Congratulations to our Byram Girls Basketball Team. They work hard throughout the year to develop their skills and team chemistry. On Friday the season was capped off with a convincing win against the teachers!
Turning the page to February, we have managed to have NO SNOW DAYS so far this year! As long as we do not use any snow days in the next two weeks we will have our Winter Recess (2/15/16 - 2/17/16) for the first time in a few years.
This past week was a huge success for our week of kindness and you can see some of the photos we took at the bottom of this post.
Report-cards will be mailed home this week.
Featured Blog - Mr. Morris 5th grade science
Focus on Improvement:
There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we spent with a favorite book. -Marcel Proust
This year our students will take a reading assessment several times throughout the year, allowing parents and teachers to examine the ongoing progress each student is making. This week (in the mail) you will receive information regarding your child’s performance thus far. It is our intention to see each child’s score improve as the year progresses.
Why do we give this assessment?
This assessment provides the teacher with critical, ongoing, information about individual students in each class. It allows the educator to have important information about every child in the class and how he/she is progressing with the reading standards for the year. For example, teachers can use the information this test provides to give your son or daughter specific instructions in areas he/she may find challenging. It will also provide our teachers with the information they need to identify our high achieving students, so they too, can be challenged with appropriate reading material.
Questions to ask if the reading assessment scores are not improving throughout the year:
Was the student focused on the assessment?
Occasionally, students will rush through the assessment and not put forth their best effort.
Please have a conversation with your son or daughter to see if this is the case.
Is the student reading enough in and out of school?
If you observe that your child is not spending time reading at home, please carve out some time for your child to spend on uninterrupted reading. The amount of time a child spends reading is directly related improved reading levels. Perhaps some “winding down” time when they come home from school, or some time to relax with a “book before bed” might be possible.
Is your son/daughter struggling with reading?
Please contact your teacher and ask what they are seeing in class. We have programs in place to help students who are struggling with reading, so they can improve and eventually see reading as something they enjoy, rather than something with which they struggle.
These ongoing assessments give us valuable information to help the individual learner in each room. As a team made up of teacher, student, and child, we can really accomplish great things this year! The more focused we become on seeing individual growth and improvement, the more our instruction at school becomes strategic and meets the needs of the unique students sitting in front of us each day. At home you can support this effort by having a conversation with your child about the importance of reading, followed by regularly scheduled reading time.
Thanks so much for supporting this initiative. I’m confident it will result in improved reading for all our children!
Upcoming Events:
February's calendar for before and after school activities.
Week in Pictures:
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