Panther Tales: A New Grading System at the Middle School
A message from the Superintendent, Rap to Read, Dancing, and more...
Welcome to Panther Tales: Dr. Bob Goes Back to School. I’m Bob Leonard, and I’m sharing some of the very best moments I see as I wander the buildings of the Knoxville School District and talk to some of the students and staff.
Last Monday morning these Northstar students above were happy to be back at school and were seeking out their friends immediately after they left the bus.
Watching this pick-up football game was pretty amazing. Everyone knows the rules, and they work together—for the most part. There was one very good catch in this clip.
In one of the best moments of the week, Tamra Stevenson and Corrie Sass show me one way they get Middle School students to read different kinds of books. Don’t miss this one! It could go viral…
The Middle School is switching to a new non-grading system for electives called Standard Based Learning. Principal Brian McNeil says the program is skills-based and should prove better able to address what skills students should work toward getting better at, rather than focusing on a letter grade. He says it will yield improved outcomes and will provide students and parents with more detail on their progress than letter grades do. Here is our interview:
Superintendent Pearson wants to let people know that the filing period for anyone wanting to run for one of three soon-to-be-open school board positions has begun. People need to file their papers with the Auditor’s office by September 21, 5:00 p.m. to be eligible for the November 7 election. She tells me what kinds of people would be nice to have on the board who live in the district.
We have people who have been here for generations and we love that historical perspective. But we also enjoy having new people come in and add value to our community as well. And the school, I think sits in a perfect spot to kind of embrace both of those. And so, we're looking for people to be on our school board with diverse backgrounds. We want people who have lived here for a long time. We want new people who are just moving to town. We want grandparents but we also want young parents or people who might not have children yet. The more voices that we can have on our school board the healthier discussions that we have. And the more thoughtful we are in planning for the future…
Here is the full interview:
I love the room art at the elementary schools. The kids learn art is everywhere. This is Mrs. Cook’s door at West.
I missed the above poster on the first day of school. It’s important for all of us to be able to responsibly share our emotions, and I think it’s beautiful that kids in this classroom at West are expressing their emotions through art. The teachers also need to know how their students are feeling, and this is a great way to do it.
Thanks to the Knoxville Food Youth Initiative for their donation towards the Miss Mary Strawberry program! Miss Mary Strawberry provides fun learning opportunities for our elementary students!
The baseball team was recently presented a check for over $6,000 for helping with parking during the Knoxville Nationals.
These young men stopped to talk with me. Their favorite class is Language Arts, and they think Mrs. Van Wyk is the best! Hear what they have to say about what they are reading:
Mrs. Sass says goodbye to the Middle School students every Friday with music and dancing. It’s a Party in the U.S.A., indeed!
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