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STAFF NEWS AND NOTES

NUTS & BOLTS

24 EDITION 24, ISSUE 36 Thurs., June 7 Fri., June 8 Semester

June 1, 2012

KUDOS - In the corrected kudo department, last weeks Mix It Up Day! was directed primarily by Tracy Henry, who received kudos in last weeks Nuts & Bolts, and by Lisa Coluccio who, unfortunately did not receive similar kudos. Both were ably assisted by Tracy Maynard. Thanks to Tracy, Lisa and Tracey for all of their work in putting together a very successful initial Mix It Up Day! And sorry for the assumption and resulting oversight. - To Margaret Demeter and others for a very positive impression that she has made on a parent. As written in a letter to Mr. Corr from the parent: I am writing regarding Margaret Demeter, the guidance counselor for Houston Hall at Shaker Junior High School. While I am sure that your office is aware of Ms. Demeters performance as a counselor, I believe it warrants highlighting. In short, Ms. Demeter is one of the most effective members of the district I have encountered in the last 8 yearsI feel certain that without the support of Ms. Demeter during this last academic year I would have removed our youngest child from the district and created an unnecessary and disruptive change for him. I could not have navigated our recent challenges without Ms. Demeter, Ms. Savery, the understanding and supportive teachers of Houston Hall, and the extremely competent nurses in the health office. I am deeply appreciative to all of them Great job, Margaret, Dawn, Houston Hall teachers, Suzanne Sail and Joan Schneider! Your efforts were definitely noticed and made a difference! - To our Perfect Pals and co-advisors Kathleen Ring and Greg Bell, for todays field trip to Ariel Adventure. 28 students attended along with Greg, Kathleen and 4 other colleagues; John Slyer, Miel Fajen, DJ Racette and Dana Taylor. Thanks to all for your efforts over the course of the year. This field trip should be a great culminating activity for our students. It takes a lot of time and effort to put together a club that so meets the needs of a segment of our population. Thanks to all for all that you have done and particularly for this year ending field trip! - To our music department colleagues who seem to always be on the go. Just when you think that the concert season is winding up other things jump up and take their places. All of our music department colleagues, Desiree, Omar, Dan, Mr. V, and Erin will be very much involved in the NYSSMA Festival taking place in our school this weekend. A lot of work has gone into preparing for this festival already and all will be working late tonight and all day tomorrow insuring that the festival is a huge success. Thanks for your efforts! We know that the festival will reflect well on our music department and our school! - To Mary Kittell, our colleague who most recently participated in an interview committee. Mary was willing to give up her time yesterday to serve on an interview committee that was looking for a person to fill the .6 ELA position that has been created for the new school year. This position also carries with it after school tutoring responsibilities. As mentioned in last weeks Nuts & Bolts, identifying high quality professionals who will be our colleagues is one of the most important jobs that we have. Thanks to Mary for being willing to take part in this very crucial process.

7E Science Lab Winning Hall BBQ Luncheon 6:30 pm Studio Art Reception 7:00 pm Parent Orientation Program 7:45 am Student of the Month Program (2nd Students Recognized) 11:00 am 2:15 pm Studio Art Final Exam 2:00 pm Yearbook Distribution

NYS FIELD TESTING On Thursday, June 7, we will be administering the ELA field test to all seventh graders. At this time, we still have no details about the time allotment needed to complete this field test. Stay tuned! INCOMING 7th GRADE PARENT ORIENTATION PROGRAM June 7, 2012 Parents will be notified of which hall their child is in. A LIST OF STUDENTS, BY HALL, WILL BE DISPLAYED SO PARENTS CAN CHECK. Times 7:00-7:25 7:30-7:55 8:00-8:25 8:30-8:55 1. Houston Clay Assembly Chorchestra Chorchestra Gym Library Assembly Gym Library Assembly Room PTA Building Council Administrators Chorchestra Room Block Teachers Foreign Language Teachers Gym Guidance Counselors Nurse Pupil Services Student Assistance Counselor Special Education Peer Mediation Reading Library Teachers of Special Subjects Library Staff P.E. Calhoun Library Gym Assembly Chorchestra Norris Assembly Library Chorchestra. Gym

