Fourth-graders and their parents turned out in large numbers Tuesday evening for an orientation program at Malabar Intermediate School.
The faces were new but the message was familiar Tuesday evening during orientation for incoming fourth-graders and their parents at Malabar Intermediate School.
Safety, academics and respect continue to be the priorities for the school that will welcome more than 700 students in grades four, five and six when classes begin on Aug. 27.
“You don’t have to be concerned about your child’s safety,” Principal Andrea Moyer told parents during an auditorium assembly. “We have a camera system inside and out. No one is admitted to the building without being identified.
“We have a security person in the building and Mr. (assistant principal Tom) Hager and I are in the halls a lot. We don’t like to just sit in our offices.”
Fourth-graders will be accompanied by a teacher when they move single-file through the hallways.
Turning to academics, Moyer said students will be involved in “a whole lot of problem solving” as the state ends its annual Ohio Achievement Assessment in favor of the PARCC test. As explained by the Ohio Department of Education, Ohio is among 22 states working as a consortium on PARCC – Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers – to develop a common set of assessments in English and mathematics.
Malabar students will have PARCC testing in February and again in April and May, Moyer said, adding that last year’s test scores showed improvement.
“We’re very happy. All of our scores are up in math and literacy,” she said to applause from the audience.
Assistant Principal Tom Hager said Malabar’s third priority – respect – will be emphasized all year.
“Our theme this year is kindness,” he told fourth-graders. “Be polite to one another. There is too much negativity today. Look for ways to show acts of kindness.”
Hager outlined Malabar’s dress code and urged parents to monitor closely their children’s access to Facebook.
“We have had lots of issues of students using Facebook to make nasty, rude comments to each other,” he said, noting that those exchanges often carry over to school. “We don’t want that. Talk to your children if they have access to Facebook.”
Hager also emphasized students’ conduct on buses.
“When you get on the bus, sit down and face forward. You can talk quietly to the person next to you, but you cannot stand up and shout to someone five rows back,” he said. “It’s a safety issue, a respect issue. We don’t want you distracting the driver.”
Any student who encounters bullying on a bus, or anywhere else, should report it to a teacher, Hager said.
Guidance counselor Vicki Dye told students she is available all day long everyday at Malabar.
“I know many of you are nervous,” she said to fourth-graders, “but this school isn’t nearly as large as it looks. And the secret to making friends is to be a friend.”
After the auditorium session students and their parents were divided into groups for tours of Malabar. Fourth-grade teachers were in their rooms. The evening concluded with hotdogs and drinks in the cafeteria.