Skyline SchoolWe Feel SO Appreciated!!!
This week is Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week at Skyline School. Current and former Skyline families worked many hours over the weekend to create an amazing outdoor picnic area for our staff members. The weather cooperated today, and we ate outside in this new, beautiful setting. Thank you to everyone who participated in this project. The Skyline staff members will enjoy this area for many years to come.
Dates to Remember
May 31 -- 8th Grade Project Presentations, 6-7:30
June 1 -- Skyline Carnival, 5-8
June 6 -- 4/5 Exhibition 6-7:30
June 7 -- Move for the Arts, 12:15 - 3:00
June 8 -- Tshirt orders due
June 13 -- Last day of School
September 4 -- Middle School Boot Camp
September 5 -- School begins
Principal Wood's Message
On Friday, April 20th, I was privileged to attend the Oregon PTA Convention, at which Skyline’s PTA was honored twice: First, our PTA was jointly recognized with Skyline Stewards and our Green Team for the community’s hard work in transforming our school’s grounds, garden boxes, and overall sustainability efforts at our school. Earning the 2012 Project Award was a special surprise, since we also earned the Project Award in 2011 for Skyline’s Auction. Way to go, PTA! Next, our whole PTA was honored as the only unit in Oregon to earn the statewide Certificate of Excellence, for volunteering, parent participation, recruiting, and overall contributions to student achievement. We were joined at the awards dinner by Superintendent Carole Smith and Oregon’s Teacher of the Year, Elena Garcia-Velasco, a Spanish teacher at Roosevelt High School, who inspired all of us with her passion and optimism on behalf of her students.
Changes Coming to Middle Grades Math.
Oregon, like 45 other states nationwide, has adopted new, more rigorous Math standards for all grades K-12 called the "Common Core State Standards"; these new, higher standards will first be tested in 2014. In many ways, the greatest impact will be felt in grades 6-9. For example, 43% of the Math skills formerly tested in Algebra will now be covered in "regular" seventh
grade Math. Over the next two years, Skyline, like all other 6-8 programs in PPS, will be phasing in a more rigorous common math program for all 6th-graders. This week, all Skyline 6th-graders took a "CAR Test" for placement into one of two 7th-grade Math courses for next year: (1) CCSS 7th-grade Math (which reflects the new, higher standards), or (2) a more accelerated 2-year "compacted" option for students who wish to earn high school Algebra credit while in the Middle Grades. Essentially, this "compacted" option compresses three years’ worth of Math – 7th-grade Math, 8th-grade Math, and Algebra – into two rigorous years. Students teachers will consider their OAKS-Math scores, their in-class grades and work samples, and the CAR Test results in determining which students to recommend for the accelerated 7th-8th option. Further details will be coming home shortly in a letter from the District’s Curriculum Office. We remain committed to providing opportunities for Geometry credit next year for students enrolled in Algebra this year.
Skyline Enrollment and Staffing for 2012-13.
Final K-8 Lottery results are due to be released by the District next week. All indications remain that Skyline will experience enrollment growth next year, particularly in Kindergarten, 1st grade, and 6th-grade. I’ve been pleased to welcome at least 3 new Skyline-area Kindergarten families during the past two weeks, and am confident we’ll have at least 30+ Kindergarteners next year. My earlier projections of 3 K/1 sections, 2 2/3 sections and 3 4/5 sections hold. As I mentioned last week, our status as an IB World School and the generosity of our Foundation, PTA, and parent volunteers, have enabled us to retain all of our K-5 teachers and to keep our MS team stable even in the face of declining resources from the District.
David Wood
