It's official...Spring and Testing Season are upon us here at TJHS. This morning as I worked in my office, the company who cares for our landscaping arrived. They are here to clean up and put down mulch in our shrub beds, 11 1/2 yards of mulch to be exact. As I watched them meticulously spread the fresh dark mulch in our shrub beds near the main entrance, I thought about how much I enjoy Spring. The freshly mowed grass, the flowering trees, the resurgence of the plants and all that is green...what a great time of year! It reminds us of the often long and cold Winter (maybe not as cold this year) that we must endure in order to experience such a return to life.
My thoughts shifted to the upcoming Ohio Achievement Assessments (OAAs) and the Testing Season that we are in as well. Much like the Spring season, the Testing season is an opportunity for our students and staff to shine. At this time in the year they can demonstrate that they have put in the hours, sometimes long and sometimes difficult, necessary to continue to perform at a high level on the state tests. The teachers and staff here work diligently throughout the year to provide a quality education to our students, instilling in them the skills necessary not only to be successful on the upcoming OAAs, but also in life. April 23-27 will be the opportunity for our students to, much like Spring, once again shine, and I have every reason to believe that they will. As I mentioned before, I have every reason to believe that our students will perform well on these tests. However, please keep in mind that these are a snapshot of the performance of our students in the tested areas, useful as one of many reference points for the quality instruction provided at TJHS.
What can parents and families do to help their son or daughter prepare for the OAAs? I'm glad you asked! They can start by visiting this site, http://ohio3-8.success-ode-state-oh-us.info/. This site tells what's expected of students, provides an opportunity to practice for the tests, and explains how to understand test results. I also strongly encourage parents and families to communicate with your child's teachers. The current tested areas are Reading and Math in 7th grade, along with Reading, Math, and Science in 8th grade. Teachers in these subjects can share points of strength and weakness your child may have so that you can help them to better prepare for the upcoming tests. I greatly appreciate your partnership as we finalize our preparations for these tests over the next two weeks. I would also like to notify you of a change in our schedule, with an extended advisory period, to provide additional time for preparing our students. Below is our modified schedule that we will run on from April 9-20. We will have a separate schedule that we will operate on the week of testing, April 23-27.
Schedule for April 9-20:
1st 7:35-8:30
2nd 8:33-9:23
3rd 9:26-10:16
Advisory 10:19-11:03
Remainder of the Day Normal
Thank you for all of your support! Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns regarding the upcoming testing.
Yours in Education,
Dave Dilbone
