agendas, we maintain our stress on personal responsibility, while providing guideposts for you in terms of where your child should be when it comes to homework.
- Middle School Director's Blog: l often write blog posts highlighting what is happening in the division including curriculum previews, Developmental Design information, Student Support Strategies, the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of the middle school adolescent, examples of student work, and a list of special events. My intention is to keep you abreast of what is happening in the building and help inform you about the intricacies of middle school life.
While there is a ton left to discuss on that schematic, I do want to allow time for Kathy to give you her information, and leave time for questions.
SLIDE 4
SLIDE 5
New and Very Cool Things About 5th Grade
SLIDE 6
I hope this has been informative for you - I’m sure you have a ton of questions. Please know that my door is always open, my phone (almost) always open, and my email definitely open! So please do use me as a resource when you need me. We are all here to help make this transition and your middle school years the best possible years they can be. In an effort to practice sustainability and save paper I've posted this presentation, my comments, and two articles that highlight how to handle adolescents at home and the importance of partnership between school and families in children's education.
THE ARTICLESWhat’s Best For Kids? Tips for ParentsUnderstanding and Appreciating the Wonder Years by John H. Lounsbury
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Canterbury Middle School: 2012-2013 School Year Preview
2012-2013 Preview
Reconfiguration
As you all know, the 5th grade will be part of the middle school this year. We have been preparing for this move for over a year now, and are excited to implement the change. We believe this move is developmentally appropriate and will add a wonderful new layer to the middle school experience.
As part of this transition, we took the opportunity to look at our program and are set to implement some very exciting things. Fifth through 8th graders will all take a leadership course designed to have students think specifically about what leadership is and how we can live it out each day. We have a new Big Brother/Big Sister program between the 5th and 8th grades. We increased our composition offerings in all four grades to focus on writing across all subjects. We continue to research and implement best practices in education and, with the prospect of a new science and technology building on the horizon, we are preparing our program to offer the finest educational experience possible to all of our students.
There is one specific piece of the Reconfiguration work of which I would like to remind you: the new Middle School Grading Policy. This policy will go into effect at the start of this school year. Throughout the 2011-2012 school year, we discussed an approach to grading that acknowledges the need for 1) a logical progression of difficulty as it pertains to how much we weigh summative assessments, formative assessments, and student responsibility and 2) the need for consistent policies when it comes to re-tests, late or missing work, and extra credit. Attached to this letter is an outline of the new grading policy in the middle school. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
Technology
We are very excited about the technological improvements to our program we will be implementing this year. They will certainly enhance the learning experience for your child. First, we will have another laptop cart in the building. With this additional cart we now have three laptop carts and a computer lab containing a total of ninety-five Mac computers. Along with this incredible hardware infrastructure, we will also be using Google for Education Apps, particularly Google Docs, extensively this year. This platform will augment the learning experience for our students through a significant and meaningful increase in both peer-to-peer and student-to-teacher collaboration, communication, and feedback. All of this software use remains under our Canterbury domain and security standards while allowing students to store and access work from any computer at any time through the “cloud.”
Finally, as I mentioned in the April Reconfiguration Report, we will be rolling out a Student and Parent Portal called NetCommunity that will allow an individualized look at your child’s school experience including announcements, grades, class schedules, assignments, and extracurricular activities and schedules. In tandem with our grading policy, this should provide very clear insight into your child’s progress in as close to real time as is possible. We know you will be excited to have this kind of access. You will be receiving more details on this new service very soon.
Trips
One of the hallmarks of the middle school experience is the trips we offer to our students throughout their time with us. Trips are a wonderful way to address the whole child through experiential learning opportunities. This year we will be discussing the nature of our trips and how to best maximize our resources to provide the finest educational experience. This will mean that trips will take on a different look in the 2013-2014 school year. I will be soliciting your feedback as the conversation begins and also keep you up to date with the conversation’s progress.
