The Oxford School District is raising the price of full-pay lunches from $2.25 to $2.75 for the next school year, according to a memo from Nutrition Director Richmond Smith to the school board.
The memo states that the increase is being mandated by Section 205 of the Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Essentially what the federal government has done is to force school districts to comply with all sorts of expensive federal directives in exchange for increased reimbursements for students on the free and reduced lunch program.
Now the schools are being required by the federal government to raise prices on full-pay students to help pay for lunch changes that they did not want and do not like.
Oxford is not alone in raising prices. Schools all over the country are increasing prices to comply with this new federal intrusion. And some schools are just opting out of the federal school lunch program altogether. Almost 1,500 school have said "No thank you" to federal funding and regulation of school lunches since changes went into effect.
Nationally about 1.6 million full-pay students have stopped buying their lunch at school since the federal government began micromanaging the program. That's about seven percent of the 25 million students who were buying their own lunch at school each day. With lunch prices increasing, expect this number to rise. Most people don't like to pay more and get less.
I don't blame the Oxford School District for making these changes; it is just complying with federal law. But this is certainly an example of how an increase in federal spending can make the lives of the supposed beneficiaries worse instead of better.
Showing posts with label Oxford Middle School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oxford Middle School. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Oxford School District orchestra holds end-of-year concert May 14
The Oxford School District held its end-of-year orchestra concert May 14 at Nutt Auditorium on the Ole Miss campus. I thought they gave a fine performance.
For the past several years I tried to record some of my daughter's orchestra concerts. Obviously there are a lot more children involved than just my daughter.
I didn't take my video camera to the Christmas 2013 concert, which featured some choral music as well as orchestra tunes. I was simply blown away by five kids performing "Mary Did You Know" in a street-singing style. I called my friend Ed Meek and asked him to have someone from HottyToddy.com film these kids, and he did; and so I was able to include it on my blog.
In past years I've recorded snippets of songs. Last year I made a separate video for each song. One of the things that I find interesting is the obvious improvement that takes place as these children get older.
This year I decided to just record the entire performance of each group in full, without any editing. I did miss the first song performed by the high school, Furiant, by Elliot Del Borgo, as they started player before I got the "record" button pressed. I zoomed in once on each group to try to get video of each performer; however, many were in the back and out of the view of my camera. Oh well!
Most people won't want to watch all of these videos in their entirety. But here it is for those who might have friends or family members in the orchestra. For the general public, I strongly urge you to listen to a few snippets, anyway. Oxford is lucky to have a quality orchestra program in its schools.
The Oxford School District Orchestra is under the instruction of Tyler Kuntz. Kuntz said the high school orchestra had to cancel its plans earlier this year to participate in a rating competition earlier this year due to inclement weather, but that the middle school participated and received outstanding marks, with almost no negative comments.
Kuntz said he would announce in the fall the fact that he had registered the orchestra to participate in a four-day competition in St. Louis next year. The trip will include a visit to Six Flags, of course. Readers of this blog won't have to wait for the announcement.
And now for the videos:
For the past several years I tried to record some of my daughter's orchestra concerts. Obviously there are a lot more children involved than just my daughter.
I didn't take my video camera to the Christmas 2013 concert, which featured some choral music as well as orchestra tunes. I was simply blown away by five kids performing "Mary Did You Know" in a street-singing style. I called my friend Ed Meek and asked him to have someone from HottyToddy.com film these kids, and he did; and so I was able to include it on my blog.
In past years I've recorded snippets of songs. Last year I made a separate video for each song. One of the things that I find interesting is the obvious improvement that takes place as these children get older.
This year I decided to just record the entire performance of each group in full, without any editing. I did miss the first song performed by the high school, Furiant, by Elliot Del Borgo, as they started player before I got the "record" button pressed. I zoomed in once on each group to try to get video of each performer; however, many were in the back and out of the view of my camera. Oh well!
Most people won't want to watch all of these videos in their entirety. But here it is for those who might have friends or family members in the orchestra. For the general public, I strongly urge you to listen to a few snippets, anyway. Oxford is lucky to have a quality orchestra program in its schools.
