Important Note From Ms. Willett

Dear Parents,

I had a couple concerns from parents about the 52 Math problems that were sent home for homework this past week. In response to them, I told them that these problems were assigned as review IN class and that students were given over an hour to complete them. It was the students' choice to work on the Math or to work on their Science Fair Projects (which they had also been given time to work on in class). Some students chose to do Science. Many students chose to talk and fool around with their peers.

Last night, while grading their last Social Studies test, I noticed many students were not answering the questions correctly, which resulted in only a few A+s, Many As, and several A-s and Bs. Since we had used the lesson as a group Interactive Editing piece, and individual Interactive Editing piece, AND played a review game, I assumed most students would do well. Today I asked the class to please answer honestly... "How many of you honestly took home your Social Studies notebook and sat down to study for the test?" 4 students raised their hands. I then asked how many took their books home to study for TODAY'S test. 8 raised their hands.

I am very concerned, as although we only have 1 month left of school, this is the critical month where their grades count as their FINAL grade in all subject areas. Students seem to have given up and don't seem to be putting up the effort to achieve success.

Today in class they were again given time to work independently, finish homework, and ask for help. Only a handful of students actually did this effectively. Most had to be reminded on several occasions to use their time wisely and get to work.

Please talk with your son/daughter about the importance of trying their best, especially in these last weeks, as these are the weeks that truly count and I wish for all the students to succeed.

Thank you,
Ms. Willett

P.S. Plato testing is also this week (and next) and students would benefit GREATLY from studying old concepts via the links on the blog.