2011-2012 Year in Review
High School Placement
You will remember that we began a more formalized high school placement program in 2011-2012. The purpose of this program was to provide a one-on-one family approach to finding the right high school for each student at the school. We are uniquely positioned to offer this service because of two factors. First, as a small PreK-8 school, we know our students and families very well, allowing for a caring and informed perspective on all of the high school options out there. Second, as an academically challenging PreK-8 school, we have developed and continue to build strong relationships with prestigious public, magnet, independent, and boarding schools seeking students who reflect our Middle School Vision. We will continue this program next year under the direction of Kathy Durham, Director of Student Life and Unity in Diversity.
This year we are proud to report that the Class of 2012 matriculated to twelve different high schools including Page, Grimsley, Northwest Guilford, Northern Guilford, The Elon School, Weaver Academy, Greensboro Day School, St. Mary’s, McCallie, Deerfield, Christ School, and Baylor. Additionally, almost all of our graduates who will be attending Page or Grimsley selected the International Baccalaureate track. We are very proud of our newest alumni and wish them all the best as they approach new challenges in high school.
One last point as we move forward: for the eighth year in a row a Canterbury graduate was selected as a local public school’s valedictorian or salutatorian.
8th Grade Portfolio Program
Last year was the first year for the Canterbury Portfolio Program. The core purpose of the program is to incorporate the necessary skills for success in the 21st Century and is in line with our mission of educating the whole child. More directly, it provides a context for students to see that education is a continual, integrated, and relevant process.
Eighth graders spent the year developing a portfolio of digital products which proved they had acquired the ten skills of a Canterbury graduate. The skills are:
Projects varied widely from papers and paintings to PowerPoints and Prezis; from podcasts and iMovies (including videos of work with the Special Olympics and NCAIS Honor Band) to virtual models of lunar bases. Students presented their portfolio to a panel of administrators, answered questions about their work and experiences, and received immediate feedback over a two week period in May.
Overall, the program was a success. It provided the 8th graders with a venue to reflect on their learning, a real-world experience in project and time management, and a serious and meaningful opportunity to analyze and concisely deliver remarks about the work they completed over their middle school career at Canterbury. These are essential skills for citizens of our world and the 8th grade class did a fantastic job of putting those skills to work this year.
Based on feedback from students, parents, teachers, and mentors, we have implemented changes to the program which should make for an even better Portfolio experience in 2012-2013. Some of those changes include:
We believe this program is crucial to our mission to educate the whole child and fulfills its purpose to provide a context for students to see that education is a continual, integrated, and relevant process.
iPad Pilot Program
In November 2011, I wrote to outline the goals of our iPad Pilot Program. In summary, we wanted to measure the effectiveness of the iPad in a one-to-one setting. We used as our guideposts the following questions:
Over the course of the iPad Pilot Program, we found that it was effective if used to its capacity. In terms of organization, note-taking, and teacher collaboration, its use demonstrated the value fairly quickly. Unfortunately, we were only able to get e-texts for our literature class and while iBooks was exceptionally effective in terms of classroom use, home reading comprehension, and note organization, it was of limited scope because the rest of the classes still depended on hard copy versions of their text resources. Furthermore, the e-versions of texts or curriculum-based resources are not cost effective nor have they been developed to the point where it makes sense to put everything a student needs on the iPad.
So, at this time, we cannot confirm that giving an iPad to every 7th and 8th grade student would be beneficial. Each student would still require other textbooks and/or information. In the words of one of our 7th graders, “it isn’t worth it if it is just going to be another book I bring to school.” So for now, we will not be implementing a one-to-one model with iPads in the 7th and 8th grades.
We do feel that the software development is moving rapidly enough that we might be able to implement their use in the near future. Apple’s recent announcement of their partnership with three major textbook publishers, as well as their creation of e-reader development software, means we will see high quality resources at a reasonable price point to consider moving to a one-to-one model in the future. When that times does come, we will have the research and training in place to be able to move - if we choose - into that model quickly.
I am excited about how these three programs developed over the 2011-2012 school year and for what 2012-2013 holds in store. We continue to work to make them as effective as possible in developing the whole child by challenging the mind and nourishing the spirit in a diverse community guided by Judeo-Christian values.
Enjoy the rest of your summer!
