Happy Gloomy Rainy Monday Everyone! Well even though this week has started with gloomy weather, I hope you all had a great weekend and I’m looking forward to a great week.
STAR testing is just about over for all the kids (whew!), but we still have our local District assessments (Local Measures) that we’ll need to give during this week and the weeks to come. Students will be assessed in Reading, Writing, and Math. These assessments give us another opportunity to assess student mastery in their grade level. In many ways these assesments are much more challenging than the CST’s, as they are aligned more closely to the new Common Core Standards and they require students to fully explain their responses. Most teachers have just begun introducing these new standards, but the information from the Local Measures give us a baseline starting point where we can identify where the gaps are and work towards closing them. Please continue to send your kids to school on time and ready for the day.
This is also a special week because on May 8, it is officially Teacher Appreciation Day. Our teachers work extrememly hard and generously give their own time and hard earned money to make sure the students can be successful. I’m always amazed at how often I see teachers stay far past their contracted (3 pm) release time. Most teachers provide after school tutoring, or support kids during their lunch and other breaks. In addition, the complexity of the new standards require hours of preparation, most of which is completed on their own time. However, this is all done happily, especially when they see the positive impact this has on the kids. I encourage you to write a simple note to your child’s teacher thanking them or maybe sharing a story of the academic growth or excitement you have seen in your child this year. I would also encourage you to see if you can find one of your teachers that made an impact in your life and let them know how you’re doing. These are the things we love to hear!