Porter Township School Corporation Weekly Update: March 3, 2014

Thank you to so many of you that completed our parent survey. We had 297 responses. We appreciate you taking the time to provide us with feedback.

During the March board meeting I will make a recommendation to the Board about our make up days. As you could tell from the survey, there are many options to consider–one being that our schedule remain as planned with our snow day make up dates as listed below in the calendar section. This week I meet with teachers who also completed a survey similar to the parent survey. We will discuss that feedback to help inform my recommendation to the Board.

One item I need to clarify–we have had 6 cancellations this year. We did receive waivers for two of those days (January 6-7). The remaining 4 days have to be made up (as you can see listed below in the calendar section).

We received a lot of great information in the survey that I look forward to unpacking with you in the weeks ahead. Virtual learning, virtual snow days, and our online days will be topics of interest in future weekly updates. I look forward to sharing survey results in those areas as well as sharing thinking not only from PTSC, but from around the country on blended learning.

PTSC Standouts:

On Thursday, February 27th, eight student-athletes attended a Leadership Summit at Hobart High School. This conference was a tremendous opportunity for our students. Guest speakers from the Indianapolis Colts, Special Olympics, and iAmUNFRAid presented on various topics.

Congratulations to the Boone Grove Elementary School 4th and 5th graders who participated in Circle this State this weekend in Hebron. It was a lot of hard work for all involved–and all of the practice and preparation paid off! Great work!

Important Dates:

• March 3-21, 2014: ISTEP+ Applied Skills Testing Window Grades 3-8
• March 10, 2014: Arts-A-Budding Reception and Awards Presentation at Valparaiso University Chapel of the Resurrection. Doors will open at 1:30 pm and the Awards Presentation begins at 2:00 pm.
• March 17-21, 2014: IREAD-3 Assessment Grade 3
• April 15, 2014: American Teens in Crisis Conference (www.pathblazer.org/ATIC2014)
• April 21, 2014: Regular day of school–snow day make up day for January 8, 2014
• April 21-June 4, 2014: ECA Algebra 1, English 10, and Biology 1 Testing Window
• April 28-May 9, 2014: ISTEP+ Multiple Choice Online Testing Window Grades 3-8
• May 5-16, 2014: CoreLink Online Assessment Grades 3-8
• June 2, 2014: Regular day of school–to make up for our snow day on January 27, 2014
• June 3, 2014: Regular day of school–to make up for our snow day on January 28, 2014
• June 4, 2014: Regular day of school–to make up for our snow day on February 5, 2014

Things to Know:

• Every Wednesday is a 30-minute delayed start. If we have a 2-hour delay, students will arrive at school 2 hours after the regular start time for the building.
• Now hiring substitute teachers! Please contact Linda Dusek at the administration building if you are interested in substitute teaching and she will help you start the application process and discuss qualifications.
• We are also looking for bus drivers to drive our extra-curricular runs. If you are interested, please apply online.