Think Different

Last week Steve Jobs passed away after a long battle with cancer.  Soon after his passing hit the media, social media sites were flooded with comments from people who wished to express their gratitude for the many innovative ideas that he, and the company that he co-founded, had over the last thirty years.

This YouTube clip is a slightly altered version of Apple's Think Different ad that premiered in 1997.  As I watched this clip, I could not help but think of how relevant its message is today given the turbulent, yet exciting times in which we live.

I truly believe that it is through education that we can live this message!  But we have to be willing to embrace technology, embrace change, and take risks.  Malcolm Forbes said, "Failure is success if we learn from it" and I believe that we can't allow the fear of failure to prevent us from trying new things.  So I challenge all teachers and students to be BOLD, take RISKS, and CHANGE the world to make it a better place.

CMS After-School Program Takes Part in Service Learning

Service-Learning is a method of teaching and learning that enriches an individuals life by engaging in meaningful hands on service to others or the community.

Students paint trashcans during the CMS After-School Program

CMS students and after-school staff painted outdoor trash barrels Cardinal red and black for Chadron Public Schools. Several students and staff oiled and primed the CMS Cardinal on 6th and Ann Street in preparation for painting by retired high school art teacher, Jeanine Mohr. The students and staff enjoyed the hands on experience to enhance their school appearance. Thank you to Susan Hucke, Keep Chadron Beautiful, the Chadron Public Schools maintenance team, and Jeanine Mohr for their assistance in completing the two projects.

What are MAPS Tests & Why Do Students Take Them?

Today, students all over the state of Nebraska will begin taking the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) tests.  These tests are written to the Nebraska standards and measure competency on the standards in Reading, Language Arts, Math, and Science.  Students at Chadron Middle School will be taking these tests on different days for the better part of the month of October, and the results of these tests will provide us with baseline data that will help us identify areas of deficiency in each of the testing strands.

An entire month of testing can become tiresome for students and teachers.  However, the data that we collect this fall really does help us identify areas that we need to focus on to ensure that our students are strong in all of the standards strands.  We also share the data with the students so that they know their areas of strength and the areas where they need to improve.  Having this knowledge helps students become more self-aware and with this knowledge we help students set personal growth goals for the spring tests that they will take in March.

So, as we move through the month of October and you have conversations with your students about school, please talk to them about testing.  Make sure that they are getting enough rest at night, that they are eating breakfast in the morning, and encourage them to do their best on all of the tests.  It is important to remind them that everyone has areas of strength and areas where we need to improve and that these tests are not the end-all be-all of their academic career.  It is one test that is give on one day and if they don't perform as well as they would have liked, encourage them to study hard and to give their best effort again in March.

As always, I sincerely thank you for the many ways that you support your student(s) and the school.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

Thank you,

Nick Dressel
Chadron Middle School, Principal