INTERMEDIATE ROUNDUP

October 06, 2010

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to a new school year! We are proud to announce that Devine Intermediate has once again earned the Recognized rating status from the State of Texas. We will be sending out more information on this later in the year when we receive our official school report card. It is an honor to receive this news and I would like to thank the teachers, staff, and you the parents for working with us to help provide the best possible education we can for the students.

We have some new faces on our campus and I would like to take a minute to introduce them: Mrs. Elizabeth Yeats who is our campus nurse assistant, Mrs. Cassie Martinez is not new to our district but is joining our 3rd grade team, and Ms. Charla Gunnells, special education teacher. Also not new to our district but to our campus as instructional aides are Mrs. Karen Dishman, Mr. Louis Travis and Mr. Lenard Dossey.

The first six weeks has already ended and with that in mind many of us know that we will be at the end of the school year before we know it and I want to remind you about the opportunity of the Optional Flexible Year Program. First, just a little reminder of why we offer the flex schedule and what it is. The flex schedule serves to assist students who may need extra help with smaller group instruction. The state of Texas mandates that schools provide accelerated instruction to students who are struggling academically as well as students who are under the SSI (Student Success Initiative) which effects our 5th grade students. This is a tremendous opportunity for small group focused instruction for our students to help them make academic gains. As stated above, accelerated instruction is required for any student not meeting state or district passing standards. We believe that the flex schedule worked very well last year and we are looking forward to another great year as we continue with the program. We want to inform you of a change in the attendance requirement for the flex year. The attendance requirement has increased to 95% this year, up from last years' requirement of 90%. If a student meets minimum state and district standards and has no more than eight absences, that student will be eligible for a May 20, 2011 end of school release date. Students who have met the standard but whose parents choose for them to attend will have various opportunities such as art classes and extended science labs, which are just a few examples. Students who are required to attend accelerated instruction will still be able to participate in several of these activities as well. We will be sending out more information in January.

We look forward to a great school year and are excited about the many opportunities and challenges we face as a campus and district. We encourage you to sign up for the parent list serve by going to www.devineisd.org and clicking on the envelope on the home page. Thank you for your support of our schools and community. Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were big things.-Robert Brault

Sincerely,

Scott K. Sostarich