The Oxford School District Orchestra is under the instruction of Tyler Kuntz. Kuntz said the high school orchestra had to cancel its plans earlier this year to participate in a rating competition earlier this year due to inclement weather, but that the middle school participated and received outstanding marks, with almost no negative comments.
Kuntz said he would announce in the fall the fact that he had registered the orchestra to participate in a four-day competition in St. Louis next year. The trip will include a visit to Six Flags, of course. Readers of this blog won't have to wait for the announcement.
And now for the videos:
Friday, May 9, 2014
Oxford High School and Middle School to start later next year; science says the later the better
The Oxford School District is going to separate bus routes next year so that high school and middle school students will be served by different bus routes from elementary students, the Oxford Eagle reports from behind a pay wall. The change will also push back the start time at the high school and middle school by about 30 minutes.
District Superintendent Brian Harvey said there haven't been any problems to date, but that having separate buses would create a more comfortable environment for younger children. The change is also designed to address serious traffic problems that have existed since the opening of the new high school, which have made it difficult for the buses to go to all schools in a timely manner.
“This is something that we have thought about for a number of years because we want our parents to feel safe that their kids can ride the buses,” OSD Superintendent Brian Harvey told the Eagle. “We haven’t had any issues that other school districts haven’t encountered, but the school bus climate is something we feel we can improve on.”
This is great news for Oxford's students, even though it appears that the primary reason for the change is due to logistics and not as an aid to student performance. Numerous studies have shown that teens are biologically programmed to go to sleep later in the evening and that early school days deprive them of the sleep they need. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan supports later start times, and sent out a "Tweet" last year which said, "Common sense to improve student achievement that too few have implemented: let teens sleep more, start school later."
And to Harvey's credit he did mention studies showing an increase in student performance with a later start time. “We’ve also looked at research that said that secondary students improve with student achievement and even ACT scores (by a later school start time),” Harvey told the Eagle.
If you don't want to bother reading a study, just read this recent New York Times article, which reports on the benefits later school start times. Or check out the website of Start School Later, an organization that promotes reasonable and healthy school start times.
When we first moved to Oxford we rented a condo that was the very first stop on the bus route. My recollection is that if the children wanted to ride the bus they needed to be at the bus stop at something like 6:25 a.m. The bus stop was at least a five minute walk away, so that meant they would have needed to be out the door by 6:20, and in order to do that the entire family would have had to get up at 5:30 a.m. Needless to say, the kids did not ride the bus.
But enough of personal anecdote; let's go back to the study I cited above. The last sentence of the last page says it all: [T]he findings of this research study reveal that there are empirically-based positive outcomes for adolescents whenever the start time of their high school is moved to a later time — with the starting time of 8:30 AM or later clearly showing the most positive results.
Students in the above survey were asked what time they thought school should start. Fewer than 10 percent wanted a start time before 8 a.m., which Oxford now has. Almost 51 percent wanted a start time of 9 a.m. or later, and 75 percent wanted a start time of 8:30 a.m. or later.
Our schools exist to serve the students, and if they want and need a later start time that's what they ought to get. This is especially true when substantial empirical evidence shows that a later start will improve their academic, emotional, and physical health.
The tardy bell at Oxford High School currently rings at 7:50 a.m. Superintendent Harvey mentioned a 8:20 or 8:30 a.m. start time for the middle and high schools next year. Eight-thirty would certainly be an improvement, and based on prior studies Oxford will see an improvement in student performance with these changes. I use the word "will" because I'm pretty confident that the later start time will produce measurable improvement.
But if the school district really wants to improve academic performance and increase student health and well-being, the first tardy bell for the 2014-15 school year will ring at 9 a.m.
District Superintendent Brian Harvey said there haven't been any problems to date, but that having separate buses would create a more comfortable environment for younger children. The change is also designed to address serious traffic problems that have existed since the opening of the new high school, which have made it difficult for the buses to go to all schools in a timely manner.
“This is something that we have thought about for a number of years because we want our parents to feel safe that their kids can ride the buses,” OSD Superintendent Brian Harvey told the Eagle. “We haven’t had any issues that other school districts haven’t encountered, but the school bus climate is something we feel we can improve on.”
