Parent-Teacher Conferences
The home and school partnerships at SMSA are valued and vital – a critical component to student success and well-being. In Catholic education, the intentional development of healthy, life-giving relationships is always a top priority. It is through relationships that one discovers their true identity, values, talents and strengths. At SMSA, we hope to foster positive relationships among and between students; between students and teachers; and between home and school. Nothing is more important or impactful to student achievement and self-efficacy than the regularity of positive relationships with peers and significant adults.
When a student believes that s/he are supported personally, great leaps forward can happen. We all know that it truly “takes a village” to raise a child to be confident, competent, compassionate, empathetic, generous and loving. At SMSA, we believe that all of us – at home and at school – are called by God to support the young people entrusted to us. This week’s progress reports in Skyward, our student data system, mark the halfway point to quarter report card grades. Skyward is a great tool for all of us when properly understood and used according to its design. It is a system that enables students, parents and educators equal access to the same information. Parents can program the system to deliver academic progress reports as frequently as desired. The system helps us all to gain a snapshot in time about how students are progressing in their studies, and what additional questions or supports students, parents or educators may wish to consider. If you would like to learn more about how to set-up Skyward for your needs, please contact Kelly Mueller at kmueller@smsacademy.org.
As effective as Skyward is at managing student data, including grades, it never reflects the total picture of a students academic journey. The system can prompt more questions for parents than answers at times. As questions arise or as parents desire more details and deeper insight about how their children are progressing academically, the best and most effective practice is to connect directly with classroom teachers. A high quality relationship between teacher and parent only serve the best interest of a student. Building this core relationship between parent and classroom teacher is very important to us at SMSA. Parents can certainly feel welcome to reach out to teachers at anytime with questions or concerns. Of course, a perfect opportunity to make a connection is next Wednesday evening, October 16th, at Parent-Teacher Conferences. Teachers will be accessible to parents between 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.
I hope to see all of our parents at that time. Come ready to build relationships!