Henderson Middle School
March 2019 Newsletter
Henderson Middle School
Email: yaa.appiah.mcnulty@lrsd.org
Website: https://hendersonhawks.org
Location: 401 John Barrow Road, Little Rock, AR, USA
Phone: 501-447-2800
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hendersonmiddleschoollrsd
Twitter: @MiddleLrsd
Principal's Corner
Greetings HMS Families,
We have embarked upon a very busy time of year. As always, we have much to celebrate and also want to keep you updated on activities occurring at Henderson. This week and also in the month of April, we will be completing our NWEA Assessments (this will be the final NWEA test for the year) and ACT Aspire Assessments. You can read more about the assessment timelines in Ms. Rowe’s Math Corner article on the second section of this newsletter. As we prepare for these assessments here are a few simple tips to support your child in doing well on each assessment.
Test Taking Tips
Have your child post the test schedule on your refrigerator so she’ll know the dates she’ll be tested on each subject. Your child should also include the testing schedule in their weekly planner. The following link has great tips for utilizing a school planner.
Ensure your child attends school on time and is ready for the assessments (goodnight sleep included as well as a healthy breakfast).
Encourage your middle grader to pay close attention to directions. Many tests require students to go beyond clicking one answer—she may be asked to show her work on a math problem or select two answers on a multiple-choice question.
(ACT Aspire Practice Video Tips) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQdaMLBAvpE
Regardless of timed or untimed test, she should work steadily and avoid spending too much time on a single item so she doesn’t get frustrated. When she is finished, she can go back to skipped questions and also double-check her work.
News & Celebrations
Henderson Middle School held their Black History Month Program on February 28, 2019. We are proud of the students for their creative writing in regards to changing lyrics of songs to reflect positive mindset in school as well as choreographing dance routines that accompanied each performance. It is great to see students take on the leadership role within the building and not be afraid to share the importance of coming to school and working hard in order to attain success in the future. The collaboration between Mr. Young’s choir students, Mr. Lawrence’s Band students, and the dance class students was very powerful. We thank all of the student that contributed to the program. Thank you also goes out to these additional teachers; Ms. Sandra Smith (Art Teacher) and Ms. Hooper (Music Teacher) for providing the history of Henderson Middle School.
Ms. Teretha Kelly (EAST Facilitator) shared the following news a week ago: congratulations to Ader Pacheco for his design of the House for Foster Kids Aging Out of the Foster System. The software used was ArchiCAD. Ader is the finalist in two categories for EAST Conference; Fay Jones Architectural Design and ArchiCAD 2d/3d Drafting Competition.
Congratulations to 7th grader, Shy'la Moody for being selected to serve as a page for Representative Tippi Mccullough and the other representatives in the House at the 92nd General Assembly on Monday, March 4th.
Have a great March Month!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Appiah-McNulty
Preparing For Black History Celebration!
African Pride
HMS Band
Ms. Tamara Rowe- HMS Math Facilitator
Math Corner ---
Spring is right around the corner! We are in the last few weeks before we begin state ACT Aspire Testing. This year the testing window is from April 8th - May 10th, so please make plans now to have your student at school and on time during this testing window. Specific weeks for each grade level will be decided soon, and we will communicate those in future parent phone calls or newsletters. Remember, to encourage your student to do their best on the test and remained focused. A good breakfast and a smooth morning routine will help with this as well as an evening bedtime that ensures 8 hours of sleep each school night.
Henderson Middle School has been working hard with School-Wide Targeted Interventions. In analyzing our NWEA Map Growth data, a deficit area in Number Sense with a focus on Fractions appeared for a majority of our students. Students have received Math Intervention once a week in a small group of 10 - 12 students. Each student was placed in their intervention group based on their scores from the Winter NWEA Map Growth test administered this past December. This test showed specific math skills in the skill area of Fractions that each student was “ready” to learn. Once grouped teachers delivered lessons specifically geared toward each group of students’ needs. We eagerly await the students’ data on the Spring NWEA Map Growth test! We are scheduled to take the Spring NWEA the
week of March 4th. Please encourage your student to show what they know of this test.
Parents and family have a great deal of influence on their student’s success in school. We encourage you to spend some time with your student working on their math skills. This can be anything from going over homework with them, working on measurement skills in the kitchen or outside, or looking at some of the following websites which include some online math games and math challenge questions. Taking an interest in what your student is learning will provide them with extra encouragement to help them succeed.
Parent Links:
Math.com -- http://www.math.com/parents.html
Parent links are on the left-hand side of the screen and include Help your Kids, Family Math, and Resources.
NCTM Figure This -- https://figurethis.nctm.org/index.html
Math Challenges for the Family -- you can click on the “Take a Challenge” and have some sample Math Challenges for you and your student to work through together.
Family Corner link located at the top of the screen shares some information for parents.
CoolMath -- http://www.coolmath4parents.com/
This site has a variety of games reinforcing math skills, as well as brain teasers, virtual manipulatives, and lessons with quizzes.
Lots to explore with your student.
Kids in the Kitchen -- https://premeditatedleftovers.com/naturally-frugal-mom/8-ways-kids-can-practice-math-in-the-kitchen/