Kent Falcons News
Dear Kent Middle School Families,
At some point your family has likely engaged in the conversation that we all have with our middle school children: When is the appropriate time to introduce a cell phone into your middle schooler’s life? There are many variables that parents/guardians consider, and ultimately each family determines what feels right for each one of their children. This decision alone may have the most significant impact on the remainder of your student’s childhood, more than perhaps any other change we introduce in the middle school years.
There are many benefits to owning a smartphone, yet there are also many drawbacks and an appropriate level of maturity is required to realize the positives without getting overwhelmed by the negatives. As a middle school administrator, I get to see some of the most significant examples of when smartphones introduce danger into children’s lives. When digital communication outside of school starts to have an impact on students’ time while at school, it becomes our collective obligation to respond. This school year alone I have encountered hate speech directed between students, anonymous online cruelty of teachers and students, sharing of explicit photographs with and without student permission, viewing and sharing of online pornography, purchasing of dangerous objects from online marketplaces, vulgar and hateful comments in text threads, and scheduled in-person meet-ups with strangers met online. Each of these examples happened in our own community of Kent students and came to my attention prior to the attention of the participating child’s family in most instances. Most of these examples happened with students in 5th through 7th grades.
We work to navigate through each circumstance with the children involved, committed to identifying key learning opportunities that will help students make safe choices going forward, yet by the time situations such as these have come to my attention much damage has already been done. I also realize that what gets brought to my attention reflects only a small fraction of the full reality of what our children are encountering in their digital lives.
So, whenever you decide that your child is ready for a smartphone, I implore our parents/guardians to set the expectation that trust is earned and that there is no expectation of privacy in our children’s digital lives. There are simply too many dangers and too much left to learn for our children to exist in digital space completely unsupervised. For families of children who already have smartphones, parents should periodically read and monitor their child’s text messages, social media content, app usage, and any tools frequently used on their child’s smartphone. Express curiosity about your child’s digital life just as you do about their analog life, and be prepared to respond without judgment when something difficult may be uncovered. Our children deserve guidance in this area of their lives, not criticism.
Each family must carefully consider when it is right to introduce a smartphone into their child’s life. Simply put, children must have developed the appropriate maturity to be able to safely navigate the circumstances they will encounter through the use of a smartphone. Many Bacich and Kent families have taken the Wait Until 8th pledge as a way of showing their commitment to withhold access to a personal smartphone until their children are in 8th grade. This approach significantly reduces exposure to harmful content, delays the distractions and addictions that come with smartphone use, and prolongs childhood just a little bit longer.
Thank you for your partnership in this complicated task of raising and educating our children in the 21st century.
Grant Althouse
Kent Principal
galthouse@kentfieldschools.org
Wednesday, May 3 is National Bike to School Day!
The Kent Eco-Action Club is celebrating National Bike To School Day on Wednesday, May 3! The Kent Eco-Action students will be handing out raffle tickets to win one of two Tommy Breeze hats, or one of two Hydroflask water bottles. We’ll also have healthy JAMBARS to give to students.
CAASPP Testing - CAASPP testing begins at Kent next week, and we want to support your child to be comfortable and confident while showing us what they know and are able to do on these important standardized tests. Please see the notes below to help anticipate what to expect with CAASPP testing at Kent starting next week, and to help prepare your child for successful test sessions.
- Linked here is the testing schedule for Kent. Please note that students will be taking the assessment in their regularly scheduled English classes the week of May 1st, and their regularly scheduled math classes the week of May 8.
- The entire CAASPP assessment is computer-based, and students will be taking the assessment with their school-issued Chromebook (6th-8th grades) and their classroom Chromebook (5th grades). Students must come to school with a fully charged Chromebook each school day during CAASPP testing.
- All parts of the CAASPP test are untimed, and students will be provided with as much time as they need to complete the assessment. If students do not finish during the time allotted, we will have make-up sessions offered the week of May 15.
- During Advisory this week, we will be reviewing the testing schedule and discussing how to set up for success on the CAASPP this year at Kent. We will also be watching this video that explains how to access universal tools designed to help students while they are taking the assessment.
- Testing sessions will be occurring during regularly scheduled English and math classes, meaning that testing time will happen at different times each day for your child depending on the day of the week. Please ensure that your child gets a good night’s sleep each night, eats a nutritious breakfast, and has a plan for access to nutritious food during the school day.
- 5th and 8th graders will be taking the California Science Test (CAST) the week of May 22, in Nest class in 5th grade and in science class in 8th grade. The CAST is presented in an identical format to the CAASPP.
If you have any questions about your child’s testing experience or if you need to exempt your child from CAASPP testing this year, please contact our school site testing coordinator and assistant principal, Wendy Holmes (wholmes@kentfieldschools.org) or me (galthouse@kentfieldschools.org). We look forward to supporting our Falcons in their successful completion of their 2023 CAASPP assessment.
Two Open Positions
Two parent seats on the Kent Site Council are open for the 2023-2024 school year, and any interested incoming 5th or 6th grade parent/guardian are invited to submit their name for consideration for one of these three-year terms.
The Site Council meets on the first Tuesday of the month from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on the Kent campus.
If you are interested in serving on our Kent School Site Council, please email site council members Tory Grigg (tory.grigg@gmail.com) and Megan Hirschbein (mchirschbein@gmail.com) by next Friday, May 5. All applicants are invited to share a short summary of their interests and qualifications to serve on this committee.
Upcoming Dates
Tuesday, May 2, 2023: Kent Site Council meeting, 3:30-4:30 p.m., Kent Room 11
Wednesday, May 3, 2023: National Bike to School Day
Thursday, May 4, 2023: Kent Parents In Action meeting, Kent Room 11, 8:30-10 a.m.
Friday, May 5, 2023: Kent Site Council interest submissions are due to Tory Grigg (tory.grigg@gmail.com) and Megan Hirschbein (mchirschbein@gmail.com).