First Principal's Coffee Of The School Year At Middle Gate
First Principalâs Coffee Of The School Year At Middle Gate
By Eliza Hallabeck
Middle Gate Principal Chris Geissler greeted assembled parents at the first Principalâs Coffee of the 2011-12 school year at the school on Tuesday, October 11.
For the first topic, Mr Geissler spoke about Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) scores and how to interpret both the schoolâs overall assessment and an individual studentâs score, but each Principalâs Coffee at the school focuses on a different subject, according to Mr Geissler.
Also on Tuesday, Middle Gate Elementary School Language Arts Coordinator Mary Blair spoke about the districtâs new approach to teaching spelling.
Following the event, Mr Geissler said it went great, and explained the topic of understanding CMT scores first came up last school year when he was asked what the CMT, which is administered to students in third through eighth grade, looked like.
Mr Geissler said he accepts parent input on topics for his Principalâs Coffees, and asks Middle Gate parents who are interested in learning more about individual topics to e-mail him at GeisslerC@Newtown.k12.ct.us. Mr Geissler also said parents can request topics for the Principalâs Coffee meetings by speaking to PTA representatives of the school. The next Principalâs Coffee at Middle Gate is scheduled for Tuesday, December 6, and the topic has yet to be determined, according to the principal.
For those who miss the Principalâs Coffee presentations, Mr Geissler also posts the presentations he creates for each meeting on the schoolâs website.
Attending the Principalâs Coffees, Mr Geissler said, is another way for parents to learn what is happening in the district and at Middle Gate. Mr Geissler also said he likes to keep the meetings informal but informational.
At each Principalâs Coffee meetings parents are also offered the chance to ask questions in a question and answer format.
During the first Principalâs Coffee Mr Geissler walked attending parents through using the website ctreports.com to gather CMT scores and how to interpret those scores.