Print |
E-mail to a friend
NEWS
Spring Hill students celebrate hard work
Sixth grade students place tickets next to prizes they hope to win during Spring Hill Elementary School's celebration for its high performance on the Westest 2 on Friday, Oct. 2, 2009, in Huntington.
Purchase this photo
HUNTINGTON -- The kids at Spring Hill Elementary School in Huntington on Friday reaped the benefits of studying and working hard. The school held a celebration in honor of its improved performance on the Westest 2 last spring.
Students from last year's third-, fourth- and fifth-grade classes received tickets to use in a raffle. Local businesses and individuals donated the items, including a Nintendo Wii and DS, XBox 360, Guitar Hero III, DVDs, sports equipment, books and bikes. Kids placed their tickets in a bag beside the prize in hopes of winning it.
Spring Hill Principal Pamela Bailey said the celebration is well warranted. In just two years, the school's gone from the lowest scoring elementary school in Cabell County to now being in sixth place out of 19 schools.
Since the standardized achievement test was revamped for the 2008-2009 school year, Bailey said the school took a different approach to preparing for it. With a higher focus placed on problem solving and higher-level thinking skills, Bailey said teachers held extra study and training sessions with the kids.
The school even sponsored a night of studying before the test. Students went from classroom to classroom working with different teachers and honing the skills needed to perform well on the test. The kids had dinner and stayed overnight at the school.
The extra study session and hard work paid off, Bailey said.
Schools are measured to see whether students have made adequate yearly progress toward the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act. Scores on Westest 2 are rated for all students and student sub-groups, such as special education, minorities and low-socioeconomic status students.
The test helps school administrators know what subjects they need to focus on. Students in grades three through 11 took the test in the spring.
Tory Shackelford, 11, said she liked staying overnight at the school and working with the teachers. Shackelford said she was proud that the school performed well and the students could receive prizes for their hard work.
Steven Washington, 11, said the overnight study session was a great way to get kids ready for the test. Washington, now a sixth-grader at Huntington Middle School, said he was just as excited to receive a prize as he was to find out he did well on the test.
"I wanted to do good on the test because I didn't want to just sit there, rush through the test and then feel bad about not doing my best on it," Washington said. "All the prizes look good; I hope I can get some of them."
Bailey said she would constantly tell the kids that if they studied and worked hard, they would do well.
"I told them, 'If we work very hard, we're going to do very well on this test,'" Bailey said. "Helping kids believe in themselves is half the battle."
Washington said the words of encouragement from Bailey and teachers helped.
"They got us ready and warmed up for the test," Washington said. "They gave us the courage to take the test."
