Parent/teacher conferences are coming up next week. We will hold two nights of conferences and they will be Wednesday November 2nd and Thursday November 3rd. Conferences will be from 5-8 PM. These are conducted on a drop-in basis so you do not need to schedule a time to meet with teachers. We just ask that each parent conference be kept to about 5 minutes in length. For those parents who may need more time to conference it is best to schedule either a meeting or a phone call with the teacher. Progress reports were sent home earlier and already grades may have shifted up or down. A reminder that there are still about 11 weeks left in this semester with our second progress report being sent home in early December. There will be no school on Friday November 4th. Our sports teams continue to do well. Football will be in the post season play with a game scheduled for Friday November 28th. Volleyball will host a state playoff match on Saturday October 29th and girls soccer may qualify for the post season after completing their regular season on Tuesday October 25th. Cross country district meet will be on Wednesday October 26th and we will see if we have qualifiers for the state meet on that date. Our Robotics Team begins their competitive season soon, competing on upcoming weekends in the Hillsboro area. It's a very busy time of year, the next two weeks, as we close out October and turn to November. It's just wonderful that so many of our students get the opportunity to participate in post season sports.

The week of October 10th-14th is a short week. There is no school on Friday October 14th. This is a non-contract day for school staff. It is Statewide Inservice Day. It provides an opportunity to be involved in professional development for those who wish to participate. Progress reports will be mailed home this week. Expect to get them by the end of the week. This is the first 6-week progress report and will show how students are doing academically, in their classes. Parents can keep up-to-date on academic progress by using the Synergy Parent-Vue site. If you have not used it, it is a great tool for looking at your student's grades, attendance, homework completed etc. Susan or Deanna can assist you with log-in information to the site. The PSAT test for all sophomores will take place on October 19th. This is a standardized test that provides students an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge on a pre-college entrance exam test (pre scholastic aptitude test, PSAT). There is no cost and the results will delivered to students in a few weeks. The test will take most of the morning. With one third of the semester now over, it's important to be sure that your student has established good practices for school success. Being present at school each day, planning for and completing homework and preparing for in class tests are all critical for success. I encourage you to check in with your student regularly to make sure that they are on track with these practices.