There's Something Special About Iber Holmes Gove Middle School....

As I mentioned in a prior posting, we have wonderful schools in Raymond and any chance I get, I brag about them!  This week, I want to make everyone aware of some of the things that make our middle school a fabulous place for students.  Here are some of the attributes I have the privilege of seeing on a regular basis:

• A caring dedicated staff
• Students who go out of their way to volunteer and fundraise for those less fortunate
• Our After-School Program- offers both academic help and enrichment
• Raymond Roundtables
• Sports teams- both school teams and intramurals
• Social Studies Teacher of the Year
• An Award-Winning Art Program
• School Resource Officer
• A beautifully kept building!
• True Middle School Concept- including the set-up of the building
• Small class sizes
• Peer tutoring
• Technology- 3 computer labs, 3 computer carts, Chrome Books, a Smartboard and projector in every class
• Mentors for new staff
• Middle School of the Year!
• High school courses taken for high school credit
• On-line foreign language courses for 8th grade students
• A wide range of course offerings for all students beyond the core academics:  Integrated Technology, Computers, Family and Consumer Science, Music, Art, Physical Education, Health
• Academic Intervention Block 
• Honors classes
• Responsive Classroom
• Professional Learning Communities
• Ram Rallys
• Presentations at the NH Technology Conference
• Anti-Bullying Program including celebration lunches
• Middle School Assistant Principal of the Year
• Clubs for all sorts of interests- everything from Chess to Jazz Band to Table Top Games to Newspaper Club and many more
• Special Education Teacher of the Year
• Middle School teachers presented at the New England League of Middle Schools

This list is incomplete and does not include everything that is great about the middle school- there's so much more!  If you have students at the middle school, I'm sure they can tell you some of the many wonderful people, happenings, and events that they enjoy at the Iber Holmes Gove Middle School. And, of course, I will continue to sing the praises of all of our great schools.  Watch for my elementary school list coming soon to a blog near you.

Raymond Roundtables- An Outstanding Program!

       For the past 7 years the Raymond School District has partnered with Phillips Exeter Academy to offer enrichment classes during the summer to our 7th and 8th grade students, and more recently, to our high school students.  This partnership began as a idea that had representatives from Phillips Exeter, John McDaniels from Reach High Scholars and me making plans to create classes similar to those offered at Phillips Exeter.  What a wonderful opportunity for our students!
       The idea was to have classes taught at Raymond during the summer that featured the "Harkness Method".  This method is how all classes at Phillips Exeter are taught.  According to the Phillips Exeter Academy website about the Harkness Method, "It's a way of learning: everyone comes to class prepared to share, discuss, and discover, whether the subject is a novel by William Faulkner or atomic and molecular structure. There are no lectures."  The website further states that Harkness includes: " interacting with other minds, listening carefully, speaking respectfully, accepting new ideas and questioning old ones, using new knowledge, and enjoying the richness of human interaction."  It is a unique way for students to learn and is something they can apply to other classes taken throughout their lives.
     At the beginning, all classes were taught by Phillips Exeter teachers.  We now have a combination of our own staff who have been trained in the Harkness Method, along with staff from Exeter.
    This has been a wonderful partnership and one that I hope lasts for a long time. This year, students who attended the summer program had the following things to say.  If you think our students don't want more opportunities to learn and to learn in different ways, you might be surprised by their comments:                  


                                        Raymond Roundtables Student Feedback

Math Summer 2015
Rising 10th graders who explored statistics:


Q1:  What, if anything, did you look forward to in regards to this class this summer?

•  Learning more about my classmates

•  Learning in a new way

Q2:  Did you learn anything about/from your classmates this summer?

• My classmates are pretty smart.

• They are better than me at coming up with creative solutions

• They think similarly to me but they also have ideas that I never would have thought of

Q3:  Did you learn anything about yourself this summer?  If so, what?

• I have a pretty good interest in statistics and I am still fairly quiet.

• I will speak up if no one else does and I don’t always have the best ideas

• I work better in small groups because I feel more comfortable sharing my ideas

• As long as I am informed, I can participate in groups with ease of mind and not put myself in an uncomfortable situation

Q4:  What have you learned about statistics this summer?

