Dear Parents,

Welcome to the 2012—2013 school year. Our staff is looking for-ward to another year filled with academic excellence for every stu-dent. I personally invite and encourage you to work collaborative-ly with us to ensure that your student has a wonderful year aca-demically, socially and emotionally.

Please take a few minutes to read about a few highlights this year. You can expect at least 4 CIA Newsletters throughout the year. Please also check our website frequently for additional infor-mation.

Sincerely,

Heidi Kast

Assistant Superintendent of Curricu-lum, Instruction and Assessment

A M e s s a g e f r o m H e i d i . . .

Curriculum, Assessment and

Annual Education Report

2

Kindergarten Enroll-ment

2

MME Scores 3

Olweus 3

Summer Work 4

IXL 4

LOCS AYP Status 5

Summer School 6

S e p t e m b e r , 2 0 1 2 Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

Parent NEWSLETTER 2

012

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013

Mastery of keyboarding skills has been in the 6th grade for LO students. With all of the latest technology and students having access at a much younger age, keyboarding skills need to be taught earlier. Our second grade teachers received training last year for a program called Type to Learn. This program will be used to teach students keyboarding skills. Media specialists will also support teachers and students with this pro-

gram throughout elementary.

Please see ATTACHMENTS #1 and #2 that include instructions for students to practice at home.

K e y b o a r d i n g M o r e o f a F o c u s i n S e c o n d G r a d e

Annual Education Report

2

Kindergarten Enroll-ment

2

MME Scores 3

Olweus 3

Summer Work 4

IXL 4

LOCS AYP Status 5

Summer School 6

Parent Curriculum, Assessment and Instruction

P a g e 2

HB 4513 and SB 316, the two bills passed by the Legislature and have been signed into law. The new laws will phase in the earlier date change for kin‐dergarten enrollment beginning  2013‐2014.  Under the measure, a child would be required to be 5 years of age by November 1 for the 2013‐2014 school year, 5 years of age as of October 1 for the 2014‐2015 school year and 5 years of age by Sep‐tember 1 for the 2015‐2016 school year to enroll in kindergarten.  

However, a provision is included in the law that allows a parent a universal waiver if they wish to enroll their child and the child does not meet the age/date requirement.  In order to do so, the child would have to be 5 years old by December 1 of the year in which they wish to enroll and the parent would be required to no fy the district in wri ng.  The no fica on deadline is June 1 if the child is a resident of the district or August 1 if the child be‐comes a resident a er June 1. 

The new law also requires districts to submit a re‐port to MDE by December 31 of each year on the number  of students who enrolled in kindergarten using the parent no fica on excep on /opt out provision. 

Kindergarten Enrollment Age Change Enacted Addi onally, the current prac ce of semiannual promo ons—allowing a child to enroll in kindergar‐ten for the second  semester if the child is 5 years of age on March 1 of the year of enrollment—is delet‐ed under the new provisions. 

 

Annual Education Report (AER)

We are pleased to announce that the Annual 

Educa on Report (AER) which provides key 

informa on on the 2011‐2012 educa onal pro‐

gress for each school is now posted on the re‐

spec ve school’s website.  The AER addresses 

the complex repor ng  informa on required by 

Federal and State laws.  The school’s report 

contains informa on about student assess‐

ment, Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and 

teacher quality, as well as PA 25 state law re‐

por ng requirements.  If you have any ques‐

ons about the AER or PA 25 informa on, 

please contact your building principal. 

 

The LOCS Book Drive!!!

For the 3rd consecu ve year, Lake Orion Community Schools 

will collect new or gently used books November 5th through 

November 15th at all schools in Lake Orion.  Drop‐off will be 

available during schools hours and during parent teacher con‐

ferences (where applicable). 

Books may be of any reading level, preschool through adult.  

Teachers will select books appropriate for school use; these 

books will go directly to Lake Orion classrooms: Books that go 

unselected will be donated to a local charity.  Kids in our com‐

munity will reap the benefits.  

No books to donate? No problem. You are invited to become a 

support sponsor and support our book drive with the purchase 

of a gi  card to Amazon or Barnes and Noble.  Gi  cards can be 

accepted at all Lake Orion drop off loca ons.                                     

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING LO READERS!

S e p t e m b e r , 2 0 1 2

P a g e 3

At the end of June, the 

state released the MME 

scores.  The graph on 

the right, was created to 

compare scores from 

2008 thru 2012, using 

new cut scores.  The 

targets for the 2011‐

2012 school year were 

8% for Math and 33% for 

Reading.  The chart in‐

cludes all students that 

were tested and does 

not exclude students 

who may have less than 

a full academic year. 