This is great news for Oxford's students, even though it appears that the primary reason for the change is due to logistics and not as an aid to student performance. Numerous studies have shown that teens are biologically programmed to go to sleep later in the evening and that early school days deprive them of the sleep they need. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan supports later start times, and sent out a "Tweet" last year which said, "Common sense to improve student achievement that too few have implemented: let teens sleep more, start school later."
And to Harvey's credit he did mention studies showing an increase in student performance with a later start time. “We’ve also looked at research that said that secondary students improve with student achievement and even ACT scores (by a later school start time),” Harvey told the Eagle.
If you don't want to bother reading a study, just read this recent New York Times article, which reports on the benefits later school start times. Or check out the website of Start School Later, an organization that promotes reasonable and healthy school start times.
When we first moved to Oxford we rented a condo that was the very first stop on the bus route. My recollection is that if the children wanted to ride the bus they needed to be at the bus stop at something like 6:25 a.m. The bus stop was at least a five minute walk away, so that meant they would have needed to be out the door by 6:20, and in order to do that the entire family would have had to get up at 5:30 a.m. Needless to say, the kids did not ride the bus.
But enough of personal anecdote; let's go back to the study I cited above. The last sentence of the last page says it all: [T]he findings of this research study reveal that there are empirically-based positive outcomes for adolescents whenever the start time of their high school is moved to a later time — with the starting time of 8:30 AM or later clearly showing the most positive results.
Students in the above survey were asked what time they thought school should start. Fewer than 10 percent wanted a start time before 8 a.m., which Oxford now has. Almost 51 percent wanted a start time of 9 a.m. or later, and 75 percent wanted a start time of 8:30 a.m. or later.
Our schools exist to serve the students, and if they want and need a later start time that's what they ought to get. This is especially true when substantial empirical evidence shows that a later start will improve their academic, emotional, and physical health.
The tardy bell at Oxford High School currently rings at 7:50 a.m. Superintendent Harvey mentioned a 8:20 or 8:30 a.m. start time for the middle and high schools next year. Eight-thirty would certainly be an improvement, and based on prior studies Oxford will see an improvement in student performance with these changes. I use the word "will" because I'm pretty confident that the later start time will produce measurable improvement.
But if the school district really wants to improve academic performance and increase student health and well-being, the first tardy bell for the 2014-15 school year will ring at 9 a.m.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
I lost my camcorder, but hottytoddy.com pulled through for me and shot this great video
Back in my Ole Miss student days I was a real thorn in the side of Ed Meek, who was the head of public relations for the university. Neither of us ever had a cross word with each other, but I'm sure I irritated him no end.
Time is a salve that heals all wounds. Since moving back to Oxford three years ago I've found that Ed and I are frequently on the same page, and I am proud to call him a friend.
For the past couple of years I've been recording the Oxford School District orchestra concerts that my daughter has participated in and have posted them on this blog and on Youtube. Unfortunately, I have lost my video camera and wasn't able to film these year's concert. I miss my video camera.
And it's a shame, too. It was a great concert. It was a big change from year's past. Members of the various orchestras remained in their seats on stage for the entire concert, so there was no 15-minutes of switching and tuning between the beginner, 7th & 8th grade, and high school orchestra. And the choir was invited to participate and contributed several great choral performances.
I have a short attention span, and the concert just whizzed by. I would honestly recommend to any Oxford resident that they attend future concerts. It was top notch.
I wish I could say the highlight of the evening was my daughter's cello playing, but it wasn't. It was the performance of a quintet which sang the modern Christmas carol, "Mary Did You Know?" in what I would call a street-singing style. I'm not predisposed to care for this type of music, but I loved it.
I was truly saddened that I wasn't able to record this and share it on my blog. So I sent Ed Meek an email and told him about the group and asked him to see if he could get someone from his news website, hottytoddy.com to do a story and perhaps get a video of this fine group. Ed Meek and hottytoddy.com came through for me. Thank you Ed! Thank you hottytoddy.com!
These students arranged this song by themselves. They give us cause to be proud of our local schools and our city. And we're proud of them, too.
I've already posted the hottytoddy video at the top of this post, but click this link to see the hottytoddy.com story on the quintet.
Time is a salve that heals all wounds. Since moving back to Oxford three years ago I've found that Ed and I are frequently on the same page, and I am proud to call him a friend.
