News

Cat’s Connection

News

Cat’s Connection

News

Cat’s Connection

Principal: Mr. Doug Herron

Asst. Principals: Mrs. Beverly Cornelius Ms. Meredith Durastanti Mr. Willie Gilliard

Principal’s Message:

With March comes Spring Break! It’s a time for educators and students alike to enjoy a short break from the hard

work required of both. As we head out for this hard-earned break, it is my hope that we will all enjoy those activities

that ease our stress and give us renewed energy for the important tasks that lie ahead.

To our staff, students, and parents alike, I wish a safe and enjoyable Spring Break!

Douglas Herron Principal

March 2011

Although certified, using Federal NCLB definitions, the following HJH teachers

are not considered Highly Qualified (HQ): Hallie Crosby-Language Arts.

Title 1 Hardee Junior High School is a Title 1 school for the 2010-2011 school year. If

you have any questions about Title 1, please contact Federal Programs at (863)

767-0662.

Parent Involvement

Why Is It Important For Parents To Be Involved at the Middle

School Level? The results of recent research are very clear: When parents are actively involved

in their children's education, they do better in school. The academic level of the

parents, their socioeconomic level, and their ethnic or racial origin are not deter-

mining factors for academic success. It is essential for parents to have a positive

attitude regarding education, and to demonstrate trust that their children can do

well.

Please join us Tuesday, March 8, 2011 for a Parent Involvement

Night. Data Chats will be held from 5:30-7:30. We will be giving

information about student testing, student expectations, ePeps, and

FAIR/Benchmark results. High school counselors will be available for

any questions that 8th grade parents have about 9th grade and schedul-

ing.

Hope to see you there!

School Improvement Plan

Reading: On the 2009-10 FCAT, 68% of students at HJH in the lowest 25% made learning

gains in reading.

Objective: The goal is for 72% of students at HJH in the lowest 25% to make learning gains

in reading on the 2010-11 FCAT.

Math

6th grade students are working on 2 step equations with graphing. They are also

learning about percents comparisons, and fractions.

7th grade is learning about customary and metric units, transformations, propor-

tions, and probability.

8th graders in Algebra classes are learning about the Pythagorean Theorem. The

rest of the students are learning about scientific notation.

All math classes are busy preparing for the math FCAT which will be given on

Wed., April 13.

PE The PE department recently gave the students a chance to participate in a Fitness

Club. There were 6 different events that took place over the month of February.

These events included the Mile Run, the 50 yard dash, Climbing Ropes, Jump

Ropes, the V-Sit and Pull-Ups. The standards were set very high. Each student

that qualified in all 6 events will have the opportunity to attend a Tampa Bay

Rays game in May. We are so proud of how hard the students worked during

this event.

We will be taking Mario Bautista, Mario Santoyo, Rodrigo Rodriquez, Jamal

Carlton, and Jarret Carlton. If you see these boys, please congratulate them on

their great success.

Reference and Research

In my class, we have been working for the last month on research pa-pers on various European countries. We are now going to focus on bet-ter ways to understand questions before we try to solve them. This is part of a "Look before you leap" concept in solving problems.

March 2011

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 Florida Writes 2 3 4 5

6 7 Student Council

Mtg. Volleyball @

Lk. Placid

8 ROTC Assembly

8th Grade Parent

Data Chat Night 5:30

9 8th Grade Art

Club

NJHS 7th Grade

10 Volleyball Home

Gill Gustat 5:30

SWAT Meeting

11 12

13 14Volleyball Avon

Park Home 5:30

15 16 8th Grade NJHS

7th Grade Art Club

17 Volleyball

Game @

Sebring

18 19

20 21 Spring Break 22 Spring Break 23Spring Break 24Spring Break 25Spring Break 26

27 28 29 30 31 Volleyball @

Desoto 5:30

FCAT Dates:

April 11 Reading

April 12 Reading

April 13 Math

April 19 Science

“Under the Microscope”

Sixth grade has just finished a study of circulatory system and immunity. They are now

focusing their studies on Earth Science, dealing with the atmosphere and types of ero-

sion. Seventh grade is learning about heredity and cell reproduction.

Parents, please check your child’s

planner daily to ensure that your child

is doing the work required for their

classes. This is also a useful tool to

keep you informed of upcoming tests,

so you can encourage your child to

study. Please check edline to get an

accurate, up-to-date grade on tests,

assignments, etc. Ask to see your

child’s graded papers. Teachers are

finding that students are throwing

their graded papers away without

taking them home for a parent to look

at.

Language Arts

It’s that time of year again, spring break is in the air, but FCAT is also on the horizon. FCAT Prep afterschool programs are in full swing. Students will take the reading portion of the FCAT on Monday, April 11, 2010 and Tuesday, April 12, 2010. Session one will be given on Monday and session two on Tuesday, this is a change from years past when both sessions were given on the same day. Please encourage your student to get a good night’s rest and eat a healthy breakfast to be ready to do their best on the test. Also, keep in mind that the stu-dent’s score on this test could affect their class schedule for the following year. The state requires that all students who score a level 1 or 2 on the FCAT receive intensive reading instruction. The teachers in the reading and language arts department have been working all year to teach, evaluate, and reteach if necessary the stan-dards that will be tested on the reading portion of the FCAT. Teachers have used mini-lesson and mini-assessment to teach and assess these standards throughout the school year. For the month of March students are learning how text features aid a reader understands of the text. Student are learning to identify and use properly text features such as; charts, maps diagram, sub-headings, captions, illustrations, and graphs. During the last week of March and the beginning of April we will focus on Validity and Reliability of sources in text.

Social Studies

The Social Studies Department has been busy working towards the skills

needed for FCAT. FCAT reading and writing skills have been the focus

of instruction all through this academic year.

6th Grade - The sixth graders have been studying Ancient Rome and

learning the reasons why the Roman Empire fell. Current world events

are also discussed weekly.

7th Grade - Seventh graders have been finishing up a study on Western

Europe and learning about Central Europe. Library Research has been on

-going in some of the classes.

8th Grade - Eighth graders wrote reports on the Presidents . They en-

joyed learning about each U.S. President's life as he grew up and some of

the odd and humorous events that sometimes happened to these men.

They will soon be learning about the history of our Wild West and how it

was tamed.