Good evening!
I hope everyone had a great week! Believe it or not, spring is right around the corner! I know this is hard to believe at times...I want to take a moment of your time and brag about our students. Despite the recent odd schedule, our students continue to shine through their efforts in our classrooms! I had the opportunity this week to be impressed by our students in Fifth Grade as they were giving Book Reports in front of their classmates, and quizzing their peers on the book that they were speaking on, our Second Graders learning typing skills in their technology class this week, and our Kindergarteners making a Bald Eagle as an art project. We have talented students, and we enjoy watching them grow each and everyday!
A few items I would like to make sure you are aware of this week:
1) State Testing Revised Schedule-For Students in Grades 3-5, we continue to adjust our State Testing Schedule to accommodate the weather we are getting. The most recent updated remaining test schedule is:
| Monday | 3/2/2015 | 4th Grade ELA | AM |
| Tuesday | 3/3/2015 | 4th Grade ELA | AM |
| Wednesday | 3/4/2015 | 4th Grade ELA | AM |
| Thursday | 3/5/2015 | 3rd Grade Math | AM |
| Friday | 3/6/2015 | 3rd Grade Math | AM |
| Tuesday | 3/10/2015 | 5th Grade Science | AM |
| Wednesday | 3/11/2015 | 4th Grade SS | AM |
It is vital that our students are present, prepared, and ready to take these tests. This is their Big Super Bowl and it is their time to shine and show the rest of the world their intelligence! They are expected to give 110%!
2) Just a reminder about Absences and Tardies:
- A student will be considered habitually truant if the student is absent/tardy without a legitimate excuse for 5 or more consecutive school days, for 7 or more days in 1 month, or 12 or more school days in 1 school year. Furthermore, a student will be considered chronically truant if the student is absent/tardy without a legitimate excuse for 7 or more consecutive school days, for 10 or more school days in 1 month, or 15 or more school days in 1 school year. Any student that is considered to be either habitually or chronically truant will be referred to The Knox County Juvenile Court System for Truancy.
- According to the Knox County Court System any of the following consequences can occur for Truancy Issues:
- Court Appointed Diversion Officer Involvement
- The School can file for Educational Neglect of the Parent/Legal Guardian
- Contempt Charges will be filed for not following a Court Order. This may lead to jail time for parent/legal guardian.
Most of the time the Knox County Court System and Knox County Children's Services are jointly involved in correcting truancy issues.
*In order for a student to do well in school, it is vital that the student is an active participant. If a student is frequently absence and/or tardy from school, it will negatively impact the student's academic performance.
3) Homework-There is an increasing student population having troubles getting their homework completed and turned in. While homework is used as a supplement to our classroom instruction and reinforces the content that each student is learning at school, it is vital to the student's success in the classroom that they complete each homework assignment. If a student does not complete their homework assignments, the student's grade in that particular class tends to continuously decline quickly. Please partner with us in making sure your child, our student, continues to complete and turn in his/her homework. Students cannot afford to take a vacation from doing their homework.
As a reminder, you are able to view your child's grades and missing assignments 24/7 through Progress Book. If you don't already have access and would like access to Progress Book, please contact our office for login information.
4) Blizzard Bags-Make sure that your child has turned in all three of their Blizzard Bags to his/her teacher. Otherwise, it will have a negative impact on his/her grades and attendance.
5) $10,000 Make a Difference Grant- We have applied for a $10,000 Grant to improve technology in our classrooms at Columbia Elementary and we need your help. Please go to the following website: http://nbc4i.upickem.net/r/6zSpSzMH4nK?r=534856 and vote DAILY for our school. You will need to register through the NBC4 Make a Dfference School Grant Website first before voting.
6)Additional Calamity Days-With any additional school days missed, we will add our makeup days to the end of the school calendar. Thus far, we have added one additional day to the 14-15 school year.This would mean that our last day for students would be May 29th. If additional days would be missed after today, this day would move back into June. Please plan accordingly.
7) Important Upcoming Dates:
Week of 3/2 and 3/9-See Testing Schedule for Grades 3-5 above
March 2-PTO Google Documents Training from 6-7pm
March 2-PTO Meeting at 7pm in our library
March 12-End of Third 9 weeks
March 13-No School-Teacher In-service
March 16-PTO Meeting regarding Ariel Foundation and Columbia Elementary 5K (on May 8th)
March 20-Spring School Pictures
March 28-April 5-Spring Break.
Thank you for your ongoing support of our students! Have a great and safe weekend!
Go Tigers!
Matt
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