As we head into March, I sure hope the cold weather and snow are behind us! We were rolling for a while, but the end of January and February put a whammy on attending school five days a week. We have just over seven hours of built-in calendar time remaining, and still have three Alternative Method of Instruction (AMI) days we could use if needed. I have my fingers crossed from here on out we will not encounter any weather disruptions to our calendar. At this point, our last day of school is still scheduled for May 20.

The last three months of the school year are always a busy time, and we look forward to opportunities for our students to excel both in and out of the classroom. We are administering state assessments this year, and I have the utmost confidence we will continue to score well. At this point, we are unsure what data we will receive from those tests (or when we will receive them), and will utilize that information as one piece of the puzzle in analyzing student performance. This year we began administering the NWEA assessment to our students, and those benchmarks provide immediate feedback on student progress and growth. Although we like seeing our students score “well,” we also want to know if our students are showing growth throughout the school year. Using a variety of data helps guarantee we are doing our best to ensure our students are successful. As our battle cry goes, “Every Student, Every Day.”

Outside of the classroom, spring activities and athletics have started. Junior High and High School Track, High School Scholar Bowl, and High School Boys’ Golf begin competition this month. Junior High and High School Wrestling will wrap up over the next two weeks, and we hope for fantastic finishes to both seasons. This time of year also includes FBLA, FCCLA, and FFA events . . . and while some may be held using a virtual format this year, I am still proud of the time and hard work our students and advisors spend preparing for projects and contests.

In addition, we are starting to plan end-of-year events for both ends of the building. We are thankful to see COVID numbers dropping in our area, which provides a little more confidence to host some bigger events at the end of the year, albeit with some modifications. We will certainly keep you informed as those events get closer, but are striving to provide many of those end-of year experiences that our students and families missed out on last year.

Here’s looking forward to a fantastic last three months of school! As always, I leave you with three important words . . . GO BIG BLUE!

Mr. Ethan Sickels