For the past couple of years I've been recording the Oxford School District orchestra concerts that my daughter has participated in and have posted them on this blog and on Youtube. Unfortunately, I have lost my video camera and wasn't able to film these year's concert. I miss my video camera.
And it's a shame, too. It was a great concert. It was a big change from year's past. Members of the various orchestras remained in their seats on stage for the entire concert, so there was no 15-minutes of switching and tuning between the beginner, 7th & 8th grade, and high school orchestra. And the choir was invited to participate and contributed several great choral performances.
I have a short attention span, and the concert just whizzed by. I would honestly recommend to any Oxford resident that they attend future concerts. It was top notch.
I wish I could say the highlight of the evening was my daughter's cello playing, but it wasn't. It was the performance of a quintet which sang the modern Christmas carol, "Mary Did You Know?" in what I would call a street-singing style. I'm not predisposed to care for this type of music, but I loved it.
I was truly saddened that I wasn't able to record this and share it on my blog. So I sent Ed Meek an email and told him about the group and asked him to see if he could get someone from his news website, hottytoddy.com to do a story and perhaps get a video of this fine group. Ed Meek and hottytoddy.com came through for me. Thank you Ed! Thank you hottytoddy.com!
These students arranged this song by themselves. They give us cause to be proud of our local schools and our city. And we're proud of them, too.
I've already posted the hottytoddy video at the top of this post, but click this link to see the hottytoddy.com story on the quintet.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Oxford Middle School assistant principal Roberson to lead Senatobia High School
 |
| Roberson |
Roberson, a native of North Mississippi, graduated from Ripley High School and has a Masters of Education from the University of Mississippi, along with 13 years of experience in education as a teacher, coach and administrator.
During Roberson's tenure at Oxford, he has been named Teacher of the Year on three occasions and Administrator of the year once.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Oxford School District orchestra presents Spring 2013 concert
The Oxford School District Orchestra, under the direction of Melissa Hathorn, held its Spring Concert Tuesday, April 30, 2013. She was assisted by student teacher Tyler Kuntz.
I thought they did an outstanding job. The beginner group, in particular, put in a fine performance. It was far more than just one or two notes played again and again.
Jinny was out of town and so I recorded the concert so she could see our Lucy. I decided to go ahead and record all of the groups. I think it’s really interesting to see the improvement that takes place from year to year, as these videos allow one to do.
I’ve posted five videos. The first is the beginner group. The second is the Middle School's 7th and 8th grade orchestra. The third is the Oxford High School orchestra. The fourth is the high school advanced orchestra. And the final video is the School District orchestra, grades 6-12, playing Skyfall.
Skyfall was a difficult piece. And the orchestra didn't get to practice together as a group very much as the students are at different schools. They did well.
Graduating seniors were recognized at the concert. Kayla Owens was presented with an award recognizing both her hard work and good citizenship in promoting the orchestra program.
Following the concert Ms. Hathorn announced that she had accepted a position in Los Angeles and that Mr. Kuntz would lead the program next year. (Actually Ms. Hathorn said she was going to L.A. Maybe she's going to Lower Alabama!).
Orchestra members
6th Grade and beginner orchestra
Violin I: Jessica Aten, Jonathan Masters, Rebekah Moen, Young Oh, Keelan Case, Calendula Cheng;
Violin II: Will Bunch, John Parker, Landon Parker, Isuru Hewanamma;
Viola: Hope Brown
Cello: Siena Cizdziel, William Hopper Shakevia Thompson, Noel Torma, Jalon Young
7th & 8th Grade Orchestra
Violin I: Tamjeed Azad, Sarah Booth, Madison Hickey, Spencer Huggins, Tony King, Christopher Le;
Violin II: India Austin, Abigail Castro-Rodriguez, Maddison Colston, Ivy Li, Harrison Tann;
Viola: Brian Aten, Ra’Anthony Perry, Jake Riffe;
Cello: Josh Alba, Lucy Hurdle, Neely Mullen
Bass: Zela Kihei, Raina Woolworth
High School Orchestra
Violin I: Yoomin Jo (Concertmistress), Kayla Owens, Lucile Easterbrook, Renee Sullivan-Gonzalez, Steven Le, Boatman Jacobs, Guy Farmer, Maia Payne, Alex Vinson;
Violin II: Cindy Torma, Shreya Mathur, Ethan Holmes, Chamil Jayaratna, Deterrias Pegues, Jasmine Minor, Alexander Minyard, Keyshawn Williams;
Viola: Cheyenne Griffin
Cello: Kashaun Wortham, Kendall Roy, Thita Thamutok;
Bass: Kevin Hill, Tyreq Roberson, Eboni Thomas
Percussion: Sydney Hansen, Connor Vinson, Kim Casissa
Piano: Joonhee Jo
I thought they did an outstanding job. The beginner group, in particular, put in a fine performance. It was far more than just one or two notes played again and again.