*Choral/Orchestra rehearsal room in new wing

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PARENT ORIENTATION LOOMS LARGE Our annual orientation for parents of incoming 7th grade students is all set for next Thursday evening, June 7. Preceding our program will be a Studio Art Reception at 6:30 pm. Everyone should take the time and take a look at the work that our students produce, as it is truly impressive! Every year we have many returning parents who visit us for our orientation program night, but, more importantly, the majority of the parents who visit us are first time parents. As you can imagine they are nervous about their child moving to the Junior High School with their nervousness based upon their own experiences and their lack of knowledge about what takes place here. One of our goals is to help parents understand how we have their childrens best interests at heart and that we provide a safe, orderly supportive environment on a daily basis. Please assist that process by letting our parents see what quality professionals work here. Hopefully it will be like past years with much positive feedback. TECHNOLOGY FOLLOW UP ASSESSMENT Most will remember that in October we administered a technology assessment to a large number of our 8th grade students. Students completed this assessment out of their art, home & careers or technology classes. We will be administering a follow up assessment on the same skills in early June and students will again be taking the assessment out of their special area classes. As is often the case, there are no good days in which to administer this assessment as the calendar for the rest of the school year is quite packed. We will (tentatively) schedule these assessments for Tuesday and Wednesday June 5 and 6. Keep in mind that the majority of time will come from special area classes. Earth Science lab exams are scheduled for Tuesday June 5, which will be a priority for students who are in Earth Science. Students who are not available to be tested for the technology assessment will not make it up.

ZONE #1 D. Howard

PM BUS SUPERVISION ZONE #2 ZONE #3 ZONE #4 D. Jaffee E. Slater E. King

CAF M. Kerr

People are reminded to be on duty on a daily basis to make sure that supervision is provided.
ALL STAFF MEMBERS ARE REMINDED THAT THE BUS SUPERVISION IS AN ASSIGNED DUTY AND IT IS IMPERATIVE FOR ALL STAFF MEMBERS TO BE WHERE ASSIGNED DUTY; IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO ARRANGE FOR REPLACEMENT PERHAPS BY SWAPPING WITH A COLLEAGUE.

LONG-TERM CALENDAR OF EVENTS Fri., June 1 Science 8 Performance Test NCTA Retirement Dinner Mon., June 4 Science 8 Written Assessment Tues., June 5 Technology 8 Assessment Wed., June 6 Technology 8 Assessment Thurs., June 7 ELA 7 Field Testing 6:30pm Studio Art Show Reception 7:00pm Parent Orientation Mon., June 11 Locker Clean-Outs Houston and Norris Halls Tues., June 12 Locker Clean-Outs Clay and Calhoun Halls Fri., June 15 6th Grade Student Orientation 7:00pm Grade 8 Awards Program/Dance Fri., June 23 Regents Rating Day CALENDAR OF EVENTS Mon., June 4 Science 8 Written Test 2:30 pm Faculty Meeting Tues., June 5 Grade 8 Tech Assessment Day 1 Earth Science Lab Exam Wed., June 6 Norris 8 Block Movie Grade 8 Tech Assessment Day 2 2:30 pm PST

