Ballyshannon 411
Published: July 6
Mastery Learning and Standards Based Grading
At Ballyshannon, your child will have a login to Canvas. This is a learning management system or LMS. Canvas is used at all of our district high schools as well as NKU, Thomas More, the University of Kentucky, and Mt. St. Joe among many other universities across the nation. It is similar to Blackboard if you've experienced use with that program in college. Basically, our staff collaborates, designs lessons, and then uploads them to Canvas. Your kids can find their lessons and materials 24-7 from their login. All of the books we are purchasing are digital and will be linked from Canvas. All of our kids will have Chromebooks at school so they'll be able to access anything they need through their Chromebooks although there will be a lot of "lids down" time at our school while kids read books, annotate articles, write reflections, solve math problems, perform science experiments, and experience social studies simulations. For home, they can access Canvas through a personal device or they can check a device out of the library if there is not a personal device at home. Many times, however, they may not need to access Canvas from home as a homework assignment may be paper/pencil.
I digressed a bit...back to mastery learning.
The entire district is shifting to a mastery-based approach which is a HUGE relief for this educator right here. This means that whatever grade your child receives IS a measure of his or her learning. From here moving forward, you should always know how much of the content your child has MASTERED for the grade level.
Now, you may be thinking...I thought that's what the grades were all along. Not so. Two kids may sit side by side in class.
- Kid A never studies for a test, but averages a 98 on every end of unit assessment. She's more of an auditory learner so if the teacher or the students discuss it in class, it sticks in her brain. When assessments are given in class (we often call these formative assessments), she aces them every time. However, Kid A does not do homework. Period. She also has trouble working in groups and if you ask her to give an oral presentation, she refuses. She has mastered the content, but she has some other pieces to her learning that unfortunately are averaged into her overall score. Groupwork is marked down, oral presentations is marked down, and homework is a zero. Kid A has a 54 on her report card. But remember...she actually knows and understands 98% of the content.
- Kid B studies his tail off for everything. He has to. Nothing comes naturally for him and he works hard for every point he gets. Despite his studying, he averages a 67 on his end of unit assessments, but that's pretty good because just 2 years ago it was a 46. However, Kid B stays after class every day with the teacher to clean desks and gets 5 extra credit points per day for doing it. He also makes sure he turns all of his homework in and this teacher doesn't grade homework for accuracy, just completion, so he gets full points always. Additionally, although he struggles sometimes with his oral presentations, he usually gets full credit or near full credit. Kid B receives a 90 on his report card. He understands 67% of the content.
There's a story for Kid C through Kid Z too. The point is that there are two components to these grades. There is a measure of what has been learned and there are other measures--that let me just say it---are also important. It's important for you to know as a parent if your child struggles with turning in work, with being respectful in a group setting, with giving oral presentations...but these are not things that should be mixed into a big batch of grade soup. It's confusing.
Moving forward, our plan is to report two measures of progress to you. One measure will give you an idea of how much of the math, science, ELA, social studies, or unified arts content your child is mastering based on the grade level state standards. A second measure will tell you how your child is progressing in his/her work skills.
This is a giant leap forward for our district. We are very proud of this work. As with any big move, we will have some growing pains. We always promise to support you and your children and this will mean many conversations and questions to be answered and give and take over the next couple of years.
Office Hours
Please stop by anytime or call 859-905-2620 or email Jill for enrollment assistance.
If you have new neighbors, please encourage them to come in and officially register at our school. New students potentially = new staff. We'd like to have this done as far in advance as possible. THANKS!!
School Handbook
Summer Assignments
AKA: READ, READ, READ, READ, READ, and then...READ.
As a staff, we all agree that reading daily (books that your child chooses) is our #1 wish for students to complete this summer. We do not have required reading or required summer assignments. We are suggesting, however, that without reading during the summer students will not retain their "exit" level from the previous year and will take up to two months rebuilding skills when they return to school in the fall. Students who read daily all summer can help prevent a summer slide.
Here is a list of additional resources our staff has compiled to help your kids stay sharp, engaged, and prevent boredom this summer.
Scheduling for 18.19
**NOTE** If you have already scheduled courses, you do not need to repeat this step.
Spiritwear!
Standard Student Attire
Ballyshannon Middle Standard School Attire
In alignment with the Boone County Schools Code of Conduct book, the following attire is prohibited:
- See through clothing.
- Tank tops (with or without spaghetti straps) unless a shirt, sweater, or jacket is worn on top for the duration of the school day.
- Strapless tops or dresses.
- Sleep wear (unless on special building designated days).
- Head coverings (hats, bandanas, hoods, etc.) not for religious purpose.
- Clothing that exposes the torso or significant portion of the back.
- Clothing, accessories (jewelry, belt buckles, necklaces, etc.), or body art with obscene, crude, or rude pictures or sayings pertaining to drugs, alcohol, tobacco, extreme violence, gangs or sex.
- Non- prescription sunglasses worn indoors.
- Swim wear.
- Clothing too tight, too short, too low-cut, or too suggestive constituting a risk of distraction to the educational process. **
The following attire is permitted:
- Opaque leggings.
- Sandals, including flip flops and slides.
- Shorts (use Nike running short length or longer as a gauge).
- Athletic pants/Sweatpants.
**Our goal as a school community is to create a safe place for kids to learn. We want our students to feel comfortable in their clothing and be able to express themselves through their choice of clothing at school. At the same time we have a responsibility as adults to make sure the educational process is not disturbed. Students have a great deal of leniency in the dress code, however we will remain tight on keeping chests, torsos, backs, and derrieres covered at all times. Student dress should maintain a healthy balance of respect for self and others AND expression of individuality.
Understanding Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and why Bally is dedicating instructional time daily to this practice.
Social-emotional learning is:
☘Recognizing emotions in oneself and others
☘Communicating clearly and assertively
☘Managing strong emotions
☘Maintaining cooperative relationships
☘Having empathy for others
☘Making responsible decisions
☘Controlling impulses
☘Solving problems effectively
Social-emotional learning is NOT:
☘Just a feel-good activity
☘Taught at the expense of core academic subjects such as reading, math, science, etc
☘Educators parenting your kids
☘Psychotherapy
☘Suggesting you’re not going a good enough job as a parent
Text Updates
- All students and parents: @allbally
- 6th grade: @bally2025
- 7th grade: @bally2024
- 8th grade: @bally2023
Important Dates
JULY
19: SkyZone Trampoline Park Night at the Beechwood location in Cincy
- 6th grade from 6-7pm
- 7th grade from 7-8pm
- 8th grade from 8-9pm
AUGUST
TBD: Crash the Neighborhood Events
TBD: 6th Grade Orientation
TBD: 7th Grade Orientation
TBD: 8th Grade Orientation
TBD: Family Night
SEPTEMBER
20: Yearbook Photo Day
SOCIAL MEDIA
@ballyshannonms
@ballyshannonms
About us
Email: erika.bowles@boone.kyschools.us
Website: http://www.boone.k12.ky.us/29/Home
Location: 7515 Shamrock Avenue Union, KY 41091
Phone: 859-5551212
Facebook: facebook.com/ballyshannonms
Twitter: @ballyshannonms