March madness . . .

March Madness, especially in this part of the country, means college basketball tournaments. As you know, I am a sports fan, and when I hear "March Madness" that is what I think of. March madness, to educators, can mean - "starting the stress of preparing students for their EOG test"!

With 70% of our year completed, you are now starting the home stretch of the school year. Just like a good coach, you are continuing to prepare your students for the championship game - EOG test.

I want to mention a couple of things that stood out to me this week. First of all, the ICON students were working on a reflective project about the DC trip. Mr. Atkinson, Mrs. Humphrey, Mrs. Sullivan, and Mrs. Hamby have adjusted the assessment of the students to contain a reflective project. The students were using a variety of technology (powerpoint, photo story, and prezi) to display their knowledge. All students (including the ones that didn't go) were diligently working on this assignment. This shows a reflection, from teachers,about evaluating/selecting assessments - thank you!

I also want to recognize the Trailblazers (Laura LeMay, Dave Jenkins, Charles Jones, and Jami Jones) and Roadrunners (Amy Newsom and Meredith Ebert) for their efforts with the Iditarod project. I saw students excited about this project especially ones that are normally not very happy to be in school. They were thoroughly engaged in learning. They brought in a guest speaker to talk about the dogs that are used for the race. An Alaskan Husky was even brought in with the speaker - what a cute pup!

So . . . enjoy the "March Madness" of basketball and/or school. They both can be stressful but they both can provide much fulfillment :)

The lucky staff member of the week is Diana Westmoreland. The statement on the card was "she does so much for all of us. I find her easy to talk to. She is very understanding."

Congratulations to Mike McDowell on being selected as one of eleven semi-finalist for the WS/FCS Teacher of the Year. We are all proud of you!
Happy Friday and enjoy your weekend. Go Patriots!!