Jinny was out of town and so I recorded the concert so she could see our Lucy. I decided to go ahead and record all of the groups. I think it’s really interesting to see the improvement that takes place from year to year, as these videos allow one to do.
I’ve posted five videos. The first is the beginner group. The second is the Middle School's 7th and 8th grade orchestra. The third is the Oxford High School orchestra. The fourth is the high school advanced orchestra. And the final video is the School District orchestra, grades 6-12, playing Skyfall.
Skyfall was a difficult piece. And the orchestra didn't get to practice together as a group very much as the students are at different schools. They did well.
Graduating seniors were recognized at the concert. Kayla Owens was presented with an award recognizing both her hard work and good citizenship in promoting the orchestra program.
Following the concert Ms. Hathorn announced that she had accepted a position in Los Angeles and that Mr. Kuntz would lead the program next year. (Actually Ms. Hathorn said she was going to L.A. Maybe she's going to Lower Alabama!).
Orchestra members
6th Grade and beginner orchestra
Violin I: Jessica Aten, Jonathan Masters, Rebekah Moen, Young Oh, Keelan Case, Calendula Cheng;
Violin II: Will Bunch, John Parker, Landon Parker, Isuru Hewanamma;
Viola: Hope Brown
Cello: Siena Cizdziel, William Hopper Shakevia Thompson, Noel Torma, Jalon Young
7th & 8th Grade Orchestra
Violin I: Tamjeed Azad, Sarah Booth, Madison Hickey, Spencer Huggins, Tony King, Christopher Le;
Violin II: India Austin, Abigail Castro-Rodriguez, Maddison Colston, Ivy Li, Harrison Tann;
Viola: Brian Aten, Ra’Anthony Perry, Jake Riffe;
Cello: Josh Alba, Lucy Hurdle, Neely Mullen
Bass: Zela Kihei, Raina Woolworth
High School Orchestra
Violin I: Yoomin Jo (Concertmistress), Kayla Owens, Lucile Easterbrook, Renee Sullivan-Gonzalez, Steven Le, Boatman Jacobs, Guy Farmer, Maia Payne, Alex Vinson;
Violin II: Cindy Torma, Shreya Mathur, Ethan Holmes, Chamil Jayaratna, Deterrias Pegues, Jasmine Minor, Alexander Minyard, Keyshawn Williams;
Viola: Cheyenne Griffin
Cello: Kashaun Wortham, Kendall Roy, Thita Thamutok;
Bass: Kevin Hill, Tyreq Roberson, Eboni Thomas
Percussion: Sydney Hansen, Connor Vinson, Kim Casissa
Piano: Joonhee Jo
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
When it comes to hotels, I guess fancy is in the eyes of the beholder -- or reporter
In a Tuesday, November 27, 2012, story headlined "Hotel builder reaches deal with OSD, (paywall)" Melanie Addington reports on the activity of the Oxford School Board.
Now I enjoy Courtyards well enough and consider them a notch above a Hampton or Fairfield Inn. They use duvets, so I don't have to sleep under a dirty, unwashed bedspread or blanket, but that's true of all Marriott and Hilton properties. But I can't imagine anyone outside the Clampett family referring to a Courtyard by Marriott as a "fancy" hotel.
The Courtyard, if built, will have a great location, inferior only to the Downtown Inn and the Inn at Ole Miss. I predict it will be successful. Perhaps it will even have a "fancy eatin' room."
For instance, on Monday the board took steps that may result in a fancy new hotel being built near the Square...Further reading reveals that the school board granted an easement and took other action to facilitate the building of a Courtyard by Marriott that is proposed for the vacant tract on Jackson Ave., south of the Middle School and the Scott Center.
