Standardized Tests and their Importance
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It is testing week at KWHS. This week, our 9th grade students will be taking the ACT Explore test while the 10th graders take the ACT Plan test. These tests will be administered on Wednesday morning so please make sure your student is present and arrives on time that morning. Both of these tests, designed by ACT, are indicators of a student's ACT score at this point in time. We use data from these tests to assess individual student's skills as well as to make adjustments to our instruction ensuring each student at KWHS is working toward their full potential. Our 11th grade students will be testing Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning on the Michigan Merit Exam (MME) which is the comprehensive State required exam of all 11th graders. The actual ACT test is part of the MME and will be administered on Tuesday. The ACT test that students will take on Tuesday covers four main skill areas: reading, writing, math, and science. The ACT is primarily an academic skills test while the other portions of the MME are more content specific. Because the ACT test is more skill based, it is an indicator of "College Readiness," with ACT scores corresponding to the skills necessary for success in first year college courses. The overall MME scores are very important not only because students gain a picture of the college readiness and their mastery of high school content but also because MME scores are used to determine if Michigan public high schools are meeting annual state achievement goals. We want all of our students to perform as well as they possible can during these three days of testing so they can present their best scores to colleges for acceptance and also so that KWHS rates well on the States measure of our effectiveness. Please help your child achieve their best performance on these tests by encouraging plenty of sleep with a good breakfast in the morning and showing up for testing on time. For more information about the MME, please click here. Best Regards, 
Jim Perry
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A Week with Invisible Children
| by Jessie Pratt
This week, as Mr. Perry spoke about above, is the state ACT/MME exam for all Juniors. Instead of sending 9, 10 and 12 graders home or running classes on a reduced level, we develop a special program each year to meet some of the more unique parts of our mission (student centered, creating personal connections with students and focusing on service and character). This year we are working with the Invisible Children program, educating our students about Africa and the conflict in Uganda. Invisible Children is an organization that raises awareness about child soldiers in Northern Uganda. Tuesday, March 1 and Wednesday, March 2 will be spent working with students and providing a student driven learning experience about the background of the Uganda conflict and Africa in general, looking especially at misconceptions in media. On Thursday, March 3, Invisible Children is coming in the morning to screen their film Tony. They will then stick around to work with students. Students will then work on taking action on the issue, coming up with service learning projects to be worked on in grade level Advisories to be continued with throughout the rest of the school year. This is one of those unique opportunities that being a small, personal school provides us. We look forward to an engaging and powerful week! You can find out more about Invisible Children and their work at their website, http://www.invisiblechildren.com/.
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KWoods Plunges for Special Olympics
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On Sunday, 4 representatives from Kensington Woods and Team Hunter jumped into a very cold Zukey Lake to support Special Olympics Michigan. With the help of the KWoods community, we raised over $165 for Special Olympics and Team Hunter raised over $650 total. Below are some photos of our KWoods jumpers, from the Livingston Daily: Sam Solvansky, Emily Solvansky, Patricia Sovlansky and Jason Pratt. For more information about the Polar Plunge, visit www.somi.org. 
 
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Support our Study Abroad Program!
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Support the KWHS Travel Abroad efforts by swiping a key chain when you shop at Meijer. Flyers are available or enroll online at http://www.meijer.com/mcr/choose_card.jsp. Our organization code is 929208.
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Find KWoods
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Upcoming Events
| Tuesday, March 1 FAFSA due for Financial Aid
Tuesday-Thursday, March 1-3
MME/ACT Testing for Juniors
Wednesday, March 2
Explore and Plan testing for Freshmen and Sophomores
Wednesday, March 2, 5:30pm
Boys Basketball game @ Madison Academy (Burton)
KWoods Event Calendar
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