HS Coffee - Grading and Reporting @ Graded

At today's HS PTA Coffee approximately 35 parents dove into the topic of standards-based grading and we talked about the work that Graded's schoolwide Grading and Reporting Task Forces has been doing. Below is the presentation from the session, a video showing a discussion on what one school is doing, and a funny video on grading. You can also find resources at HS PTA Coffee: Learning and Grades. Please feel free to add your comments in the blog.

Standards-Based Grading at Casco Bay High School

Why Use a Standards-Based Grading System? from Expeditionary Learning on Vimeo.

Finally, a humorous look at grading. This is not standards-based grading and it is not what currently happens at Graded. Enjoy...

HS PTA Coffee: Learning and Grades

Image, Coffee and Cream via Creative Commons by Will Keightly

The topic for this month's HS PTA Coffee is "Learning and Grades"and we'll be talking about the school's plans for improving grading and reporting for students. Over the past year a schoolwide Grading and Reporting task force has been studying standards-based grading and there are plans to change our practices starting next year. In this meeting we'll focus on helping parents better understand the following:

• What is standards-based grading?
• How does standards-based grading differ from Graded's current system in the high school?
• What changes will students and parents notice in the future?

We hope that you will join us on Wednesday for this very important topic. 

For those of you who would like to learn more about the topic feel free to take a look at the following resources.

The Atlantic article, Letter Grades Deserve an 'F' by Jessica Lahey

"However, if the purpose of academic grading is to communicate accurate and specific information about learning, letter, or points-based grades, are a woefully blunt and inadequate instrument. Worse, points-based grading undermines learning and creativity,rewards cheating, damages students' peer relationships and trust in their teachers, encourages students to avoid challenging work, and teaches students to value grades over knowledge."

AASSA Conference presenter Doug Fisher shares his school's story in No Penalties for Practice. 

Although many question the value of grades-especially when they’re used to bribe students to complete work (see Kohn, 1999)—when they are given, they should reflect students’ understanding of the content. As one teacher noted, “I realized that bringing a pencil to class was not one of the algebra standards.”

May 24th will be here before you know it.

The members of the Class of 2014 had their first meeting on Friday to discuss the events for the next 70 days. Below is the presentation from our meeting. Please contact the High School office if you have any questions.

Post PTA Coffee Debrief

Wednesday's HS/MS PTA Coffee with Dr. Anthony Wong was well attended and parents left with more ideas and questions to consider. Much of the information that Dr. Wong covered is part of our health curriculum in grades 7 - 12 so our students know quite a bit about the effects of drugs. 


The two presentations provide parents with information on the following questions.

• Are drugs harmful?
• Why do teen try or use drugs?
• What leads to addiction?
• What drugs are available?

• What are the tools available to avoid, prevent or keep away from drugs?

Part 1 of the Presentation

Part 2 of the Presentation


In serving as a voice for high school parents the PTA representatives have expressed a need for more sessions like this for parents and students. We have plans to bring in Fabian Nacer to speak to the high school students and we are working on hosting Dr. Wong for a high school assembly. As part of our health and PE curriculum review and next year's counseling curriculum review we will be looking at revising our long-term strategy for helping students make healthier lifestyle choices. The use of drugs is just one of the areas that is covered.

Please feel free to comment on Dr. Wong's presentation or thoughts that you may have on this topic at Graded.

What Parents Should Know About Drugs and Drug Use

Dr. Anthony Wong will be on campus Wednesday from 8:30 - 10:00 am in the Auditorium for a MS/HS Coffee

In this dialogue, the following topics will be addressed;

1. What are the drugs available to our youngsters?
2. What are the most dangerous drugs?
3. How do drugs act and how do they cause addiction?
4. Why do they drink and try drugs?
5. What is addiction and how does it come about?
6. How do I know my child is using drugs?
7. What are the signs that my child is using drugs?
8. What are the short and long term effects/consequences of drug use in a youngster?
9. How can drug use be avoided or prevented?
10. What can parents, community and school do to make their respective environments safe?

• Drugs and alcohol seem to everywhere nowadays. Everyone who is famous, chic or in the headlines (whether good or bad) seems to be involved with them. Opinion polls seem to indicate that the majority of the people favor drug liberalization, but everyone you know seems to oppose it. Where is the truth?

