WEST SHORE CONFERENCE CHAMPS – GRADE 7 FOOTBALL TEAM
The Sailorway Middle School 7th grade football team was named West Shore Conference Champs following their 12-6 win over the Avon Eagles on October 8. The team was undefeated this season. The Sailors’ outstanding work ethic and will to win has served as the basis of the winning formula for this team throughout their unbeaten season. The team is coached by teachers Gary Bruner and Brandon Gilbert.
COME OUT AND SUPPORT VARSITY FOOTBALL
The Sailor varsity football team will end their season with three away games this year: The team will face the Norwalk Truckers on October 18in Norwalk. On October 25 the game will be in Spencerville and the final game of the season will be played at Lucas High School on November 1. Directions to the game locations are posted on the home page of our district website, www.vermilionschools.org .
VHS STUDENTS HONORED BY NATIONAL FORENSIC LEAGUE
Scott Lear and Tyler Parsons have been named All Ohio by the National Forensic League for the 2013-2014 season. Both students were recognized for the outstanding achievement of being in the top 150 active competitive Speech and Debate students in the State. Throughout the 2013-2014 school year Scott and Tyler will have many competitive opportunities to move up in the state rankings. Scott joined the VHS Debate team as an 8th grader. He is currently ranked 22 in Ohio debate. He is Vermilion's first state qualifier in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, where he achieved a place as one of the top 16 competitors in Ohio. He served as President of the Vermilion club in 2012-13. Tyler is currently ranked 69 in Ohio. He has also been active on the VHS Debate Team since 8th grade and currently serves as President of the team. The debate team is coached by teacher Devon Snook and has consistently ranked as one of the top teams in the area.
HALLOWEEN SAFETY
Halloween can be a fun family activity for young children. This year the City of Vermilion has designated Trick-or-Treat to be held on Thursday, October 31 from 6:00 to 7:30 P.M. The Vermilion Teachers Association distributed Halloween Safety flyers to students at Vermilion Elementary and Sailorway Middle schools. I would like to share these important safety tips with parents who may not have seen the flyer:
1. Wear white or light colors.
2. Trick or Treat with friends.
3. Have an adult nearby.
4. Have your parents look at treats before you eat anything.
5. Carry a flashlight.
6. Do not take candy from strangers.
7. Do not accept a ride with a stranger.
8. Look both ways before crossing streets.
9. Don’t walk between parked cars.
10. Stay on sidewalks and cross at intersections.
11. Trick or Treat in early evening.
12. Wear make-up or grease paint instead of vision-obstructing masks.
13. Trick or Treat only at homes with outside lights on.
14. Remember to say “Thank You.”
INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMMON CORE
Many parents and students don’t know about the Common Core State Standards, but it is changing curriculum in almost all of the 50 states. The Common Core is a set of new, more difficult, academic standards for language arts and math. The change in standards was sponsored by the National Governors Association with the goal of ensuring that students receive a high-quality education regardless of where they live, and can continue to receive the same education even if they move to a new state or change schools.
Recent polls by Phi Delta Kappa and Gallup have found that a majority of the public are unaware of the new Common Core Standards. Survey results show that sixty-two percent of the general public and 55 percent of K-12 parents have never heard of it. It is our job, as educators, to communicate this information to parents and the community. Scholastic has a good website about the Common Core called “Common Sense for the Common Core”. Parents can get information about appropriate nonfiction and literature for children at each grade level. Exposure to these books will aid comprehension on classroom assessments.
“Five tips to help you support the Common Core at Home”, published by Scholastic, is available at www.scholastic.com/commoncore/common-core-for-parents.htm . Below are some important points:
1. Talk about books, especially the great ones. The Common Core says that children need to read “books worth reading.” This is where the focus on nonfiction comes in, but high-quality literature is also important. The main point, however, is to motivate kids to read.
2. Ask your children questions about what they’re reading. Reading skills are important, but demonstrating reading skills is a Common Core requirement. Students must be able to cite evidence from their reading to show comprehension. Ask questions about kids’ books and have them give reasons for their answers.
3. Push your kids to read nonfiction. Children’s books typically engage young imaginations. Bedtime stories and early reading texts are generally fiction. As mentioned earlier, nonfiction, or “informational text” is a key part of the standards. Students will be exposed to more nonfiction in class. To support this transition, help your student find books about his or her favorite sports, hobbies, public figures, etc.
4. Encourage your kids to write, write, write. A greater emphasis will be placed on the link between reading and writing, especially persuasive writing. Introduce new opportunities for your children to write through journaling, letter writing, blogging and email.
5. Talk math with your kids. Math skills are a big part of the Common Core standards, but students need to learn more than the multiplication factors and how to add, subtract and divide. At each level, they do lessons that support the following Mathematical practices:
* Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
The Sailorway Middle School 7th grade football team was named West Shore Conference Champs following their 12-6 win over the Avon Eagles on October 8. The team was undefeated this season. The Sailors’ outstanding work ethic and will to win has served as the basis of the winning formula for this team throughout their unbeaten season. The team is coached by teachers Gary Bruner and Brandon Gilbert.
