Notes From Mr. Snell's Office

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

• Individual CRCT reports for students will be available at our school June 10, 11, 12.  The reports can be obtained each of these days from 8:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M. If you are not able to pick your child's report up on these days, it will be available during pre-planning.
• Registration for students new to Cobb County will be Friday, August 1, from 9:00 A.M. - 3:30 P.M.
• Panther Day (Meet and Greet) will be Thursday, August 7, from 12:30-4:00 P.M.  Suggested visitation times are: 8th grade 12:30-1:30;  7th grade 1:45-2:45;  6th grade 3:00-4:00            
• Summer Orientation Day - Wednesday, June 25 - NOT a requirement (See May 16, 2008 post below for registration information)
• Marietta Tree Experts to the rescue! (see Feb. 1, 2008 post below for details)

End of Year Notes

With great anticipation, I look forward to the rapidly approaching 2008-2009 school year. As I proudly wish our rising ninth graders well in their high school experience, I enthusiastically welcome our rising sixth grade class. On June 25 I will have the privilege of meeting many of our new sixth grade students at our summer orientation day. I can say with confidence that these boys and girls will make a positive contribution to the successful tradition of achievement at Dodgen.

On a somewhat less enthusiastic note, have you heard much about the Critereon Referenced Compentency Test (CRCT)? Of course you have. The results that have been reported from around the state appear dismal. I believe that most educators find it frustrating that so much emphasis is placed on a single standardized test. "U.S. students are over-tested but under-assessed," charges Douglas Reeves, director of the Denver-based Center for Performance Assessment. Believing this to be the case, I also fear that too often the scores from these tests fail to capture the true measure of an individual student's learning. Oh well; so much for my soap box. I must defer to the wisdom of those who make the decisions that effect the lives of educators and the students they teach. So how did Dodgen students fare on these high-stakes tests? Reading and math are the two subject areas of greatest accountability for schools. Our percentage of students who meet or exceed standards are as follows:

Reading: 6th/99%; 7th/99%; 8th/99%
Math: 6th/93%; 7th/96%; 8th/88%

Not bad, huh? My comments from the preceding paragraph probably suggested that I was preparing you for the worst? Attempting perhaps to justify a poor showing on the CRCT. Just trying to make the case for a better system for determining accountability for students and teachers. Thank goodness for the influence of our outstanding teachers and staff. Thanks also to the involvement of parents/guardians.

Enjoy your summer vacation!

Students New To Dodgen MS

We will offer an optional orientation/activity day for students who will be new to Dodgen MS for the 2008-2009 school year.  Students will have an opportunity to learn more about the school and make new friends.  This orientation session is not required.  You can pick up a registration form at the front office, or click on the following link if interested Download summer_orientation_2008.doc 

Science Olympiad Team - Number 1 In Region!

Dodgen students (pictured at left with coaches) traveled to Georgia State University this past Saturday to compete in the regional Science Olympiad.  Our students placed 1st AND 4th in the competition!  The top four teams will travel to Augusta to compete in the state competition.  Each school can only send one team to state, however, so our 4th place team will have to yield to the 5th place team.  What an achievement!  Thank you to the many parent volunteers who assist our students!  And a special thank you to teacher coaches Debbie Amodeo and Jeff Miller.

Chess Tournament

Staff member, Benedette Moore, has been supervising students interested in playing chess for several years.  The chess club meets almost every Friday morning in the media center at 8:15am.  Recently, a group of Dodgen students who are interested in competitive chess traveled to Alpharetta to participate in the 2008 Western Regional Chess Tournament.  Our students came away with the 3rd place trophy!  These students earned the right to travel to Gwinnett County to compete in the state tournament!  Parent volunteer, Craig Thompson, has been gracious enough to coach the team.  Check out the impressive trophy in our case at the front entrance.

The Cat Is In The Bag!

