Letter from the MC Principal
Hello MC families,
As we move into the month of March students are demonstrating their learning on summatives; we’ve got MAP testing, student-led conferences, and spring Advisor reports coming up; and students are seeking to grow from where they were at the end of the semester. For those of you who would like to brush up on (or get a better understanding of) IB grading, reading end of semester reports, or get a preview of what you may see on your student’s spring Advisor report there will be a pair of IB parent information sessions during the week of March 10th. Each session will have the same information, but there are two options so that hopefully one of them will fit your schedule. The options are Tuesday 3/11 from 3:15-4pm and Friday 3/15 from 9-9:45am. You can RSVP using this link. If you are not able to attend either of these sessions you can reach out to our IB Coordinator Dale Scott at dscott@atlncs.org and she can set up a time to meet with you.
Ramadan began this past weekend so we discussed it last Monday during Morning Meeting. Ramadan is a month of contemplation, prayer, and charity. During Ramadan Muslims spend their days and nights in reflection and being better in every way. That in and of itself is hard work and fasting takes this to another level, for those who observe. For any students who are fasting this month, we are providing a space that they can use during the day to be away from the cafeteria during lunch, to take a break during the day, and to pray. There is a comfortable couch and prayer rugs in this space – it is a very comfortable and welcoming space.
This past Tuesday was our Black History Month Celebration and Teach-In. The Celebration included an original rap song written by Dorion Wilson (7th grade) and performed by Aaron Jones (7th grade) and Isaiah Tillman (7th grade). The Sisterhood performed an African dance as accompanied by a student drum performance led by 8th grader Layla Atkins. During the Teach-In itself students rotated through various sessions including “African Influence on the Caribbean” (6th grade), “Black Urban Farmers and Community Health” (7th grade), “In Rosa Parks’ Shoes” (7th grade), and “Roots of American Music” (8th grade; session led by members of The Brotherhood). It was a day full of learning, joy, celebration, and recognition. It’s always one of the greatest days of the school year.
Our final round of MAP testing for the year will take place this week on Wednesday 3/5 and Friday 3/7. We discussed this scheduling with students during Morning Meeting the last few weeks.
In Advisory next week your students will be preparing for their student-led conferences. Those conferences will be occurring the week of March 17th. Your students’ advisors have been reaching out to schedule conferences with you so hopefully you’ve got your conference scheduled.
During the conference your students will be sharing information with you about the learning goals they have set as well as the progress that they have made on those goals. Your students will receive feedback on how they have been doing in class since the end of the semester. At the end of semester one in December, your students’ teachers wrote narrative reports about your student’s class performance that included an area of strength and an area of growth for your student. Teachers will be taking a look back at those semester narratives and they are giving your students feedback on whether they have shown growth in the last nine weeks based on taking the feedback they received at the end of semester one.
Teachers will also report on the Commitment to Guiding Principles grades that your students have earned this Spring. These grades are very important, because when a student is committing to being Prepared, Responsible, and Respectful in the classroom these qualities lead to academic success. If a student is struggling in these areas it is hard for them to be successful academically, so it is important to pay attention to these scores.
Students will be looking at these Spring Advisor Reports as they prepare for their conferences, and these reports will be uploaded into ManageBac next week. I will send out an email when the reports are ready. In the meantime, you will be able to get some quality updates on how your student is doing during their conference next week.
Finally, our Service as Action Day, which was originally scheduled for Friday, January 24th, before being postponed due to all of the weather disruptions we had at that time, has been rescheduled for Friday, March 28th. Your students’ Advisors will reach out to you about their plans for the day including if they need help with parent drivers.
As always if you have any questions please feel free to reach out.
Kind regards,
Mark
Mark Sanders
Mark Sanders began teaching at ANCS in 2011. Before coming to the school, Mr. Sanders worked in New York City. He spent three years teaching 7th and 8th grade mathematics at Middle School 50 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and two years at Harlem Village Academies teaching Geometry and Algebra 2/Trigonometry. He taught 8th grade Math/Science/Technology at ANCS for five years.