MME SCORES FOR 2008—2012

OLWEUS

The bullying prevention program committee worked over the summer to bring Olweus training to their school. Staff at Scripps and Waldon were trained in Olweus during the first days that teachers returned. This now accounts for 5 buildings being trained in the district (Pine Tree, Oakview, Waldon, Scripps, and the High School). Please see the attached updated Olweus brochure.

Brent Skiba and Cindy Hilley, our Olweus district trainers, also represented our dis-trict at Dragon on the Lake with a booth to provide information on the Olweus pro-gram.

(See Attachment #3)

Curriculum, Assessment and Instruction

P a g e 4

Take a moment to think back to the time when your child was learning to walk. It was a difficult process, cor-rect? From the first signs of her trying to get up on those pudgy little legs to the joy of him walking those few steps from dad to mom for the big hug, there was much energy put forth. Learning to walk is very hard. Each of us worked through the bumps, bruises, and tears so that we could be a part of the world around us. Think about the pride you saw on your child’s, as well as your own, face when he had mastered the act of walking.

For many students, learning math is hard. They toil, they fall, they cry, they get frustrated, but the struggle makes “getting it” all that much more satisfy-ing. Our self-esteem comes not from simply being successful, but from work-ing hard to find that success. Lake Orion has purchased IXL Math as a way to help students work through math to find the success and pride that comes from mastery of a skill. IXL is a com-prehensive math practice site with an unlimited number of math practice questions in hundreds of skills — all of which are aligned to state standards. Your child’s teacher may have sent home a letter with information about this program.

In addition to making math practice exciting, IXL is designed to help your child learn at his or her own pace. The website is adaptive and will adjust to

your child's demonstrated ability level. The site also saves all of your child's results, so you can monitor your child's progress anytime by clicking on the Reports tab. If your child has not yet logged into the program, it is very simple. Simply go to the homepage of your child’s school, and under the “Students” tab, you will find IXL. Here your child can login. His username is the first letter of his name, his whole last name, and the last two digits of his gradu-ation year (mmiddleton23). Her password is her 5-digit student ID number. This number can be found on Powerschool or by contacting your child’s teacher. Learning to walk took lots and lots of practice. This is true for many of the tasks we as adults have mastered over the years. IXL is a fun way for students to practice math so that they can feel that sense of accomplishment that comes from doing something they have never been able to do before.

S e p t e m b e r , 2 0 1 2

P a g e 5

Lake Orion Community Schools AYP Status Over 280 schools in Michigan have been designated as Reward Schools for either high student achievement or making tremendous progress in student achievement. Lake Orion is proud to announce that the following schools have been designated as Reward Schools: Car-penter Year Round Elementary, Orion Oaks Elementary, Paint Creek Elementary, Pine Tree Elementary, Stadium Drive Elementary, and Webber Elementary. Reward Schools is one of three new school designations that came as the result of Michigan receiving flexibility to the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act from the U.S. Department of Education. “We applaud the hard work and achievement of the edu-cators and students in our Reward Schools because they are zeroed in on improving learning,” said state Superin-tendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan. “We need to instill that goal in so many more schools, in order to help all kids be career- and college-ready and successful in life.” Reward Schools include the top five percent of schools on the annual Top-to-Bottom ranking of all Michigan schools, and the top five percent of schools making the greatest academic progress over the previous four years. The 286 Reward Schools are located in 178 different school districts across the state. Schools that will be identified later this fall as Beating the Odds schools also will be deemed Reward Schools.

The schools that need to improve their attention on student learning include the 146 Priority Schools (previously known as Persistently Lowest Achieving schools), and the 358 Focus Schools that have wide achievement gaps between the various student popula-tions. “We believe that teachers in the classrooms every day have important responsibilities and they work tirelessly to help students learn,” Flanagan said. “We will help the schools and teachers and every student who depends on them.” Priority Schools are those in the bottom five percent of the annual Top-to-Bottom ranking, and any high school with a graduation rate of less than 60 percent for three consecutive years. As required under state law, Flanagan has placed Priority Schools under the authority of the State School Reform Office and the schools will be re-quired to implement an intervention model to improve student achievement.

If any Priority School does not implement its interven-tion model and make substantial growth in student learning, it faces the opportunity of being placed in the statewide Education Achievement Authority (EAA) school system. The 146 Priority Schools are located in 49 different school districts.

Under the recently-approved NCLB flexibility request, an achievement gap is calculated for all Michigan schools identifying the unique gap between the highest and lowest 30 percent of each school’s student achieve-ment. Focus Schools are the 10 percent of schools with the widest gaps. That list includes some otherwise high-achieving schools that normally would not be expected to have low achieving students. However, this new des-ignation places a brighter focus on the struggling stu-dents in those schools. Lake Orion has four schools that have been identified as Focus Schools: Blanche Sims Elementary, Oakview Middle, Scripps Middle and Waldon Middle.