• There are so many drugs on the market, many new ones that appear more lethal. They are available to anyone and can be acquired over the internet. Bu they can be more readily purchased in raves, nightclubs, “danceterias”, or wherever young people meet. Even more dangerous is the fact that some are fake or counterfeit, more potent and addictive than the real ones.

• All drugs, whether legal or illegal, can be dangerous, depending on the amount or purpose for which they are used. They are even more dangerous in young people, when their bodies and systems are still very immature. But it is worse when experimenting with alcohol and drugs at this age because addiction is much more likely at these early ages. 

• We all have heard of the telltale signs and symptoms of drug use in youngsters. But let me tell you that when you detect these signs and symptoms, it is generally too late, for they appear only when addiction is already established. Many permanent and residual damages, especially to the brain and neural system, will have occurred.

To prevent this chain of events, it is necessary that we establish a healthy and secure ambience for our children, at home, in school and with friends. The first step is to know the enemy and how it infiltrates and acts. Next, we must gain the trust and respect of our children. And finally, establish programs, methods, goals and cooperative measures to prevent and curtail drugs and alcohol in the settings our children are exposed to.

And the end result of these efforts is that it was really worth it.

Anthony Wong, MD, PhD

Cities of the Future: Innovative ideas from a Graded parent

While on vacation in South Africa I came across an article on IBM's 5 in 5. IBM researchers each year develop 5 innovations that will change the way that we live. In the innovation below you may recognize Sergio Borger who is a Graded parent. Based on the research that Sergio and the IBM team have been doing he predicts that cities will change dramatically in the future. Congrats to Sergio. Take a look below.

Article from IBM's 5 in 5, online

The other four innovations are:

• The classroom will learn you
• Buying local will beat online
• Doctors will routinely use your DNA to keep you well
• A digital guardian will protect you online

As we strive to help students to become innovative these are the types of ideas that they need to study and analyze.

Learn more about Graded's Third Culture Kids

Preparing for Parent-Teacher Conferences

With Parent-Teacher Conferences coming up I wanted to provide parents with tips that will hopefully lead to productive meetings. We certainly want to promote dialogues which focus on your child's learning and habits. It's all about looking at where he/she stands now and what can be done to support their progress in the future. There are several outstanding resources available for parents, teachers and administrators.

The Harvard Family Research Project published the "Parent–Teacher Conference Tip Sheets 
for Principals, Teachers, and Parents" They advise parents, teachers and administrators to approach conferences...

• as a two-way conversation
• with an emphasis on learning
• with an understanding that there will be opportunities and challenges discussed.

The guide also suggests that parents talk to teachers about the following.

• "Progress. Find out how your child is doing by asking questions like: Is my child performing at grade level? How is he or she doing compared to the rest of the class? What do you see as his or her strengths? How could he or she improve?" 
• "Assignments and assessments.Ask to see examples of your child’s work. Ask how the teacher gives grades."
• "Your thoughts about your child. Be sure to share your thoughts and feelings about your child. Tell the teacher what you think your child is good at. Explain what he or she needs more help with." 
• "Support learning at home. Ask what you can do at home to help your child learn. Ask if the teacher knows of other programs or services in the community that could also help your child."
• "Support learning at school. Find out what services are available at the school to help your child. Ask how the teacher will both challenge your child and support your child when he or she needs it."

Scholastic has published this article entitled, "Make the Most of Your Teacher Conference". The article focuses on preparing for conferences in advance by speaking with your child and reviewing grades and samples of work. .

Resources

5 Resources for Parent-Teacher Conferences from Edutopia

Libby Stephens, Expert on Third Culture Kids Visits Graded (October 21 - 23)

Third Culture Kids

"A third culture kid is a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside their parents’ culture. The TCK frequently builds relationships to all the cultures, while not having full ownership in any. Although elements from each culture may be assimilated into the TCK’s life experience, the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of similar background."

-Pollock & Van Reken

Libby Stephens will visit Graded on October 21 - 23 to work with parents, students, teachers and administrators. Ms. Stephens will meet with MS students during their Monday assembly and high school students on Tuesday. She'll also be meeting with individual classes throughout her three day visit. 

Faculty members will have the opportunity to meet with her after school on Monday after school. 

For parents, she will conduct two workshops on Monday morning and Tuesday evening. These meetings are for parents of students in all grade levels.

