Hawk News
Parent Edition
October 2021 News
A Message from the Principal
Hello Indian Trail Families!
Happy Fall! We are having a great time at ITIS as we end the first quarter and head into fall break. I just finished checking in with all teacher teams, and our students are having a great year, both academically and socially. All of our new Covid protocols are in place and have helped drop our numbers. Morning Mile and Intramurals continue to be a big hit with our students AND teachers. At Walk-a-thon, our students raised a school record $12,000+ this year. We kicked off our first All Pro Dad meeting today and had a great turnout. We have so many positive activities happening at Indian Trail!
There are two items that I need to address as we move forward: TikTok and Checkpoints.
TikTok
- If you are wondering whether it's a good idea for your child to have a TikTok account, the answer is no! First of all, a child must be 13 to have an account. Secondly, TikTok has a heavy influence on our kids.
- Though there are many really cool videos and dances on TikTok, there are many harmful trends that originate on TikTok. For 2021, there's a new challenge each month. Spend some time on Google to find a list of TikTok challenges. None of them are good.
- Schools across the nation have been grappling with September's Devious Lick Challenge. Indian Trail is no different as we have had our own Devious Lick issues with the destruction of soap dispensers (of all things). As of now, we have reverted back to our bathroom procedures from last year, where classes take bathroom breaks together. Our students now have the opportunity to earn back more independence.
- Please know that we love and support all of our students. However, if a student destroys school property, assaults a staff member, or assaults another student, I will hold the student accountable.
- Families, I need your help! I truly believe in creating a safe learning environment for our faculty, staff, and students. But we are battling a social media giant. Please monitor your child's screen time. Talk to them about making good choices and staying ahead of social influences.
- Our students completed ELA, math, and science checkpoints on Thursday! This year, we are seeing some of our highest scores, so big shout out to the teachers from last year!
- Our checkpoints are created by district academic coaches and are meant to assess student progress on standards taught during the nine weeks. These assessments are more formative and will give teachers valuable data on strengths and areas for growth for each student. A checkpoint score may replace a lower grade for a student, but will never lower a student's average.
- Each content team follows a district pacing guide set by curriculum coaches. Teachers have a set number of standards to cover each nine weeks, and our teachers plan lessons and activities together to teach those standards at a high level. Our teams also build in interim assessments, called common formative assessments, to monitor student progress along the way. This helps us get a clear picture of how our students are progressing on state standards before we take the TNReady.
- Checkpoints are designed to be challenging and mirror, to some degree, the TNReady. Checkpoints give us much needed data for moving our students forward.
- Data conferencing will take place after checkpoints are complete. Teachers will data conference two separate ways:
- Student data conferences - Our teachers will meet with each student and have a private data conference. They will review student strengths and areas for improvement. Each student will set a goal for the next nine weeks. We strongly believe in students being involved in their own education and taking responsibility for improvement.
- Grade level data conferences - Our teams will meet next week to discuss checkpoint scores for ELA, math, and science. Those scores will be compared to our student's previous TNReady score and EasyCBM score. We track our students' performance throughout the year as we try to help them grow and succeed in the classroom.
- Subgroups - We track every subgroup during our grade level data conferences as well. We can track each groups' progress and look for trends and opportunities for growth.
Thanks!
James Jacobs
Dates to Remember
October 8th
- End of 1st Nine Weeks
October 11-15th
- Fall Break
October 28th
- Fall Picture Make-Ups
No Transportation Changes after 1:00!
LBMS Boys Basketball Tryouts
LBMS Boys Basketball Tryouts
When: October 4th- 7th
Time: 3:30-5:30
Where: All four days at the Liberty Bell Gym
*Students must have a physical dated 4/15/21 or after in order to participate
ITIS Drama Squad
Hello ITIS Drama Squad families!
I have received your student’s registration and our first club meeting is Monday, September 20 from 3:00 – 4:00. Below are the meeting dates. At 3:55 before pick-up, we will come out in front of the school for a quick “mini-performance” of what we have worked on during that session. Otherwise, pick up time is 4:00.
Meeting Dates
September 20, 27
October 4, 18, 25
November 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
December 6, 13
*October 29 and December 10: Friday AM Car Line Performances (7:20 – 7:40)
With a huge response to our sign-ups for Drama Squad, our plan is to meet at the track after school on Monday. (In case of rain, I will announce an alternate location on Monday at school.) Kids are welcome to bring a snack, and we will get started at 3:00 sharp each week. Comfortable attire that your student can move freely in will be best for Monday meetings.
If your student is unable to attend a session, I always appreciate a quick email. I am looking forward to having some theatre fun with our great ITIS kids!!
I am happy to answer any questions – bring on the drama!
Rebecca Edmisten
Theatre Arts, grades 5 & 6
423.610.6000
October 2021 PTA Update
Walk-A-Thon Update
The annual walk a thon was a huge success! We raised close to $13,000! Thanks so much to all of our students, families, teachers, and staff for making it an amazing event at ITIS. With this record breaking total, the PTA will be able to provide programming and supplies throughout the school year. Elk Hall was the top earning hall, and they will receive an ice cream party. Top earner, Bruce Hunter will be having lunch with the PE teachers. Special thanks to our coordinators Sarah McKinney, Kelly Lewis, and Rockin DJ Dan.
Support Our School
When you are out grocery shopping make sure to have your accounts linked to ITIS PTA. This is an easy and free way to support our school.
Indian Trail Soup & Grilled Cheese PTA Luncheon
Indian Trail Soup & Grilled Cheese Teacher & Staff Lunchon
Our next Hospitality event is on Tuesday, October 19th. It is a Soup and Grilled Cheese Lunch! We are going to need lots of help with this event, but it is a favorite with the teachers!! We'll need help setting up, serving, making grilled cheese, cleaning up...as well as lots of crock pots of soup! Soup doesn't have to be homemade. Feel free to get some from your favorite restaurant or buy it at the store and bring it to school warm in a crockpot.
Time: 7:50am - 1:30pm
Location: Indian trail
Please Click the link below to sign up to bring an item. Items can be dropped off at ITIS.
Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090549ACA622A0FF2-indian2