Okay...when I signed on to be an educator almost 30 years ago nobody told me that my job description would include such a diverse range of responsibilities.  Don't get me wrong, I do spend a significant amount of time taking care of the more predictable responsibilities such as those associated with the title "Instruction Leader."  I have grown accustomed over the years, however, to roles less commonly associated with the job description of principal.  I probably know, for example, enough legal jargon to do fairly well on the state bar exam; while also boasting the ability to stop the constant running of water in the urinal of a boy's restroom.  From attorney to plumber and many tasks in between, I thought I pretty much had it covered.  Well...a particular cat chose a particular tree that just happened to be located on a particular plot of land on a particular campus that falls under the responsibility of a particular principal.  And so the fun begins...  Day one, I figure the cat will come down on his own and I try to forget that I ever saw him.  Day two, someone else saw him.  I reaasure her that cats must be able to get out of trees on their own.  I did contact some folks in nearby neighborhoods to get the word out that somone's pet was in a tree.  Day three, yep...the cat is still there.  Okay, by now more folks know about the cat, but no one is coming forward to claim responsibility.  There's that "R" word again.  Seems that the cat has now firmly become MY responsibility.  Folks are even saying to me, "YOUR cat is still up in that tree!"  Day four, you guessed it.  Still there.  The kids have now started getting on my case.  One more call to my neighborhood contacts yeilds the fruitless results I expected.  We had already tried calling the fire department (which understandably cannot offer this service), and a few other departments such as animal control.  No luck.  With a school building full of anxious cat lovers, and the impending threat of cold rainy weather on the horizon, I knew that it was time to call the experts.  Marietta Tree Experts to be exact.  After calling several tree services listed in the yellow pages, Marietta Tree Experts (770-425-2644) took an interest.  I think it would be safe to say that this is not a part of their business that they are trying to expand, they took the challenge none the less.  At 3:15pm on January 31, Bill Rhodes arrived on the scene.  By 3:30pm he had the cat in the bag, so to speak.  This company was good enough to cut the school a break in the interest of our kids and only charged us the cost of fuel to get to the school.  If you need tree service, give these guys a call.  Well...what now?  Not knowing what else to do I took the cat home with me for the night.  He actually got along very well with my Golden Retriever and two other cats.  Day five, happy ending!  After posting pictures of the cat on scrolling announcements (our school-wide TV announcement system) students recognized the cat to be none other than Carson who belongs to one of Dodgen's 7th students named Courtney.  And everyone lived happily ever after.

Chess Tournament - We Need You

Do you know how to play chess?  Are you interested in competing in a school chess tournament?  We are forming a tournament team and need you to join.  We will play in our first match on February 9.  The tournament will take place at Webb Bridge Middle School in Alpharetta.  There is a $15 entry fee.  Parents should plan to provide transportation for their child to and from the event.  Craig Thompson (parent volunteer) will be serving as coach.  If you have questions about the competition please email Mr. Thompson at craigkthompson@gmail.com , or you can call the school.

For more information about the tournament you may click on the following link: http://georgiachess.org/downloads/GCA2008WestFlyer.pdf 

Going Green

I am excited to announce that very soon Dodgen MS students and staff will participate in another venture that will benefit our environment.  We have entered into an agreement with the Cobb school system to pilot a program that is desgined to recycle the Styrofoam lunch trays used each day by 1,250 students and staff.  This is something that our Enviromental Club has been interested in pursuing for some time.  Maybe the program will soon grow to include other schools.  Our staff and students are already very conscious of protecting the environment.  Joyce Kemper is pictured with two full bags of aluminum cans.  She collects cans at the school on a regular basis to take to the Good Mews animal shelter to help both the enviroment and animals.  Also pictured are Mary Barkley and Kyle Schnitger.  Notice the mound of pizza boxes behind them from a recent school event.  They arranged to have all of the boxes recycled rather than simply throw them out to take up space in a landfill.

New Year's Resolution?

The term "resolution" has several definitions.  When used in conjunction with the prospect of a new year, one dictionary has defined the word resolution as "something determined or decided upon, as a course of action."  This is the time of year when many individuals contemplate the feasibility of establishing their own resolutions.  Rather than offering a new beginning, may I simply suggest to students that you be resolute each day as you continue your quest to develop good character.  To be resolute means to be determined.  It often takes resolute courage to do what you know is right.  True friends will appreciate your actions and follow your good example.  Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "no one can make you feel inferior without your consent."  Further, I contend that no one can take away your resolve to do the right thing without your consent.  It is your job as students to make good choices.  It is our responsibility as educators to assist in your quest to keep your resolution of establishing greatness of character, as well as achieving academic success.  I am thankful that we have so many outstanding young ladies and young gentlemen who attend Dodgen Middle School.  I look forward to being there for you in 2008.

