Water Bottle Fountains are here!

It seems like something so small but we are happy the fountains are finally here, installed and usable!  Water bottle fountains can be found on the first floor (near the nurse's office) and the other is located on the second floor (near the middle stairwell).  We encourage all students to bring a water bottle to school as a way to stay hydrated. These fountains will aid those efforts.  These fountains were made possible by the FKCHS Student Council and MSAD #27! Enjoy the cool refreshing water in your own water bottles and help save the environment. (These fountains count how many plastic water bottles we save!)

Habits of Work reporting begins this fall!

Habits of Work reporting begins this fall!!!

Whenever I go to a parent teacher conference or have had any kind of conversation with any of my children's teachers my wife always asks - Are they doing what they are supposed to in your class? Are they respectful? Are they doing their best? It seems to me that most of the teacher conversations with other parents sound very similar, or at the very least these types of questions come up as part of the discussion.

As part of our move to Proficiency Based Education we have made the decision to separate academic learning from the very questions myself and others ask about children.  We feel an academic score should reflect learning and Habits of Work scores should reflect citizenship, accountability, and pursuing personal best.  (These were chosen as our over-arching standards!)

I have included here the matrix for Community High School and Valley Rivers Middle School.

High School Habits of Work Indicators
	Citizenship I am respectful towards self, others and environment. I am respectful of norms, rules and policies.	Accountability I am accountable for myself, my learning and my actions.	Pursue Personal Best I persevere and strive for personal best.  I can demonstrate quality work ethic, use feedback and self-advocate.
3 I routinely… 2 I sometimes… 1 I need assistance to...	Follow school and classroom rules Use safe/respectful words and actions Take care of belongings and classroom materials Respect the diversity of individuals Respect school property Collaborate and cooperate with others	Take responsibility for actions and choices that I make Learn from my mistakes  and seek help when needed Engage in classroom discussions / activities Meet deadlines Am prepared and on time for class with all necessary materials Demonstrate academic honesty Set goals and monitor my progress	Persevere when met with challenging tasks Demonstrate commitment to academic growth Use feedback appropriately to extend my learning Participate in learning experiences Engage in new learning experiences

Valley Rivers Middle School Habits of Work Indicators
	Citizenship I am respectful towards self, others and environment. I am respectful of norms, rules and policies.	Accountability I am accountable for myself, my learning and my actions.	Pursue Personal Best I persevere and strive for personal best.  I can demonstrate quality work ethic, use feedback and self-advocate.
3 I routinely… 2 I sometimes… 1 I need assistance to...	Follow school and classroom rules Use safe/respectful words and actions Take care of belongings and classroom materials Respect the diversity of individuals Respect school property Collaborate and cooperate with others	Take responsibility for actions and choices that I make Learn from my mistakes and seek help when needed Engage in classroom discussions / activities Complete all assignments in a timely fashion Am prepared and on time for class with all necessary materials Demonstrate academic honesty Set goals and monitor my progress	Persevere when met with challenging tasks Demonstrate commitment to academic growth Demonstrate positive attitude Use feedback appropriately to extend my learning Engage in new learning experiences

As you can see the highest score you can achieve is a 3 and the lowest is a 1.  Our teachers report on the habits of work weekly and if a students scores a 1 or 2 the teacher will be required to put in a comment as to what the specific weakness might be.  At the mid-term and semester reporting times, grade level teams work through a protocol and decide as a team what the individual student will receive as a score.

We also aim to grade the child holistically - the indicators are not a checklist but rather a guide to whether or not they are routinely, sometimes, or always needing assistance to meet these standards.   You will be able to check on Habits of Work on a weekly basis through Empower (more on that at another time). You will see individual teacher scores for each class/course and then you will see a team score at the mid trimester and the final trimester checkpoints.

The high school and middle school teachers did this as a pilot during the 3rd trimester of the last school year. This school year every student in grades 7 thru 12 will receive a Habits of Work score for each of the 3 standards.  This is a key piece to honor roll status and co- and extra curricular eligibility. FKCHS and VRMS will offer students interventions to help with these Habits of Work on an as needed basis. 

Please review the documents and start having a discussion with your child about the difference between academics (what you learn) and habits of work (the effort you put into learning)! 

Honor Roll Changes!