Monday, October 21 - 8:30 - 10:30 in the Black Box Theater

Tuesday, October 22 - 1930 - 2100 in the Auditorium.

We will be sharing more information prior to her visit but this short video will provide you with some basic information on Third Culture Kids.

Third Culture Kids - The Three Cultures from Libby Stephens on Vimeo.

Parent-Teacher Conference Sign-ups

The demand for parent-teacher conferences has been exceptional these past two years and we look forward to productive meetings on October 11 and 14. We have added an extra half day due to increased demand over the past two years. Last October there were a total of 634 conferences on the one day. We hope that this additional time will meet the needs of every parent who wishes to meet with his/her son's/daughter's teachers. Each conference is 15 minutes in length.

• Friday, October 11 - 1:00 - 4:00 pm
• Monday, October 14 - 8:00 - 12:00 and 1:00 - 4:00 pm

Conference signups begin tomorrow morning and you can sign up in the Veracross Parent Portal. Once you have logged in you have to follow the steps that are shown below to sign up for individual conferences. The portal will be open until October 10.

Please feel free to contact Carmen Souza (Carmen.Souza@graded.br) if you have any questions regarding these conferences. 

Senior Parent College Night: Live in-person or in the comfort of your home

Image from the Norfolk Public Library site

Next Thursday, September 12, the high school college counselors will have a presentation at 7:00 pm in the Black Box Theater. Topics to be covered include: 

• US application process and timeline, 
• common application, 
• reporting standardized test scores. 

They will also touch on certification of finances for international applicants, FAFSA for US citizens/residents, as well as UK/Ontario and European application timelines and processes. We hope that all seniors and their parents will attend this important event.

This meeting will be the first time that GradedLive will broadcast an evening meeting for parents and students. Participants can watch the meeting online and submit questions through a chat feature. The questions will be moderated and will either be addressed during the meeting or at a later date. Here is the link to the video stream and we will present more information on the chat feature next week. Thanks to the GradedLive students and the counselors for being risk-takers. We hope that this will be the first of many parent evening events that we can stream live.  

2013 Parent Open House

We were excited about opening up our classrooms to over 100 parents at Open House on Tuesday. The event included an opening session, a full assembly with the student body, classroom visits and a reception with teachers.

Opening Session Presentation
 During the student assembly Mr. Fernandes and the counseling team shared the results from the Challenge Success survey that students took in April. As a school, we will be using this information to target our efforts to create a healthier environment for all members of our community. Parents are invited to begin work at our September 25th PTA Coffee.

Student Assembly Presentation on Challenge Success

The Class of 2013: Graduation will be here before you know it.

COUNTDOWN CLOCKS

As you can see there your high school career is coming to an end in a very short amount of time. Enjoy the the coming days and think carefully about the legacy that the Class of 2013 will leave here at Graded. Your class has set the bar high for others in many ways. As leaders, you have been valuable contributors to our community services, activities and athletics groups/teams. One huge change in our culture has been the high percentage of you that are completing all three diplomas. The Class of 2013 has established an attitude that the IB diploma is attainable for the majority.

We had our second meeting on Friday to prepare for the Class of 2013 Graduation Ceremony. Below is the presentation from the meeting.  A couple of things to keep in mind:

1. Completed ticket lists may be turned in to Adelaide after 8:00 am on Monday, April 8. As we mentioned, the tickets are assigned based on order that the sheets are turned in. Also, please note that the "Standing" tickets are for individuals to watch a live feed of the ceremony in the Black Box. There will be seats for them to sit in.
2. Take note of the IB exam dates and times and make sure that you are on time. Also note our policy on study time during the IB exam period.
3. Graduation rehearsal dates and times will be announced soon and the rehearsals are mandatory.
4. Nominations for the Rob Neeleman Award are due by April 29. Send them to Mr. Peterson (blair.peterson@graded.br)
5. We will meet again before the end of April to continue the march to graduation.

Please feel free to e-mail Adelaide Garcia (adelaide.garcia@graded.br) if you have questions.

The Key to Understanding Your Teenager: The Adolescent Brain

This month's PTA Coffee will feature 

Adriana Fóz, a specialist in neuro-psychology as well as an educator and writer, will lecture on the neuroscience of the adolescent brain. 

