Guten Tag!

Students at St. John Lutheran High School can now expand their foreign language skills by adding German I to their academic schedules. St. John has always offered Spanish, the most prevalently chosen foreign language, with Latin and French being available in an online format. This year we add German to our "in the classroom" foreign language repertoire! Our pilot group of German scholars are almost done with one nine weeks learning term! Listen for their conversations in the halls!

Curriculum Challenge, Anyone?

It seems that every year when the start of school comes around our elementary teachers find themselves with more stuff to teach! Our educational vision extends far beyond the "3 R's" these days to include so much more! Although we are delighted to help our students grow in knowledge and skill and we enjoy watching them absorb all this information about their world, sometimes it seems that there aren't enough minutes in the day!

By the time we finish teaching reading, language arts (which includes grammar, spelling, and mechanics), add our all new "Write Reflections" composition curriculum, then roll into mathematics, social studies, science & handwriting; we still must find time for Spanish, Art, Music, Physical Education, and Library/Media/Computer! Did I leave out religion? Certainly teaching our students about faith and choices while praying together is a fundamental of our daily routine! Did anyone mention current events? How about holiday projects or reading for fun and skill? Wait---we forgot recess--the time when we believe it is so important for our Saints students to just play, relax, fellowship, and learn how to organize themselves for recreation. Did I mention lunch? Are you tired yet?

St. John Lutheran School values your children and we take very seriously the responsibility to teach them in body, mind, and spirit so that they will grow to be all that God has made them to be. We know that there is a limit to children's (and adults') attention spans, and we know that learning is presenting new information and facts, teaching the "how to" of skills including how to learn, hands on experiences and field trips, and working together in groups learning from each other. Add all of this together and you get "curriculum". Curriculum is what we teach and how we teach it. There are national standards for curriculum to be taught at each grade level and age. There are state standards for curriculum at each stage of learning also. We adhere to these and our national test scores show it! There are as many ideas about what works best in delivering curriculum to students as there are teachers who teach and kids who are trying to learn. The goal is to have as many tools in your arsenal as possible and then choose wisely based on student needs and teacher gifts.

Each day your St. John teachers pick and choose from the wide, wide variety of teaching/learning materials to plan the very best educational opportunity for students. Each teacher aims to understand how each student learns and meet him or her there. Each day is FULL to the brim with things to learn and school work to do. There is even a bit of homework! Does every student like school work? You know the answer to that one! Yet, each teacher has been charged with getting all this "curriculum" into all those little brains! A good teacher even tries to make the learning process fun as well as educational. Sometimes, though it is just plain drill and hard work. Like grammar and math facts!

As we grow and learn together as teachers, parents, and students let us communicate. Research shows that when schools and families work together, kids do best! Join us in the journey and fasten your seat belt! Learning is truly an adventure ride!

Saints School STATS ---Check this out.........

The lower school math achievement test scores are posted in the article "Madhatter Math", but here are our Stanford National Achievement test results from spring 2008 in other subject areas. Remember that these percentages compare our Saints with students all across our nation in both public and private school settings.
Reading
4th grade 92% at or above grade level
5th grade 97% at or above grade level
6th grade 91% at or above grade level
7th grade 94% at or above grade level
8th grade 92% at or above grade level
Language Arts
4th grade 89% at or above grade level
5th grade 98% at or above grade level
6th grade 98% at or above grade level
7th grade 94% at or above grade level
8th grade 89% at or above grade level
Science
4th grade 96% at or above grade level
5th grade 85% at or above grade level
6th grade 87% at or above grade level
7th grade 90% at or above grade level
8th grade 81% at or above grade level
Social Studies
4th grade 89% at or above grade level
5th grade 98% at or above grade level
6th grade 87% at or above grade level
7th grade 96% at or above grade level
8th grade 92% at or above grade level

Composite (total overall average of all subtest categories)
St. John tests students in reading, language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, spelling, listening & study/research skills, using information, and thinking skills
4th grade 100% at or above grade level
5th grade 100% at or above grade level
6th grade 93% at or above grade level
7th grade 98% at or above grade level
8th grade 93% at or above grade level

Look and COMPARE! High School Stats ......

Take a look at the following stats for St. John Lutheran High School:
College Entrance Scores for 2008
SAT
St. John Verbal: 600 Math: 560 Writing: 580
Florida Verbal: 496 Math: 497 Writing: 471
National Verbal: 502 Math: 515 Writing: 494
ACT
St. John English: 23.8 Math: 21.6 Reading: 25 Science: 22.2 Composite: 23.8
Florida English: 19 Math: 20 Reading: 20.3 Science: 19.3 Composite: 19.8

95% of our graduating class goes to college

Class of 2008 stats.......

