Parent Conferences and Student Placement

With an approved operating budget under our belts, we can now move forward with all the important activities that help us prepare for next year.  It is hard to believe, but as of this post we have 60 days left in this school year!  The days will be packed with new learning, practicing skills, exploring concepts, and measuring progress.  We have our Artists in Residence coming up in just a week, with culminating activities on April 8th.  Our fourth graders will take the NECAP Science test this spring, and all our students will participate in the end of year testing that helps us know how to plan for instruction next fall.  In my experience as an administrator, this is one of the busiest times of year - we're still focused on instruction for this year, while planning for next year!

At the end of the week, I will send home a "parent input form" regarding next year's class placement.  I can remember filling these out every year for my two children, Adam (now 20 and a sophomore at Middlebury College) and Megan (now 22 and a special education teacher in NYC).  How I agonized over those forms!  It didn't seem possible that "the school" could know my children as well as I did.  Indeed, the teachers and school counselors did not know the children I knew at home, but they had unique insights into how my children interacted and behaved at school.  In the spring of her fifth grade year, Megan came home in tears.  The teachers had placed in her in a teaching team that would separate her from her closest friend, Lindsay.  She was devastated!  Of course, we were outraged and promised to "take care" of the problem.

When we arrived at school at our appointed time, we found the entire fifth grade team, including the Unified Arts and the principal waiting to hear us out.  I talked about Megan's friendship with Lindsay and how important it was to her.  Gently, each teacher described how Megan relied heavily on Lindsay's approval.  They were concerned that Megan needed to branch out and have confidence in herself and her work.  After hearing them out, we agreed with their decision.  It was indeed, a humbling experience!   Megan ended up in a different team from Lindsay.  The girls' friendship remained strong, and Meg's self confidence blossomed.

I relate this story not to discourage you from writing your thoughts, hopes, and fears for your child.  Rather, I want you to know that we DO appreciate the perspective of parents AND we will exercise our own good judgment about the best learning situation for all our Ospreys.  I'm confident we can work together to make next year a wonderful year for each student.

Creating Identity and Belonging

I have a vivid recollection of my first PTO meeting as the new MBS principal.  I was impressed with the size of the group, and the passion of the parents in attendance.  At that meeting, it became very clear to me that the transition to MBS is a BIG deal for children and families in our community.  As I recall, one parent asked, "But who are we at Maletts Bay School?  We feel such a sense of belonging at Porter's and Union, and then our kids come here and it is big... but it is not the middle or high school.  Who are we?"

As I've grown to know the school, I believe we are coming closer to an answer, an identity, and a sense of belonging.  We are the elementary school.  Porter's and Union are the primary schools - these smaller, more intimate settings allow young children and families to ease into the transition to public school.  As our students come together at Malletts Bay, they face the developmental challenges of this age group.  They make the normal transition from young children who seek to please adults to young students who are intensely aware of their peers.  They develop a sense of responsibility, and the self control to show respect toward others and interact in a manner that is both physically and emotionally safe.

In selecting the Osprey as their mascot, our MBS students chose wisely.  This week, we were treated to a very informative presentation by Steve Costello from Central Vermont Public Service.  CVPS has been instrumental in helping to create osprey nesting places, bringing this magnificent native bird back from the edge of extinction.  Our students learned that young ospreys must grow very quickly  - they grow from 2 oz. at birth to nearly their adult size in only 3 months!  Their adult wingspan is close to six feet!

So, too, our MBS Ospreys grow quickly.  They acquire the skills they will need to be productive, independent, and successful learners.  Our new logo, created by Deb Kehoe of Kehoe Design, shows a strong osprey soaring to success.  As our students grow in the three years of elementary school, we hope to build their identity and sense of belonging; their passion for learning; and their ability to stand up, speak out, and become active, involved learners.

Go Ospreys!

Target and Project Time a Big Success!

