St. Croix Central High School
Family Newsletter: March 15, 2019
Our Vision of Learning at SCC High School
In full support of our district mission and vision we at SCC High School are committed to...
Creating a learning experience built on creativity, choice, efficiency, and engagement resulting in high-achieving and creative problem-solvers who take intellectual risks to discover the world around them and maximize their potential.
From Mr. Soderberg
Hello SCC Families,
It's hard to believe we are mere days away from the start of spring break. Spring sports have started practicing, the snow is finally melting, the final touches are being placed on the yearbook, and the graduation gowns have been delivered.
Our students and staff have done an amazing job of maintaining their focus through all the missed days and adjusted schedules. A special thank you to the bus drivers, the grounds crews, and the building custodians for keeping us safe and warm.
Our staff continues to work hard to improve instruction, create opportunities for students and make sure our grading practices are fair and accurate. All indications are that their hard work is paying off with high degrees of success for our students.
Congratulations to our juniors class on their completion of the ACT and WorkKeys testing. They gave great effort and concentration on the assessments and I'm confident their efforts will show in the results. A special thank you to our counselors for organizing the very complicated testing schedule and the staff for doing whatever it takes to make sure students have what they need to be successful.
The "Winter Fun Day" was a great opportunity to create memories and build bonds that will last a lifetime. Again, thanks to our staff for their willingness to pause and connect with students. We have several other exciting events coming up (see below). I am pleased to provide information about our "Spring Conferences", PROM, and 2019 SCC Graduation. It should be fun.
On Monday, March 18th we will host a guest speaker by the name of Terrence Talley (http://terrencetalley.com/about-me). Mr. Talley is from Minneapolis and is known to be a great storyteller and inspirational speaker. He will talk to our staff and students about never giving up and helping others not to give up either. His presentations are highly regarded and we are pleased to have him meet our students and staff.
One final cautionary reminder. Please take time to look through the information about VAPING provided below. It is critical that we work together to make sure our students know the truth about the highly addictive qualities of VAPING.
Thanks to our wonderful community, families, students & staff we have a very special place work and learn.
Thank you for your continued support.
Go Panthers,
Kurt
From the Counseling Office
AP Testing Information
Date to Remember
March 15: Student deadline to sign up for AP testing
March 20: Student deadline for test payment to the main office ($94; $53 if a student qualifies for free and reduced lunch--these payments have not increased from last year).
Test Schedule
Week 1:
Monday, May 6
United States Government and Politics (8 am)
Wednesday, May 8
English Literature and Composition (8 am)
Thursday, May 9
German Language and Culture (12 pm)
Psychology (12 pm)
Week 2:
Tuesday, May 14
Calculus (8 am)
Human Geography (12 pm)
Wednesday, May 15
Macroeconomics (12 pm)
Thursday, May 16
Comparative Government and Politics
Late Testing (approved due to inclement weather days):
Wednesday, May 22
Physics C: Mechanics
Thursday, May 23
Biology
Environmental Science
United States History
Testing Dates for Freshmen and Sophomores
Aspire - April 23, 2019 (Freshmen and Sophomores)
Forward - April 24, 2019 (Sophomores)
From the Athletics and Activities Office
UPCOMING EVENTS
High School Spring Conferences
The high school staff is pleased to host conferences on from 4:30 pm to 7:00 pm on Tuesday, April 9 and Thursday, April 11.
Appointments will be limited to 15 minutes to better serve all families.
We look forward to hosting you on April 9th or 11th.
Terrence Talley Presentation
Monday, Mar 18, 2019, 01:00 PM
St. Croix Central High School, Broadway Street, Hammond, WI, USA
2019 SCC PROM - A Night Under the Stars
Dance: 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm - High School Commons
Link: SCC Prom
Saturday, May 4, 2019, 08:00 PM
St. Croix Central High School, Broadway Street, Hammond, WI, USA
Forensics Invitationals and Tournaments
March 18 -- Districts, at Viking MS
April 12-13 -- State, at UW-Madison
Participants should be signing up for practice on Mrs. Jourdeans' door. Contact Coach Heather Jourdeans for more information at hjourdeans@scc.k12.wi.us.
Graduation
Doors open at 6:30 pm
- No tickets required
- No reserved seating
Friday, May 24, 2019, 07:30 PM
1751 Broadway Street, Hammond, WI, USA
VAPING... A growing problem
There is a rapidly growing problem with vaping throughout the U.S. and SCC is not immune to the problem. We are aware that a growing number of students are vaping and are sincerely concerned about the impact this will have on student health and school culture.
Please educate yourself and talk to your child about the dangers and addictiveness of this behavior. Most importantly, be alert, ask questions, and look for the signs of vaping.
Talking Standards-Based Assessment and Reporting
On Wednesday, November 28th the high school hosted a presentation and discussion with parents of high school students about standards-based assessment and reporting. We focused specifically on the method we use for converting from achievement level to letter grade and grade-point-average. Every teacher who is currently utilizing SBA&R was present and engaged in a question and answer session with parents. Our goals for the evening were to inform the parents and improve our practices based on our discussion with them. Both goals were met.
We look forward to hosting another presentation and discussion about SBA&R in the coming months.
Here are the links to the grade conversion video we watched and the presentation:
SBA&R: Converting to Grades Video: Video Link
SBA&R Parent Meeting from 11.28.18: Presentation Link
SBA&R at SCC High School:
We have a system that maintains the functionality and importance of grade-point-averages, letter grades, transcripts, and IEP's while providing accurate and timely information about what our students know as determined by their performance on the essential standards.
In a standards-based system, we provide multiple opportunities (3-5 or more) for students to grow in their achievement level on each standard which is why you will see multiple ratings for the same standard. Therefore, their achievement levels will grow as they learn the content within the specific standard. As a practice, we measure their achievement level by looking at the "most recent" rating for each standard. If the most recent rating doesn't reflect their previous performance (i.e. the rating drops), we will work with the student to find the most accurate measure. Our goal is accuracy and fairness in all grading practices and for students to display academic growth and retention of knowledge.
What Courses are Currently Standards-Based
Math
- Algebra 1: Mr. Turpin, Ms. McGee
- Algebra 1 - bold: Ms. Lent, Ms. McGee
- Algebra 2: Mr. Kimberly
- Calculus: Mr. Turpin
- Geometry: Ms. Tasler, Ms. McGee
- Geometry - bold: Ms. Tasler
- Intermediate Algebra: Ms. Tasler, Ms. Lent
- Trigonometry - Mr. Turpin
English - Language Arts
- Language 9 (not honors) - Ms. Timmers
- Language 10 (not honors) - Ms. Stansbury
Science
- Physical Science (all courses) - Mr. Tackmann, Mr. Klimek
If you have specific questions, please contact your child's teacher or you are always welcome to contact Mr. Soderberg (ksoderberg@scc.k12.wi.us)
SBA&R Videos
SBA&R: The Fundamentals: https://youtu.be/VawWPPUerYA
SBA&R: Converting to Grades: https://youtu.be/At67depV_BA
SBA&R: The Gradebook: https://youtu.be/w9o_DmawsBY
Permanent Links
Stay Connected
Email: ksoderberg@scc.k12.wi.us
Website: www.scc.k12.wi.us/hs/
Location: 1751 Broadway Street, Hammond, WI, United States
Phone: (715) 796-5383
Twitter: @MrSoderbergSCC