Opportunities to improve- What can you do?

We are embarking on a week long trip of enrichment and OTI- other opportunities to improve. This is for all the students who did not pass the EOG's the first time. Most of our students missed the cut off by 2-5 problems. I feel sure they will meet their goal this second time around.

Thinking about OTI- what can you do to improve on what you did this year in the classroom? We had good scores. Some would even say we had great scores in some areas. But, we all have room for improvement. No one teacher in our school can do this alone. It is a matter of building upon what each teacher did beginning from pre-K through fifth grade and beyond. Each one of us adds to the foundation of each student who attends South Fork. Preparation for the end of grade exams do not begin in third grade...it starts the minute they enter our doors and it doesn't stop once they leave us...it continues, I hope, for the rest of their lives. It takes all of us and we are all doing what needs to be done to prepare our students- or not prepare them- if that is the case. We are all in this together. Where one fails, we all fail- We are a TEAM. Where one succeeds- we all succeed- We are a TEAM. Where one receives a bonus- we all receive one- not because of just the one but because we all had a hand in the success of the students. If you believe otherwise- come see me. We need to have a chat.

So, what can you do now and through the summer as opportunities to improve your teaching in science, reading, writing, or math? What can you do to help strengthen the foundations of our students next year? How can you help them build better character, or build more empathy or sympathy for others? Are you a good role model for your students? What opportunities do you need to improve?

Share your thoughts and ideas. The blog has been quiet for too long.

EOG week

It is End of Grade week this week at South Fork. We have had three tests- including Science- and we have one more tomorrow in math. It is a short day for testing and the last day for most of the students. We have about 7 students who will completing make up the rest of this week. Then we have a long weekend before we hit the ground running- again.


I have been amazed at how hard the students worked so far this week. I have never seen a group of kids stick with the reading test as ours did on Monday. We had several students who took the extra time to finish. It was truly awesome to watch. I hope the scores reflect how hard the kids worked. They should all have fours- if it does. Today, I saw so many students using all the strategies they have been practicing all year. It was a good day for testing today.


We are winding down the year but we still have three weeks to go. I hope now that testing is essentially over, we can take the time to do some activities with our students that fit into our curriculum but is not related to testing. Our multicultural week is the last week of school. Now would be a good time to do some hands on, fun, learning activities that involve the different cultures represented in our school.

Have fun with the end of school. Keep the kids engaged and pull out all those activities you used to do that made teaching fun. Let's end this year with a bang!