From Sputnik to Cyberbullying: The 8th grade symposium really took off last night!

Last night the 8th grade class showed that yes, vale la pena, or it is worth it!  Many presenters gave you the option of listening in English or Spanish!  This symposium could not have been possible without all of your support and interest in your student’s learning during this research! Additionally, we are thankful for all the staff members who mentored your student through the research project. Some of your student’s were mentored from their 6th grade teacher’s.  We are the only middle school that embraces student learning as an entire school. Thanks again for helping Casey remain one of the most unique learning environments.

Students speak out on Cyber Bullying

Listen to the radio show Casey Journalists did on Cyber Bullying

 

 

Yes, I met President Obama

Presidents don’t come to town very often.  When President Obama’s trip to CU was announced the clever office staff at Casey conspired to get me invited to meet him.   As we shook hands, he let me know that he remembers being a middle school student and knows the emotional swings typical with this age group (always a good thing to keep in mind).  What an amazing thing it is to be in a country where the leader feels an urgency about identifying with common folk and needs us as much as we need him (or someday her).  Maybe its because I just read Hunger Games, but I really am thankful for democracy.

7th graders Thrown to the Wolves

Peace Jam (a Casey Club) sponsored a visit from Mission Wolf yesterday.  We have never seen the 7th grade so quiet!  Each student had a chance to be sniffed.  It was quite a thrill to be so close to these predators and learn to separate the facts from the myths.

Congratulations to Winners in the Library of Congress writing contest!

Over 1,000 entries were submitted from across the state – we are very proud of our Casey writers!

In the category, Letters About Literature, Marley Loveman won first place in the state of Colorado.  Good Luck to Marley as her letter is one of fifty entered in to the national contest.

Also Congratulations to Zoe Fiedler who won Honorable Mention for her entry.

In the River of Words category, three Casey students placed Thalia Valles – First place, Marley Loveman – Second place  and Isaac Gonzales -Third place.

All entries will be included in the Student Literary Award anthology.

The  Award ceremony is scheduled for
May 10, 2012
2:00- 4:00 pm
Denver Public Library
Conference Center, Lower Level
10 W. 14th Avenue Pkwy, Denver, CO

 

 

Casey Students qualify for Spanish 3, 4 and 5!

Of the 62 8^th graders who took the test to determine their level of Spanish acquisition for high school placement all qualified for placement in at least Spanish 3.  70% qualified for Spanish 4 and one qualified for Spanish 5!  Many have chosen to begin with Spanish 3 anyway to align course work with the Advanced Placement test timing. Nothing wrong with being overly prepared. Congratulations to all!

Mid-year Progress Report on the Unified Improvement Plan—Casey Middle School

When students find themselves in the position of needing to catch up, rapid gains are critical for success in high school and beyond.  We are very excited about the learning results we are seeing in our double dose math and small group reading classes.  Our mission also includes the complex task of providing inspiration and challenge for a wide variety of learners.  We are pleased with the grades and level of motivation students are demonstrating.  If you are interested and have some extra time, come by to see the teachers’ analysis of student achievement in the first semester. It’s posted in all the team conference rooms.  Our School Accountability Team has suggested that we use a more consistent approach to reporting this information so we can post it easier.  We are working on that for the report about progress in the third quarter.

Our counselors (Kirsten and Max) are working with students to enhance the connection between experiences in school and future goals.  They are using a career exploration inventory and the strategy of goal setting in this process.  Once students know the career cluster they are interested in, their classes take on fresh relevance.  It is hard to imagine, but 7^th and 8^th graders are a mere 4 or 5 years from high school graduation.  Ask your 7th or 8th grader about the career cluster he or she is exploring.

As for the more day-to-day skills, Max and Kirsten spend time each week in homework help to assist students with organization and study skills.   Our overall improvement strategies are outlined in our Unified Improvement Plan:

http://schools.bvsd.org/p12/Casey/Documents/UIP%20Casey%202011-just%20plan.pdf