5/7/12

May Principal's Corner



May 2012

Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you!

Dear Parents/Guardians, It is May!!

This month is significant for many reasons, the most obvious being: The month of Mary; spring flowers and weather; the end of the school year. Yes, the end of the school year is definitely here, and we are going to have a very busy few weeks. But, before I talk about this month's activities, I want to give you some exciting information from last month.

First of all, we have the results from our accreditation visit from AdvanceEd (SACS/CASI). I have attached the complete report for your reading. We received four very good commendations which are (quoted):

• The school's mission/purpose reflects its Catholic identity, and it is prominently displayed throughout the school and community and has been consistent throughout the school's history.

• The individualization of meeting student needs is designed so that no student is allowed to fail due to lack of effort on the part of the school.

• The ethos of the school is that of safety, warmth, family, and genuine caring for each individual and in the community at large.

• Parental/family involvement and support of OLPH is outstanding with very high levels of participation in all areas of the program.

We are very proud and pleased with these commendations. The full reports gives also required actions and how we scored in each standard. It is a very good report. For those of you who do not understand the accreditation process, I will briefly try to explain. This process takes place every five years. We spent months gathering, writing, and submitting information that is required by AdvanceEd. Through self-assessment, we came up with a school improvement plan. A team of four people (not involved with this school or any Knoxville Diocesan school) trained by AdvanceEd came for a two day on-site visit. They received all of the submitted information beforehand. During this visit, they looked at artifacts and evidence to support our self-assessment as well as did interviews with teachers, students, and parents. They also visited classrooms and observed teaching, transitions, and every day happenings. They sequestered themselves for a while to do a rough draft of their findings and reported the brief summary to us. Yesterday, I received the full report. The scoring of each standard is one of four options: highly functional, operational, emerging, and not evident. We received 4 highly functionals and 2 operationals.

Also, last month we received scores from the various tests our students took. The T-CAP Writing Assessment was taken by 5th & 8th graders in February. Both grades did well, but our 8th grade blew it out of the water. These assessments are scored on a 1 through 6. 6=outstanding; 5=strong; 4=competent; 3=limited; 2=flawed; and 1=deficient. Thirty-seven 5th grade students took the test and received 2 (5%) sixes, 14 (38%) fives, 4 (49%) fours, 3 (8%) threes. Forty-two 8th grade students were assessed and their scores were 8 (19%) sixes, 17 (40+%) fives, and 17 (40+%) fours.

The 5th & 8th grade students also took the NCEA ACRE (Catholic Religion Assessment) test. Again, the 8th grade blew it out of the water. There are many parts or categories to this test, and I cannot give all of the data. However, I am happy to say that 5th grade met national averages on most parts. There were a couple of areas that we need to improve on. The 8th grade students scored way above the national in every category.

The IOWA's just came in, and I have not had an opportunity to really look at them yet. At first glance is looks as though our National School Percentiles are at 90% and above in every grade level except in 2nd where they are in the 82nd %. As a staff, we will be analyzing the data and seeing how we compare to the past and how much our students have grown. All of the data for your student will be sent home with report cards.

Now about May. Right now we are in the midst of transition meetings with parents. You should have gotten information from the teachers on your child's/children's next year teachers for a meeting. These meetings are to give you some information of what to expect in the new year. If you were/are unable to attend, please fill free to contact any of the teachers for any information. One piece of information that all teachers are giving is that there will be no summer AR testing this year. The students will have summer reading, but they will be responsible for another type of accountability rather than come in for the tests. The reasons for this are the rising gas prices as well as the high utility bills for power on the computers and the air conditioning the building.

Upcoming events this month are:

• BVM (Blessed Virgin Mary) Awards will be given out after mass on Friday, May 4.

• Author and Notre Dame Alum, Chris Grabenstein, will be presenting to 5th-8th grades on Monday, May 7.

• Booster Club meeting on Monday, May 7, 6:00.

• Band concert including our students at Notre Dame on Tuesday, May 8, 7:00 P.M.

• Last $1 out of uniform on Wednesday, May 9.

• May Crowning after mass on Friday, May 11.

• Eighth Grade Notre Dame Transition meeting and celebration rehearsal on Monday morning, May 14.

• Eighth Grade Class Night on Monday May 14, 6:30 P.M.

• Eighth Grade Celebration Mass (graduation) on Tuesday, May 15, 6:30 P.M.

• Pre-K4 Celebration Luncheon on Wednesday, May 16.

• Kindergarten Celebration on Wednesday, May 16, 7:00 P.M.

• Seventh Grade Growing in Faith on Friday, May 18.

• Field Day on Monday, May 21. Last day of school, and it is a full day. Awards for 5th-7th at 2:15.

Exciting News: Kathy Sumrell submitted a grant to the Recyclebank Green Schools Program and originally was awarded part of the money she applied for. They have now come back and stated: We shared each school's Green Plan with our partners at Coca-Cola Live Positively, and they were so moved and impressed with the green initiatives and innovation, that they have generously decided to fund the remaining portion of the grant goal amount! We will be receiving a check for $1,565.97. This presentation will take place Tuesday, May 15, in Nature's Place at 1:00. Congratulations and thanks to Kathy.

There will be other events and happenings coming up in individual grades; you will be notified by your teachers on these.

As I close this last Principal's Corner for the school year of 2011-2012, I want to thank all of you for trusting us with your children and for all of your support. I personally think that OLPH is one of the best schools in this city; however, we could not be without you. As I reflect on the seven years I have been here, I am very pleased with our many accomplishments, but I realize there is so much more we can and should do. For those of you who are leaving this school, I wish your students and you well?our prayers will always be with you. For those of you who will be back, I look forward to working with your children and you again next year. I wish all of you a wonderful and safe summer.

God bless,

Jeri McInturff