Our scheduling innovation is in full swing this month.  Beginning November 29th, our students began a new 30-minute period that we call "project" and "target" time.  During "target" time, our students focus in on one area of instruction.  Teachers were asked to think about ONE area of instruction that could have a positive affect on the performance of all students.  They looked carefully at the evidence of learning to date, and designed some focused instructional lessons to address the learning needs of the different proficiency levels.  Students move to one classroom for 30 minutes to engage in short, focused instructional sessions "targeted" at their particular learning need.  Target time happens three days a week for each grade level. 

On the other two days, the students work with Unified Arts teachers on creative, integrated projects.  Mrs. Millham joined the fifth grade team to offer a session on "Leadership," bringing class size numbers for each project time within a reasonable range. 

Organizing for project and target time took a great deal of thought and planning.  I'm so proud of MBS students, teachers and staff for taking this on!  The faces of our students and their positive excitement make it all worthwhile.  I stopped to ask many students how they are enjoying this change, and so far have heard only positive comments.  However, if you would like your child to have a chance to take my survey, you can visit the survey site here:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SBMQHSL

We plan to use the information from our targeted intervention lessons to continue to plan for differentiated learning within classrooms. In January, we do another round of "benchmark" testing using our new math curriculum based measures.  This benchmark testing helps us to measure general outcomes in math, and screen  for any students who might be falling a bit behind so that we can offer support.  We also check in on our students' reading fluency. 

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to participate on the Colchester School District's Core Vision Planning Team.  It was an exciting and interesting two days.  The process being used to create a new vision for our schools is interactive, and will involve the voices of a broad range of people with an interest and a stake in our schools.  I'll be reporting more about the Vision process on my blog.  The Core Vision team meets again in February after each team member interviews three to five people.  I can't wait to start interviewing and getting to know more people in this beautiful community.  I feel very welcomed and at home here; I wish you all a very hopeful and peaceful holiday season.  Thank you for allowing me to be part of your child's educational experience.

Peace,

Mrs. Julie Benay

Campaign Season at MBS - What Will Our New Mascot Be?

Did you know that MBS is the only building in the District without a mascot??  We need a mascot to bring us together, represent our elementary school, and create some fun and school spirit.  Many students took last month's "Principal's Challenge" and nominated mascots ranging from elephants to "breakers" to lynx and minks.  We had a few nominations for Captain Mallett, and one student nominated herself!  In the end, a committee voted to narrow the field to two finalists - the Malletts Bay Osprey or the Malletts Bay Black Bears.  Students and families are invited to "campaign" for one of these two finalists throughout the week.  Whether creating posters, persuasive essays, or campaign stickers, let your voice be heard! 

On Elelction Day (Tuesday, November 2nd) each class will visit the library for their scheduled "voting" time.  Mrs. Reith has volunteered to create real voting booths, replete with the classic red striped curtains!  Mrs. Hebert created lovely ballots, and teachers will use a class list to check students in before the vote.  We are exploring a way for families and community members to vote using a "survey monkey," google doc, or a feature in our Alert Now system.  We definitely could use some help during November 3rd- 5th to tally up the ballots - give a call if you have the time and inclination to help with this latest project. 

Meanwhile, it is "Red Ribbon Week," an initiative led by our School Resource Officer Jamie Bressler.  She'll be visiting MBS students to remind them of health practices that will help them create a drug and alcohol free future.  We are having fun with color days, starting with "Green Day" on Monday.

We're very happy to have the NECAP tests all boxed up and ready to shop off to Measured Progress the vendor who created the test.  We hear that results will be back sometime in January, and we look forward to seeing how our students did on this annual test.

Soon it will be time for parent -teacher conferences and first trimester report cards.  The year is flying by, and I"m enjoying every minute of my time in Colchester.  Thanks to everyone for your enthusiastic support.

Mrs. Julie Benay

Walk On!

It was great to see so many families at Open House.  I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did.  We had a series of student "meetings" last week, where I first actually introduced myself to the students.  Until the "meetings," I think some of them were not entirely sure who I was, and they treated me with some distance and caution.  After the meetings, the children have been very friendly and loving. 

It turns out that both Mrs. Millham and I like to play the guitar and sing, so we taught the students our new school song, "At Malletts Bay."  Ask them to sing it for you!