5:00 PM BUS Yesterday, Thursday, May 31, was the last day for the 5:00 pm late bus run out of the high school. FACULTY MEETING SCHEDULED Our last faculty meeting of the school year is scheduled for Monday, June 4. We will meet in the assembly room beginning at 2:30 pm. Agenda items include: 1. Remaining End of Year Schedule Issues 2. Upcoming Events 3. Other 4. Gift Giving 5. Teachers Meet to Determine Proctoring Assignments, Orientation Programs, etc. THE LAST WAVES GOODBYE As we did last year for the first time, and it worked very successfully, we will hold two formal goodbye waves for our students. Unlike prior to last year, we held our waves inside, thus eliminating the opportunity for students to salute us. Our first formal goodbye wave will take place at dismissal, 11:00 am, on Wednesday, June 20. All who are interested are asked to assemble near the main exit of the building, lining the halls as students leave. We will do the same for 7th graders on Thursday, June 21 at 10:00 am. CAPS FOR KIDS Builder's Club is hosting Caps for Kids event Wednesday, June 6th. Students and staff are asked to donate a dollar to be able to wear their hat for the day. The money raised from this event will go to the Caps for Kids organization which gives hats autographed by celebrities and athletes to children who have lost their hair due to cancer. Students can donate a dollar before school in the cafeteria or to Mrs. Schanz in C016 in Houston Hall. The morning of June 6th, the homeroom packets will have a list of students who donated along with a sticker they can wear to show that they can wear their hat for the day. Be sure to pick up your homeroom packet and pass the stickers along to designated students on Wednesday. Please do what you can to encourage students to donate to this wonderful cause. Remember - staff can and are encouraged to participate as well! Thank you for your support! MARSHALL MEMO 438 by Kim Marshall Helping Quiet Children Get the Most Out of School In this thoughtful Education Week article, Sarah Sparks reports on new research about quiet students. Whoever designed the context of the modern classroom was certainly not thinking of the shy or quiet kids, says Robert Coplan of Carleton University in Canada. [I]n many ways, the modern classroom is the quiet kids worst nightmare. Why? Because many classrooms are crowded, highly stimulating, put a premium on oral performance, and tacitly assume that being an extrovert is the norm. Teachers may believe that its their job to help introverted students come out of their shells and turn them into extroverts. Rapid-fire question-and-answer sessions are an example of this, says Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Cant Stop Talking (Random House, 2012): So if a teacher asks a question and the person doesnt answer right away, the most common thing is the teacher doesnt have time to sit and wait, but has to go on to someone else and in the back of their head might think that child is not as intelligent or didnt do his homework. According to one study, as many as half of Americans are introverts, defined as being uncomfortable with a high level of stimulation and drawing energy from working or learning in an environment with less social stimulation. Introversion is not the same as shyness being fearful or anxious about social contact. Shy people, once they overcome their fears, can turn out to be extroverts, reveling with being the center of attention. The distinction between introversion and shyness can be observed in children as young as four: shy kids stand anxiously on the periphery of a group of unfamiliar children, whereas introverted kids play happily on their own. It seems clear, say Coplan and Cain, that solitude is an insufficient criterion for characterizing children as socially withdrawn. Introverted students usually get less attention from teachers than their extroverted classmates. The kids who are bouncing around the room and punching people in the face need to be addressed right away, says Coplan. In a classroom of limited resources, thats where the resources go. Interestingly, the tradeoff isnt entirely one-sided: - Not participating in class discussions and oral interactions means that quiet students get less value from this kind of instruction. - On the other hand, quiet students often do better on standardized tests because they spend more time and get more practice working independently. - On the third hand, if quiet students dont work with other students on projects, theyre unprepared for workplaces where teamwork is essential. In the outside world, scientists, engineers, and other technical workers must be able to collaborate with colleagues and work quietly by themselves. Schools need to prepare all students for both modalities. Studies of college classrooms have found that in large groups, vocal students tend to dominate, even when they dont know the right answer. There are many situations in which so much talk is not helpful, and if there is so much talk, there is less time to sit back and think, says Diana Senechal, a former New York City teacher and author of Republic of Noise: The Loss of Solitude in Schools and Culture (Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2011). Those times of not entering the conversation listening to what other say, thinking about it can be very important. Time for listening and contemplation is especially important in history classes, says Senechal, and she urges teachers to keep discussions going after the initial contributions by highly verbal students and invite quiet students to chime in. Clickers and online discussions are another way to allow these students to participate. The City Neighbors Charter School in Baltimore is intentional about creating an introvert-friendly environment. We start with play-based kindergarten and give increased independence and autonomy each year that you are in school, says executive director Bobbi MacDonald. It used to be everyone is seated at their desks in a row, and everyone is supposed to be thinking the same thing at the

