Memphis Schools Community News
Engage Educate Empower
April 2018
Kick off to Kindergarten
Superintendent - Brad Gudme
Expecting More
Getting children ready to take their place in the world is challenging. The knowledge and skills students need for a successful career continually evolve to meet current and future workplace demands. To ensure students can meet these demands, Michigan’s State Board of Education has adopted high learning standards that broadly outline what students need to know and be able to do in each subject and grade level to be ready for the next stage of learning.
The standards also guide teachers as they develop classroom curriculum and lesson plans. Today’s standards challenge students to:
- Understand subject matter more deeply
- Learn how to think critically
- Apply what they learn to the real world
- Make learning more relevant in their lives
Checking for Progress Once each year, all students in Michigan take a high-quality state summative assessment. Summative assessments measure what students know and are able to do at specific grade levels and in specific subject areas. All of Michigan’s state assessments measure student progress with Michigan’s content standards or other career- or college-readiness goals. The Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP) is given online to students in grades 3-8 and measures current student knowledge of Michigan’s high academic standards in English language arts (ELA), mathematics, science, and social studies. High school students in grades 9 and 10 take the PSAT, to inform schools, students, and parents on what students know in ELA and mathematics, and help prepare students for the SAT college entrance exam given to every high school junior as part of the Michigan Merit Examination (MME). The MME consists of a free SAT with essay that also measures student knowledge on state ELA and mathematics standards, M-STEP science and social studies components, and a work skills assessment called ACT WorkKeys.
State Assessments Provide
♦ An important snapshot of student achievement at a state, district and building level
♦ Valuable information to parents on their child’s academic achievement
♦ Important data for teachers, schools, and districts to help guide instruction
Most students will spend no more than 3–7 hours—less than 1 percent of instructional time—on state assessments. Schools have the flexibility to give the M-STEP online tests anytime within a four-week time frame for each grade level. The PSAT, SAT and ACT WorkKeys assessments are administered according to College Board and ACT guidelines on specific dates.
M-STEP Features
♦ Modern test design, with fewer multiple choice questions and more problem solving and critical thinking.
♦ Computer adaptive testing (CAT) for English language arts (ELA) and mathematics assessments, which provides a more individualized test experience for students and more precise measurements of student learning.
♦ Efficiency:
− Testing time takes less than 1% of instructional time annually
− High school assessment also serves as a college-entrance exam
♦ Actionable results—preliminary results available to schools within a few days of testing; final results are available before the start of the next school year for buildings operating under a standard calendar: parent reports are distributed by schools at the start of the school year.
Why Assess Students?
Student assessment is a hot topic of conversation, with lots of diverse opinions on how, when, how much, with what tests, and for what purpose we assess students. Here are a few important points to keep in mind:
♦ State and federal laws require schools to assess student learning every year in specific grade levels and subjects (see table at left).
♦ Annual assessments that are the same for all Michigan students give us information on how students are performing, and how well schools and districts are teaching students compared to those in other communities, states, and nations. This helps target supports and resources to students and schools that need them most. It also helps identify areas of success from which others can learn.
♦ State standardized assessments do not measure everything important about a student, but they do measure how much a student knows in terms of our state’s content standards.
Jr/Sr HS Principal - Matt Karaffa
On Wednesday, March 21, Memphis Jr/Sr High hosted Career Day! The idea behind this event was to provide students in grades 6-12 with opportunities to learn about a wide variety of occupations with a focus on Memphis alumni. There were 24 different professionals throughout the day, half of which were MHS alumni.
Career Day
Spring Sports have arrived!
Opening Day has come for Spring sports at Memphis Jr/Sr High and that reminds me of an excerpt from one of my favorite spring poems often recited by a Michigan legend Ernie Harwell:
“For, lo, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone
The flowers appear on the Earth,
The time of the singing of birds is come
And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land."
This season is especially exciting because Memphis is proud to announce the return of the Varsity Track team led by our very own Mrs. Lori Sanborn. Mr. Okie, Mrs. Sanborn, and her team of coaches have been working hard to make track a reality for so many of our athletes by acquiring equipment, calling local business for donations and working with her team of assistant coaches to make sure the athletes are ready to succeed on the field in team competition. In addition to the track team, the Yellowjacket baseball and softball teams have embarked on a new and exciting season which will no dount be filled with success! I am very proud to be a part of the Memphis sports community. I invite you all to come on out and see them in action! #memphispride
Elementary Principal - Susan Hankins
Shortly after returning from spring break our 3rd through 5th-grade students will be taking our state's standardized test, M-Step.
Parents play an important part in helping students give their best performance on this important test. As you know, we have been busy preparing and reinforcing the skills necessary for students to demonstrate their learning. Even though this assessment is a snapshot—one single perspective – it is important that our students have every advantage to do their very best. We don’t want to cause test anxiety, rather we want our students to be as prepared as possible. There are many ways in which you can help your child put his/her best foot forward. The following guidelines can help set our students up for success:
Tips for Success
The night before the test:
1. Make sure your child goes to bed on time so he or she is well-rested.
2. Keep your routine as normal as possible. Upsetting natural routines may make children feel insecure.
3. Be positive and confident in the fact that you know your child will do his/her best. 4. Plan ahead to avoid conflicts on the morning of the test.
The morning of the test:
1. Get up a few minutes early to avoid rushing and make sure your child arrives at school on time. 2. Have your child eat a nutritious breakfast. There is a strong correlation between eating breakfast and memory and cognitive functioning.
3. Have your child dress comfortably.
4. Be positive and communicate that this is your child’s chance to show what he/she knows. The most important thing you can do right before the test is to build confidence about doing his/her very best.
After the test:
1. Talk to your child about his/her feelings about the test.
2. Discuss what was easy and what was hard; discuss what your child learned from the test.
Testing Schedule
Memphis Elementary M-Step Schedule
5th Grade:
April 17- Science
April 18- ELA
April 24-Social Studies
April 25- Math
4th Grade:
April 26- ELA
May 1- Math
3rd Grade:
May 2: Math
May 3-ELA
Thank you for your continued support and involvement in your child’s education.
Students of the Month
High School - Gianna Swain (9th Grade)
Junior High - Trent Brown (7th Grade)
Elementary - Sophia Bajorek (3rd Grade)
We are Memphis!
Memphis Alumni we want to hear from you. We are working hard to continue to promote our District and share with everyone how great Memphis Community Schools are. We are building a data base of all our amazing Alumni and we need your help. Please send us your picture with name, profession, where you live, accomplishments and graduation year. We plan to share this information using social media and also by posting it throughout our halls for all of our current students to see. Please share this with all your classmates to help gather as many responses as possible. Thanks for your continued support. #memphispride
Stay Connected
- Visit our website www.memphisk12.org
- Stay current with Athletics events and calendars www.memphisk12.org/athletics.html
- Check us out on Facebook @MemphisSchools
- Follow Us on Twitter: Brad Gudme, Superintendent, @bgudme; Matt Karaffa, Jr/Sr HS Principal, @MemJrSrHigh; Susan Hankins, Elementary Principal, @TheSusanHankins
Memphis Community Schools
Email: bgudme@memphisk12.org
Website: memphisk12.org
Location: 34110 Bordman Road, Memphis, MI, United States
Phone: 810-392-2151
Facebook: facebook.com/memphisschools