Knox Schools to Implement eLearning Days

The Knox Community School Corporation will implement the use of eLearning Days during the 2017-2018 school year.

According to Director of Curriculum and Instruction Peggy Shidaker, when inclement weather creates a school cancellation all students K-12 will log into the district Learning Management System, Canvas, to access learning targets and assignments for the day.

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Knox Community School Board Educated on eLearning

The Knox Community School Corporation will incorporate eLearning in the next school year. This will be an opportunity for students to be able to keep the stream of learning ongoing even if there is a day of school canceled due to inclement weather.

Director of Curriculum and Instruction Peggy Shidaker informed the board that the administrative team has put together plans for students to participate in an eLearning day.
She explained that the students will know what is expected of them on an eLearning day.
Learning targets will be posted online by 9 a.m. on a canceled day and by 10 a.m. on a delay day. Shidaker said students will be expected to cover content that would have been addressed if school had been in session for the day. Lessons will be a continuation of what’s been happening in the classroom.

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Knox Community School Board Approves K-6 Reading Textbooks

 
 

The Knox Community School Board heard a presentation on reading textbooks from the Director of Curriculum and Instruction Peggy Shidaker, and Lori White, a third grade teacher last night.

They explained that every six years, a new textbook is needed for Kindergarten through the sixth grade level. Administrators, teachers and reading coaches on the textbook committee dissected five different companies for the right curriculum for the needs of the students.

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Kindergarten Countdown Meeting Tomorrow in Knox

A Kindergarten Countdown informational meeting is scheduled for tomorrow for students entering the Knox Community Elementary School Kindergarten program. Starke United, IU Health and the Knox Community School Corporation are sponsoring a Kindergarten Camp in June and this meeting will help explain the function of the camp. Director of Curriculum and Instruction at the Knox Community School Corporation, Peggy Shidaker, has more.

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Third Grade Students to Take IREAD Test this Month

he Department of Education has developed a new test for third grade students called IREAD. Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Knox Community School Corporation, Peggy Shidaker, talks about the IREAD test.

“It’s a little bit different from ISTEP in that IREAD measures only foundational reading skills that students should have acquired from Kindergarten through grade three.”

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ISTEP Testing Begins Today

It’s the test students have been preparing for. Director of Curriculum and Instruction at the Knox Community School Corporation, Peggy Shidaker, says the ISTEP test will be administered at the Knox Community Schools this week beginning today.

“ISTEP, the applied skills portion, begins Monday. The test window is March 5th-14th. We will be testing, like every other school corporation, students in grades three through eight for Language Arts and Math,” said Miss Shidaker.

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Students Complete Two Week Kindergarten Countdown Program

Volunteers from IU Health Starke Hospital help students with a project

Students who never had been in a school setting and who will be entering Kindergarten at the Knox Community School Corporation this Fall have been in a Kindergarten Countdown class for the past two weeks. The students have made great strides since their first day, according to Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Peggy Shidaker.

“They have been learning their numbers, their letters, their colors, their shapes and they have learned not only how to get acclimated to the school, but to their peers, to the bus, to the rules and to the cafeteria,” said Miss Shidaker. “Most importantly, they have started to learn the process of learning. We just couldn’t be more pleased.” Continue reading

Kindergarten Countdown Program Offered to Eligible Knox Students

The Knox Community School Corporation, along with IU Health Starke Hospital and Starke United, are teaming up to offer a Kindergarten Countdown program that will begin Monday, June 20th. The two week Kindergarten mini-camp is for those students entering Kindergarten who have had no exposure to Pre-School. Peggy Shidaker, Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Knox schools, says this is a great jump start program for these children.

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Knox School Board Discusses Impact of Technology at the Corporation

Gary Dulin, Jerry Fletcher, Harold Welter, Mary Lynn Ritchie, Kirk Bennett, Nathan Marcum, Mike Yankauskas, Superintendent A.J. Gappa

The Knox Community School Board discussed technology at its meeting Monday night.

Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Peggy Shidaker, explained to the Board that the current generation of students is all about technology. Schools are turning into a digital learning environment. Students use electronic devices and computers on a daily basis and it is becoming apparent that all students need to have their own computer to use throughout their school career. In the future, it appears that students will be tested on technology knowledge in addition to English and Math on standardized testing.

The Board is looking toward the goal of furnishing each student grades 6-12 with their own computer to use at all times. A team will be assembled to attend a meeting in March with Apple technicians to gain more information on the process and cost of equipping the Middle and High Schools with 1,100 computers for student use. The Board realizes that this is the future of education.

Director of Technology, Jim Landrum, told the Board that the school has the infrastructure capable of supporting this transition. The High School is completely wireless and the Middle School will be wireless before the start of the new school year.