News from NHES
Posts from the Principal
October 2018
News to share....
Dress Code Policy- Our dress code policy states that Oct. 1st is the last day to wear shorts, but given the weather I have extended that through this week. After we return from Fall break (October 9th) students will need to wear pants. The air conditioning is still running in full effect so the building does tend to stay cool. Most kids are wearing pants or shorts and sweatshirts, so I believe we will all be ok after October th.
State Testing- Kprep scores were released at the end of September by the state. This year, every school is being scored in 3 areas which are: Proficiency (reading and math), Separate Indicator (science, social studies, and writing), and Growth. These scores can not be compared to last years' scores because of the difference in calculated weights, and because of the addition of science in our 4th grade.
Proficiency indicator is the overall score of our 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders in both reading and math scores. Students could score Novice, Apprentice, Proficient, or Distinguished.
Separate indicator is the overall score of our 4th grade in science and our 5th grade in social studies, and writing.
Growth indicator is the average our students grew from 1 year's test to the next. This only measures the growth of our 4th and 5th graders.
Schools are also being classified in 3 different categories based on the above three indicators. The 3 categories are CSI (Comprehensive support & improvement) which is the bottom 5% of all schools in Kentucky, TSI (Targeted support & improvement) which are school that have at least 1 subgroup whose performance (in all 3 indicators) is at or below the summative performance of all students in any of the lowest-performing 5% of all schools, and Other indicates that a school is not CSI or TSI.
We had 16 schools in Boone County that scores TSI, and New Haven was one of them. Our TSI label came from our Disabilities subgroup. This is a subgroup that we are continually looking at, and making data informed changes that best meet the needs of the whole. Although, this subgroup did make improvements, it did not make enough to not be labeled. This subgroup are students who qualify for an Individualized Education plan because of an identified disability. They are required to take the same state assessment as all other students, but are given their accommodations that are decided upon by their ARC committee. We will continue to implement a specialized reading program that we just started last January, and are seeing student achievement with.
Overall, we did well as a whole school. Our scores were higher than the State and District across the board. I've included some graphed data below to best show our achievement. This year, we have been informed that the state will be changing the test again, and it will be scored differently as well, which means we will not be able to compare this years' scores to next.
I realize that state scores are used to compare many things, and I know that not everyone agrees with me on my stance of our state test. I believe that our achievement and growth come from many things, and although this test does give us some good data, it is 1 point on comprehensive graph. It is 5 days of testing at the very end of the school year, and our kids do very well every year. We have growth and achievement for our students. However, I feel that our true test of achievement and growth comes from where students start in the fall and where their achievement is in the Spring. It's the years' worth of growth and proficiency, and it's not all about academics. There are many students that grow emotionally, socially, and academically, that prepare them for that next leap. There are many students that achieve personal goal after goal, that conquer fears, and find new gifts like leadership, etc.
We take accountability to our students very seriously, which is why we get to know them on such personal levels. We set goals with them, and help them to take ownership of their learning. I know that it's not a perfect system, but what I can promise every parent and student at New Haven is that we have a very dedicated, high educated, and persistent staff that only succeed when our kids do.
Individual student scores- we have not been sent the individual student test sheets from the state yet, but as soon as we get them we will be sending them home. However, teachers do have the scores of individual students and can share those with you at your Parent / Teacher conferences coming up1
Fall Festival
If you are just looking for information on the festival or are wanting to purchase tickets- click the link below!
Celebrating Great Things!
Family Resource Grant - Last month I shared with you that we wrote a grant for a FRC and I've been informed that we DID get it!!! I'm super excited for our community. I don't have all of the details as of this newsletter, but I do know the position will start in January. Thank you to all of the families that completed the survey and provided in put as we navigated this path.
2nd Annual Tiger Tee-Off!!- A HUGE shout out and THANK YOU to Bill and Kristie Thornton and our PTA for organizing and hosting another successful Golf Outing. The weather was absolutely gorgeous for the day, and I've been told that the fun was from beginning to end! I am very grateful to serve in a community where there are such amazing and talented people willing to jump in and help! Thank you again for all the teams that came out to support this fundraiser. All proceeds go right back into our school for our kids. (for things like: COSI, aquarium visits, assemblies, etc!)
Go Pantry- Last month our kids collected ravioli cans for Go Pantry. We collected just under 700 cans! That's pretty amazing, and it will go to such a great cause! (Helping local families)
Upcoming events @ New Haven
October
3rd- Kindergarten Field trip
Vision Screening for grades 2 & 4
5th - 8th - No School (Fall Break)
12th- Fall Festival 5:30 to 9:00 - Go to our PTA webpage for more information!
15th- Parent / Teacher Conferences (4:30 to 7:30 each night- sign up with each teacher)
16th- KDE Safety Audit
18th- Parent / Teacher Conferences
22nd- Red Ribbon Week
24th- Parent / Teacher Conferences
30th- 4th grade field trip
Click the link below to find out about specific information (like basketball game times, practices, field trips, etc.)
New Haven Elementary
Email: mary.goble@boone.kyschools.us
Website: www.newhaven.boone.kyschools.us
Location: 10854 Old US Hwy 42, Union, KY, United States
Phone: 859-384-5325
Facebook: www.facebook.com/newhavenelementary
Twitter: @NewHavenES