Now I enjoy Courtyards well enough and consider them a notch above a Hampton or Fairfield Inn. They use duvets, so I don't have to sleep under a dirty, unwashed bedspread or blanket, but that's true of all Marriott and Hilton properties. But I can't imagine anyone outside the Clampett family referring to a Courtyard by Marriott as a "fancy" hotel.
The Courtyard, if built, will have a great location, inferior only to the Downtown Inn and the Inn at Ole Miss. I predict it will be successful. Perhaps it will even have a "fancy eatin' room."
Friday, October 14, 2011
Oxford Middle School band coming along just fine
The Oxford Middle School band does a pretty good job, particularly since it is made up of some young kids who have just started playing.
Shown in this video are the 7th and 8th grade members of the band at the Oxford-Greenwood Jr. High game on Oct. 11, playing Louie, Louie. Oh, and the Oxford 7th graders defeated the Greenwood 8th grade second string team 26-6, as I recall.
Ash was in the band last year and was doing pretty well with the French horn, but decided to go for football this year.
I shot this with my iPhone, so don't expect great quality; but it's good enough for you to see they are doing a good job!
Shown in this video are the 7th and 8th grade members of the band at the Oxford-Greenwood Jr. High game on Oct. 11, playing Louie, Louie. Oh, and the Oxford 7th graders defeated the Greenwood 8th grade second string team 26-6, as I recall.
Ash was in the band last year and was doing pretty well with the French horn, but decided to go for football this year.
I shot this with my iPhone, so don't expect great quality; but it's good enough for you to see they are doing a good job!
Friday, September 2, 2011
I'm getting ready for the ACT test!
I'm starting to get ready for the ACT test.
Okay, I'm not going back to college, and in fact I will not be personally taking the test. But Ash will be taking it in February as part of the Duke TIP program. While he can take the test almost anywhere, he's going to take it at Oxford Middle School, where there will be a special administration limited to seventh graders.
When it comes to academics, I'm a little bit like Charles Murray's first wife, who he describes as a half-Thai all-Chinese tiger mom:
The first and an absolute must-have book is "The Real ACT." This book is published by the folks who administer the ACT test, and it now contains five old tests instead of just three. Most other ACT books will refer to this book or advise the use of this book for diagnostic purposes, so you have to have this one.
The second book is Cracking the ACT by The Princeton Review. This book comes highly recommended on various college prep forums and I must say I like the format.
Cracking the ACT has lots of test-taking tips, but it is also a teaching book. It presents each type of problem that is likely to be given on the ACT and then provides the solution in easy to an easy-to-follow format, which, given the title of the book, is always appropriately labeled "Here's how to crack it." The instructions are easy to follow. I wish textbooks did as good a job of explaining things.
Ash is in seventh grade. He had a bit of geometry in pre-algebra and is taking algebra this year, but there are simply going to be things on the ACT that he hasn't been taught yet. If he will tolerate a little Daddy-tutoring and will use this book he will be able to learn and master at least a few of these additional skills. In fact, I think you could just give this book and a stack of 50 great works of literature to every junior high student and tell them, "Master this and we'll give you your high school diploma." But I suppose that makes too much sense.
I have to confess that the third book feels a little like cheating; but it isn't. It's Boost Your Schore: Underground Calculator Programs for the ACT Test.
Students taking the ACT are allowed to use a Texas Instruments TI-83 or TI-84 programmable calculator, and yes, the calculator may be programmed. This books lists a number of problems that are likely to be on the test and gives programs that can be pre-loaded on the calculator. As one Amazon reviewer reports:
And I must say I don't think it's going to stop Ash from actually learning the formulas. He was merrily programming them last night and in so doing was actually learning or refreshing himself on some of the material.
My final purchase was by the same people: Boost Your Score: The Unofficial Software Guide to the Real ACT. I haven't received this yet, but the reviews are good. I think this is supposed to provide good diagnostics as to where students need to spend their time studying. And everyone loves something they can do on the computer.
There are additional ACT prep books. Barron's has one, for example, for students who are aiming to make a 36 on the ACT. A noble goal, but one we will postpone until Ash's junior year!
