August 23, 2010

Welcome back to Scoggins Middle School!

Hello, Seahawk students and families! What an exciting (and challenging) time of year this is as we say "goodbye" to sleeping in, family vacations, and summer freedom, and say "hello" again to alarm clocks, practices, homework, and school supplies...some say that August is the cruelest month, but I don't think they were just talking about the 100-degree days... :)

Based upon our TAKS scores from last year, we had anticipated a TEA rating of "Recognized" for the 09-10 school year, and this did come to pass in July. This was tough for us, especially coming off our opening "Exemplary" year. The upside, certainly, is that we are all fortunate enough to be working in and attending school in an "Exemplary" school district, which demands the best from each of us - this is certainly evident when we consider a "Recognized" rating to be a little disappointing! We cannot overlook, however, the outstanding accomplishments, incredible effort, and excellent teaching that went into last year. Our Math, Reading, Writing, and Social Studies scores were all "Exemplary" across all of our subgroups and grade levels, and were either at or near the top of our district's scores. Our overall Science scores for our 8th graders actually also improved last year, but we know that we have to rise to the challenge of meeting clear targets in specific areas this year. We are up for it, and look forward to taking on this challenge this year, while continuing to work to improve in all other subject areas as well.

One way that we will continue to learn and grow our professional learning community is through our participation in the National Staff Development Council's "Learning School Alliance" this year. Scoggins Middle School and Liberty High School were selected to participate in this two-year program beginning this year. Scoggins is one of 40 schools nationwide participating in the Learning School Alliance, which allows us to collaborate with other schools from across the country, and learn about best practices, interventions, and tools being utilized to help students learn. We are very excited to have been invited to participate and look forward to putting what we learn into practice with our Seahawks!

We are also eagerly anticipating the kickoff for Year #2 of our Seahawk PRIDE program, supporting Positive Behavior schoolwide. Last year's focus was on behavior in our "common areas" - hallways, stairwells, restrooms, water fountains, and dismissal areas. This year's initiative brings the focus into the classroom. Our Seahawk PRIDE team has been hard at work all summer, analyzing surveys and discipline data, and creating lessons regarding consistent classroom behavior expectations that will be delivered to all of our students during the first week of school through our Activity Bell Schedule.

Our Scoggins PTA has also been hard at work, recruiting new families - especially our dads - through our initiation into the Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) program. We are so excited that this program will be coming to Scoggins this year, and we already have several dads signed up to help volunteer. Please consider joining them at our Watch D.O.G.S. kickoff Pizza Night here in the Scoggins cafeteria on Thursday, September 2, from 6 to 7:30 PM.

As of today, we have 825 students enrolled at Scoggins for the 10-11 school year - an increase of 100 students over last year (please be patient and follow carpool guidelines!). With the opening of three new middle schools in Frisco ISD this fall, several of our middle schools have gotten smaller, and we are trading places with them. It's hard to believe that in just starting year #3, we will actually be one of the "big kids" this year! We want all of our families to know that we're prepared and eager to meet that challenge, and that even as we grow, we will always be committed to serving and supporting each and every one of our students and families - please let us know how we can help you!

Please enjoy these last few hours of summer (despite the heat) and stay strong - Labor Day is just around the corner!

Let's have a great first week, and Go, you Seahawks!