“We are committed to closing the achievement gaps in all of our schools for all of our students,” Flanagan said. “With this measure of transparency, schools will be identified and held accountable for the achievement of all of their students.” The 358 Focus Schools are located in 176 different school districts across Michi-gan. The Michigan Department of Education will develop and provide a District Toolkit for districts that have Focus Schools. MDE will provide technical assistance to these districts on the use of the toolkits in the form of MDE-trained and paid-for District Improvement Facilitators. With the assistance of these facilitators, districts will have one year to self-diagnose and self-prescribe cus-tomized changes in their supports to the Focus Schools and their students. There are escalating sup-ports and consequences for Focus Schools that do not close their achievement gaps.

Reward School information can be found at www.mi.gov/rewardschools; Focus School information is available at www.mi.gov/focusschools; Priority School (formerly Persistently Lowest Achieving School) infor-mation is at www.mi.gov/priorityschools; and Top to Bottom ranking information is at www.mi.gov/ttb.

SEE PAGE 6 FOR ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENT CONTACTSAND ASSESSMENT CONTACTSAND ASSESSMENT CONTACTS

Heidi Kast……...Asst. Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

Marysue Schwartzmiller….Administrative Assistant 248-693-5409 or Ext. 3908

Curriculum, Assessment and Instruction

P a g e 6

Addi onal Resources ~ LO AYP

For individual school and district data, visit www.MISchoolData.org and click on Dashboard & School Report Card button located on the left.

Reward School information can be found at www.mi.gov/rewardschools

Focus School information is available at www.mi.gov/focusschools

Priority School (formerly Persistently Lowest Achieving School) information is at www.mi.gov/priorityschools

Top to Bottom ranking information is at www.mi.gov/ttb.

SUMMER SCHOOL ENROLLMENT UP

All of the summer school programs that we offer including early childhood, elementary, middle level, high school and summer camps, increased enroll-ment this year.

We are proud of the amount and variety that we were able to offer to our students this summer.

Planning for next summer is already underway. We are hoping to expand our offerings even more.

Support our Students by Sponsoring Academic Awards!

Each  year,  the  Lake  Orion  Board  of  Education honors  middle  and  high  school  students  who achieve  excellence  in  their  academic  perfor‐mance.  We would like to invite you to participate in supporting this worthy endeavor.  The levels of sponsorship are as follows: 

Friend. . . . . . . . . . . . .    contribution of $ 10.00  Sponsor. . . . . . . . . . . .   contribution of $ 25.00 Patron. . . . . . . . . . . .  .      contribution of $ 50.00 Benefactor. . . . . . . . . .   contribution of $ 100.00 Lamplighter . . . . . . . . .   contribution of $ 200.00                         Lamplighter Plus. . . . . contribution of $ 250.00+                         

 The names of all sponsors will be listed in the ceremony programs according to the contribu‐tion level. 

Donations can be made online through PaySchools at http://www.lakeorion.k12.mi.us/PaySchools.htm 

ATTACHMENT #1 Lake Orion is proud to announce the introduction of the Type to Learn Program for keyboarding instruction.

Developed on a research-based method of sequential, cumulative touch typing instruction, Type to Learn 4 builds critical 21st Century skills for all keyboarding students in grades K-8. The integrated cycle of review, demonstration, typing practice, and assessment, with continuous reinforcement of home row positioning and ergonomic safety, teaches proper keyboard fingering for each key with ample opportunity for typing skills practice. This typing program emphasizes both accuracy and words per minute speed, and provides each student with individualized remediation and goals for success. This engaging, all-new product wraps keyboarding lessons into an intriguing world of adventure and information, complete with exciting new activities and typing games with redesigned student and teacher interfaces.

In school, students in Kindergarten and first grade will be exposed to the Type to Learn Junior program during some of their media time. Students in grades three through five will also utilize the Type to Learn program as part of their media instruction.

In second grade, classroom teachers will be taking a more focused approach by using 30 minutes per day for two weeks of class time to immerse the students in the program. After the initial two week period, the students will follow up with 30 minutes every other week with their media specialist.

The Type To Learn program is available free of charge to parents for home practice. The back of this letter has directions for installing the program on your computer. Students in grades two through eight will utilize a username and password, which for most students is the same as their IXL information. Unfortunately, the Type To Learn Junior program is not available free of use for home practice. Students who practice typing incorrectly create bad habits which are very difficult to break. When your child is practicing typing at home, it would be very helpful if you occasionally reminded him/her to sit up straight, put both feet flat on the floor and most important, keep the hands on the home row. Learning to type means learning not to hunt and peck, but to utilize the home row. The more reinforcement the student receives in the proper hand placement when typing, the more readily he/she will gain the skills needed to become a proficient typist.