• I like statistics because you can relate it to the real world

• Much more enjoyable than regular math

• It isn’t just about probability

• I learned about variability and sampling

• It is not as straight forward as I had thought

• Statistics plays a huge role in our everyday lives – they are everywhere! 

Other insights made by these students:

• A discussion setting is actually good for helping people who really like to talk, while giving quieter students an opportunity to step outside of their comfort zones.

• We can all learn from each others' ideas and there is often more than one way to solve a problem.
• Statistics should be taught more and communicating with one another is key to having a fun environment.

Rising 9th Graders

Q1:  What, if anything, did you look forward to in regards to this class this summer?

• Keeping [my] mind alert in the summer

Q2:  Did you learn anything about/from your classmates this summer?

• There are many ways to solve a problem

Q3:  Did you learn anything about yourself this summer?  If so, what?

• I like doing challenging problems and discussing them as a group really helps me

•  Math can be solved in many different ways

• I really need to put my brain to work because the problems really aren’t as difficult as I think

Q4:  Would you take a similar class next summer?

• 4 yes, 1 no, 1 abstention

Other insights made by these students:

• There are many different ways to solve one problem

• An improvement of shy students participating and solving problems

• To let kids have more control

Rising 8th Graders:

Q1:  What, if anything, did you look forward to in regards to this class this summer?

• Working with classmates

• Learning to think in a different way

• To stay sharp over the summer

Q2:  Did you learn anything about/from your classmates this summer?

• How to explain things better

• If I do not know something, they can probably help me

• Some of them are smarter than I thought

• Some people are smarter in different ways

• Some people participate in discussions more than others

• As a group, we work well together to solve problems

Q3:  Did you learn anything about yourself this summer?  If so, what?

• Don’t be afraid to put an answer on the board even if you think it is wrong

• To take time and give seemingly impossible questions a second try

• To be more independent with my tasks in and out of school

• If I do my homework right when I come home from class, I do better than waiting until the last

Q4:  Would you take a similar class next summer?
5 yes, 2 maybe – want it later in morning, 3 no


Other insights made by these students:

• Students can run their own class and need to be challenged more

• If you give students some time and  a little hint, they can solve any problem

• Students can teach themselves

• Tougher problems are easier to solve when we work together

Raymond High School- A Hidden Gem!

Little Known Benefits of Raymond High School

I am constantly touting the wonderful things that we do in our schools and all of the opportunities available to our students.  Today I want to let everyone know some of the things I say to anyone who will listen about Raymond High School.  We have so many wonderful reasons to be proud.  Here is a partial list:

• Dedicated Teachers- they know and care for all our students and work together to help our students succeed
• Administration- caring and empathetic
•  Small class size
•  Freshman Academy
• Technology- Smartboards in every class, 3 computer labs, computers in every class, 2 computer carts, one ipad cart, students are allowed to "Bring Your Own Devices"
• NH Scholars school
• Highest percentage of graduates attending Tier 1 colleges in southern NH
• Summer enrichment:  Dartmouth, St. Paul’s, Phillips Exeter Academy, and Brown University
• Reach High Scholars Foundation
• Award winning band
• Honors and Advanced Placement Courses
• Opportunities to take college level courses for credit
• Academic Approach- only high school in the state that offers this elite SAT prep course for minimal charge
•  Extended Learning Opportunities
• On-line registration and Parent Portal
• Wide variety of extra-curricular clubs and activities (everything from forestry to art to math clubs)
• Beautiful upkeep of our school
• School Resource Officer
• Naviance for college applications and tracking
• Seacoast School of Technology offers pre-college courses and work internships
• Variety of courses 
• Award winning Math Team
• Opportunities for Dual-Enrollment with local colleges
• Broad scope of electives:  woodworking, photography, sociology, web programming, multimedia, construction, video production, guitar, pottery, concert band, jazz ensemble, criminal law, zoology, construction
• Extended Learning Opportunities
• On-line courses available for credit (dedicated lab for on-line courses)
• Low ratio of guidance counselors to students
• Sports offerings (include 2^nd place finish in Girls’ Soccer and finalists in Boys’ Soccer)
• Dartmouth Intern to assist students with college questions
• Very active team building committee
• RAP groups
• High expectations for our students
• Drop out rate decreasing
• Dedicated College and Career Counselor
• Chosen as one of only 18 nationwide high performing middle and high schools to present at a national conference

All of these things and so many more reasons are why I brag that our high school is a "Hidden Gem"! Watch for all the great things we offer at both our middle and elementary school in a future blog.

