Why Does Attendance Matter?
Every school day counts in a child's academic life...
A missed school day is a lost opportunity for students to learn. In this era of increased accountability for states, districts, and schools, the connection between student attendance and learning is being studied more than ever before.
The primary rationale for focusing on attendance is the relationship between student attendance and student achievement. Teacher effectiveness is the strongest school-related determinant of student success, but chronic student absence reduces even the best teacher's ability to provide learning opportunities. Students who attend school regularly have been shown to achieve at higher levels than students who do not have regular attendance. This relationship between attendance and achievement may appear early in a child's school career. A recent study looking at young children found that absenteeism in kindergarten was associated with negative first grade outcomes such as greater absenteeism in subsequent years and lower achievement in reading, math, and general knowledge.
Thought for the day!
HMS Weekly Announcements
https://www.smore.com/e8x5k
GRADE REPORTS AND REPORT CARDS
Midterm reports will be issued to the students on the following days: 1st Marking Period—Wednesday, September 25, 2nd Marking Period--Wednesday, December 4, 3rd Marking Period—Wednesday, February 19, and 4th Marking Period—Wednesday, May 1. Parents may request that their child bring home a paper copy by calling the office.
Report cards are posted digitally to Skyward following the conclusion of each marking period. Parents may request that their child bring home a paper copy by calling the office. Marking periods end on Friday, October 25; Friday, January 17; Friday, March 27; and Friday, June 5. Twelve week terms end on November 22, March 6, and June 5—grades for these classes are available online on these dates and will print out on the next report card following each Term end date. Report cards will be available on Skyward on the following dates: Wednesday, October 30; Wednesday, January 22; and Wednesday, April 1. Fourth marking period report cards will be mailed home by Thursday, June 18.
Did you know...
Would like to offer feedback to MDE about the M-STEP testing program? If so, the following is a communication from the Department of Ed. detailing a local opportunity to do so. "On behalf of the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), Public Policy Associates, Inc. (PPA) would like to invite parents in your area to a focus group feedback session at the Saginaw ISD.
The purpose of this event is to gain parent perspectives on the current 3rd, 5th, 8th, and 11th grade parent assessment reports, and to collect recommendations to help guide the creation of an updated report that will be useful for parents like you!
The feedback session will be at the Saginaw ISD on Wednesday, September 18th at 6:00 p.m.
Individuals who participate will receive $40 for providing their time and input. If you are interested in attending, please register here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SaginawISDFG
If you have any questions regarding the parent feedback session for MDE, contact Paige Haight at phaight@publicpolicy.com or call 517-485-4477.
Thank you for your interest! We look forward to hearing your feedback."
Thought for the day!
Absences from school and extra-curricular activities--
Students who are absent from school due to illness for more than half a day may not participate in any school-sponsored activity conducted the date of the illness. If a student must be absent from school for an excused family matter, the parent/guardian should contact the principal to discuss eligibility that day. Students who are suspended in-school or out of school may not attend extra-curricular activities.
We hope your first week of school has been a good one!
If your child should need to leave school during the day, the following is the procedure for doing so:
PROCEDURE FOR LEAVING SCHOOL
Students are not permitted to leave the school grounds at any time during the day. If you must leave the building because of illness or any other emergency, you must be signed out in the office by a parent or guardian.
Fifth graders finish out their first week with a friendly STEAM competition!
Did you know that failure is OK? The Importance of Failure: 5 Valuable Lessons from Failing: https://www.wanderlustworker.com/the-importance-of-failure-5-valuable-lessons-from-failing/
Does it matter if a child missed school? How much is too much?
"TODAY IS A NEW DAY. WHAT CAN WE DO WITH IT?"
The trials of yesterday are behind you. A new school day dawns, and with it come possibilities. Chances for success, empathy, and discovery are abundant. Inspiration is everywhere you look. The opportunity to be better than you were yesterday is right here, right now.
Communication--Collaboration--Creativity--Critical Thinking. What does have to do with gummy worms and paper clips? If your child is in one of our STEAM classes today with Mrs. Kato, ask them when you are together what they worked on today. These 4C's are the kinds of skills that will make all of our students more successful in their classroom, post-high school, and in the careers. We practice them every day in many different ways.
Does if matter if my child is late to school? Does it matter if (s)he leaves early?
Extended Absences--Occasionally, a parent or guardian may decide it is important to remove the student from school. While the school does not approve of such absences, it will be responsive to family needs and wishes. Parents may request work a maximum of two (2) days in advance; however, teachers are not required to prepare detailed advance assignments or assist students who have prearranged absences. Please keep in mind the Saginaw County Truancy policy mentioned in previous posts when planning student absences from school.
Parents and students can access the middle school student handbook on the district website at https://www.hemlockps.com/o/middle-school/documents
Welcome Back! We're excited to get started!! Please remember, parents, to pull as far ahead as possible in the lineup to drop your child off, regardless of which for they are headed to. Let's have smooth traffic flow. Have a great day!!
What's going on?
WEEKLY SCHOOL EVENTS NOTIFICATION
One of our school district goals is to provide parents and students with complete and up to date information regarding school activities and events. This is accomplished in many ways. We post upcoming events on our school sign; we maintain a building Twitter and Facebook page; we post daily announcements to the middle school portion of the district app; we provide parents and students with e-mail access to staff; we provide parents and their designees secure access to their student(s) grades and attendance information via Skyward; we provide automated calls each day notifying parents of student absence; we staff our office each school day from 6:45 AM to 3:30 PM; and we provide regular calls/emails to parents detailing school events for the ensuing weeks using the district messaging system. This regular event notification is intended to be as comprehensive as possible at the time it is sent. Parents should still arrange for receipt of daily announcements to ensure that information is as up to date as possible.