ATTACHMENT #2

Please see the instructions below for installing Type to Learn 4 on your home computer.

It is recommended that you use Safari or Mozilla Firefox to complete this install. Internet Explorer is NOT recommended.

Go to the website: http://ttl4.sunburst.com/downloads1.htm#fullversion

Macintosh Users

These files are zipped and should automatically unpack on almost all OSX operating systems. Launch the installer by double-clicking on the contained file in your downloads or documents folder. The contained files will be in MPKG format for installation to the Mac OS.

Full TTL4 Application - Mac - Web Version v1.2.1 (944.65MB) This is the complete Macintosh Web version v1.2.1 of the Type to Learn 4 program. Download this if you are a Network, Web or Trial customer and have not already downloaded or installed any previous version of Type to Learn 4.

Windows Users:

(Do NOT choose open or run when prompted, instead choose save.)

To download, click on the link and choose SAVE rather than open or run. After downloading, right-click on the zipped file and choose Extract. Double-click on the extracted file to launch the installer. Click Next through the few prompts. Installation is very straightforward. Once installed, launch the application by clicking Type to Learn 4 in your Start menu or desktop shortcut.

Full TTL4 Application - Windows - Web Version v1.2.1 (.97GB) This is the complete Windows Web version v1.2.1 of the Type to Learn 4 program. Download this if you are a Network, Web or Trial customer and have not downloaded or installed any previous version of Type to Learn 4.

When you first open the program enter your username and password. This is the same username and password as in IXL. Then enter the following account code 132002.

If you have any technical difficulties throughout this process, please visit http://techsupport.sunburst.com to submit a tech ticket.

BULLYING PREVENTION PROGRAM

LAKE ORION COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Most recent bullying statistics reveal that bullying is a crime that is not going away anytime

soon.

160,000 children miss school every day out of fear of being bullied.

One in seven students in grades kindergarten through 12th grade is either a bully or

has been a victim of bullying. Sometimes a teen or child who has been bullied

eventually becomes a bully as a way to retaliate. In fact, revenge for bullying is

one of the strongest motivations for school shootings, according to a recent bully-

ing statistics.

A reported 61 percent of students said they believe students shoot others at school

because they have been victims of physical violence at home or at school.

We as a school district and community have the responsibility of keeping our children and

young adults safe. LOCS is committed to implementing the Olweus Bullying Prevention

Program district wide.

The Olweus program goals are to reduce and prevent bullying problems among school chil-

dren and to improve peer relations at school. It is important to note that it is not a program

aimed at the bullies in the school or even just at the bullies and victims: it is a school wide

program that is implemented at the school level, the classroom level, through individual

students, and in the community.

For more information go to:

http://www.clemson.edu/olweus/

IntroductionofOlweusAnti‐bullyingProgram

Program Goal:

To implement and maintain a consistent bullying preven-

tion program district-wide which includes active involve-

ment of the community.

Currently: Oakview ~ implemented program 2010-2011

Pine Tree ~ implemented program 2011-2012

High School ~ implemented program 2011-2012

Implementation Timeline:

2012-2013 ~ Waldon, Scripps

2013-2014 ~ Orion Oaks, Paint Creek, Stadium Drive

2014-2015 ~ Blanche Sims, Carpenter, Webber

Approximate Cost:

ONE TIME FEE FOR 2 DISTRICT TRAINERS AND INSTRUCTIONAL

MATERIALS FOR 11 SCHOOL BUILDINGS—$58,239.89

Volunteer: Email Heidi Kast at

Hkast@lakeorion.k12.mi.us to be added to the list of

volunteers that schools can use when help is needed.

SPREAD THE WORD: Be sure that people throughout

the community are aware of the district-wide bullying

prevention program.

SHARE GRANT OPPORTUNITIES: Contact Heidi Kast

at Hkast@lakeorion.k12.mi.us with any potential grant

opportunities for funding this initiative.

DONATE: Make a tax deductible donation specifically

for the district wide bullying program. Make checks

payable to Lake Orion Education Foundation and put in

memo line “ for bullying prevention program”.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

THANK YOU!

We would like to thank the following donors for

contributing to our youth and their well being.

PNC Foundation

Lake Orion Rotary Club

Sagebrush Cantina

We are responsible for our children.

Please commit to supporting the implementation of this program . With your

help and support we can improve upon the safety and well-being of every child

in the community of Lake Orion. Thank you!

Lake Orion Educa on Founda on

(LOEF)

248‐393‐2775

P.O. Box 932

Lake Orion, 48362

LOCS Administra on Building

315 North Lapeer Street

Lake Orion, MI 48362

Phone: 248‐693‐5400

E‐mail: hkast@lakeorion.k12.mi.us