Letter from the MC Principal

Hello MC families,

This morning we spent some time observing Lunar New Year during Advisory, as the Year of the Dragon is beginning this Saturday, February 10th. Lunar New Year is celebrated in many Asian countries as it coincides with the beginning of spring. It is a time of renewal with a focus on removing bad luck and looking forward to prosperity in the new year. Students wrote Lunar New year cards with well wishes for the new year.

This week doors were assigned to Advisories for our Black History Month door decorating contest. We will be creating a timeline of Atlanta’s Black History with our doors. Our door decorating contests are an opportunity for students to learn about Black history, be creative, and teach each other as well.

Finally, as I mentioned in my last Courier letter, on Monday and Tuesday of this week students participated in data talks. Students had 15 minute individual appointments with adults in the Media Center in which they talked about their MAP and Milestones data. This year we emphasized student growth data, and not just their achievement percentiles. Irrespective of how a student performs on these tests we can all grow, and keeping that growth mindset is important. The students that I did data talks with, as well as other students that I spoke to about their experiences, were very reflective about what the data was showing them. The time that the students spent thinking about how they could contribute to continued growth in class was definitely time well spent.

As always, if you have any questions 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.