May 22, 2013 Quick Links

 

      We Miss Ms. Bing

Ms. Catherine Bing, beloved music teacher at Madison Elementary School for the past 25  years, and Fine and Performing Arts Coordinator for the Mount Vernon School District for the last 5 years, passed away January 16th. Cathy was an excellent musician, teacher and friend. She left Madison students a rich legacy of music appreciation and skills…and a song in their hearts. 
Everyone’s life Ms. Bing touched was enriched.  She is missed by all.

For donations send checks to...
Catherine F. Bing Memorial Music Scholarship
c/o Madison PTO
907 E. Fir Street
Mount Vernon, WA. 98273
 

Madison's 2013 Spelling Bee

Ranier Bozung is this year's Spelling Bee Champion.  For the second year in a row Arreah Bihary came in second.  The twenty students who competed on January 24th were already winners from their own 4th, 5th, or 6th grade classrooms.  Ranier will compete March 23rd in the Skagit County Regional Spelling Bee.
 

Madison Students Compete in Geography Competition

Fifth and Sixth grade students know December is GeoBee month.  Classroom conpetitions narrow the contestants to three: two classroom winners and an alternate.  The classroom winners then compete in the school competition. This year Madison's winner was Dilnaz H. and the runner-up was Rachel R.
 

 

Are You Ready For Standards-Based Grading?

        

In Standards-Based Grading students' grades reflect exactly what they know.  Report cards will clearly show the student's progress on each standard and as a parent or guardian you can expect to better understand exactly what your student is learning and how they are progressing toward a specific learning goal. 

HOW STANDARDS-BASED GRADING IS DIFFERENT:

Traditional letter grades have been replaced with a 4, 3, 2, 1.  The 4, 3, 2, 1 show the students' progress in meeting the standard.  Since the grades will be demonstrating the students' progress in meeting the standard, homework, participation, effort and attendance will not be graded.  Homework, while no longer graded, is still a very important way for students to practice.
All teachers are expected to use the new grading system this year for MATH. They are not required to use it for all subjects.  Your child’s teacher may or may not use the new system for all subjects this year.

The 4,3,2,1 scale:

4 = EXCEEDS STANDARD - In addition to “Meeting Standard” (score 3), the student demonstrates in-depth knowledge and applications that go beyond what was taught by the teacher
3 = MEETING STANDARD- understands the concepts/ideas/processes
2 = APPROACHING STANDARD- the student understands the simpler details of the concept but does not know the more complex material
1 = BEGINNING SCORING SCALE- with HELP the student understands some of the concepts
0 = Even with help, the student does not understand

For more information see the Mount Vernon School District Site or one of the following Parent Handbooks:

Parent Handbook                 Guía para padres                         Руководство для родителей

Talking Points                       Temas de debate                        Оценивание знаний учащихся на основе стандартов