We are coming up on a busy month in October.  We have a "Principal's Challenge" for Walk to School Day," Wednesday October 6th.  Check the website for more details.  One third grader was so excited that she went home after the 3rd grade meeting and made her poster already!

The week of October 4th - 8th we will also be doing our annual NECAP testing.  Mrs. Millham talked with the students about the importance of MBS pride, and of doing their personal best on the test.  Of course, teachers have also spent time in classrooms talking with students about the test and preparing them by spending time on some sample problems that are "released" from previous years' tests. 


Students were eager to show their parents "Study Island."  This new online program allows students to do some self-paced practice for tests such as the NECAP, and gives teachers "real time" data on how well students seem to know particular concepts or skills.  You can access Study Island from home or from the library; if you are having any trouble getting on, your child's teacher can help out.

The week of October 11th - 15th we'll be kicking off our new "Farm to School" project with some taste tests in the cafe on Tuesday and Thursday.  Students will be involved in handing out the taste tests, rating the samples, and collecting and tallying the data.  Local farmers will be visiting us to show their produce and talk about their role in our community.

Looking ahead to November, we are going to do another "Principal's Challenge" centered around nominating and voting for a school mascot.  Since the middle and high school both have mascots, we think MBS needs a mascot!  We'll run the challenge as a "campaign," and our MBS "citizens" will vote for their favorite mascot on voting day.

And we're off!

Life at MBS is full and busy.  The students have settled quickly into the routines of the day.  Mrs. Millham has worked very hard to establish pleasant and safe routines in the lunchroom, and the PE department is working to teach safe and appropriate use of the playground.  The interactive whiteboards are a wonderful teaching tool!  So many students benefit from the added visual content and the ability to interact with the instructional material.  Soon I'll be working with some fourth graders from Mrs. Boucher's class to create a short video to show everyone what an interactive whiteboard is and how it contributes to a great learning environment - watch the home page to see the students in action!  Next week the home page will also have some important updated content, including the parent-student handbook and a letter explaining our status as an "identified school" under No Child Left Behind.  As many are aware, this law is a Federal Law that applies to any school that accepts Federal dollars, which is every public school in Vermont.  The law requires us to take a close look at achievement information not only for all students as one group, but also for different subcategories.  Watch the home page for more information on our status and our plans for school improvement.  From my view, Malletts Bay is a very good school.  We are making good use of the financial resources (a fairly sizeable Federal grant) that is intended to help "identified" schools make progress.  We were able to purchase several new instructional tools with this grant that will benefit all students.  More news to come on this and other exciting developments at MBS.

Mark your calendars - next Tuesday is the PTO meeting where we'll talk about Walk to School Day and our new initiative to connect our students with farmers in our community - Food Education Every Day, or Project FEED.  We also have picture day on the 16th - I'm looking forward to seeing what the students choose to wear for their photos!

Here we go!

What a busy summer at school!  Mrs. Millham, Mrs. Reith, and Mrs. Racicot have been very helpful and welcoming.  I've learned a great deal about Malletts Bay School and all the exciting things we have going on this school year.  I had the opportunity to meet the other administrators in the Colchester School District, and to meet with the School Board. 

I also met with the Malletts Bay Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) and I am excited about all the positive energy and ideas parents bring to their school.  The PTO will be at the August 31st Back to School Open House, ready to welcome new families and students.  I'm looking for a group of fifth graders to be "welcome buddies" for our new third graders.  If you are interested, give me a call at school or send me an email.

Mrs. Millham and I have a surprise for those who can attend the "Back to School" barbeque on August 26th.  I plan to introduce myself to the community with a few words, and then we have a special surprise before we all sit back and enjoy the music of "Mango Jam." 

While it has been very busy and interesting working at school this summer, what we really need are some KIDS!  The teachers are all coming in to set up their classrooms, we're organizing some new programs and technology, and putting the final touches on a busy summer of moving, cleaning, and setting up - we're just about ready for the students and families.  I can't wait to meet you!