Aspen Community School
February 2020 Notes from the Principal
Hello Aspen families and supporters.
How can it possibly be February already? Great things are happening at school. Our two spelling bee champions, Charlie R and Charlie O performed well at the county spelling bee. Basketball season for boys is underway. The teams are representing our school well with their skill AND character. I am so proud of them. Our cheerleaders are also representing Aspen with pride.
Our students are progressing in Reading Skills. The table below shows the percentage of students proficient in reading from September to December.
|
% Proficient in Reading
|
September
|
December
|
|
K
|
17
|
25
|
|
1
|
7
|
15
|
|
2
|
31
|
38
|
|
3
|
29
|
38
|
|
4
|
26
|
30
|
|
5
|
32
|
33
|
|
6
|
27
|
22
|
|
7
|
7
|
13
|
|
8
|
6
|
7
|
With this rate of growth, we hope to have over 50% proficient by the end of the year. Thank you, parents for all you do to support your child with academics. Reading at home helps as does having simple conversations and getting kids off screens.
Students are working diligently on STEM projects. Today I witnessed a students working on a project to use wind power to charge cell phones. The school-wide Science Fair will be held on February 10th during the school day. The district science event will be held on February 13th 5:00-7:30 at the SF Convention Center. We will notify all families of students who will be competing or presenting at the district event. Please encourage and congratulate your young scientist as they engage in the wonderful world of science, technology, engineering and math!
A word about the grading scale change - In case you haven’t read the article that best describes why we are changing from a 100 point grading scale to a 4 point grading scale, here is a link to an article that sums it up niceley: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfD-mOLMhYjdohfuU8Vo8GnGYs-vfCImwZEVLMJiBNFU8iJkA/viewform This is a much more fair system and will lead to fewer failing grades. Along with the grading change, teachers are dedicated to making sure students get all work completed. Hey, when I have a report due to my bosses, I can’t simply take a zero! This is a good lesson for our students. As with any change, there are bound to be a few glitches. Don’t hesitate to let me know if you find one. tmorris@sfps.k12.nm.us.
Your school PTO and your SAC (School Advisory Council) will meet this Wednesday, February 5th at 5:30 and 6:15 respectively. You are cordially invited and highly encouraged to attend. It’s a blast working on events for students and making decisions about the future of our school together. Please join us.
The calendar is full, as usual, so please make note of important dates.
Finally, I would like to call your attention to the fact that your child has several talented, dedicated, hard-working teachers. They deserve to be appreciated and thanked. The Aspen Community School website has a form for compliments and complaints. It has been my experience that many people are quick to complain, but few take the time to compliment. I would like to encourage you to consider complimenting any teachers with whom you are well pleased. Thank you.