We begin homecoming week tomorrow. There will be a tapping assembly in the morning, dress up days each day, class competitions, a parade on Friday afternoon and a dance on Saturday night. We have two home athletic events this week, volleyball on Tuesday night and football on Friday night. It's a busy week. Parents will hear more and more about two changes that are coming. One is the new state test called Smarter Balanced, it replaces the OAKS test and the other is the move at the high school to a Standards Based system. Each year 11th graders will take the new Smarter Balanced assessment. The test will be in reading, writing and math. Testing will only begin once 80% of the school year is complete so roughly early April. Passing these tests or local assessment tests (as part of a classroom assignment) is a requirement to graduate. The new tests are challenging and will require higher order skills. We are aligning our curriculum to make sure that students are prepared for these new assessments. More on Standards Based education next week.