• Graduated high school with 354 college credits earned through AP classes and CFCC
• 65% of the class participated in Dual Enrollment at CFCC and/or AP (College Board Advanced Placement courses held on St. John campus that yield college credits)
• 70% of the class qualified for the Florida Bright Futures merit scholarship monies (20% received 100% of tuition; 73% received 75% of tuition in scholarship monies)

College credits earned in high school not only represent money saved on tuition, but also make for a cracker-jack transcript as students apply for college. Saints graduates also have a strong college completion rate and move on to successful professions in their communities.

Math for "Madhatters"

The month of March has arrived, and that always reminds me of the March Hare from Alice in Wonderland. The March Hare of course was at that infamous tea party in Wonderland and Alice did indeed 'wonder' what in the world was going on!

Perhaps you feel that way about our math curriculum here at St. John Lutheran, so lest you begin to feel a bit "mad", here are some facts and figures that will help. St. John uses Saxon Math which is a nationally recognized mathematics teaching program. Our students in grades K5 through 8th grade systematically follow the Saxon mathematics curriculum using its scope and sequence of teaching skills and repetitive practice system. The program focuses not only on calculation and accuracy, but also problem solving and mental math. The same math terminiology and procedures are taught beginning from the lowest levels through advanced mathematics.

Instruction on new skills and topics is intermeshed with review and practice of skills previously introduced. Based on brain learning research, the amount and frequency of practice is precisely planned for the best retention and utilization of skills in higher level learning. Topics are not just taught in one chapter of the math textbook each year, but are constantly rewoven into the program. Mathematics does not consist of separate and compartmentalized subjects....rather concepts and skills are interrelated and do not operate separately. Knowing how and when to use operations and which problem solving techniques to use is critical to math success. Accuracy and speed in calculations as well as mental math are included.

Incremental teaching of topics combined with continual practice and review are core values. Skills are never dropped, but constantly practiced and reviewed and tested throughout each school term and across the grades. Prerequisite skills become automatic allowing for mental time and effort to be spent on higher level problem solving. Instruction, practice, and assessment in research based scope and sequences for teaching make Saxon math not only unique, but also successful. Here at St. John Lutheran we have seen consistent improvement in our math achievement test scores at the elementary and middle school levels since implementing Saxon math. High school teachers see the difference as students enter their curriculums.

Most common complaints about the Saxon program from parents center on the daily homework and the constant mixed practice in lieu of large numbers of problems of the same kind. Although different from the chapter by chapter, one skill at a time mathematics textbooks we were raised on, the Saxon math program has made a difference and it shows up in our test scores.

Our Stanford National Achievement Test results in math from spring 2008:
4th grade 96% of students at or above grade level
5th grade 100% of students at or above grade level
6th grade 96% of students at or above grade level
7th grade 98% of students at or above grade level
8th grade 91% of students at or above grade level

High Stakes Testing; Can You Win?

Welcome to the season of "high stakes" testing. Has anyone heard of something called the FCAT? If you haven't, you just aren't listening. Students across the state of Florida take a standardized test called the FCAT. Like most tests, it is designed to measure student performance in academic areas. These types of tests are given under specialized circumstances, usually timed with specific directions, and the results make a BIG difference--to each student, to each school, to the entire district, to our state. Much depends on it!

Why don't we give the FCAT at St. John Lutheran? We have chosen to give one of the most respected national achievement tests, the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT, but not the college board entrance exam). A national standardized test is one that statistically measures and compares a pupil's achievement to the performance of students all across the nation in both urban and rural, public and private settings. You are probably aware that when you receive your child's test data, you are able to interpret the scores to see and compare his or her performance with that of students all across the nation as well as peers at St. John. We as a school can see trends in curriculum and measure the success of our students and teacher performance over time. Since we have been giving the SAT in grades K5 through 9th grade for many years now including the Otis Lenon Mental Ability Screening Test in grades 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 we can show a strong history of constantly beating the national norms for student achievement at all grades.

It is always wise to remember that any test is a measurement of a student's performance at that one time and in that one setting. Achievement test scores should be compared to student grades in regular classwork. Trends over time examined. Yet, taken as an important piece of information in a comprehensive look at student growth and learning, achievement tests can be important tools. Should life impacting decisions be made based on any one test? In our opinion as educators, the answer is 'no'.

Standardized testing has value as one of the only ways to concretely measure academic knowledge and problem solving skills while allowing for comparisons across a large population of students who took the same test instrument. Authentic measurement of student performance in school also includes a variety of test formats, as well as oral presentations, essays, and memorization.

We will be taking our achievement tests this coming April and in the meantime, continue supporting your child's learning at home and at school. Testing is designed to measure how much students have learned over time, and not just because they practiced specifically for any one given test.

