Hello Knight Family:
There are ten school days until final exams! Final exams are Monday, December 20th and Tuesday, December 21st. We have 2 pm dismissals on each of these days. All high school students are required to take semester examinations at the end of each semester. Just a reminder that your student’s semester grades are determined using a rolling gradebook and a final semester exam. A rolling gradebook is cumulative for the entire semester, combining all assessments (assignments, quizzes, tests, etc) regardless of the quarter the assessment was completed. A student’s final semester grade is determined by a ratio of 80% for semester work and 20% for the final semester exam.
There is a little bit of exciting news, if you have a senior. As an incentive for our SAT testing each spring, if your student exceeds the state average on the SAT, they do not have to take their final exams. (Of course they must be in good standing, which means earning an 80% or higher in the class, not owe any fines, lunch money, registration fee, etc. and not have any outstanding detentions.) Last spring the state average was 1000. So, if your senior earned over a 1000 on their SAT, they may very well not have to take their final exams!
During our flex periods this month we are working on skills and strategies related to final exams. Students will be covering topics about learning styles to better understand how they learn, studying strategies, test taking tips and how to work through test anxiety. We are even working on incorporating mindfulness activities plus a mediation group.
Although final exams aren’t a favorite of most students, exam situations happen throughout our lives. Whether it be a test for work, college, boards, etc. tests are everywhere in our world. Our hope is that our students will learn skills that will help them through this and throughout their lives in similar situations.
Our Leadership Class is hosting a badminton tournament to raise money for the Community Meals at Arthur Methodist Church. It will be Wednesday, December 8th at 6pm in the new gym. Students received an email with a link to the sign up form. We hope everyone will join the fun!
If you missed the Community Facility meeting this week, there is a virtual meeting on Sunday at 3 p.m. There are great ideas being generated from these meetings. The link for more information is on the top of our web page at https://www.cusd305.org/o/alahhs.
And things coming up … in January I will be searching for our parent advisory committee! We will be looking at handbooks, data and so much more with the ultimate goal of improving our high school. If you are interested, just send an email to seegmillers@cusd305.org and let me know.
Lastly we want to thank Vine Street Christian Church for dropping off snacks for the faculty, staff and students. We shared them during Flex period today and they were greatly appreciated!
Mrs. Seegmiller, Principal
Arthur Lovington Atwood Hammond High School
Saturday, Dec. 4
Boys Basketball @ St. Joe Tournament TBD
Monday, Dec. 6
Girls Basketball @ Argenta-Oreana 6:00pm (Bus 4:30pm)
Tuesday, Dec. 7
Boys Basketball @ Tuscola 6:00pm (Bus 5:00pm)
Wednesday, Dec. 8
No Events Scheduled
Thursday, Dec. 9
School Improvement Day - 1:00 Dismissal for the HS
Girls Basketball @ Unity (Tolono) 5:30pm (Bus 4:10pm)
Friday, Dec. 10
Boys Basketball vs. Arthur Christian School 6:00pm
Saturday, Dec. 11
Girls Basketball vs. Mattoon 10:00am
Boys Basketball vs. Paris 2:00pm
Upcoming Dates:
Dec. 20-21 - Final Exams - 2pm Dismissal
Dec. 22 - Jan. 2 - Winter Break
Jan. 3 - Teacher Institute