Silverwood Heights School

January 4, 2010

Dear Parents and Grade Eight Students:

Happy New Year!  I hope that each of you had a relaxing and enjoyable break. 

We are about to head into six extremely busy but exciting weeks as decisions are made regarding high school placement.  This note will include some important dates, but expect more registration information in the coming weeks.  Please be sure to check your young person’s planner each day for pertinent information about homework, meetings and other school events.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 7:00:

The Pre-Collegiate information meeting will held at Marion Graham for students in this geographical area, and takes an hour or less.  At this meeting, program calendars will be available, and students will receive an overview of the many, many courses that are available at collegiates across the city.  Keep in mind that students may attend any public high school in the city so long as they can arrange their own transportation. 

Thursday, January 21, time TBA:

A high school counselor will visit our classroom to answer any additional questions the students may have arising from the previous evening’s information meeting.

Open House Dates (see schedule elsewhere in this letter):

Please attend at least two collegiate open houses.  Each school has definite areas of strength, and there is nothing like an open house to demonstrate ambience.  If you are absolutely unable to attend an open house, consider calling the student services department of the schools that interest you, and arrange for a meeting with a guidance counselor and your parent(s) before, during or after any regular school day.

Students will receive their registration forms on the Friday before the February break.  They will then fill out their registration forms during the break, and return them immediately after so that I can check them over and add my endorsement of the choices made.  During the week after the break, the high school guidance counselors will be in school to meet individually with each student (and his/her parents, if you wish to make an appointment), to answer questions and to process the applications. 

Grade Nine Student Orientation, date and time TBA:

Students will be invited  to attend a half day of high school in late June, where they will have an opportunity to meet their teachers, locate their classrooms, practice finding, opening and closing their lockers, and receive their actual timetables for the fall.  These orientation sessions are extremely helpful, and can allay a lot of nervousness for students who have concerns about heading off into the new world of high school.

The next section will attempt to clarify information about the CCAT/3 test results.

Today I am sending home a copy of each young person’s CCAT/3 Parent Information Sheet.  The information on this sheet is part of what the high schools consider when they are accepting students into their various programs.  This form is also useful, because it identifies areas where students performed strongly, at grade level, or below grade level on the various subtests of the battery administered in October.

At the bottom of each student’s page is a section comparing his/her results with those of all Canadian students in the same grade who wrote the same test.  These results are divided into stanines, or nine equal groups. Those who end up grouped in stanines one, two or three are considered to be working at a Below Average level.  This would indicate to the high school teachers that these students are quite likely to need assistance of some sort, whether via modified programs, Read to Succeed, or resource room.  Students grouped in stanines four, five, and six are considered to be working at an Average level, and should have few problems in regular high school classes, assuming that they continue to demonstrate a solid work ethic.  Students grouped in stanines seven, eight and nine are considered to be working at an Above Average level.  Those whose scores fall in this area may be eligible for special programming including the Advanced programs at Walter Murray or Bedford Road.

Keep in mind that the CCAT/3 tests are intended just to give a general guideline about a student’s academic achievement to the end of Grade Seven.  Their main value is in suggesting areas of relative strength or weakness as students begin to consider planning their high school experience.  For example, even students whose CCAT/3 stanines were in the average category may want to consider taking Math Essentials in Grade Nine, just to ensure that they are feeling fully confident in their math abilities before heading into Grade Ten.

If you have any questions about the student information sheet I am sending home today, please feel free to contact me.

The other part of the October standardized testing marathon, the TCS (Test of Cognitive Skills), requires a specialist to interpret it accurately.  Parents are welcome to contact Ms Cram directly if they are interested in learning about their child’s results on this set of tests. 

I hope that this information helps to explain one facet of a very complex process—that of registering for high school.  Please keep in mind that the registrations are accepted on the understanding that each student will complete the remaining half-year of Grade Eight successfully, so it is essential to keep working hard right until the end of June.

Sincerely,

Mrs. G. Pilon

pilong@spsd.sk.ca