Give me an "A", Give me a "B", Give me a Rubric

We all grew up with the standard grading systems of A, B, C, and so on including the dreaded F. Later E, S, N, and U were added; usually for elective classes or for measuring the progress of younger children. Well, move on over letter grades--welcome the "rubric".

A rubric is rather like a way of measuring progress on a project or writing assignment based on specific criteria. For example, instead of giving a composition written by a student an overall grade such as "B", the paper would be graded with a simple number--usually from one to 5 or 6.

Sounds too simplistic and don't the numbers merely equate to the letter grades we normally use? Actually a rubric is a grid of skill expectations that more clearly indicate the specific things being measured as a paper is evaluated. On that same composition that would have gotten a letter grade and a few comments and corrections; the teacher using a rubric would have systematically reviewed all aspects of composition writing including grammar, vocabulary and word choice, spelling, creative use of language, mechanics, margins, format as well as other specifics focused on in that particular assignment.

The value of using a rubric for an assignment is that it provides a blueprint for the students to develop their paper or project. Each skill expectation is laid out clearly and sample models of teacher expectations at the various numerical levels of ranking are reviewed. Students learn the component parts and skills that make up the project and have samples at each level of performance so that they quickly grow able to measure and edit their own work. Back to the idea that students who accept personal responsibility for their learning succeed. Back to the simple fact that builders use architectural drawings and scale to produce their final product. Arming students with not only the skills to perform assignments, but specific models of what is expected--what does the difference between 'average' and 'above average' look like--these experiences prepare students to be self sufficient learners as they grow and develop.

You can link to some sample rubrics for various grade levels and subject areas at http://www.rubrics4teachers.com/. Remember that even when rubrics are used to teach process and evaluate certain assignments, teachers will still provide grades for overall work in each subject area. We do that because the world still uses A, B, C to rank and measure academic achievement; even in college. But using rubrics on certain assignments provides a dynamic teaching and evaluative tool that clearly provides students with the ability to see models of and understand performance expectations. Using a rubric while teaching a certain skill or assigning a project or paper provides clear outlines of what is to be achieved and how it will be measured. Once again, students are empowered to be a part of their own learning and see for themselves how they can learn and grow!

Classical vs. Techno

It doesn't have to be a war or 'either or' when it comes to curriculum. Teachers used to say that it was important to learn math facts in case you forgot your calculator. In the same manner, why does handwriting or grammar count when we live in a world of laptops and 'spell check'?

It matters because we live in a world where both having the skills to function independent of technology and facile use of equipment and software are both in demand. Take for example, a power outage during a hurricane. Seem a bit too "Oh, come on" for you? Then lets look at the College Board and the ACT. The writing portions of these exams so critical to our students' admission to postsecondary education are all done by hand. No word processing here! Use of calculators is permitted in some instances, but the time saved on these 'timed' tests when a student can do the math quickly in his or her head might just make the difference in ultimate total scores.

It matters because one of the key factors in student academic success is the ability to 'self teach' and accept responsibility for learning. For example, the boys and girls who learn to read words as a whole do much worse in their ultimate reading comprehension and fluency than the pupil who can sound out or 'attack' new words independently. The student who can answer only simple factual questions about a passage of content is handicapped when the questions get harder and require logic, using information gained to determine outcomes, or summarizing what has been taught so that it can be useful to future learning. Likewise in mathematics, counting on fingers is a tool to learning, but clearly it slows one down. Since learning math facts for speed and accuracy must be mastered before students begin to manipulate more difficult mathematical concepts, whether it is long division, algebra, or calculus; mastering the foundational skills is critical to success.

Students who grasp the idea, even in the primary grades, that it is their job to work at learning and then use what they learn to build upon are the most successful. Knowledge is a framework constructed, like a building, of critical foundations that will be built upon, grown, elaborated, and used throughout one's life. Stopping at the simple fundamentals limits one; expecting the teacher to do all the 'head work' and 'construction' is doomed to leave a student at the very rudimentary level of skills for life. The skilled teacher weaves direct instruction of content, facts, and procedures with constant prods to move to the next level of sophistication in thinking about, building upon, and using the facts learned to build 'knowledge'.

Knowledge,then is not just random, unconnected facts, but a congruent connected batch of information and experience that forms the very way we perceive life and what we can become. Problem solving, creativity, experimentation, and discovery cannot happen without a base of knowledge and skills.

So why then computers? To replace the need for handwriting and personal research and study? Au contraire, to augment the acquisition and manipulation of knowledge. To connect students with other resources and educational tools beyond the local library. To virtually 'see and do' when actual experimentation or travel is impossible. It goes without mention that it is vital that our students be computer saavy in today's world and all the more into their futures.

Classical education based on building knowledge and using it to learn even more complex concepts combined with technology tools that enhance our manipulation of information and data together make a complete college bound curriculum. That is our goal at St. John Lutheran.