The Winch Word
March 2017 Edition
News and Notes From Oliver W. Winch Middle School
NYS 3-8 Assessments
Part of the responsibility of our school is to gauge how our students are doing through the NY State Assessments. Curriculum such as the Writer’s Workshops or more student-centered math work in grades 6-8 are giving our students more confidence in the skill areas they will be tested on, and helping them to apply skills from different subjects to all of the content they are learning. As usual, our Middle School students will have the opportunity this spring to demonstrate what they have learned throughout the year. The spring 2016 testing schedule for students in grades 3-8 is as follows:
New York State grades 3-8 English language arts (ELA) exam: March 28-30
New York State grades 3-8 math exam: May 2-4
This will be the fifth year that New York students take assessments aligned to the state’s new learning standards. Last year, the New York State Education Department announced that the tests would be un-timed, and that remains the same this year. Students will be able to take as much time as they need in order to get through the test on each of the three days for both ELA and math.
As this year’s assessments approach, please keep in mind that we believe there is no single test that will provide a complete picture of your child’s abilities. However, when combined with classroom activities, diagnostic data and in-class assignments, annual assessments can provide important information about a student’s progress, as well as valuable information about the performance of your child’s school and district as a whole.
What exactly is a Makerspace?
Cell Phones in School
More and more parents are providing a cell phone for their middle school-aged child. This is certainly understandable in 2017, as a great many of us carry smartphones in our own pockets as adults, and we want to be easily accessible. However, we are increasingly having to address situations created by inappropriate use of cell phones by students throughout our school day. During the school day at OWWMS we allow cell phone usage before homeroom, in-between class periods during the day, and after-school throughout the building. This is fairly liberal as electronic device policies go. The cafeteria is a "no-phone-zone" during lunches, as we believe it is very important for students to socialize with each other during these thirty minutes without the distraction of a screen always at the ready.
Over the last several years schools across the country have seen an increase in behavior problems associated with negative student interaction over social media. Often these situations start in the evenings, after-school, or on weekends when inappropriate text messages, Snapchat posts, etc. lead to anger and frustration which is then escalated at school the next day when students meet face to face. Much of this can be directly related to adolescent brain development and the huge responsibility we give them when we hand them a miniature computer that fits in their pocket. The pre-frontal cortex, the decision making center of the brain, is not fully developed until the early to mid-20's. Giving students these powerful tools that open a world of unregulated communication is sometimes too much for our kids to process. That being said, we hope you will take some time to review responsible cell phone use and social media rules with your child. As always, we thank you for your assistance and cooperation.
As of last year we have adopted some new guidelines for cell phone use in school.
Marathon Wrap-Up
Last week of School Schedule
It's hard to believe, but our schedule for the last week of the 2016-17 school year has been finalized. It looks like this:
Tuesday, June 20th: Full School Day for all Middle School Students
Wednesday, June 21st: Half-Day (10:30 AM dismissal) for all Middle School Students
Thursday, June 22nd: Half-Day (10:30 AM dismissal) for all Middle School Students
Friday, June 23rd: No School for Students (Enjoy summer vacation!!)
How can I find out what's going on?
I'm glad you asked! There are a variety of ways to find out about OWWMS.
- Our school & District website (including daily calendars of activities)
- Remind text message service (see instructions below)
Our main form of communication will be through these options as well as the School Messenger Call Out system. Please make sure we have your accurate phone number and that you update your number with us in the main office should it change at any time during the year so you receive information about upcoming events. As always, you may call our office, teachers, or administrators if we can help you in any way. There are a lot of options. Choose the one that is best for you.