It is amazing to see all they have accomplished during the past week. Casework is starting to go in (the picture on the top shows some of the new cabinets in kindergarten), the drywall is complete and starting to be painted (the picture on the bottom is the center of the 2nd grade pod) and electrical work continues.
The state of Maryland released the results of the 2009 Maryland School Assessment yesterday. I am very happy with our scores. There continues to be room for growth, but our scores are the best they have ever been, which is one indicator that we are on the right path. I’ll be sending out a email via HCPSSNews tomorrow with some details. The resutls are available online at www.mdreportcard.org. Individual student scores will be mailed directly from the HCPPS central office to parents sometime soon.
It was fun to walk around the construction zone on Friday.
As you can see from this picture of the center of 4th grade, the dry wall is up and the classrooms are starting to take shape. Ceilings should be going in sometime this week!
The large crane that has been parked outside the school has been busy today. Most of our new HVAC units are being put up on the roof. Inside the building, the demolition is finished and work in continuing on new masonry, electrical, and plumbing.
I hope everyone has had a relaxing and enjoyable start to the summer. Here at school the construction crews have been working almost nonstop. The demolition phase should be done by this weekend. They are in the process of taking out walls, floors, ceilings etc. while also putting in new ductwork, pipes and electrical. Look for more pictures on our website soon
Here in the front office I can hear the jackhammers (not too loud) and the power, internet and A/C are all working well, so we are doing fine 
I wanted to take a minute and wish all our CCES families a happy summer. I hope you get to spend some time together as a family in some fun (and educational) ways. I know I am looking forward to spending time with my family. I also want to wish all the fathers a happy Father’s Day. Thank you for all you do to support the academic, social and emotional growth of your children.
On an entirely different note, the construction is well underway. We will have pictures next week on our website. All the furniture and boxes are out of the areas to be renovated and walls and ceilings are coming down.
A quick question that I’d appreciate some feedback about. What do you think about the number of messages we send out through eSchoolnewsletter? I know that some schools send out many messages (1 or more a day) and others use it almost never. We send our Cougar Comments out every two weeks and sometimes another reminder or speciall announcement in between those two weeks.
I intentionally try to keep the number of messages down and we save things for the Cougar Comments. Should we send out more reminders the day of or day before activities? Are you overloaded with emails and don’t want more? Any opinions would be great.
As I had mentioned in a previous post, our Reading Night was last Thursday. It went very well. The feedback we got from the parents that attended was very positive and the teachers who presented all felt their sessions were well received. With that said, I was surprised by how few people were there. In total there were about 30 parents in attendance. As a parent myself I know how busy families are and by no means did I expect all or most of our families to be there. There are several events at my children’s schools that neither my wife or I are able to attend.
We plan to keep offering Math and Reading Nights. My question for you is, what else can we do, or what can we do differently to increase the likelihood that you would come?
I’d appreciate any suggestions you have.
I enjoy reading books written for kids. I think that some of the most imaginative and well written stories can be found in the juvenile and young adult sections of libraries and book stores. One of my goals every year is to read the Newbery Award winner and runner ups. The Newbery Award is give annually by the American Library Association to the best children’s book published. This year’s winner was The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I highly recommend it for 5th graders and up. It is a very well written and interesting story of a young boy who, after the rest of his family is killed, is raised by the ghosts and spirits of a local graveyard. (I know it sounds strange, but it is very good.) I have also read one of the runner up books this year. It is Savvy by Ingrid Law. Without giving too much away it is a story of a girl who’s family all have a special power or savvy that develops when they turn 13. As her 13th birthday approaches and arrives she gets involved in an adventure. I also very highly recommend this book. It would make a great read aloud for a third or fourth grader and an independent read for a fifth grader or older. (My sixth grade son loved both of these books.)
Some of my favorite children’s novels are Walk Two Moons (my all time favorite) and The Wanderer, both by Sharon Creech, Maniac Magee and Wringer by Jerry Spinelli, Holes by Louis Sachar, Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, A Long Way From Chicago and A Year Down Yonder (two books about the same characters) by Richard Peck and Bud, Not Buddy and The Watsons Go To Birmingham: 1963, by Christopher Paul Curtis.
I could do a whole other post on some of my favorite picture books!
A while ago I got a question posted on the blog about foreign language classes in elementary schools. Currently in Howard County foreign language, or world language as it is called in schools, instruction starts in middle school with French and Spanish and then expands to American Sign Language, Chinese, German, Italian, Latin and Russian in high school.
There is definitely research that shows children can learn a second language more easily when they are younger so the thought of having foreign language in elementary school makes sense. However, from a practical point of view I don’t see where it would fit into the day. Trying to add another subject without removing anything else (and I don’t think anything we currently have should be removed) wouldn’t be feasible. I also don’t think taking a world language class once a week, like art or technology, would give the consistency and repetition that learning a language requires.
I’d be curious to read other people’s points of view.
