Probability and Statistics

Tuesday evening of this last week saw a number of students and parents enter the building to see student project presentations on the use of probability and statistics, a class that Diane Ehr teaches. Students needed to study the theoretical aspect of these concepts and apply them to some real life situation in which we see probability applied. For example we saw black jack, children's games, adult games and others. The students then had to develop tables and charts which showed how the activity itself supported the theoretical. Students chose some interesting projects and learned some interesting things, such as: It is no wonder that Las Vegas is thriving: it offers the possibility of immediate wealth and the probability that the house will always come out on top. Both sides have something.

Students of the Month

Every month we award a senior the "Elks student of the month" award. The person is recognized at out weekly town meeting in addition to having a letter sent home to inform parents. The award winner also receives a savings bond from the local Elks club and is invited to a banquet at the end of the year. January's award winner is senior Chris Doughty. Chris has been a student at NCCS for 12 1/2 years and can frequently be seen out in the hallways helping someone. He was chosen to participate in the Hutchinson Area Leadership Institute this year and has represented the school very well. Congratulations from all of the staff at NCCS.

Accountability

The word accountability is one that appears virtually everywhere in this day and age. It seems that everybody wants to hold someone accountable for his/her actions. In an of itself this is certainly not a bad thing to want to do. At times in education we wonder about the amount of time and resources put into demonstrating accountability. That being said, NCCS is now in the process of demonstrating accountability to Hamline Graduate School of Education, our sponsor. We are in the process of requesting a 3 year renewal of sponsorship. We have spent quite a bit of time with folks from Hamline in addition to independent contractors whom they have hired take a look at us. These reports can be viewed on our website. They see NCCS as a good place where good things are happening, and being done in fiscally and educationally sound ways. We will be finishing this process in the next month or so as the board redirects goals for the next three years.

The political season begins

Not only are we in the midst of a presidential political season that appears to be generating a lot of interest, but the Minnesota legislature goes into session on Tuesday as well. The legislative session has all of the components of an interesting session: a rather large projected budget shortfall, the state moving into or already in a recession, a governor whose attentions are at least temporarily focused on the national presidential scene, and both Republicans and Democrats alike firing opening salvos that at least give the appearance of having sme of the same acrimony that we have seen as of late. NCCS students were able to talk with Ron Shimanski, R-18A, who visited the school on Friday the 8th of February. He talked about his political journey and then delved into some of the upcoming issues: hold the line on taxes, ask educators to use the money they have been given wisely, and make the climate friendly to business. Students were pleasantely surprised to find that Representative Shimanksi is a strong supporter of charter schools. He answered questions from the students, and talked after the session of how impressed he was with the level of questions from students: They wanted to know about state support for education in general and charter schools specifically, and most of their questions stayed focused on education. We will be getting a group of students together to attend the Minnesota Association of Charter Schools lobby day in March. We believe that it is important for students to know that they are part of the political process, and that what happends in St. Paul during the legislative session has a direct impact on our daily lives.

Mixed Blood Theatre

NCCS students had a tremendous opportunity on Tuesday. Due to a generous grant from the Hutchinson Foundation, Mixed Blood Theatre from Minneapolis brought one of their multicultural performances to New Century. The performance was entitled Black Eagle, and was based on the life of Dr. Ronald McNair, an African American astronaut who was on board the Challenger space shuttle that exploded 73 seconds into its flight on Jan 28 1986. The play consisted of recounting the day of the Challenger explosion, preparing to launch. He responded to questions posed by students at an elementary school, and in responding, told his story of coming from a segregated town in South Carolina to go on and graduate with a PhD in physics from the MTI. His inspiration was his mother and a high school principal who told him to never quit. He persevered in spite of many setbacks, and went on to become one of a select group of astronauts.
NCCS students were fortunate to have had this experience of professional theatre right here in the building. This is one of many ways that the faculty and staff of NCCS go to great lengths to bring to students a variety of learning experiences.

Lock-In

On Friday night a total of 68 students attended a lock-in at New Century Charter School. This was a student initiated activity designed to provide students a safe and fun place to be on a weekend evening, in addition to building more of a sense of community among NCCS students. NCCS students also invited guests. Thanks to all of the adult chaperones who made this event such a positive way for NCCS students to spend an evening.

Testing Season

Testing season is upon us - As sure as the NBA finals arrive in June, the Superbowl in February and the swallows return to Capistrano in February, the spring testing season in Minnesota schools will arrive. New Century participates in all of the state mandated testing in addition to computerized assessments that allow us to track academic progress. There are two types of state mandates testing: NCLB tests which are used for determining Adequate Yearly Progress, and the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments/GRAD assessments which must be passed in order to graduate. We are transitioning into a time when these assessments will become one, but we are not there yet. New this year will be a state mandated assessment in Science, added to the required tests in Math and Reading. All of this means that the month of April will be a busy one for assessments. In spite of the fact that not all of us like all of these assessments, we need to remember that they are 'high stakes', meaning that some significant decisions ride on their outcomes, not the least of which is high school graduation for students and our being able to demonstrate that we are doing what we said we would. We need to encourage students to take these seriously so that the results can be an actual reflection of where we are, which will determine decisions on where we need to go.