Sincerely,
David Skeen
Middle School Director
Canterbury School
Reconfiguration
As you all know, the 5th grade will be part of the middle school this year. We have been preparing for this move for over a year now, and are excited to implement the change. We believe this move is developmentally appropriate and will add a wonderful new layer to the middle school experience.
As part of this transition, we took the opportunity to look at our program and are set to implement some very exciting things. Fifth through 8th graders will all take a leadership course designed to have students think specifically about what leadership is and how we can live it out each day. We have a new Big Brother/Big Sister program between the 5th and 8th grades. We increased our composition offerings in all four grades to focus on writing across all subjects. We continue to research and implement best practices in education and, with the prospect of a new science and technology building on the horizon, we are preparing our program to offer the finest educational experience possible to all of our students.
There is one specific piece of the Reconfiguration work of which I would like to remind you: the new Middle School Grading Policy. This policy will go into effect at the start of this school year. Throughout the 2011-2012 school year, we discussed an approach to grading that acknowledges the need for 1) a logical progression of difficulty as it pertains to how much we weigh summative assessments, formative assessments, and student responsibility and 2) the need for consistent policies when it comes to re-tests, late or missing work, and extra credit. Attached to this letter is an outline of the new grading policy in the middle school. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
Technology
We are very excited about the technological improvements to our program we will be implementing this year. They will certainly enhance the learning experience for your child. First, we will have another laptop cart in the building. With this additional cart we now have three laptop carts and a computer lab containing a total of ninety-five Mac computers. Along with this incredible hardware infrastructure, we will also be using Google for Education Apps, particularly Google Docs, extensively this year. This platform will augment the learning experience for our students through a significant and meaningful increase in both peer-to-peer and student-to-teacher collaboration, communication, and feedback. All of this software use remains under our Canterbury domain and security standards while allowing students to store and access work from any computer at any time through the “cloud.”
Finally, as I mentioned in the April Reconfiguration Report, we will be rolling out a Student and Parent Portal called NetCommunity that will allow an individualized look at your child’s school experience including announcements, grades, class schedules, assignments, and extracurricular activities and schedules. In tandem with our grading policy, this should provide very clear insight into your child’s progress in as close to real time as is possible. We know you will be excited to have this kind of access. You will be receiving more details on this new service very soon.
Trips
One of the hallmarks of the middle school experience is the trips we offer to our students throughout their time with us. Trips are a wonderful way to address the whole child through experiential learning opportunities. This year we will be discussing the nature of our trips and how to best maximize our resources to provide the finest educational experience. This will mean that trips will take on a different look in the 2013-2014 school year. I will be soliciting your feedback as the conversation begins and also keep you up to date with the conversation’s progress.
2011-2012 Year in Review
High School Placement
You will remember that we began a more formalized high school placement program in 2011-2012. The purpose of this program was to provide a one-on-one family approach to finding the right high school for each student at the school. We are uniquely positioned to offer this service because of two factors. First, as a small PreK-8 school, we know our students and families very well, allowing for a caring and informed perspective on all of the high school options out there. Second, as an academically challenging PreK-8 school, we have developed and continue to build strong relationships with prestigious public, magnet, independent, and boarding schools seeking students who reflect our Middle School Vision. We will continue this program next year under the direction of Kathy Durham, Director of Student Life and Unity in Diversity.
This year we are proud to report that the Class of 2012 matriculated to twelve different high schools including Page, Grimsley, Northwest Guilford, Northern Guilford, The Elon School, Weaver Academy, Greensboro Day School, St. Mary’s, McCallie, Deerfield, Christ School, and Baylor. Additionally, almost all of our graduates who will be attending Page or Grimsley selected the International Baccalaureate track. We are very proud of our newest alumni and wish them all the best as they approach new challenges in high school.
One last point as we move forward: for the eighth year in a row a Canterbury graduate was selected as a local public school’s valedictorian or salutatorian.
8th Grade Portfolio Program
Last year was the first year for the Canterbury Portfolio Program. The core purpose of the program is to incorporate the necessary skills for success in the 21st Century and is in line with our mission of educating the whole child. More directly, it provides a context for students to see that education is a continual, integrated, and relevant process.
