From the Principal's Pen
March 5, 2021
Early Release Day - Wednesday March 10th
Dismissal will be at 12:45 pm
STAR Reports
Coming home in your child’s backpack today is the STAR Parent Report that provides your child’s results for the winter benchmark STAR Assessments. These assessments are an important part of the Greenwich Public Schools Comprehensive Assessment System.
STAR is the district wide assessment we are using to gather screening data each marking period. It is a computer adaptive test that calibrates after each series of questions. This means the questions get easier or more challenging based on how accurately the child responds to the questions in the prior series. It is common for scores to fluctuate or show some variation depending on how many times the child has taken the assessment. More important is the overall trend and trajectory toward the benchmark. Students who do not score at the expected grade level benchmark are looked at with additional diagnostic tools to determine if any intervention may be necessary.
The STAR Early Literacy, STAR Reading and STAR Math assessments were given in the following grades:
Grade K: STAR Early Literacy
Grade one: STAR Early Literacy and STAR Math
Grades two through five: STAR Reading and STAR Math
The STAR Parent Report for reading provides both Scaled Scores and Percentile Scores. A Scaled Score is the total number of correct questions that have been converted into a consistent and standardized scale. Scaled Scores provide a standard range for test takers and permits direct and fair comparisons of results from one assessment form to another.
The Percentile Rank score compares your child's test performance with that of other students nationally in the same grade. A Percentile Rank of 75% means that your child performed better than 75% of the children who were tested with the same assessment.
It is important to keep in mind that the STAR Parent Report is only one source of information about the progress your child is making in school. Classroom work, grades, and other unit test results also should be reviewed for a more complete picture of your child’s academic progress.
If you have any questions, please contact the school at 203-869-1896 or speak with your child’s teacher(s). We look forward to talking with you about your child’s educational achievements.
Sincerely,
Trish McGuire
March Conference Dates
Conferences are being offered on the following dates
March 17th - 2:45-6:45
March 24th - 2:45-6:45
Make sure you sign up for a conference with your child's teacher.
Helping Our Community
Each year we learn of families in our community who for varying reasons struggle to cover their essential needs. This year in particular has been challenging for many due to the impacts of COVID. The generosity of those in Greenwich during the holiday season is always greatly appreciated, but help is also needed throughout the year. If you or someone you know is interested in offering support, you can do so by emailing a gift card (i.e. Amazon, Target, Walmart, Stop & Shop) directly to our District Social Worker Kristen Mulhearn at: kristen_mulhearn@greenwich.k12.ct.us, or you can drop them off at Julian Curtiss in an envelope with Kristen's name on it. Kristen will share the donated gift cards with families who could benefit. We thank you for your ongoing support, especially during these unprecedented times.
Highlights From This Week
Read Across America Week
We had an amazing time celebrating the joys of reading all this week! From showing what made us unique to recognizing our superhero powers, readers at Julian Curtiss found all kinds of ways to make reading fun this week! Take a peek into some of our celebrations this week in the gallery below!
Students in 5F showed off their active wear to show their favorite ways to be active!
K friends got cozy in their pajamas to show that reading can be relaxing!
1MH celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday with some fun activities!
One of our friends in 3M showed that not all superheroes wear capes!
We also showed off our favorite outfits - what makes us unique!
Celebrating Youth Art Month
We're learning to weave...
...sculpt with clay...
...and draw!
Congratulations, Ms. Hinkle!
Boosterthon 2021
We are excited to kick off our Julian Curtiss Fun Run fundraiser on 3/30. Our goal is to raise $10,000 for resources to enhance learning in this unique year and to strengthen our school community.
Our school has always relied on fundraising to provide exceptional opportunities to enhance student learning. And this year, we have more needs than we’ve ever had before, which means we need your support more than ever.
We completely understand if your family is not in a position to financially support the school right now. You can still be involved by simply SHARING about our fundraiser with friends and extended family online at funrun.com. Sharing IS supporting!
Just as we worked to safely begin school this year, we are also safely hosting this essential fundraiser based on our school’s current guidelines. We’ll send more details, as we get closer to our kick-off.
Call for Nominations for the Distinguished Teacher Awards
Please follow Mrs. McGuire and Mrs. Brush on Twitter
@JCSPrincipal and @JCSEaglesAP
Mrs. Trish McGuire - Principal
Email: trish_mcguire@greenwich.k12.ct.us
Website: www.greenwichschools.org/jcs
Location: 180 East Elm Street, Greenwich, CT, USA
Phone: (203) 869-1896
Twitter: @jcsprincipal