February 25, 2023

Greetings Gunston Families,

The school year continues to move along at what feels like an increasingly rapid rate. Perhaps the 80 degree weather in February adds to that feeling but we are already approaching the mid-way point for the 3rd quarter. The due date for the IPR (interim progress report) grades is next Tuesday, February 28th. There are only 5 weeks remaining in the 3rd quarter. And the next few weeks are important. Students who are not earning passing grades may be in jeopardy of not transitioning to the next grade level, especially our current 8th graders. Plus, it means that there is a smaller amount of the school year remaining than has already passed. If students have not mastered and/or are not showing mastery of the content, the window to learn the material for the next level and to be in a position to show mastery on the Standards of Learning state assessments is short and rapidly closing. So, please review the IPR grades, sit with your child and review Canvas with them, so that you have a good understanding of where their learning is for this year.I also hope that you have already made arrangements for the student conference with your child and their TA teacher. Our goal was to shift some of the responsibility for learning and tracking learning to the students. We don’t want them to just be passengers in their learning journey, but rather knowledgeable drivers. Our new format for conferences, I hope, is a step in accomplishing this goal. If you still have questions for individual teachers, please feel free to contact them via email or TalkingPoints. Also, please reach out to your child’s school counselor if you have questions or concerns that they would be better to address.

Warmly,
Dr. Wiggins