Mr. K's 6-12 Weekly Update

Probably the biggest change this year is our adjustment to our daily schedule. We made a change to our S.R.B. (Student Responsibility Block). For as long as we have had block scheduling at Parkston, S.R.B. was 90 minutes long and the students had it every other day like the rest of their classes. We changed that this year. Students now have S.R.B. every day for 40 minutes. We believe that a shorter, DAILY S.R.B. will be a more productive block of time. We also moved HS Band and Chorus out of the S.R.B. so that all students would get to utilize their S.R.B.

Another added perk to the S.R.B. change was that it freed up the 2nd block of Orange days. That means we have 8 blocks for students to have class in a 2-day period instead of 7! All of our students in grades 6-12 now have the opportunity to take an extra class and broaden their education. In the middle school, our 6th and 7th graders are using the extra block to spend more time in our core classes (English, Math, Science, and Social Studies). In the 8th grade, we were able to add a couple of new exploratory classrooms that allow our 8th graders to focus on Academic Planning, Finances, and Employment as they prepare for their high school career. At the high school level, we are encouraging students to take more CTE courses, Fine Arts courses, and Dual Credit Courses that all make for a well-rounded education. We are excited for this change and believe it will be a positive one for our student body!

The other big change for us this year is A LOT of construction! We have adopted the motto of "Small term pains for long term gains!" The new addition on the outside of the building is progressing nicely. On our end of the building, all of the rooms and the gym had new AC units installed (you know they are working when kids say the rooms are cold!) and we are very close to having a new 6-12 office and faculty lounge (hopefully completed by mid-September!) The new Office means that a few of our teachers were relocated to new rooms, but we are getting settled in.

We are excited for the changes in our daily routine and our learning environment and we are especially excited to have this new school year under way. Thanks for reading and hopefully see you at one of the many school activities that start up this week! - Mr. Knippling