Welcome. Mt. Ulla Guidance Department is receptive to all student and parent concerns. Please contact Vickie Goodman for information about guidance at Mt. Ulla. My voice mail number is 124.

All classes get 30 minutes of guidance class per week. Appropriate topics are covered for each grade level.

Students can sign-up on the pad near my office door for counseling for individual concerns.  Please call if you would like to have a phone conference or make an appointment for an office visit.

I can help you and your family to deal with student issues. If you need help understanding test scores, learning the developmental stage your child is experiencing, or just need an ear for everyday concerns about your child, please call for an appointment. 

Students who are not performing on grade level are often referred to our Assistance Team.  The team helps students with carefully designed classroom interventions.  After 6 weeks or longer of these interventions the team may refer the student to another team of staff for further review and possible evaluation for learning disabilities.  We will be glad to discuss your child's academic concerns with you. Please call for an appointment.

We will continue the Character Spotlight program this year.  

I want to thank the restaurants for donating our food for each character spotlight lunch last year. Jersey Mike's, Pizza Hut, Verona, Chick-fil-A, CJ's Restaurant have all provided lunches for our character nominees. These restaurants are committed to helping students achieve improved character. This year College BBQ has graciously donated chicken fingers and fries. If you know a restaurant that would be willing to donate lunch for our meal, please contact me at school. 

Each nominated student gets to take home their nomination slip which tells why they were nominated. The  names are posted on the bulletin board across from the computer lab for all to read.

We will be focusing on our motto this year. "If it is to be, it is up to me." Self-responsibility is very important for our students. They will continue to use an agenda that requires them to put all activities down in writing on the appropriate date. Parents will be using this agenda to communicate with teachers. It is up to each student to keep up with the agenda and use it to organize their time and responsibilities. This skill will be useful throughout a student's entire life.  Our agenda this year is based on a famous football coach who motivates people to be their best and achieve their full potential.

All 3rd and 5th graders will take the Inview Test of Cognitive Skills in September 2009.  This score will be provided to each parent along with a brochure to give details. Our teacher will recieve training on how to use the information to improve areas of weakness for each child. If parents need more information provided by this test please call the guidance office at school.  I will be happy to give you more information.

Our third graders this year 2009-2010 will not take the End of Grade (EOG) pretest in math and reading.  North Carolina's Department of Public Instruction has decided it will only do the year end test in Mayof 2010.  Students in 3rd, 4th and 5th will need to make a Level III to show they are proficient.  If a student does not make a Level III they can take a retest.  If a Level III is not achieved then a committee of teachers will look at all the progress a student has made during the school year and make a decision about promotion. 

Writing has been tested in fourth grade each year.  In the past, one writing prompt was given to all fourth graders and the scoring was done in another state.  Now our writing will be scored by our teachers here in North Carolina. With this new addition, comes more opportunities for our fourth graders to write to different prompts and to do a project based writing piece to be scored. 2010  is another a pilot year for the new writing test.  Four opportunities will be given to each student this year.  We are excited about our students getting more opportunites to write for a score. We also think letting our teachers score the writing will help the students get more feedback on the writing and improve.

Encourage your child to display responsibility and effort in all the learning opportunities offerred this school year.  Ask them to explain concepts in math and reading.

If you have any questions regarding the upcoming tests, please call me at school.

Vickie Goodman, School Counselor