Mission: Possible

GLASSBORO INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL LAUNCHES

SEMESTER-LONG NJ ASK SUCCESS SEQUENCE

GLASSBORO – Glassboro Intermediate School has launched into a schoolwide mission to pass the NJ ASK in April.  A pep rally kicked off the semester-long standardized testing success sequence for the school’s seventh and eighth graders under the theme Mission Possible: Pass the ASK.

The teachers joined the Glassboro High School cheerleaders and band to issue the challenge to their students at the rally, and to provide a  preview of the activities to follow to psych up students to perform to the best of their abilities in the annual NJASK testing, set for April 24-27.

“We have a core group of about 16 teachers who are volunteering their time for this motivational quest,” said language arts teacher Elisa Noble, who is coordinating the effort along with the committee.  Ongoing activities will include everything from early morning test prep sessions to weekly homeroom contests and the prerequisite Mission Possible t-shirts for teachers and students.

According to Noble, one of the bigger activities will be creation of a Lip Dub video for YouTube in early April, in which the entire school will lip sync to songs like Eye of the Tiger, We Are the Champions and We Will Rock You.  “This is something we see a lot of high schools do, but I have not found any examples of middle school videos on YouTube, so we will be pioneers trying to accomplish this task with younger students,” said Noble.

Additionally, on Decoration Days in March, students will be challenged to doll up the hallways and doors according to academic themes such as “Make HISTORY with ASK” and “Passing the ASK is as Easy as PI.”

“In the classroom setting we are always working with students to prepare them for standardized testing. But this initiative is a broader effort to engage the entire school outside the classroom in celebrating our students’ abilities and building confidence,” said Noble.

Glassboro Intermediate School teachers are striving to psych their seventh and eighth grade students up to pass the NJ ASK tests, administered in April, with a semester-long series of events labeled Mission Possible: Pass the ASK.  The challenge was issued with a kick off pep rally on February 1.

Glassboro Intermediate School Interim Principal Santina Haldeman and the GHS Bulldog Mascot rallied with teachers and students to launch a testing-success sequence.

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