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Message from Mrs. Kunze
Swiss Point's Relay for Life Team
We participated in the Relay for Life event at Bartram last weekend. Our team raised $4,200. THANK YOU to everyone who came out and supported all the teams. It is such a great feeling knowing that the money is going to such a worthwhile cause.
A HUGE Thank You to the PTSO for all of the goodies provided this week for Teacher Appreciation. The teachers truly appreciate all your support!
Lisa Wenzloff, a parent and Herbalife rep, donated samples and a coupon for a free smoothie to all the teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week. THANK YOU Mrs. Wenzloff! Lisa is being very gracious and extending the offer for a free smoothie or herbal tea to our parents. If you are interested, please click on the link for a free coupon on the left.
FCAT Writing Scores
Congratulations to our 8th graders for their performance on this year's FCAT Writing. The scores were released on Wednesday and this year's 8th graders had an 8% increase in scores from last year's students. WAY TO GO RAIDERS!!
We had.....
38 students score a 3
149 students score a 4
115 students score a 5
23 students score a 6
99% (325 out of 328) scored a 3 or higher
88% (287 out of 328) scored a 4 or higher
ATTENTION GEOMETRY HONORS PARENTS:
The state announced Thursday that students who previously earned credit in Algebra 1 (standard or honors) do not have to take the Algebra 1 EOC this year. So the students currently taking Geometry Honors at Swiss, will NOT take the Algebra 1 EOC the week of May 16th as previously planned.
SAC Concerns/Comments
In an effort to address concerns, I will respond to concerns/comments made by parents in the SAC Needs Assessment Survey.
Comment: Some advanced classes move too fast (i.e. math), but I am thrilled that teachers are willing to help during study hall.
My Response: As I mentioned in the informational parent meeting last week, the Department of Education is requiring End-of-Course exams (EOC exams) for all subjects. Students will be required to pass some of these exams to graduate from high school, for instance, Algebra 1, Geometry, Biology & US History. The Algebra 1 EOC is being administered this year for the first time. All students taking the exam THIS YEAR ONLY will have it count 30% of their final grade. Next year, the state will move the Algbra 1 EOC exam to a pass/fail status to earn credit required for high school graduation. In an effort to prepare students and teachers for these exams, our district has created common semster exams for all math courses. These exams are meant to keep the students & teachers on pace. Next year all core subjects will have common district semester exams.
Comment: Parent 1 - The dropping off of students needs to improve next year where parents use the same procedures that are used in the afternoon. Parent 2 - Could the parent cars use the larger back loop and the buses share space in the front and Hickory bus loops?
My Response: We tried changing drop off procedures to the afternoon procedures this year and that did not work. We had some very close calls when parents did U-turns and cut in the line instead of going to the end of the line to turn around. The front bus loop is not big enough for the buses. To keep all students safe we don't want to use Hickory's bus loop and have students walk between parent drop off cars. This could be dangerous since students & sometimes parents don't pay attention. We will keep the drop off procedures the same for next year. We encourage students that are eligible to ride the bus to do so. If you do bring your child, the line goes much faster when students are ready to exit the vehicle quickly.
Comment: Too many subsitutes due to meetings. Teacher meetings should be after school.
My Response: Three years ago the district changed the middle school day from 7 periods to 6 periods to save money. When this happened the teachers started teaching 6 out of 6 classes instead of 6 out of 7. The teachers lost a 50 minute period that they used for planning. All the requirements for teachers have increased but they have less time. So last year the district started giving each middle school some money for subsitutes so the teachers could have a full day of planning each quarter to help make up for this lost planning time.
Comment: SPMS is a great school because of the academic opportunities, teachers and the administrative staff that run this school. Thank you for providing a wonderful learning and safe environment for our children.
My Response: THANK YOU for the positive comments. We did receive many comments like this, which we truly appreciate. Sometimes it is frustrating when everyone works so hard and all we hear are negative comments.
The information listed below can be found on the FL DOE website. The sheet that I took information from is titled "Transition to Next Generation and Computer-Based Tests (CBT) in Florida and was updated on Feb. 2011. Everyone needs to be aware of some very important changes that our happening.
Students who entered 9th grade this year, 10-11
Algebra 1 EOC (CBT) counts 30% of Algebra grade
Geometry credit is required for graduation
Geometry EOC is field tested at some high schools
Biology EOC is field tested at some high schools
Students entering 9th grade in 11-12
Algebra EOC (CBT) must be PASSED to earn credit for graduation.
Geometry EOC (CBT) counts as 30% of course grade.
Biology credit must be earned for graduation and Biology EOC (CBT) counts as 30% of course grade.
US History EOC is field tested at some high schools
Middle School students in 11-12
7th grade Reading FCAT will be computer-based
Students entering 9th grade is 12-13
Geometry EOC (CBT) must be PASSED to earn credit required for graduation.
Biology EOC (CBT) must be PASSED to earn credit required for graduation.
US History EOC (CBT) will count as 30% of course grade.
Algebra 2 credit is required for graduation.
10th grade Reading FCAT will be computer-based.
Middle School students in 12-13
7th grade Math FCAT will be computer-based
Civics EOC (CBT) will be field tested at some middle schools
Students entering 9th grade is 13-14
Chemistry or Physics and an equally rigorous science course required for graduation.
US History EOC (CBT) must be PASSED to earn credit required for graduation.
Middle School students in 13-14
7th graders will be required to take a Civics EOC (CBT)
6th grade Math FCAT will be computer-based
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