Testin’ in Finesse

By Rocketship Brilliant Minds

A good night’s sleep, scrap paper, silent rooms, and answer sheets. It’s springtime –that time of year when children across the nation are sharpening their Number Twos to take their state’s annual tests.

State testing helps us know how well our students are growing, learning, and mastering the grade-level skills needed to keep them college-bound and future-ready. But, it can also be a time of stress for students, teachers, and schools alike.

What if it didn’t have to be that way? What if we could replace nerves with confidence? Stress with finesse?

When it comes to making our schools places of joy, where kids believe in themselves and develop a lifelong love of learning, Rocketship teachers got it going on.

At Rocketship Brilliant Minds, founding teacher and current Assistant Principal Hanh-Nhi Pham wanted to create something to pump up the students. She wanted something silly and fun that would help them see testing as just another way to show off what they already know.

Since Rocketeers already start every day dancing and singing, the talented team of teachers at RBM decided to write, film, and choreograph a music video dedicated to reminding their Rocketeers that they should be confident in what they know.

“Rocketeers got it goin’ on, got it goin’ on. Don’t it feel so good to be smart?

Not only was the video fun to film, it has made confidence and comradery go viral with students and teachers.

So if you find yourself in the halls of Rocketship Brilliant Minds any time soon, we’re pretty sure you’ll hear “Blame it on my confidence, blame it on my intelligence. Shut that test down on site, that’s right!” echoing through the halls. And we’re also willing to bet that you’ll be testin’ (or doing whatever you do) in finesse after watching this music video!

Published on May 17, 2018