As we return from a much deserved Spring Break, I would like to thank each student and parent of the Freshmen Class of 2011 for the many successes that we have experienced during the first three marking periods. This year has been filled with diverse learning experiences that have helped our students grow intellectually, emotionally and socially, and we anticipate continued success during the final marking period.

We continue to have very high and clear expectations of all Warwick High School students, faculty and staff. Specifically, we’ve created a safe and rigorous environment that promotes character development and fosters high academic achievement. As a result, our students are prepared for college, employment, and productive citizenship in the 21st century.

The goal of our Freshmen Academy is to establish an atmosphere in which all of our collective energy is directed towards teaching and learning. To achieve our objectives, we have developed a number of means to increase open lines of communication between the school and the home. One of our newest initiatives is this Freshmen House Website, which will be packed with important information such as upcoming school functions and athletic events, study guides and SOL practice tests, as well as information on AVID and GearUP.

We believe this information will facilitate a smooth transition from middle to high school and I hope that you and your student will utilize this resource regularly.

Varinda Robinson
Principal

Announcements

Re-Engineering the Ninth Grade Experience

Posted by: mikaeldavis on 04/18/2008 06:00 AM

As the Assistant Principal for Instruction, a great deal of Ms. Sifen’s work involves designing your child’s program of studies, aligning curriculum, recruiting highly qualified teachers, and spearheading our high stakes testing to ensure that we meet all local, state, and federal standards. As you know, for the past three years Warwick has been recognized by Newsweek Magazine as one of the best 100 schools in the nation, as measured by our exceptional performance on International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement Exams. Yet some would argue that the better we get at achieving high test scores, the further we get away from authentic learning.
So in addition to preparing students to pass high-stakes exams, Ms. Sifen is ensuring that each student at Warwick is equipped to identify options, evaluate an idea’s efficacy, and make informed decisions. That is why we are so excited about the work that she is doing with scheduling in the Freshmen Academy.

Utilizing various assessment data, Ms. Sifen has devised creative ways to give Ninth Graders a more manageable load during their transition to high school, with a specific focus on students in our average courses. There are still some details to be ironed out, but beginning next year ninth grade students will be able to take one or two classes each semester as a double block, enabling them to receive intensive instruction on their particular areas of weakness. This will reduce the number of classes that they take in a given semester from 7 to 5 or 6. Perhaps most exciting about the four potential scheduling scenarios is that each contains enough flexibility to allow for elective courses. The plans are also adaptable for students who need reinforcement in one subject, the student who needs remediation in a combination of courses, or the student who needs no reinforcement at all.

As always, we in the Freshmen Academy wish to thank Ms. Sifen for her tireless efforts to improve our students’ academic achievement.

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