same time. Those days are gone. When an individual needs a minute, its not unusual for that student to find a space. Classrooms in the school have a mix of desks, tables, and small reading nooks with soft chairs and students often work on projects in small groups. The school makes a point of keeping groups small (two or three students) and assigning roles (team leader, timekeeper, note-taker) so quiet students make a contribution. City Neighbors requires all students to read 25 books a year and conference one-on-one with a teacher after finishing each book. Somewhere in that 25 the child will find that one book that they love, says MacDonald, and when that happens, the teacher is right there waiting for them. Studies Highlight Classroom Plight of Quiet Students by Sarah Sparks in Education Week, May 23, 2012 (Vol. 31, #32, p. 1, 16), www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/05/23/32introvert_ep.h31.html Can Computers Score Student Writing As Accurately As Humans? In this New York Times column, Michael Winerip reports on a recent finding that computers can compete with humans in scoring student essays. Mark Shermis of the University of Akron collected 16,000 secondary-school essays that had been hand-scored by teachers and fed them through automated grading systems developed by nine different companies. Computer scoring produced virtually identical levels of accuracy, with the software in some cases proving to be more reliable, according to a news release. An even bigger advantage was speed. Human graders can assess about 30 essays an hour. One of the computer systems (e-Rater from the Educational Testing Service) can grade 16,000 essays in 20 seconds! Is this the end? asks Winerip. Are Robo-Readers destined to inherit the earth? Not so fast, says Les Perelman, director of writing at M.I.T., who was given access to e-Rater, the computer scoring system developed by Educational Testing Service (ETS). He concluded that automated readers are easy for students to game, are vulnerable to test prep, set a very limited and rigid standard for what good writing is, and might pressure teachers to dumb down writing instruction. The biggest problem is that computer readers cant discern truth from nonsense. E-Rater doesnt care if you say the War of 1812 started in 1945, says Perelman. The software looks only at whether a fact is part of a well-structured sentence. The substance of an argument doesnt matter, he says, as long as it looks to the computer as if its wellargued. To prove the point, Perelman fed an essay into e-Rater in which he said that the number one reason for high college costs was excessive pay for greedy teaching assistants. The average teaching assistant makes six times as much money as college presidents, he wrote. In addition, they often receive a plethora of extra benefits such as private jets, vacations in the south seas, and starring roles in motion pictures. He even threw in a line from Allen Ginsbergs Howl just to see if he could get away with it. E-Rater gave Perelmans essay the top score of 6. Perelman also found that the software gives more points for longer essays. He submitted a 716-word essay with more than a dozen nonsensical sentences and got a 6. A well-argued, well-written essay of 567 words got a 5. Once you understand e-Raters biases, he says, its not hard to raise your test score. E-Rater doesnt like short sentences, sentence fragments, short paragraphs, or sentences beginning with or. E-Rater likes connectors, like however, and big words. In fairness to ETS, says Winerip, it was the only company to give Perelman access to its product. And ETS officials defended their system. E-Rater is not designed to be a fact checker, said Paul Deane, a research scientist. Its best used to give students rapid feedback on drafts so they can improve them before submitting a final draft to a teacher. ETS says that for high-stakes situations (like the Graduate Record Exam), e-Rater is always backed up by a human scorer. As for being biased in favor of longer essays, Deane argued that good writers have internalized the skills that make them more fluent and are therefore able to write more in a limited amount of time. On Perelmans point about test prep, ETS officials contend that his advice on how to game the e-Rater is too complex for most students to absorb, and if they can, theyre demonstrating the very kind of high-level thinking the program is designed to pick up. In other words, says Winerip, if theyre smart enough to master such sophisticated test prep, they deserve a 6. Facing a Robo-Grader? No Worries. Just Keep Obfuscating Mellifluously by Michael Winerip in The New York Times, Apr. 23, 2012 (p. A11), http://nyti.ms/HZlqlj

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK Winning is not a sometime thing; its an all the time thing. You dont win once in awhile, you dont do things right once in awhile, you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. Vince Lombardi