News

Greetings Somerset Academy Scholars:  

We are finishing up September already and there is a great deal of work to do to prepare for EOY.  I just want to take the time to speak directly to you (though we will share this out with families on remind as well).  There are a few issues you should be aware of in an effort to keep working towards getting better each day.  

First, I want to remind all students that you should be receiving some form of homework weekly.  It is very hard to reach proficiency in mathematics, and reading, without spending time setting stronger.   Research says you need between 10-20 math problems every day to boost fluency, and comprehension.  Please understand that homework is where you will turn the difficult work into a long-term skill that you can use whenever you need it.  We are here to support, but like all things in life the way to get good is to push yourself and to practice.  20 minutes extra a day in reading and math adds up to 120 hours!!  And according to Malcom Gladwell and his book Blink you need 10,000 hours to become an expert in anything you do.  

Secondly, I sent out a remind to families early in the year.  I enjoy all of the fun events we do around campus.  I am very proud of how low the discipline rates have been this year, thus far.  Please review the back-to-school communication and understand I am serious about consequences when things do happen.  I would rather our scholars think of school as a second home where you do have to work a bit, but you also have a safe place to hang out with friends and attend all of the fun social events we offer.  I've never appreciated people that bully others, and in the same breath, that word has really become overused.  Bullying is worse now than prior to instituting anti-bullying policies in the late 1990s.  So that you hear it from me, it can escalate to an expellable offense, but again I would prefer we all take a moment while we are at school to allow others to be who they are and keep as much negativity out as humanly possible.  As you get older you realize that there are all types of people in this world, and you may not think the way they do.  When you begin attacking them for whatever "thing" you don't like or agree with there will come a day when someone attacks you for something you think or do.  Take a breath, take a moment, and seek advice when you are struggling with peer relationships, but please do not bully.  It isn't worth what happens to our school culture when this happens.