Today's Topic: The Honor Roll

 Merriam Webster's simple definition: a list of people who deserve to be honored; especially : a list of students who have received good grades in school. The first recorded use was 1909.  

We can acknowledge that Honor Roll has traditionally been a recognition of academic performance published by quarters, semesters, or in our case trimesters.  You can find that list of students in the local papers, school website, and posted in the halls of the school.  It is a tradition that has been around for a long time!

Being an Honor Roll student in Fort Kent Community High School earns the privilege of an Honors Pass, meaning you can sign out of an assigned Learning Lab and instead go to the library or into an unoccupied classroom - the idea being that you have shown responsibilities as a student and distinguished yourself as a student worthy of this extra privilege.  However, in multiple talks with students, staff, and community it has become evident that academics are but one piece of what makes an Honor Student.

In an effort to truly recognize the Honor Students in our school we will be using the following 4 categories to determine eligibility beginning this upcoming school year 2016 - 2017: Academics, Habits of Work, Attendance, and Behavior.  (Keep in mind we have a mix of proficiency implementation, the Class of 2017 being our last traditionally scored classes, the Classes of 2018 & 2019 who have BOTH traditionally scored classes and proficiency based classes, and the Class of 2020 and beyond who have fully implemented proficiency based classes.)  Depending on which class you are in determines the academic track, however the last 3 categories apply to all classes.

Academics -

• The summative assessment average 3.0 or higher with no standard lower than a 2 AND no incomplete in any course. (Class of 2020 and beyond)   
• The summative assessment average is 3.0 or higher with no standard lower than a 2 AND the traditional average 87.5 with no grade lower than an 85  AND no incomplete in any course. (Classes of 2018 & 2019)
• The traditional average for High Honors is 92.5 with no grade lower than a 90. Honors 87.5 average with no grade less than an 85 AND no incomplete in any course. (Class of 2017)

Habits of Work  -

• The majority of of indicators must be a 2 AND no indicator can be a 1. (We have only 3 indicators so it must be a combination of 2's and 3's.) 

Attendance -

• The student must have less than 10 days unexcused for the year. (Excused absences will not effect this category.)

Behavior -

• Students have no suspensions (in school or out of school) AND have no outstanding behavioral detentions to serve with the office or individual teachers.

The following graphics were created to help guide you in determining if a student qualifies.  Be sure to choose the appropriate graphic determined on the student's graduation date.  The end of the first Trimester is Tuesday, November 29 and will be our first run through using this format.  We will be sharing this with students during the first week of school.  I encourage you to review the information to better prepare yourself and your child for the shift we are making with the Honor Roll.

Summer Months = Preparing for Change

It's the start of summer vacation for MSAD #27 students but we have already been getting ready for the start of the new school year on August 17, 2016!  Lots of changes will be coming to Fort Kent Community High School so this first blog post is going to be a list of those many changes.  I will have future posts that will explain each one individually. Without further ado here are the changes in no particular order (coming off the top of my head as I put this together):

• Graduation requirements clarification for the class of 2018, 2019, & 2020. (Including: class standing, "honor" speeches, and diploma designations)
• Full implementation of Proficiency Based Education for the class of 2020.
• Year 2 of Link Crew for the incoming Freshmen.
• The "reboot" of the Athletic Club.
• Installation of 2 new water fountains with the capability of filling water bottles!
• Closed campus for all students. (No more senior privilege.)
• A "new" Senior Room.
• New Honor Roll requirements for all students.
• Teachers will be using the learning management system Empower to report out on student progress toward standards. (Parent training is coming!)
• Implementation of Proficiency Based Diploma pathways for the class of 2020 and beyond.
• New sports eligibility policy.
• Conversion from NWEA testing to STAR testing.
• Continued use of Warrior Time with specific activities for this intervention period.
• Implementation of a Summative Trimester Assessment at the end of each Trimester.
• Beginning of a portfolio process to demonstrate Maine's Guiding Principles with all classes.
• The separation of Academics and Habits of Work.
• Seminars - this is in its infancy and we hope to pilot it Trimester 2 of the new school year!

All of the following items were listed off the top of my head but with a little more time it would be possible to extend the list! Anyone who thinks not much is happening here at FKCHS, we have more than enough to keep us busy! Personally, I am very excited about these changes as they have the potential to provide opportunities that will make each student's school experience a more engaging and enriching environment.  Go Warriors!