Jan. 16 Portales Junior High News

School closed Monday

Students and staff will celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Monday in various ways with their families and friends. School will resume Tuesday with the teachers preparing students for a busy quarter.

Spelling bee

Donna Hammons has students practicing some unusual words in preparation for the Spelling Bee scheduled for Feb. 15. Students may buy the book filled with the word selections for this year’s competitions for $1.

New cheerleader sponsor

The cheerleaders lost their first sponsor to a job in Alamogordo during the Christmas break. They are happy to welcome Amanda Jackson from Clovis as their new cheer coach. The cheer squad practices during their class as well as several afternoons each week. Their perfectly-timed routines are the reward for lots of hard work.

Standardized tests scheduled

The new state standardized test will be quite a change in format for students. There will be no obviously wrong answers on the multiple choice section, and many answers require a detailed explanation of the processes used to complete a problem. Teachers at Portales have aligned the state requirements with what they teach to enable students to succeed not only on the tests, but in their career choices as well.

Attendance

Assistant Principal Glenda Meeks stresses that students must be in school if they are to learn. If a child is going to be absent for a family emergency, illness, or a doctor’s appointment, please call the school at 356-8578. The state requires the school to notify authorities if a child has excessive absences.

Basketball games

Thursday finds both girls’ “A” teams headed to Tucumcari for their games. The boys’ seventh grade “B” team and eighth grade “A” team host their Tucumcari rivals. Saturday finds all four boys’ teams hosting the Ruidoso Warriors. All four of the girls’ teams will play in Ruidoso. Tip off for the Saturday games is 11:00 a.m. with “B” teams taking the court be first.

Student grades available online

Teachers are reporting that parents are checking their children’s grades on the school’s web site. Technology director Mike Rackler issued a password to each student’s parents, and only they may access the information. This system allows parents another opportunity to follow their child’s progress in grades and attendance.

Library computers down

Library aides have been stacking turned-in books until the computer software is restored. Then the books will be scanned and fines deleted since there is no way to indicate when the book was returned. Students have still been able to check out books simply by signing their name and writing down the title and bar code number.