Principal Michael Podraza’s Weekly EGHS Update
Week of 10-11-2016
EGHS News and Information!
A weekly newsletter with information about upcoming events related to East Greenwich High School
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Gallup launched the Gallup Student Poll in 2009. Gallup provides analytics and advice to organizations around the world. The Gallup Student Poll is a brief, 24-item survey available on the web for students in grades 5 through 12. One time per year in the fall, the survey is provided at no cost to schools. The Gallup Student Poll includes the following themes:
Engagement- is the student’s involvement in and enthusiasm for school.
Hope- is the ideas and energy students have for the future.
Entrepreneurial Aspiration- is the talent and energy for building businesses that survive, thrive and employ others.
Career/Financial Literacy- is the information, attitudes and behaviors that students need to practice for healthy participation in the economy.
The Gallup Student Poll gives students a voice in building great schools, and results provide schools with important, actionable information beyond standard measures, such as grades and test scores, to help schools make kids ready for the future. Please visit the Gallup Student Poll homepage on the web at http://www.gallupstudentpoll.com to view the survey items and learn more. To date, there have been over 4 million completes of the Gallup Student Poll.
This survey is anonymous and voluntary. That means Gallup cannot identify your student, and your student’s individual responses will not be shared with anyone. Only grade-level and school-level information will be shared with our school. Your student does not have to participate in this survey. There are no consequences or penalties if your student does not participate. Email Gallup Education at educationhelp@gallup.com if you have questions about this survey, or contact me at mpodraza@egsd.net or 401-398-1300.
If you do not want your child to participate in the Gallup Student Poll, please click here and return the bottom of the form to the EGHS main office of by Friday, October 14th.
As you are likely aware, East Greenwich Public Schools is a Google Apps for Education School District. As part of the high school’s movement to a 1:1 digital learning environment, a number of EGHS teachers have gravitated towards using various learning management systems such as Blackboard, Canvas and Google Classroom with the objective of enhancing collaboration and communication with students and streamlining workflow.
In an August update, Google Classroom gave teachers the option of giving parents and guardians the ability to receive a daily or weekly “summary” of work that has been assigned or, according to Google, is missing.
As a school, we have identified a number of inconsistencies that can create misleading information distributed through these summaries. For instance, students can press a button to mark work as “completed” without submitting a work product. Also, assignments tagged as “missing” may still be in progress, be a group project that does not require an individual submission or perhaps a task that was completed on paper or through another platform.
Until we find solutions to what would now be misleading or incorrect information being forwarded home, you may find that teachers who previously have been listed on your Google Classroom summaries will no longer be there after this week.
In addition, those teachers who are using Google Classroom may not make this feature available to parents to avoid sending information that may be inaccurate or confusing rather than helpful to you.
Checking Aspen and/or communicating with teachers through e-mail remains the best method to check on your student’s progress as needed.
As a school, timely and accurate communication of of student progress is our goal. We are all working together to provide your sons and daughters with the best education that we can, and to provide you with the most useful information possible as we do so. Emerging technology will likely provide us with the ability to continuously improve over time, but there will be a learning and implementation curve along the way for the entire school community.
We always strive to communicate effectively with your family, please feel free to let Mr. Podraza or myself know how we can improve while we continue to work on new solutions.
Thank you.
In the link below you will find the East Greenwich High School profile for 2016-17. Significant updates have been made to the profile thanks to the efforts of the EGHS Guidance Department, the vision and graphic design talents of Mrs. Deanna Agresti, and feedback from members of the EGHS community. The information contained in the EGHS profile is the result of hard work by our students who are taught by a tremendous faculty and staff, and who are supported unconditionally by parents, guardians and the community. While school profiles vary from community to community, and from State to State, the EGHS profile attempts to balance and honor all that the EGHS student body has accomplished and what collegiate and university counselors want, need and expect from a school profile. We believe we have struck the proper balance for all. As always, please feel free to contact us with any feedback you may have.
THIS WEEK’S
UPCOMING EVENTS
No School Wednesday 10-12
ADVANCED PLANNING
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
This week’s “Food for Thought” is an outline of Freshman grading at MIT- Where “In the first semester and the January Independent Activities Period (IAP) freshmen are graded on a Pass or No Record basis in all subjects they take, where P (passing) means C- or better performance.” Because- “Freshman grading is designed to ease the transition from high school by giving students time to adjust to factors like increased workloads and variations in academic preparation. A, B, and C grades are used during the second semester so that freshmen can begin the progression to regular A-F grading in the sophomore year.”
East Greenwich High School exists to EMPOWER
We, the EGHS community, strive to empower all members to achieve their full potential as learners, thinkers, and responsible global citizens. We take risks in order to inspire learning and discover passions.
We, the East Greenwich High School community, live our values:
Respect: Be considerate of others' ideas and opinions while maintaining personal integrity and self- confidence.
Creativity and Innovation: Embrace flexibility and individuality when explaining and demonstrating knowledge and skills.
Relevance: Link concepts across subjects and make connections to today's global society.
Enthusiasm: Generate excitement and curiosity about learning.
Achievement: Work vigorously to obtain knowledge and skills measured against the highest standards.
We hold ourselves and each other accountable to these values in support of our mission.
East Greenwich High School
300 Avenger Drive, East Greenwich, RI, 02818
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS
ADVANCED PLANNING