Eighth graders spent the year developing a portfolio of digital products which proved they had acquired the ten skills of a Canterbury graduate. The skills are:
- Solve a real-world problem using concepts from math and/or science.
- Demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language.
- Clearly and concisely outline a position on a topic and be able to explain and compellingly persuade others of its implications through writing.
- Demonstrate a commitment to care for self and others the world over.
- Participate in and demonstrate your role as a member of a team.
- Demonstrate knowledge of your faith as it has developed in your life.
- Develop a fundamental understanding of emerging ethical issues and dilemmas regarding new media and technologies.
- Explore an understanding of either justice, integrity, mercy, or compassion through the arts or literature.
- Exercise leadership.
- Respond to an experience of failure in a way that acknowledges innovation, involves small successes, and frequent mistakes.
Projects varied widely from papers and paintings to PowerPoints and Prezis; from podcasts and iMovies (including videos of work with the Special Olympics and NCAIS Honor Band) to virtual models of lunar bases. Students presented their portfolio to a panel of administrators, answered questions about their work and experiences, and received immediate feedback over a two week period in May.
Overall, the program was a success. It provided the 8th graders with a venue to reflect on their learning, a real-world experience in project and time management, and a serious and meaningful opportunity to analyze and concisely deliver remarks about the work they completed over their middle school career at Canterbury. These are essential skills for citizens of our world and the 8th grade class did a fantastic job of putting those skills to work this year.
Based on feedback from students, parents, teachers, and mentors, we have implemented changes to the program which should make for an even better Portfolio experience in 2012-2013. Some of those changes include:
- Students will now meet in Portfolio class once a week instead of every ten days.
- Thanks to the Class of 2012, students will have exemplars of each skill.
- Students will have the opportunity to have up to two skills pre-graded.
- The mentor training program has been enhanced through a Portfolio handbook.
- The platform for the Portfolio will move from a blog to a Google site.
- The presentations will last one week, instead of two, and grades will be delivered after all students have presented.
We believe this program is crucial to our mission to educate the whole child and fulfills its purpose to provide a context for students to see that education is a continual, integrated, and relevant process.
iPad Pilot Program
In November 2011, I wrote to outline the goals of our iPad Pilot Program. In summary, we wanted to measure the effectiveness of the iPad in a one-to-one setting. We used as our guideposts the following questions:
- How effective can the iPad be in terms of organization?
- How effective can the iPad be in terms of classroom note taking?
- How effective can the iPad be as an e-reader?
- How effective can the iPad be in terms of student/teacher communication and collaboration?
Over the course of the iPad Pilot Program, we found that it was effective if used to its capacity. In terms of organization, note-taking, and teacher collaboration, its use demonstrated the value fairly quickly. Unfortunately, we were only able to get e-texts for our literature class and while iBooks was exceptionally effective in terms of classroom use, home reading comprehension, and note organization, it was of limited scope because the rest of the classes still depended on hard copy versions of their text resources. Furthermore, the e-versions of texts or curriculum-based resources are not cost effective nor have they been developed to the point where it makes sense to put everything a student needs on the iPad.
So, at this time, we cannot confirm that giving an iPad to every 7th and 8th grade student would be beneficial. Each student would still require other textbooks and/or information. In the words of one of our 7th graders, “it isn’t worth it if it is just going to be another book I bring to school.” So for now, we will not be implementing a one-to-one model with iPads in the 7th and 8th grades.
We do feel that the software development is moving rapidly enough that we might be able to implement their use in the near future. Apple’s recent announcement of their partnership with three major textbook publishers, as well as their creation of e-reader development software, means we will see high quality resources at a reasonable price point to consider moving to a one-to-one model in the future. When that times does come, we will have the research and training in place to be able to move - if we choose - into that model quickly.
I am excited about how these three programs developed over the 2011-2012 school year and for what 2012-2013 holds in store. We continue to work to make them as effective as possible in developing the whole child by challenging the mind and nourishing the spirit in a diverse community guided by Judeo-Christian values.
Enjoy the rest of your summer!
Sincerely,
David Skeen
Middle School Director
Canterbury School
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