1 Front Volume 142 No. 39
Friday, September 2, 2016
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Lostant School tackles improvements Goals set for math, and for interactions with students, parents By Zachary J. Pratt news@tonicanews.com
LOSTANT — Superintendent Sandra Malahy presented the school improvement plan to the Lostant School Board at its meeting Monday, Aug. 22. That plan
includes goals relating to math scores, classroom interventions, and communication between the school and parents. “Schools are required to have a school improvement plan,” Malahy said. “Throughout all last year, the teachers and I looked at student data, parent surveys.” Regarding the math scores, the goal is that at least 75 percent of students will score average or better on the Aimsweb spring benchmark assessment by next May. Methods to achieve this goal include summer school; the purchase of a math
program; additional assistance during times such as study hall; training on the Model Math Curriculum; and the monitoring of special education student progress once a week and at-risk students twice a week. The aim of the classroom interventions goal is to have no more than 5 percent of students receive office referrals in a given quarter. This goal has action plans including different interventions, school-wide and classroom, and various forms of discipline, as well as the forging of a stronger
partnership with parents. The last point is to improve schoolto-parent communication by 10 percent before the end of the school year, using parent surveys to measure success in this area. Plans for this include communicating with parents daily through take-home folders and planners, placing all school events on a master calendar, a newsletter on the given teacher’s webpage, training regarding family engagement, and a preand post-parent survey.
Improvements Page 3
Giving salad another stab at LGS
Toys for big boys ... and little boys too
Students offered salad bar again despite past failure By Zachary J. Pratt news@tonicanews.com
parent relationship,” Malahy said. She stressed the school is only looking into the app at present and will not necessarily make use of it. The other app, which has popped up despite a lack of interest at the school, is called Remind, formerly Remind101.
LOSTANT — The push for healthier student lunches is coming to Lostant Grade School in the form of a salad bar. The Lostant School Board discussed the decision during its meeting Monday, Aug. 22. “There’s always been a big push for feeding students healthier,” Superintendent Sandra Malahy said. She said the school had tried in the past to provide salad during lunch, but it had not been successful. Malahy hopes students will be more receptive to a salad bar, where they put the meal together how they want it. “When you pre-make salads, it just doesn’t work as well,” Malahy said. “People want to put on the salad what they want.” “I think for the kids, the trick is what you put on it,” board President Mike Phillips said. “You just have to put the right stuff on it.”
App Page 3
Salad Page 3
Tonica News photo/Dave Cook
The Tonica Cruise-In brought out folks of all ages Saturday, Aug. 27 in downtown Tonica. Classic cars, trucks and motorcycles were the guests of honor. The event also featured a parade, food stands, the Tonica Volunteer Fire Department’s (TVFD) pork chop dinner, music and a 50-50 drawing. All proceeds from the event went to the TVFD. See more photos from the Tonica Cruise-In on Page 2.
Is there an app for that? Lostant School Board discusses app usage By Zachary J. Pratt news@tonicanews.com
LOSTANT — There might be an app for everything, the Lostant Grade School is discovering. Vol. 142 No. 39 One Section - 12 Pages
At its meeting Monday, Aug. 22, the Lostant Grade School Board discussed two apps, one which it is looking into and an unwanted one which keeps popping up. The app which the school is looking into is called ClassDojo. Superintendent Sandra Malahy described this as “an app that teachers can use to keep track
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of student behavior in the classroom.” The purpose, however, extends beyond merely logging in information for the teacher’s own benefit. Malahy said parents can also log in to check the data regarding their child, to see if there are any issues that need to be addressed. “I think it’s good to improve that
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