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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>PLEASE do not reply to this email, contact Daniel
Roose, Dean of Attendance <a href="mailto:danielroose@berkeley.net">danielroose@berkeley.net</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>'Tis the season for standardized
testing. No sooner had we wrapped up a week of STAR testing, when AP & IB
testing began for a large portion of our students. And around the corner
awaits another round of CAHSEE testing for those students who were unable to
pass earlier this year. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>When students are pulled out of class to
take a test elsewhere on campus, it can cause confusion for parents if you
receive an automated 'robocall' informing you that your son or daughter was
marked absent. Parents often ask why we mark students absent when they are
pulled out of class for standardized tests, which are a school activity. The
answer is that the teacher doesn't know whether the student actually made it to
the test. That's where the attendance office steps in. Once we receive the
attendance sheet from the teachers / administrators in charge of the activity,
we clear the absence. You will see it listed as “ACT” in
PowerSchool, which is abbreviation for “activity – excused.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>Ideally, the attendance office would
clear the absence that very same day and you wouldn't receive an automated
phone call. However, this simply is not physically possible. On days when we
have standardized testing, there might be hundreds, or even thousands, of
students' test attendance to check. It is a time-consuming task to sort
through the test proctors' rosters of names of those who attended, those who
did not attend, and those who only attended for partial time. The same goes
for school assemblies or field trips. In general, a good rule of thumb when
your daughter/son says that the robo-call was the result of a school activity,
wait a week or two and then check PowerSchool to see if that absence has been
changed to "ACT." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>On the subject of testing, this is also a
good time to discuss cell phones. With mobile phone use becoming ever more
ubiquitous among teens, new challenges have arisen for test administrators
around cheating. It's not hard for a student to snap a photo of his/her
answers, upload the image, and send to a friend who is also taking the same
test a few rows over. As a result, test companies and state departments of
education have started pushing back aggressively, including through use of
sophisticated spy software that monitors content posted on social media. Recently
the California Department of Education flagged a BHS student who had posted
images of her STAR test online -- within minutes of her having done so. The
consequences of being caught can be severe for the student, regardless of
whether there was intent to cheat. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>In the case of high-stakes tests such as
CAHSEE, AP, SAT, etc, a student caught with a phone can be kicked out of the
test and have the results invalidated. Parents, if you haven't already had a
talk with your children about this topic, consider discussing the serious
implications of using a phone during any school test. Please encourage your
children to understand that phones should not be used during any academic
setting and, most of all, never during any form of assessment. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>Daniel Roose<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>Dean of Attendance / WASC / World
Languages<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on"><font size=2
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black'>Berkeley</span></font></st1:PlaceName><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">High School</st1:PlaceType></span></font></st1:place><font size=2
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on"><font size=2
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black'>1980 Allston Way</span></font></st1:address></st1:Street><font
size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black'>, 94704<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>phone: 510.644.6929<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>_________________</span></font><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'>_________________<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Diane Douglas, Marguerite Fa-Kaji and Lisa
Sibony are the parent-volunteer facilitators of the etree; please direct any
questions to them at </span></font><font color=black><span
style='color:black'><a href="mailto:bhs-owner@lmi.net"
title="mailto:bhs-owner@lmi.net"><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>bhs-owner@lmi.net</span></font></a></span></font><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'>. To post a message, send to: </span></font><font
color=black><span style='color:black'><a href="mailto:bhs@lmi.net"
target="_blank" title="mailto:bhs@lmi.net"><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>bhs@lmi.net</span></font></a></span></font><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'>; BHS etree archives: </span></font><font color=black><span
style='color:black'><a href="http://lists.lmi.net/pipermail/bhs/"
target="_blank" title="http://lists.lmi.net/pipermail/bhs/"><font size=2
color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'>http://lists.lmi.<wbr>net/pipermail/bhs/</span></font></a></span></font><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'>To <u>unsubscribe</u> from the etree, send an email to </span></font><font
color=black><span style='color:black'><a href="mailto:bhs-request@lmi.net"
target="_blank" title="mailto:bhs-request@lmi.net"><font size=2 color=navy
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>bhs-request@lmi.net</span></font></a></span></font><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'> with one word only in the subject line: 'unsubscribe'; To <u>subscribe</u>
to the etree, send an email to </span></font><font color=black><span
style='color:black'><a href="mailto:bhs-request@lmi.net" target="_blank"
title="mailto:bhs-request@lmi.net"><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>bhs-request@lmi.net</span></font></a></span></font><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'> with one word only in the subject line: 'subscribe'</span></font><font
color=navy><span style='color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#333399" face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#333399'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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