COME OUT AND SUPPORT VARSITY FOOTBALL
The Sailor varsity football team will end their season with three away games this year: The team will face the Norwalk Truckers on October 18in Norwalk. On October 25 the game will be in Spencerville and the final game of the season will be played at Lucas High School on November 1. Directions to the game locations are posted on the home page of our district website, www.vermilionschools.org .
VHS STUDENTS HONORED BY NATIONAL FORENSIC LEAGUE
Scott Lear and Tyler Parsons have been named All Ohio by the National Forensic League for the 2013-2014 season. Both students were recognized for the outstanding achievement of being in the top 150 active competitive Speech and Debate students in the State. Throughout the 2013-2014 school year Scott and Tyler will have many competitive opportunities to move up in the state rankings. Scott joined the VHS Debate team as an 8th grader. He is currently ranked 22 in Ohio debate. He is Vermilion's first state qualifier in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, where he achieved a place as one of the top 16 competitors in Ohio. He served as President of the Vermilion club in 2012-13. Tyler is currently ranked 69 in Ohio. He has also been active on the VHS Debate Team since 8th grade and currently serves as President of the team. The debate team is coached by teacher Devon Snook and has consistently ranked as one of the top teams in the area.
HALLOWEEN SAFETY
Halloween can be a fun family activity for young children. This year the City of Vermilion has designated Trick-or-Treat to be held on Thursday, October 31 from 6:00 to 7:30 P.M. The Vermilion Teachers Association distributed Halloween Safety flyers to students at Vermilion Elementary and Sailorway Middle schools. I would like to share these important safety tips with parents who may not have seen the flyer:
1. Wear white or light colors.
2. Trick or Treat with friends.
3. Have an adult nearby.
4. Have your parents look at treats before you eat anything.
5. Carry a flashlight.
6. Do not take candy from strangers.
7. Do not accept a ride with a stranger.
8. Look both ways before crossing streets.
9. Don’t walk between parked cars.
10. Stay on sidewalks and cross at intersections.
11. Trick or Treat in early evening.
12. Wear make-up or grease paint instead of vision-obstructing masks.
13. Trick or Treat only at homes with outside lights on.
14. Remember to say “Thank You.”
INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMMON CORE
Many parents and students don’t know about the Common Core State Standards, but it is changing curriculum in almost all of the 50 states. The Common Core is a set of new, more difficult, academic standards for language arts and math. The change in standards was sponsored by the National Governors Association with the goal of ensuring that students receive a high-quality education regardless of where they live, and can continue to receive the same education even if they move to a new state or change schools.
Recent polls by Phi Delta Kappa and Gallup have found that a majority of the public are unaware of the new Common Core Standards. Survey results show that sixty-two percent of the general public and 55 percent of K-12 parents have never heard of it. It is our job, as educators, to communicate this information to parents and the community. Scholastic has a good website about the Common Core called “Common Sense for the Common Core”. Parents can get information about appropriate nonfiction and literature for children at each grade level. Exposure to these books will aid comprehension on classroom assessments.
“Five tips to help you support the Common Core at Home”, published by Scholastic, is available at www.scholastic.com/commoncore/common-core-for-parents.htm . Below are some important points:
1. Talk about books, especially the great ones. The Common Core says that children need to read “books worth reading.” This is where the focus on nonfiction comes in, but high-quality literature is also important. The main point, however, is to motivate kids to read.
2. Ask your children questions about what they’re reading. Reading skills are important, but demonstrating reading skills is a Common Core requirement. Students must be able to cite evidence from their reading to show comprehension. Ask questions about kids’ books and have them give reasons for their answers.
3. Push your kids to read nonfiction. Children’s books typically engage young imaginations. Bedtime stories and early reading texts are generally fiction. As mentioned earlier, nonfiction, or “informational text” is a key part of the standards. Students will be exposed to more nonfiction in class. To support this transition, help your student find books about his or her favorite sports, hobbies, public figures, etc.
4. Encourage your kids to write, write, write. A greater emphasis will be placed on the link between reading and writing, especially persuasive writing. Introduce new opportunities for your children to write through journaling, letter writing, blogging and email.
5. Talk math with your kids. Math skills are a big part of the Common Core standards, but students need to learn more than the multiplication factors and how to add, subtract and divide. At each level, they do lessons that support the following Mathematical practices:
* Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
* Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
* Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
* Model with mathematics.
* Use appropriate tools strategically.
* Attend to precision.
* Look for and make use of structure.
* Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
* Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
* Model with mathematics.
* Use appropriate tools strategically.
* Attend to precision.
* Look for and make use of structure.
* Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
--Information and resources adapted from “Parents’ Guide to the Common Core”, published in Insights For Families by Marcia Latta.