The Duke TIP programs offers a great chance for serious students to take a test that will have a pretty important impact on where they will attend college and what they may do for the rest of their lives. The program is not nearly as elite as many think. Any student scoring in the 95th percentile on any subsection of any a number of standardized tests is eligible for TIP. For example, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills has something like nine subtests. A student might have a composite score in the 80-85th percentile range but still be in the 95th percentile for just one of the subtests. That child is eligible.
If your child is eligible, by all means get signed up. It can be both fun and educational. And it can give you an idea of your child's strengths and weaknesses.
Last year Ash and Lucy took the Explore test as part of Duke TIP. Ash did well, but we thought his reading score would have been one of his highest. It wasn't. By taking this we've identified a problem and can now work on a solution. That and putting forth a little extra effort is what it's all about.
Addendum added 7 p.m., 9-02-11: The software program arrived today. It is absolutely tied to The Real ACT book and the sample tests it contains. So you must buy this book for the software to be any good. BUT, I think the program looks to be a very good program. You input your results from the sample tests and then it shows you your strengths and weaknesses. Also, since the new Real ACT book has two additional sample tests they are going to update the software at no charge. They will email the update.
Also, I mentioned that Ash did well on the Explore test as he is through with it and going on to the ACT. Lucy did just fine as well, but she will be taking Explore again in February before going on to take the ACT in seventh grade.
Okay, I'm not going back to college, and in fact I will not be personally taking the test. But Ash will be taking it in February as part of the Duke TIP program. While he can take the test almost anywhere, he's going to take it at Oxford Middle School, where there will be a special administration limited to seventh graders.
When it comes to academics, I'm a little bit like Charles Murray's first wife, who he describes as a half-Thai all-Chinese tiger mom:
[T]he mother of my first two children was half Thai and all Chinese, and it was all so familiar. The subject heading of the email attaching the Chua article to my elder two daughters was “Bring back memories?”Getting ready for the ACT means ordering books. I spent a bit of time figuring out which books to order and came up with three books plus a software program.
My own archetypal memory is when my eldest daughter, then perhaps eight years old, came home with her first Maryland standardized test scores, showing that she was at the 99th percentile in reading and the 93rd percentile in math. Her mother’s first words—the very first—were “What’s wrong with the math?”
The first and an absolute must-have book is "The Real ACT." This book is published by the folks who administer the ACT test, and it now contains five old tests instead of just three. Most other ACT books will refer to this book or advise the use of this book for diagnostic purposes, so you have to have this one.
The second book is Cracking the ACT by The Princeton Review. This book comes highly recommended on various college prep forums and I must say I like the format.
Cracking the ACT has lots of test-taking tips, but it is also a teaching book. It presents each type of problem that is likely to be given on the ACT and then provides the solution in easy to an easy-to-follow format, which, given the title of the book, is always appropriately labeled "Here's how to crack it." The instructions are easy to follow. I wish textbooks did as good a job of explaining things.
Ash is in seventh grade. He had a bit of geometry in pre-algebra and is taking algebra this year, but there are simply going to be things on the ACT that he hasn't been taught yet. If he will tolerate a little Daddy-tutoring and will use this book he will be able to learn and master at least a few of these additional skills. In fact, I think you could just give this book and a stack of 50 great works of literature to every junior high student and tell them, "Master this and we'll give you your high school diploma." But I suppose that makes too much sense.
I have to confess that the third book feels a little like cheating; but it isn't. It's Boost Your Schore: Underground Calculator Programs for the ACT Test.
Students taking the ACT are allowed to use a Texas Instruments TI-83 or TI-84 programmable calculator, and yes, the calculator may be programmed. This books lists a number of problems that are likely to be on the test and gives programs that can be pre-loaded on the calculator. As one Amazon reviewer reports:
This book is really big at my school right now. The programs in this book are easy to program and good for two situations:These formulas are likely to be used on only five or six problems on the ACT, but if their use saves five minutes that's a huge amount of time that can be applied to other problems. This book is simply a must-have.
1) The formulas you never remember -- for me this includes distance formula, quadratic formula, how to find an equation of a line when given two points, etc.
