Happy March!  When we close out this month with conference week followed by Spring Break we will have completed three quarters of this busy 2012-13 school year.

     In many ways this is a critical month for student achievement in our school.  The time between now and Spring Break serves as a relatively uninterrupted time for teaching and learning.  Classrooms have established their rhythm, and as I walk through and observe students and teachers I see many examples of efficient, focused and engaged learners participating in well designed and interesting lessons.

     Prior to conferences, each of our teachers will have an opportunity to participate in the Student Intervention Team process.  SIT is a chance for each teacher to meet with a team including the principal, counselor, school psychologist, and often a special education teacher to plan for how to effectively meet the needs for students who may be struggling with behavior or learning in the classroom.  On the spot, the team develops an intervention plan, designed to insure we are supporting all the needs of individual students.  This process is done before conferences in order that we can involve parents and communicate these ideas and information to families.

     Each family will have the chance to sit down with their child’s teacher in March to review progress and plan how to close out the school year with as much success for each GMES student as possible.  Conferences give us a chance to respond to parent concerns, share the work that is going on in our classrooms, and close the loop with our parents about life in our school. Please take this opportunity to attend the conference with your child’s teacher, and while you are at GMES, stop by the office and update your phone and email contact information.  That information is extremely important so that the school can contact you in case of an emergency.  As always, thanks for all you do to support your child’s learning here at GMES!

Casey Crawford

 ccrawford@rochester.wednet.edu