Happy Friday everyone,
I wanted to take this opportunity to touch base on a few different things.
Dealing with illness
I’m always happy to work with such great students, teachers, and staff. In the midst of the flu season and seasonal colds, our community is still pushing through to finish the semester strong. We love the commitment of our students and their desire to come to school, but we really hope you will keep them at home if they are sick. Our teachers and staff will work with them to make up the work.
Grades
As we finish the semester, I want to remind you again of the changes in grading policies. The district is working hard to ensure our students have equitable grades that truly represent student mastery. The district has provided a great breakdown of the policy. The deadlines for late work and recovery are fast approaching. Teachers are communicating specific options for their students to the students, so I would encourage you to review these with your students.
Celebrating Successes
As we finish up the semester, I want to celebrate all the hard work our students are doing. We are working as a staff to focus on celebrating our student successes rather than focusing on the areas where they came up short. This great video looks at how we mistakenly think punishment is more effective than rewards. If we want to see our students grow, let’s find opportunities to celebrate their accomplishments and support them through their challenges. I am so impressed with the quality of work our students continually produce, and I’m always surprised with how hard they are on themselves. They are their own worst critics, and it’s important for us to remind them of all they are doing that is good.
New IA Booster Club in Formation
I have heard from many parents about their desire to provide financial support for our Pathways and student clubs. As a new school, IA did not have an established Booster Club, but there is a group of parents who are now working to create one.
They are interested in additional volunteers to help in the process, particularly those with accounting and legal backgrounds who might be able to support the creation of the Umbrella Booster for IA.
Anyone interested in supporting this effort can reach out to Rob Alford (alfordr@fultonschools.org)