This Thursday, Friday and Saturday, come and enjoy the hard work of our drama department as they put on their fall play. All three nights the play starts at 7pm and is always a wonderful experience.

This Saturday, our Gator Football Team plays its FIRST EVER playoff game. They finished the regular season strong and for the first time in the 22 year history of SLHS, we are playing in the playoffs. Congratulations to all of the coaches and athletes for their tremendous effort. The game will be played on Saturday, in Montrose, Colorado at 1pm. A victory in the first round means that the next game will be played back in the metro area. GO Gators!

As the fall season is fully underway, it seems like winter may be trying to arrive early. One of items that I worry about most as principal is the safety of our students. This is certainly amplified when the snow starts falling. Please remind your students, as they have been driving for somewhere between 2 weeks and 2 years, to be careful on the ice and snow.

We just finished a terrific Homecoming Week. Crazy costumes, football games, sports, assemblies and dances were definitely the rule of the week. Students did a great job of celebrating and participating. The weather came through for us and cooperated when we celebrated the outside activities. Parents – thank you so much for your help during the Tailgator and helping to chaperone the dance. The week continues to be a huge success with your help.
It’s now time to get refocused. The first 6 week grade period ends this coming Friday. Parent/Teacher Conferences will be next week, Oct. 7 & 8. Please remind your students that it is always a good time to come in and receive assistance from their teachers during Wednesday Resource and also from 3-4 pm in the Library for the Math/Writing Lab.

What a great time of the year. Only a couple of weeks into school and in addition to classrooms that I have visited, I have attended; Volleyball, Football, Gymnastics, Softball and Honor Society Induction. Once the school year starts, there are activities/athletics almost nightly. I am looking forward to music/drama performances, Empty Bowls, and a host of other fall activities. Check the school website regularly for a listing of events. Come and support the Gators!

Also, the Writing and Math Labs are open Monday through Thursday from 3-4 pm in the Library. Take advantage of this opportunity for extra support from Math and English teachers.

• (New Message)

The first couple of weeks are underway and we are off to a great start.  Because it is the beginning of the year, I did want to take some time and review some of our recent test scores.

7 CSAP tests (grade 9 & 10 Reading, Writing and Math)(grade 10 Science)

• We went up on six and stayed stable on one
  Up
  Reading 9 - +9%
  Reading 10 - +5%
  Writing 9 - +6%
  Writing 10 - +1%
  Math 9 - +4%
  Science 10 - +1%
  Stable
  Math 10

• Highlights
  82% of 9th grade students were proficient/advanced on Reading
  0% of 9th grade females were unsatisfactory on Reading
  Scores were above the district and state averages
  Over the last four years, we have seen substantial gains in Reading and Writing

Colorado ACT
Overall school composite of 21.0, down from 21.2 in 2007-2008
SLHS composite score above the district and state composites, Jeffco (20.5)

Colorado Growth Model
This year the state has unveiled the new growth model
It measures student growth in Reading, Writing and Math
The average growth is a 50, anything larger than 50 is an indicator that growth is occurring at a faster than average rate

Standley Lake High School showed growth between 56-66 on all tests

We have a lot to be very proud of around our students' academic achievement and success.  The other side of the story however is that we know that we still have work to do.  We are implementing a new reading program this year and we will continue to look at ideas and strategies that will help increase student achievement.

We had a terrific first day with the class of 2013. They came in and worked with their LINK Leaders, toured the school, attended classes and took a class of 2013 panoramic picture in the gym. I am excited to welcome this great group of students to Standley Lake High School.

On Thursday May 27, our 9th, 10th and 11th grade students finished up two days of spring finals and started summer break. I'd like to thank the staff, students and parents for making this past year one of great success. Our staff pushed students to excel in academics, activities and athletics.

Information regarding 2009-2010 will be sent out next week.

Have a safe and enjoyable summer. We'll see you all in a couple of months.

We celebrated the 20th Commencement at Standley Lake High School last Friday evening at the CU Event Center in Boulder. 349 SLHS students received their diploma during the ceremony. The five former Standley Lake Principals joined us on stage and helped distribute diplomas. It was truly a great evening to celebrate the continued academic success of our students and community.