Hancock Grammar School

Happy second week of school! Announcements:

*Open House has been scheduled for Sept. 19th. 7th and 8th grade students have an important iPad meeting with Mrs. Clifford from 6-7 pm
* Testing will begin soon! Please encourage your child to do their best, and try to attend school each day to minimize make-up sessions. Testing includes reading and math NWEAs for grades 2-8, as well as the state NECAP assessments for grades 3-8.
* Attendance news for Monday 9/9:In the words of Magic Johnson, “School is why I made it big time.” In this video Magic urges parents and kids to make it a priority to attend school each day.

“School is your best shot at a better life. … Don’t drop the ball. Pick it up, run hard. … Every student, every day!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C24aoX7U-d8&feature=related

Too often chronic absence remains a hidden problem because schools track only average daily attendance and truancy (unexcused absences.) The research shows that chronic absence predicts lower 3rd grade reading proficiency, course failure and eventual dropout.

Fact: Chronic absence in kindergarten is associated with lower academic performance in 1st grade, especially in reading for Latino students. For poor children, unable to make up for time on task, the poor performance extended through 5th grade. By 6th grade chronic absence is a clear predictor of drop-out.

Did you know?

Last school year at HGS over 2000 days of school were missed by our student body. That averages out to nearly 10 days per student!

Out of roughly 200 students, only 10 students had perfect attendance last year.

Let's beat that this year!

It’s Attendance Awareness Month!

Fact: Every 26 seconds, a student drops out of school.

By 9th grade, missing 20 percent of the school year is a better predictor of dropping out than test scores.

Happy first day!

Attendance News for 9/3
If you think one day out of school is just one day out of school, think again! The days add up quickly. Our friends at the Get Schooled website have developed an “Attendance Count Calender,” which you can use to see the effect of missing school based on the number of days you are out. The results just might surprise you!

FACT: Nationally, as many as 7.5 million students nationwide miss 10 percent of the school year in excused and unexcused absences every year. That’s 135 million days of school.

We are thrilled to kick off another school year! Welcome back to staff and students, let's have a great year.

8th Grade Promotion is Monday June 17th - writing projects (iMovies) will be at 6 p.m., promotion ceremony at 7 p.m.

Despite the drizzle, we are still doing the walk-a-thon today!