2) The formulas you know, but want to save time on (or are afraid you'll mess up since you're rushing) --for me, this includes things like Pythagorean Theorem, area of a circle, circumference of a circle, etc. They also show how to store a formula 'cheat sheet' which I used to store other things I need for reference, like SOHCAHTOA, equation of a circle, etc.
And I must say I don't think it's going to stop Ash from actually learning the formulas. He was merrily programming them last night and in so doing was actually learning or refreshing himself on some of the material.
My final purchase was by the same people: Boost Your Score: The Unofficial Software Guide to the Real ACT. I haven't received this yet, but the reviews are good. I think this is supposed to provide good diagnostics as to where students need to spend their time studying. And everyone loves something they can do on the computer.
There are additional ACT prep books. Barron's has one, for example, for students who are aiming to make a 36 on the ACT. A noble goal, but one we will postpone until Ash's junior year!
The Duke TIP programs offers a great chance for serious students to take a test that will have a pretty important impact on where they will attend college and what they may do for the rest of their lives. The program is not nearly as elite as many think. Any student scoring in the 95th percentile on any subsection of any a number of standardized tests is eligible for TIP. For example, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills has something like nine subtests. A student might have a composite score in the 80-85th percentile range but still be in the 95th percentile for just one of the subtests. That child is eligible.
If your child is eligible, by all means get signed up. It can be both fun and educational. And it can give you an idea of your child's strengths and weaknesses.
Last year Ash and Lucy took the Explore test as part of Duke TIP. Ash did well, but we thought his reading score would have been one of his highest. It wasn't. By taking this we've identified a problem and can now work on a solution. That and putting forth a little extra effort is what it's all about.
Addendum added 7 p.m., 9-02-11: The software program arrived today. It is absolutely tied to The Real ACT book and the sample tests it contains. So you must buy this book for the software to be any good. BUT, I think the program looks to be a very good program. You input your results from the sample tests and then it shows you your strengths and weaknesses. Also, since the new Real ACT book has two additional sample tests they are going to update the software at no charge. They will email the update.
Also, I mentioned that Ash did well on the Explore test as he is through with it and going on to the ACT. Lucy did just fine as well, but she will be taking Explore again in February before going on to take the ACT in seventh grade.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Jr. Varsity football players get taste of Vaught-Hemingway at football jamboree
Oxford Middle School hosted a football jamboree on Saturday which gave players the chance to play in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. This is the first year they've done this.
Participating teams included Oxford, Water Valley, Grenada, DeSoto's Center Hill and I think Hernando.
All I can say is what a great idea! These kids got a chance to play in an SEC football stadium and I'm sure the school managed to make some money off of the deal. In fact, one of the only problems is that the concession stand ran out of stuff a couple of times and even though there were four or five football parents working it they couldn't keep up with demand. My guess is that with more volunteers and plenty of stuff to sell concession sales would have been double.
I hope the coaches at Oxford Middle School will make this an annual event and invite additional teams. Just make it an all day affair and bring in some school clubs to help with the concessions and split the money with the football program.
An all-day dozen team jamboree would bring thousands of people to Oxford and lots of money to the Oxford Middle School football and other programs. Everybody wins with this type of event.
Congratulations to the football coaches for a great idea, and to the players as well. They won both of their match-ups Saturday, one against Water Valley, the other against Center Hill.
No. 2 Ben Bianco gets ready to score a touchdown on a keeper.
Participating teams included Oxford, Water Valley, Grenada, DeSoto's Center Hill and I think Hernando.
All I can say is what a great idea! These kids got a chance to play in an SEC football stadium and I'm sure the school managed to make some money off of the deal. In fact, one of the only problems is that the concession stand ran out of stuff a couple of times and even though there were four or five football parents working it they couldn't keep up with demand. My guess is that with more volunteers and plenty of stuff to sell concession sales would have been double.
I hope the coaches at Oxford Middle School will make this an annual event and invite additional teams. Just make it an all day affair and bring in some school clubs to help with the concessions and split the money with the football program.
An all-day dozen team jamboree would bring thousands of people to Oxford and lots of money to the Oxford Middle School football and other programs. Everybody wins with this type of event.
Congratulations to the football coaches for a great idea, and to the players as well. They won both of their match-ups Saturday, one against Water Valley, the other against Center Hill.
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