|
October
Principal Corner
With October upon us, and the fall season in full swing, Viking Middle School is buzzing with activity. Now that we have been in school for a number of weeks, routines are established, and students are busier than ever. It is hard to believe that we are already in our last week of fall sports, with the winter season right around the corner. With that being said, here is some information that I wanted to be sure to share:
Conferences
Fall conferences are scheduled for October 18th and 19th. You should have received a message from your student’s advisor about scheduling a time to come in. Here at Viking, we use this time to meet with advisors for the following:
-
Renew or establish the student-parent-advisor relationship
-
Share data related to academic and behavioral initiatives
-
Set some meaningful goals for the 2018-19 school year
A strong and effective advisory program is something that we feel is critical to middle school success. With multi-aged advisories, our staff is able to make a three year commitment to playing a very important role in your student’s life here at Viking. They meet with your child every day for three years, and monitor both academic and behavioral progress. In addition, advisories have become our main assessment environments, with students completing all local screening, as well as state testing, with their advisory peers. It is for these reasons that we feel fall conferences are a great time, and the advisor the best person, to facilitate a discussion about progress thus far. Please note that you are still encouraged to connect with any other staff that you have questions for, or concerns to express.
Khan Academy & Accelerated Reader
On October 4th, we held our first incentive celebration, a pizza party, for those students that met a monthly goal with respect to Khan Academy and/or Accelerated Reader. 150 6th - 8th graders enjoyed pizza and soda during their regular lunchtime. We use the two resources to encourage students to work on math and reading skills in their free time. Students work towards monthly goals, as well as an end of year celebration if they finish their grade level mission in Khan, or achieve 100 points in AR. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to ask your student if they are participating in the math or reading incentives.
3-Screen Presentation
On Wednesday, October 3rd, all Viking Middle School students viewed a 3-screen presentation at BWHS titled, You Can. The video presentation focused on how quickly it is these days for young people to do harm to themselves and others, and how you can use those same situations to help and heal. Specific topics addressed included:
Parent-Student Communication
In a day and age when there are more and more channels to communicate with one another, I am noticing a trend at Viking that I feel needs to be addressed. We are experiencing more issues with students and parent(s)/guardian(s) communicating with each other during school hours, particularly over email, about things that are either:
-
Related to issues that should/could be dealt with in the Viking office
-
Health concerns that should come to the attention of Health Services first
-
Non-urgent (non-instructional) conversations
I am not suggesting that students and parent(s)/guardian(s) should not communicate during the school day, I am just hopeful that those communications happen when necessary, and do not take the place of protocols we have in place at school. Please contact me if you have questions or concerns about communication here at Viking, or the support systems we have in place for our students.
Until next month,
Scott Benoy
Viking Middle School Principal
| 
