Last-Minute Advice (and Thoughts) from Room 2**
Dear English II students,
With the state test quickly approaching, I thought I would write you all a letter to share my last-minute thoughts and advice.
First of all, let me say that I am very, very proud of you all. It takes a lot of personal discipline to focus on mastering these skills, and I have seen many of you shine in the last few weeks. You have put a lot of hard work into preparing for this test, and it has certainly paid off. Every day I am so impressed with how much each of you has improved when it comes to state test questions – I have no doubt that your scores will be much higher than those of last year's classes. (In fact, I can't wait for the scores to come back, and to see how you all knocked them out of the park!)
My number one piece of advice? Relax. You've worked hard, you know this stuff, you are all going to do very well on that test --- as long as you don't stress out about it. I've said it before, and I will say it again, the students who fail that test are not the “dumb” students, they are the students who think they can't do it, who just give up and randomly guess because they don't take the time to just figure it out. Take your time, use your head, and trust that you can do this.
Now, on to some more concrete advice:
1. Please go to bed early Thursday night (really). If you normally fall asleep at midnight, try to make it eleven. If you go to bed at 10:30, make it 10:00. Whatever works for you. Doing this will give you that extra boost in the morning that you'll need when you first open that test booklet.
2. Make sure to eat something in the morning. I don't care if you haven't eaten breakfast in 12 years – get a few bites of food in your stomach. There is too much research on the importance of breakfast to test scores that you simply can't ignore it. On the other hand, if coffee and donuts will make you full and sick to your stomach, stay away and eat something smaller, or healthier, instead. Don't forget that I will have breakfast in the classroom available starting at 7:30 -- even if you aren't hungry you are welcome to stop in for some last minute encouragement!
3. Write all over that test booklet. It's yours, and no one else's. You can underline, jot notes, cross out wrong answers, or draw a picture to illustrate a paragraph. All of these things will keep you AWAKE, will keep you MORE FOCUSED on what you are doing, and will help you ANSWER CORRECTLY.
4. If you bring a cell phone to school Friday, it better be COMPLETELY off (not just on silent!) and sitting in the bottom of your bag, away from where anyone is sitting. Do not ignore this piece of advice, or you may cause every single person in the room to receive a failing test score. (The really smart people in here will not bring their cell phone anywhere near the testing room).
Last but not least, congratulations. You've worked hard, and we have come to the end of our state test preparation. After we take the 3rd quarter exam, I promise you that you won't see another multiple choice test or quiz in English II (and we won't do a single state test question either!) Feel free to stop by my room on Friday when you finish with your test – I would love to hear how it went.
Good luck on Friday! (Though you won't need it!)
Ms. Morrison
I've had a dearth of positive blog posts this spring (stemming mainly from the stress and chaos of teaching a state-tested subject in the final countdown to the test!) so I thought I would repost an incredibly inspiring story for good measure.
I am in awe of AW's success -- something to inspire us all in the last few months of the school year!
Simmons brings home the Latin gold and more
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 12:36 PM CDT
HOLLANDALE - Less than a year after Simmons High School began offering a Latin class, students learning the ancient language are earning high marks for their efforts.
Instructor Austin Walker said nine students recently took the National Latin Exam and six scored in the top 40 percent nationally.“Simmons High School had a 67 percent award rate,” Walker said of the competition.
That is the highest in the state, tying with Clinton High School where six out of nine students received an award, and those teams beat Southern Baptist Educational Center, where 17 of 27 received an award; St. Andrews, where 63 out of 103 received an award, and the Mississippi School for Math and Science, where 16 out of 33 received an award - an award rate of 48 percent, Walker said.
Xavier Clay won a first place gold medal; Bianca Johnson won a second place silver medal; Alexis Hicks, Ulysses Aldridge and Horace Willice all won third place, Magna Cum Laude honors; and Kayla Patterson won fourth place, Cum Laude.
Simmons was the only public school in the Delta to take the National Latin Exam, according to Walker. He said that the private institution, Washington School, was the only other school in the Delta to take the test and won two awards.
“My students' success demonstrates that in every district there are students whose potential is not realized and who can compete with anyone in the nation when given an opportunity,” Walker said.Sharing the news with his students was an experience, too.
“My students were elated to find their results,” Walker said. “One student was in the cafeteria when the results came in. When I sent someone to tell him how he did, he refused to leave the cafeteria because he thought that they were making fun of him. He didn't believe that he could do that well.”
The success has given all of Walker's students a boost of self-confidence, he said.
“They have demonstrated that they are among the elite Latin students in the country,” Walker said.
The students are already talking about taking Latin II next year and other students have expressed an interest Latin I.
