August 11, 2011

Welcome Mr. Giesler!

Garrison Mill welcomes a new Principal, Mr. Kyle Giesler.
Please click on the link below to read a letter from Mr. Giesler to the community.

Download LettertoGarrisonMillCommunity

Aug 11, 2011 10:16:36 AM | News

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GM Students Show Growth in Writing Scores! Dear GM Families: We sent home an article from the Cobb District Web Site this week highlighting the county gains on the 5th grade writing assessment. As I'm sure you know, Garrison Mill has had a focus on writing as a school goal for the past few years. We've been working hard to improve our writing, specifically focusing on the traits of ideas and conventions. This year we are happy to report that our GM 5th graders did better than ever! Our 5th grade students had a 96% overall pass rate with 29% of our students scoring in the exceeds category. Our scale score was 241 (ten points higher than last year and third in Cobb County). The article below gives additional information but we wanted to be sure that everyone saw our good news! We are very proud of our greyhounds! Paula Huffman, Principal Cobb Fifth Graders Improve Writing Scores; Subgroups Continue Impressive Gains Cobb County students' scores on the Fifth Grade Writing Assessment improved five percentage points over 2010. The 2011 results show 83 percent of Cobb students met or exceeded expectations, compared to 78 percent in 2010. Cobb students' average scale score of 218 topped the state average by four points. The writing performance of students in special populations (Students with Disabilities and English Language Learners) continues to show strong results. In Cobb, 57 percent of Students With Disabilities (SWD) met or exceeded standards compared to just 44 percent statewide. English Language Learners (ELL) in Cobb County also performed well with 63 percent of ELL students meeting or exceeding standards, 2 percent higher than the state average of 61 percent. Emphasis on writing in all academic areas resulted in 27 Cobb elementary schools showing an increase in scale scores from 2010. Brumby, Due West, Eastvalley, Garrison Mill, Sky View, Still and Teasley elementary schools each posted gains of 10 points or higher on the assessment. Sky View Elementary showed the greatest gains from 2010, with 25 percent more students meeting or exceeding standards over last year. The District's highest scale scores on the Fifth Grade Writing Assessment were posted by Tritt (246), Sope Creek (242), Garrison Mill (241), Timber Ridge (236), East Side (234), Murdock (233) and Kemp (232). Principal Paula Huffman at Garrison Mill and her staff placed a high priority on better understanding how the state scores students' written essays. Ms. Huffman said, "Once teachers understood that process, they were able to help students understand the importance of writing to the topic, a critical component in the writing process." Due West Elementary School administered a mock writing test in January, allowing teachers to prescriptively address individual students' writing strengths and weaknesses. Due West principal Peggy Fleming said, "The mock test results are being used by teachers to conference individually with each student and target areas for additional instruction before the state writing assessment in March." As a part of the statewide testing program, the Fifth Grade Writing Assessment was administered in March and requires students to write a composition on an assigned topic. The assessment provides fifth graders with a measurement of their writing performance. The assessment includes different aspects of writing or domains, which include Ideas, Organization, Style, and Conventions. Domains are rated on a scale of 1 to 5. Performance of Cobb fifth graders as a whole was similar across all domains, ranging from 2.9 in Conventions to 3.1 in Style. This information can help students, parents, and teachers understand areas where students may need to focus their efforts to improve writing skills before taking the Eighth Grade Writing Assessment. Each exam essay is scored by professionals trained to evaluate student writing skills. Evaluators score student compositions on four qualities, or domains of effective writing - Ideas, Organization, Style, and Conventions. The scale score range for the Grade 5 Writing Assessment is 100 to 350, and scores are reported in the following performance levels: Does Not Meet (100-199), Meets (200-249), and Exceeds (250-350). Summary data for the Fifth Grade Writing Assessment by school is available in Tables I and II.
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GMEF Greyhound Gala Parents, I just wanted to let you know that, as a Gala Auction item, I am offering an opportunity for a student to be, "Principal for a half day." This will be for one boy and one girl. The student will perform duties of administrators, including morning and afternoon announcements, classroom observations, and additional activities. Lunch will be provided and an overview of the morning's activities will take place. The Gala Auction will be held February 4, 2012 at Olde Towne Athletic Club from 7 to 11 PM. Tickets are on sale at http://gmefoundation.org - $35 and $45 at the door or you can Download 2012GALATicketform to purchase tickets in advance. Visit the website for a sample of items to bid on. All proceeds go back to GMEF. The proceeds will be used to improve our school by providing funding for programs such as technology, educational curriculum and facility improvements. The GMEF will accumulate and distribute resources beyond those provided by Cobb County or the PTA, in order to further enhance, foster and enrich the educational experiences of all students at Garrison Mill. Thank you! Mr. Giesler