Wednesday, February 27

Auditorium

8:30am - 10:00am

She will discuss the uniqueness of the adolescent brain and how it relates to teenage behavior and learning. Participants will gain insight into the pathway to the adolescent brain, by explaining the impact of earlier childhood experience on its development. Finally, Ms. Fóz will offer constructive tips for parenting your teenager.

This lecture will be in Portuguese with simultaneous English translation.

Below is a recent clip of Ms. Fóz from the Congresso Internacional de Neuropsicologia que ocorreu em novembro de 2011. XI Congresso Brasileiro de Neuropsicollogia

The Road to College Presentation

There was a full house last night at the Road to College presentation that was given by Cory Miller and Todd Daniel. This is such an exciting time for the juniors and their parents. The presentation from last night is below.

Feb 20 Junior Parent Meeting by Blair Peterson

Bold Schools Wrap-up: HS PTA Coffee

At yesterday's PTA coffee Gila Fregonesi and I presented information on academic program changes that we believe will positively impact students in the classes of 2015 and 2016. We also discussed Will Richardson's concept of Bold Schools. Below is the presentation from yesterday's coffee and a summary of some of the comments from our discussion. Feel free to watch Will's TEDxMelbourne talk and respond to the following survey.


 A brief summary of the comments from yesterday's meeting is below:

• The world is changing and technology must be embraced and integrated into education. We cannot teach the way that we did before.
• In today's world students are connected to a larger world. A classroom without walls. Helps students become citizens of the world.
• Learning is constant and it happens anytime, anywhere for students, teachers and parents. 
• Learning in schools has to be connected to real life. Have to look for ways to integrate studies into real world work.
• We need to make a paradigm shift that teachers to focus on learning, not teaching.
• Questioning is constant and students have to take a systemic view instead of focusing on specific content. 

 What are your thoughts on the Bold school ideas that Will Richardson presents? Feel free to join the conversation by commenting and/or taking the survey.

November 28th HS PTA Coffee - We're Flipping the Meeting

Many of you have probably heard about "Flipping" instruction in the classroom and some of you have seen what this means for your son/daughter at home. This month we are going experiment with flipping the HS PTA Coffee. As I have mentioned in several Gazette posts the topic for the meeting is Graded as a Bold School. The idea of the Bold Schools comes from Will Richardson who will be presenting at the Innovate 2013 Conference.  Your assignment is to watch Will's video from TedxMelbourne (see below) and to read his short blog post on Bold Schools.

To start the discussion you can submit comments, here, on the blog. You don't even have to attend the meeting to participate in the conversation. The blog then serves as a tool for extending the conversation outside of the traditional PTA meeting. The learning doesn't only have to happen on Wednesday and you don't even need to be there to participate. This is one aspect of blended learning and the "Flipped Meeting".

Meeting Note: We'll be using laptops for part of the meeting so bring your laptop (we will also provide school laptops). Looking forward to learning together on Wednesday, November 28 from 8:30 - 10:00 am in room E12.

Digital Tattoos: Parents vs. Students

Early on in the semester we surveyed the students during a flex assembly to find out their views on their online habits. Just recently we asked parents the same questions. Here is what the groups said.

The majority in all groups are relatively cautious but 83% of the parents are "very cautious".

40% of the parents report that they are "non-existent" online and only 13% say that it is "not something I worry about" There are big discrepancies between students and parents on this item. 

Very few students and parents are concerned about cyberbullying. Most are worried about identity theft and 79% of parents are worried about this.

There is general agreement across the board that it's "manageable" to take care of online identity. 

While there is consensus that file sharing is illegal, 43% of parents are totally against the practice, while only 2% of the 11th graders and 6% of the 10th graders agree with this statement.

Finally, many students and parents feel that uploading photos is "risky"

What are you thoughts on these results? Anything that surprises you? 

86 Graded Runners at the 20ª Maratona Pão de Açúcar

Kevin Wolfson did the math and reported that, "Overall, Graded runners ran 588km today - that's the distance between Chicago and Cleveland. Congrats!!!" 

On Sunday, September 16th, 86 members of the Graded community participated in the 20ª Maratona Pão de Açúcar.  The 32 degree temperature challenged even the fittest of runners but a good time was had by all. Reports have it that every one of the 14 teams finished the race. If you missed it this year, start preparing for next year when we shoot for over 100 Graded runners. A big thanks to Amaral Cunha, the PTA, Daisy Krell and Adelaide Garcia for organizing and supporting this wonderful community event.