Southeast Middle Cougar Families,

We have reached week 17 of the school year. We are now in the two week countdown until Winter Break and the end of the 2nd 9 weeks. This also marks the end of the First Semester of the school year. When students return in January, they will receive their 2nd 9 weeks report cards. Once return, we will begin our countdown to Spring testing. Please be on the lookout for phone calls from your child's teachers regarding their grades. We will begin Mid-term exams on Friday, December 10th and will continue through the following week. Please make sure that your child is going over their study guides and completing assignments. Students should be able to have "accountable talks" with parents about how they can maintain or improve their grades throughout the rest of the nine weeks. Students have been working incredibly hard in all of their classes and our teachers are preparing them for the next set of benchmark assessments (which will take place when we return from Winter Break) as well as mid-term exams. Our teachers have set goals to increase each student's proficiency and performance in all subject areas and we are using multiple resources to help students read better and feel more confident using their math skills. Literacy and numeracy are our focus, more specifically using textual evidence and understanding complex text. Parents, continue to help by requiring reading and writing time as practice, limiting social media time, building home libraries, visiting community libraries for study and reading time, and monitoring proper rest and eating habits. We are working on our social emotional health as a student body and faculty and we welcome parent support to maintain a positive school culture. We have noticed when our students behave better, more teaching and learning happens, and they perform better in class. We appreciate the time parents have taken to come for parent conferences and respond to phone conferences. The parent-teacher partnership has helped to keep students engaged and we are beginning to see some improvements in all areas of the school. Check our website smsdataschool.com for any information and upcoming events. Remember, we will continue to makes sure that we make it a Great Day to be a Cougar. And remember, Cougars never give up because education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world!

Assistant Principal Regina Bennett