Massac Unit #1

December Spotlight This December Spotlight was an easy choice after the 2017 MCHS/MJHS Christmas Concert.  Even though Ms. Gallip and Mr. Hannan packed this concert with about seventy minutes of music, the event seemed to last only moments.  The audience was treated to performances by the MJHS Band, MJHS Choir, MCHS Band, MCHS Jazz Band, MCHS Choir and countless other ensembles.  Over 165 students participated in these performances, which accounts for almost 20% of the total student body at MCHS and MJHS. Program Designed by Sam Coram As many of you know, one out of five students involved in performance arts such as this is really quite remarkable for our area.  This really speaks volumes about the immeasurable effort put forth by Ms. Gallip and Mr. Hannan as well as all the parents who support their children in the Arts.  There is a strong correlation between participation in extracurricular activities such as these and success in schools.  Even more, research suggests that

November Spotlight     Plickers & Student-Created Assessment Items Aligned to Learning Targets Aligned to Standards In my short time as superintendent, I have been amazed at all of the creative ideas and strategies that I have witnessed just by making time for some random classroom visits.  Because these visits are completely random and unannounced, I know these strategies and techniques are routine and occurring regularly in these classrooms.  This really says something about our staff and their relentless efforts to continuously improve student learning in their classrooms.  One of these visits occurred early in November at Unity Elementary.  I actually dropped by Unity to observe Mr. Climan utilize Plickers with his P.E. classes.  I was recently made aware of Plicker cards and how they can be used for quick formative assessment through an online webinar.   After asking administrators