Hawk’s Nest

By Loreen Wiley
    Welcome to a new school year that finds us settling into a routine and students adjusting to new classes. We would like to welcome new students to our school community. We hope they have found a warm, friendly school environment.
    Our students in seventh and eighth grades are anxious to take their laptops home. We will have a mandatory parent meeting on Thursday, September 18 at 6 p.m. All seventh grade students and their parents must be in attendance at this meeting in order for the students to take their laptops home. A fee of $30 will need to be paid before students will be allowed to take laptops home.
    Eighth grade students who attended the laptop orientation meeting last year will not need to attend an orientation, but will need to pay the $30 fee prior to students taking their laptops home.
    All new eighth grade students to our school will need to attend the orientation meeting with the seventh graders this Thursday. If you have any questions, please contact the school office at 532-9228.
    We held our annual open house on September 3 so parents and family members could meet their child’s teacher and see the classrooms.
    Our students are in the midst of NWEA testing. The data gathered from these tests give teachers specific information to tailor instruction to meet the needs of each student. The data also gives us an academic baseline for the student so we can measure the academic growth that will take place this year.
    Information from this test will be shared with the parents during the parent/teacher conference to be scheduled in November. A spring target score will be set for students at this time.
    Many of you have been asking when the after-school program will begin. Our plan is to start the after-school program after harvest recess. Our tentative start date is October 14.
    We would like to again congratulate our Mill Pond School students for their great performance on 2008 MEA. We are so proud of their achievement on this test! We hope they enjoyed the ice cream as a small token of our appreciation.
    On Wednesday, September 24 from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m., we will offer a session for parents describing how to assist you child with learning to read. We will offer tips and resources to help you support your child’s reading at home. Every family who is represented at this meeting will receive a new book to add to your home library.
    This session will be held at our central office, which is the white building across from our high school. Lunch will be provided for you. Please plan to be with us if you have a child or children in PK through fifth grade. If you have any questions, please contact Rhonda Foster at 532-9228.