September
2015
Dear
Parent/Guardian,
Welcome to
Shadow Ridge Middle School (SRMS)! The
SRMS Staff is thrilled to start another year!
We will be
implementing our mission throughout the 2015-16 school year, “Preparing 21st
Century students to be productive and successful.” We are thrilled to continue our focus on
literacy. We are in our second year of
our eight period day. Instead of four
content (language arts, math, science, and social studies) classes, we split
language arts allowing students to have a literacy and writing class for 100
minutes. After one year, our MAPS
(Measurement of Academic Progress) scores have increased. We will continue our advisory (home room)
class on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday of every week integrating
teambuilding, silent reading, and individualized online math skills.
The school
day consists of an eight hour day, all grades being on the same bell
schedule. All students will be passing from class to
class at the same time, with all teachers supervising out in the hallway. The class periods will be approximately 50
minutes long with a 30 minute lunch and 17 minute intervention time attached to
lunch. On Wednesdays classes will
consist of 39 minutes, no advisory, and a 39 minute lunch.
We continue
to implement SBG (Standards Based Grading).
The purpose of SBG is simply to raise student achievement by clearly
communicating a student’s progress toward learning outcomes. Research supports that standards-based
grading will help students learn more effectively through specific and timely
feedback. Additional standards based
grading information may be found on our district website, www.adams12.org.
Another area
of focus is MAPS. The individualized
assessments are given a minimum of two times a year (fall and winter). Staff and students set goals, review growth,
and analyze areas of strengths while viewing areas of continued work. The assessments are taken on the computer and
assists with timely feedback.
Students, we
welcome you to another year of middle school.
The staff is committed to your success academically. Please continue to be prepared as you enter
each individual class. Although we do
not have athletics, we do have extra-curricular opportunities that will allow a
nice balance for an enjoyable and productive year. We are encouraging you to participate in a
club or intramurals. Intramurals run
throughout the year. Our district data
indicates a positive correlation between academic success and extra-curricular
participation, so find an activity you enjoy!
Parents, the
teachers and I would like to invite you to attend any of your student’s
functions, as well as classes. Your communication and feedback regarding your
child’s success is vital. All staff
members have email and voicemail, email is the most efficient source of
communication for our staff. Our goal is
to return your call or email within 24-48 hours of receiving it. We also encourage you to visit our school’s
web page, it is a great source for updated information. Please listen to the weekly auto-dialer
messages, we will continue to call on the auto-dialer system for important
updates or reminders. The school
newsletter is posted on the school website.
Newsletters will not be mailed or sent home with students
I am
thrilled to be a part of SRMS and developing a well-rounded experience for your
child. Thank you for supporting your
child, our staff, and our district!
Sincerely,
Susie Wickham
Principal
