Working On The "WRITE" Stuff!

It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way.
- Ernest Hemingway

It's an exciting time at CMS as we prepare for Writing Wednesday on January 23rd. On that day, our 8th grade students will take the Georgia 8th grade Writing Assessment, a test that counts toward our CCRPI accountability score, and our 6th and 7th grade students will take the Mock Writing Assessment. Since we have returned from the holiday break, our teachers have been helping students solidify their knowledge of key elements to improve writing so they can perform well.  In particular, the domain of depth of development has been an ongoing focus within the area of persuasive and argumentative writing. Students will have 100 minutes to go through the writing process to develop an essay. At this time of the year, however, it also gives us an opportunity to reflect on the importance of this critical skill.

I am reminded of the "power of the pen". Have you thought about how many times have you met someone in writing before you met them in person? While one may argue about the power of first impressions, we see many examples of where writing may precede their face-to-face meeting. For example, as we think about our students' college and career readiness, we can find scholarship and college admissions applications to be excellent examples. The most common example would the job application - especially in our current age of technology.

In both of these cases, having the art of persuasion through writing is extremely important because it forces the reviewer to determine if you have a convincing argument for being considered as a worker or scholarship recipient. These tests do not just focus on simple grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Students get the most points in their score for how they development their paper and support their line of reasoning with REASONS.

With that said, take a moment to have your child write 4-5 sentences about one of the rules at home. Tell them to find one house rule that they would like you to change, but they have to give you 3-5 reasons why you should consider changing the rule.  They must write in complete sentences. There are so many ways that students can write. As we continue to prepare our students - regardless of the test - writing is a skill that must be developed like speaking, listening, computing numbers or even any athletic skill - THROUGH PRACTICE!


Announcements:

• All RCPS middle schools are working to distribute report cards as quickly as possible. Thanks for your patience. 
• Principal's Parent Roundtable - THURS NIGHT, JAN 16, 2014, 6:30PM
• PTA Winter Dance - Friday, Jan 17, 4 - 6:30PM
• Georgia PTA Men's Forum - Saturday, January 19, 2014 @ Towers High School, 1 - 3PM
• No School Monday, January 21 - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday Observance
• WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23 - GEORGIA 8TH GR WRITING ASSESSMENT & Mock Writing (6th & 7th grades)  - please ensure students arrive on time
• Friday, Jan 24 - CMS Schoolwide Spelling Bee
• Saturday, Jan 25 - Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl @ Rockdale Career Academy:- 8:00 - Noon