Mr Sasso's blog

Here is the latest addition of the Middle Years!!!

There is some useful tips on studying for test and what parents can do to help protect their child from cyberbullying.

Please consider going to this informative meeting.

The Internet is a wonderful resource to everyone but there are certain things you need to know to help protect your children.

Here is the link to the December issue of the Middle Years.

There are many interesting topics, including tips on helping your child with decision-making strategies, note-taking and conversation starters to have with your child centered on reading.

I hope you enjoy it.

I am so proud of the students and staff at Lincoln Hall Middle and the well-rounded students we help develop.  Over the last few weeks we have been able to showcase our students in a variety of different settings.

Over the last several days Lincoln Hall has held their nighttime parent teacher conferences.  It makes for a long week, but the teachers believe it is worth it to be able to provide an opportunity to meet with parents in order to share how their child is doing.  I attended several conferences at each grade level and it was apparent the importance of having a strong partnership between school and home. 

Over the last few weeks I have had several discussions with some of our school staff and district administrators about reading.  The main thread in these conversations has been how do adults promote reading.  Besides discussing novels or other reading passages in our Reading/Language Arts Classes or discussing information from our textbooks, what do we do throughout the school?  Do we discuss with our students what they are reading for fun or do we share what we are reading?  In most cases, I know I have not done that.  I enjoy reading and love sitting down with a good book or reading with my own kids but I don’t actively share that love with others.

I am going to make a concerted effort to start promoting reading by talking with students about what they are reading, sharing books that I think someone might like and I ask that all teachers and parents do the same.  Being a “good reader” is essential to future success, and I want our students to be as successful as they can be so I challenge everyone to also make that one of their goals by promoting reading.  Whether it is reading the newspaper, magazines, books or other material, talk with our adolescent children about what they are reading and share in the joy of reading.

Lincoln Hall has hosted 3 grade level parent coffees this year.  Although they were not as well attended as we had hoped, there were many useful ideas generated through the discussions with the parents.

Here are some of the topics that were raised which we are exploring as a school.

Communication:  As you know, we are relying more on the Internet and technology as the primary mode of communicating with families.  Here are just some of the questions we are wrestling with this year during this transition.  How has technology and the Internet helped us be more effective communicators with families?  Are there false assumptions we make because we have put the information “on the web”.  How many families are accessing our Website?  Are there other “traditional” communication practices that are more effective with parents?  How can we communicate effectively what events are scheduled for our students and what conflicts exist for students?