PTSA Dateline Letter January 2008 Edition

I enjoy a challenge.  Submitting monthly entries for the Dodgen Dateline, for example, has the potential to become an exercise of torment.  The occasional dilemma rests not with a concern over a scarcity of topics; quite the contrary.  Students, teachers, staff, and parents who make up the Dodgen community and create the best possible learning environment provide for me many opportunities for inspiration.  The occasional challenge comes when I choose to write about potentially boring topics such as I have for this column.

When I say School Improvement Plan (SIP), do you lean forward and wonder with great anticipation and unbridled excitement, scarcely able to wait to read the next word?  I didn’t think so.  More likely, you have the urge to cease reading my article and move on to the next interesting entry in the Dateline?  Keep reading.  I offer no guarantee of excitement, but I think you will at least learn something of which you were not aware. 

Dodgen’s SIP consists of two major goals.  Our student performance goal states that all students will be proficient readers and writers.  The school performance goal stresses the importance of developing collaboration among all staff members that will lead to increasing student achievement in all disciplines, with an emphasis on literacy.  A school’s SIP consists of several major parts.  With the limited space allowed, I would like to focus on the section referred to as the School Profile. 

Very few, if any, middle schools in the state have experienced such drastic changes as those that have occurred at Dodgen over the past several years.  Our profile in the year 2002-2003 included an enrollment of 838 students with 2.98% participating in the free/reduced lunch program.  Of those students, 92% met or exceeded standards in English/Language Arts (ELA) on the Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT), while 95% met or exceeded standards in math.  Fast forward to the 2006-2007 school year and you will find a net growth of just under 250 students for an official count of 1079.  Free/reduced lunch program participation increased sharply to 9.17%.  Figures show that 97% and 93% of all students met or exceeded standards on the CRCT in ELA and math respectively.  The current 2007-2008 school year finds us with a current enrollment of 1142.  The CRCT is administered in the spring each year, so there are no results to report for our current students.  If the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), which was administered to 8^th grade students earlier this year, is any indication, our students and teachers continue to impress.  The composite score for our 8^th graders ranked in the 77^th percentile.  This was up three points from last year.  I am also proud to note that while the overall county score in math went down one point, Dodgen’s went up by the same margin.

There are two primary reasons for the changes in our student population.  Beginning with the 2004-2005 school year, and ending last year, students from five middle schools not making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) were allowed to transfer to Dodgen.  We have welcomed a little more than 200 students over the course of three years as a result of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation.  We welcomed an additional number of students as a result of the redistricting effort with a neighboring middle school. 

As you absorb the statistics shared in the paragraphs above, I hope that you can appreciate their significance.  I am very proud to note that such a change in our enrollment over the past few years has been met with a consistent, stable, and nurturing learning environment.  Students continue to receive a rigorous instructional program from teachers and staff determined to help them achieve.  I find myself welcoming in the new year counting yet another blessing as I work beside these dedicated professionals.

America's White Table

To honor the men and women who have served in America's Armed Forces, Dodgen MS set up what is referred to as "America's White Table."  Health teacher, Roberta Fletcher, came to me a few weeks ago with this unique idea.  With my enthusiastic approval, she set a table in our school cafeteria.  The little white table we have set for Veteran's Day at Dodgen MS is just like the ones that have stood in American dining halls of the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Navy.  A small table is used to show one soldier's lonely battle against many.  It is covered with a white cloth to honor a soldier's pure heart when they answer their country's call to duty.  A lemon slice and grains of salt are placed on a plate to show a captive soldier's bitter fate, and the tears of families waiting for loved ones to return.  An empty chair is pushed to the table for the missing soldiers who are not here.  A black napkin is placed on the table to reflect the sorrow of captivity.  A glass is turned over to symbolize the meal that will not be eaten.  A white candle is placed on the table to reflect peace.  A red rose is placed in a vase and tied with a red ribbon in the hope that all of our missing will return one day.  It is difficult for us to understand the suffering that adults sometimes must go through to protect their families and friends that make up our great country, America.  The little white table should serve as a meaningful reminder to all of us, young and old.