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October 15, 2005
Changes in No Work Left Behind
I want to thank everyone for the significant contributions that have been made to our new No Work Left Behind homework policy. Our goal was to instill excellent work habits in our students so that Mabry has a work culture in which homework was expected, valued, and meaningful to the learning process. We have seen a significant increase in timely homework completion.
Since we have successfully implemented this program for 9 weeks, we are hopeful that our students have developed strong work habits that will persist in helping them reach our school goal: maximized student achievement. In an effort to maximize our teachers’ planning time and to minimize classroom disruption in PE and Connections, we are now transitioning the No Work Left Behind program.
Essentially, the goals for the program remain the same. The structure, however, will be slightly altered beginning on Monday, October 24, 2005. Students who do not turn in satisfactorily completed homework on the same day the assignment is due will:
- Be issued a slip to go home to the parent informing them that the child did not have satisfactory homework completion from the night before and are
- Required to attend an 8:15AM morning homework session in the theater on the next school day.
- Students who attend this session and turn in their completed work by the end of the session will be given at least half credit for the work.
- If a student does not attend the morning session and does not turn in the completed assigned work by the end of the morning session at 8:45AM, the student will receive a zero for the assignment.
- In order to avoid getting the zero for the work that was not completed on the day it was due, the student must have done two things: attend the morning session and turn in the completed assignment to the morning homework session teacher by 8:45.
- Work turned in after the 8:45 bell will not be given credit.
- Students who fail to complete homework 3 times in a given 9 weeks will not be able to participate in the grade level block parties which reward students for good behavior and homework completion.
At the teacher’s discretion, the student may be required to come to the teacher’s classroom for instructional assistance rather than doing the work in the theater with the morning homework session. In our effort to encourage greater responsibility for our students and have a less intensive intervention, students will no longer miss any classes as part of No Work Left Behind.
We look forward to your continued support of our efforts to maximize student academic achievement.
Posted by Tim Tyson at 12:19 PM
October 07, 2005
Clubs and Organizations
Mabry teachers sponsor wonderful co-curricular activities for our students. Among the newest is the National Junior Honor society, which held its inaugural induction ceremony on September 23, 2005. Students with the highest academic averages at Mabry were inducted making them a highly esteemed group. Student Forum is being organized and will have elections organized through the Social Studies classes, culminating in an exciting "convention" where 8th graders listen to speeches and elect their President for the year. If you've driven in the bus lot, you've noticed the tie-dyed van which is being enthusiastically painted by the Art club. Other groups kicking off the year include the Foreign Language club, Charger club, Mabry News Team, and student editors for The Charging Times newsletter. Mabry continues its tradition of fine music with Chorus, Orchestra and Band who meet continually as large groups and ensembles. Our Intramural program reaches out to our students with an inclination for team sports and activity. Science continues to contribute through the Environmental Club with new projects in planning which include a robotics competition team and a Future City competition team. Mabry Middle School indeed sees the future so bright, you gotta wear shades........ as we lead students in limitless learning.
Posted by DeBardeleben at 10:20 AM
