Compared to the meeting at the Board office tonight about the middle school teachers denied tenure, this is a small thing. But there is so much confusion about it that I hope someone can clarify for us. The school has not communicated anything on paper to parents as far as I know. We heard from our kids that Honor roll students would go to some breakfast. Then we heard there was nothing planned. Then we heard that there was a lottery for a small trip to a park. This is baffling.
I'm not arguing here about the merits of a bigger trip. Honor roll kids in the past got to go to an amusement park, and it is disappointing to a younger brother to learn that he does not get the same benefit as his older sister did. But I think there was an older thread on this issue. At this point, I just want to know what is actually planned and when. The school does not respond to emailed questions on this. Hopefully someone has accurate information on this.
The last email from Principal U listed various honor roll events on the calendar, varying by grade and team, as well as the final exam schedule. (nothing was listed for some grades/teams)
I asked Mr. U about this too for my seventh grader. He mentioned trying to plan something for the entire grade, in the future, not by A and B teams as it stands now. But couldn't quite get him to tell me what would be happening this year for my child. Not nearly what we parents have in mind for our honors students. A far cry from the hundreds of kids I saw in Washington, DC a few weeks back who were on their 8th grade field trips!
And, the 8th grader trip is by lottery. First you have to make honor roll, then all the yearbook kids get a seat on the bus first, then those honor roll kids get on the bus via lottery. Make honor roll but lose the lottery, too bad. Good system.
I'm neutral about rewarding students. But, expectations set at start of the year need to be delivered upon at end of year. Want a new system, start it in September. The 8th grade lottery was never the class expectation.