End 68 Hours of Hunger

A program that was started right here in New Hampshire is now coming to the Lamprey River Elementary School:  "End 68 Hours of Hunger".  This was started by Claire Bloom in Dover, NH with the mission of confronting "the 68 hours of hunger experienced by some local school children by providing them bags of food to eat over the weekends".

This program was started in 2011 with just 19 children and now, according to their web site end68hoursofhunger.org, serves 1300 children in NH and Maine.  It has also spread to New York, Florida, Massachusetts, and California!  This program is a 100% volunteer organization with all money donated going directly to purchase food.  This website also provides information on the many sponsors involved in this wonderful organization and provides interviews done by NBC with its founder. 

Here is how it works.  A family will call the nurse at the elementary school to become part of the program.  On Friday before they leave school for the day their child will receive a backpack of food to take home.  This food is to help cover the time from when a child receives their lunch on Friday until they receive their breakfast on Monday morning.  The child returns the backpack on Monday and it is refilled again on the next Friday to go home with the child after school.  This cycle continues throughout the school year. 
 
If you would like to donate food, they are looking for these kinds of donations:

6-10 serving package of nutritional cereal
2 serving can of soup or pasta
peanut butter- 18 oz. plastic jar
jelly- 20 oz plastic jar
canned tuna/chicken
cans of fruit
crackers
macaroni and cheese (boxes)
ramen noodles (no cups)
nutrition bars

If you would like to donate your time, any of the above items, or money, please call our Program Coordinators:  Sara Gates or Tanya Martin at 603-706-2584.  If you would like your child to be a part of this helpful program, please call the elementary school at 603-895-3117 ext. 335 (nurse).  She will keep track of any allergies and make sure the request is honored.  Please be assured that no embarrassing questions will be asked and all names are kept confidential.  Our collaboration with this program is just one more small way in which the Raymond School District supports our families. 

I would also like to encourage any eligible families to apply for our confidential free and reduced lunch program.  Forms for this program can be found at:      2015-16 Application for Free and Reduced Price School Meals

Preparing for Back-to-School

This summer I've written several blogs on what is happening in our schools over the summer break (cleaning, painting, repairing, recreation activities and more!).  But what about our staff?  How do they prepare? Teachers and administrators all need some time during the summer to reflect on the previous year and to take some time to themselves- imagine being part of a 1700 member family all year!  They also, however, take part in courses, workshops, conferences, and do some valuable reading.

This summer over 80 staff members took part in the following professional development offerings:  writing competencies, integrating technology into the classroom, Smartboard training, writing rubrics, creating performance assessments and Responsive Classroom- and this is just what was offered by the Raymond School District!  Other teachers took advanced science courses, worked on a master's degree, took part in conferences, took on-line courses, wrote grants, worked as coaches and camp counselors, were involved in volunteer work, interviewed new teacher applicants, held Jump Start for new Freshmen, worked with special needs students, and served on District-wide committees.  All of these things, help our teachers prepare for our students' return and actually invigorate them:  teachers, by the end of the summer, are just as eager as our students to get back to school!

Administrators, too, take part in training over the summer.  This summer, our administrators learned about competency writing, had training from NH Emergency Management, worked on the District's Strategic Plan, learned about the 2016-2017 budget process, attended workshops at the Department of Education, heard information on insurance, workman's comp, and long-term substitutes, and planned for the District's workshop days.  All this, while doing all the things that need to be done in the summer:  registering new students; ordering supplies; creating schedules for students, teachers and paraprofessionals; answering questions from parents and students; providing records and transcripts; handling finances; interviewing new staff and checking references; attending meetings; taking courses, and so much more!

For the last three weeks, teachers have been in their classrooms setting up for the first day- hanging just the right poster to appeal to our students' interests, making colorful name tags, or writing lessons to engage our students in new ideas and and the desire to learn.  Imagine getting a fresh start every year?  This is a wonderful thing about a new school year- students come in happy to see their friends and teachers and are eager to learn.  And just like every year, we are excited for the opportunity to make this school year the best one ever!