PARCC information

This year in Illinois we begin a new  state assessment called PARCC. The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers is a consortium of states working together to develop common assessments in Math and English Language Arts(ELA) in grades K-12. The PARCC has replaced the PSAE at the High School level.

At the High School, students in ELA III, Algebra II, or Integrated Math 3 will be required to take PARCC. PARCC consists of two tests; the Performance-Based Assessment (PBA) and the End-of-Year Assessment (EOY) . The two tests will occur during two separate "testing windows". The first window will be used for the PBA. The PBA is designed to be completed in the above mentioned courses courses after roughly 75% of instruction. At Plains, we will take our PARCC PBA beginning March 9th. The EOY assessment is designed to be given after roughly 90% of instruction has taken place. At Plains, we will take our PARCC EOY assessment beginning the week of April 27th. The testing windows are 2 weeks and will be done in the classroom.While the testing window is 2 weeks,  we will not use all of that time.

The PBA test will consist of 3 parts ELA and 2 parts Math. The EOY test will consist of 2 parts ELA and 2 parts Math. Students will take both components and the scores will be combined for a summative score.

For more information, please visit www.parcconline.org

Congratulations to Claire Neibergall

Congratulations to Claire Neibergall who has committed to play soccer at Lenoir-Rhyne University. Lenoir-Rhyne is a Division II school located in Hickory, North Carolina and has approximately 2000 students. In 2014, they were ranked 11th nationally.

Pictured with Claire is HS coach Greg Bryan

Congratulations to the WYSE team

For those of you that don't know, WYSE(Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering) is a high school academic competition consisting of several subject areas including biology, chemistry, physics, math, english, etc. Our 2015 WYSE academic team took first place in their division at the regional competition at LLCC yesterday. Congratulations to the following students on their awards. 

 Individual medal winners were:

TJ Covey 1st in biology

Alec Saebeler 2nd in chemistry, Michelle Hedlund 3rd in chemistry

Beverly Watson 2nd in computer science, Zach Pappas and Josh Davis tied for 3rd in computer science

 Alec Saebeler 3rd in engineering graphics

 Sam McGraw 1st in English

 Zach Ross 1st in mathematics, Connor Riddle 3rd in mathematics

 Sam McGraw 1st in physics, and Zach Ross 2nd in physics.

Drive for Tomorrow field trip

On January 28th, the sophomore class was able to participate in the Drive for Tomorrow program put on by the Illinois State Police and Illinois Department of Transportation. The students participated in activities that dealt with topics such as impaired driving, motorcycle awareness, roll over and seat belt simulations, drowsy driving, and emergency situations. Below are some pictures from the day.

roll over simulation

seat belt convincer

impaired driving course

impaired driving simulation

PPHS Scholastic Art Award pictures

Six Pleasant Plains High School students were honored at the 31st Scholastic Art Awards Ceremony on Sunday, January 25th. The student art was judged against art work from 30 counties in the Mid-Central Illinois Region. The art of Gold Key winners will go on to the national level in New York. Mid-Central Illinois Region winning art is on display at the Springfield Art Association at Edward's Place (700 North Fourth St., Springfield) from January 25 - February 26

Pictured are Leah Klepzig (Gold Key), Olivia Harrison (Silver Key), Sarah Livingston (Honorable Mention), Darcy McLean (Honorable Mention), LeahAnn Wolle (Honorable Mention), Mr. Jim Boehme (HS art teacher), Mr. Chris Martin (MS art teacher). Not pictured is Carlton Hazelwood (Honorable Mention).

(Picture provided by Allex Langley)

Attached are some photos from last night's Sangamon County Tournament action.

Congratulations to our Illinois State Scholars!

Emily Yakel, Sam McGraw, Connor Riddle, TJ Covey, Jon Hagmann, Zach Ross, LeighAnn Wolle