The CPES BobChat
April 28, 2019
What Tests Are Coming Up?
May is the month of testing. It can get a bit confusing what kids are taking what test for what purpose (and when). I hope I can clear that up for you so you can help your children be ready to do their best. 1. SC READY--All third, fourth and fifth graders will take this statewide achievement test on May 7, 9 and 14. This test measures students' knowledge on the SC Standards they have been taught over the course of the year. May 7 will be Writing, May 9 will be Reading and May 14 will be Math. Our school report card grade is largely based on scores from this test. 2. SC PASS--Fourth graders will take this statewide achievement test in science on Thursday, May 16. Fifth graders will take the social studies test on May 16. (Third graders will not take either of these tests.) Students will take the test in science or social studies every other year through eighth grade. Students will answer all questions for these tests on the computer. 3. MAP (Measures of Academic Progress)--MAP is an achievement test that all of our students take (from Kindergarten through fifth grade.) Kindergarten and first grade take Reading and Math. Both tests are read to them on the computer and they answer the questions on the computer. Second through fifth graders take Reading, Math and Language Usage on the computer and it is not read to them. MAP samples across the nation and it is useful for seeing how our kids are performing in comparison to kids in other states. Students take these tests in the fall and spring. This helps us see their growth from year to year and across the year. 4. Fountas and Pinnell Reading Inventory--These tests are individually administered to all of our students to determine their growth as a reader. Our English partner teachers give these to our students on a one on one basis and students read passages and respond to questions the teachers ask. This helps provide valuable information for knowing how to appropriately challenge our students as readers. These are done at the end of first and second semester so we can see their growth. Each of these assessments help us understand the progress of our students and give us insight to ways we can improve as teachers and administrators. What can you do to help? We simply want you to make sure your children are present at school on testing days and encourage them to do their best so we can see what they really know. I'll talk more about this in next week's newsletter.
Mr. Maness, Principal
P.S. You can click on the link below to know the testing schedule. We still need a few more monitors if you can help.
School News
Volunteer Monitors for Testing
We need your help monitoring statewide SC READY testing on the mornings of May 7, 9, 14, and 16. Usually it takes from 8:00-11:00 and training will be provided in the Media Center at 7:30 AM each morning. Your help in this area allows us to complete testing for all our students before lunch and we will not have to pull other staff members and assistants from their responsibilities to help. Even if you can only help on one day, that would be beneficial to us. Please click on the Testing Monitor button below to sign up.
Field Day Volunteer Signups (See Below)
We will have two field days in May. On May 24, we will have our Kindergarten, First and Second Grade Field Day in the morning. On May 31, we will have our Third, Fourth and Fifth Grade Field Day and it will be all day. We will have them across the street in Cherry Park Fields 1, 2 and 3. You can click on the Field Day Volunteer button(s) below to sign up to volunteer. We wanted to let you know about these days so you can plan for them. We will need volunteers at both events to help them be a fun day for our kids. If you want to volunteer, you must have a current background screening completed and you can go here to submit that if needed: https://www.rock-hill.k12.sc.us/Page/3391 We realize all three schools did Field Day differently. To best address our safety and security concerns, we want to make sure you know that we will not be able to allow visitors to walk up and visit at Field Day. We will not have any way to check ID’s across the street. All adults at Field Day will be prescreened and will wear bracelets indicating they are staff or volunteers. As always, we welcome parents to visit with their child during lunch those days. Field Day is a day for our kids and we want them to be safe and secure while having fun.
Food Allergies and District Snack List
Parents, please remember to consult your child’s teachers (or Nurse Love) before sending food items to school for the class. Many of our students have allergies and cannot even be in the same room with some allergens. We provide accommodations for our allergy kids during lunch to not sit by kids who bring food (containing the allergens) in their lunch boxes. As always, if you have questions, you can check with teachers or Nurse Love. In addition, we will have a districtwide snack list that we will all use starting this fall. Parents can use this list now if they choose. It is attached. Note that it still does not address allergy issues.
PTO and SIC Information
Nominations for PTO Leadership for 19-20
We want to begin planning now for next year for our PTO Leadership. If you have a nomination, you can go to the button below to submit that person’s name. Please ask them before submitting their name.
Parent Teacher Organization and School Improvement Council Update
The PTO serves to raise funds, coordinate volunteers and encourage teachers through appreciation activities. We had a great meeting last week and minutes from the meeting were sent out earlier this week. We will meet again on Monday, May 20 at 6:30 PM to continue organization efforts. We encourage all parents to come and participate. We will meet in the Cherry Park Elementary Library. Our School Improvement Council will meet on the same days at 5:30 PM in the Fishbowl near the main entrance. All parents are invited to attend either or both meetings. Both groups are working on bylaws and have started organizational efforts. The group at PTO divided into committees to work on Bylaws, Fundraising, Volunteers and Teacher Appreciation. We hope you can come and join one of these subcommittees. Click on the PTO Newsletter button below if you wish to receive the PTO Newsletter:
Calendar of Events
Thursday, May 2--Fifth to Levine Museum
Tuesday, May 7—SC READY Writing Test (3rd-5th Grades)
Thursday, May 9—SC READY Reading Test (3rd-5th Grades)
Friday, May 10--Second Grade MAP Language Usage
May 13--Kindergarten MAP Reading
May 14—SC READY Math Test (3rd-5th Grades)
May 15--Kindergarten MAP Math and Third Grade MAP Math
May 16—SC PASS Science Test (4th Grade) and SC PASS Social Studies Test (5th Grade)
May 17--First Grade MAP Reading
May 20--First Grade MAP Math and Fourth and Fifth Grade MAP Reading
May 21--Third, Fourth and Fifth Grade MAP Language Usage
May 22--Third, Fourth and Fifth Grade MAP Math; Guarino/Avilez MAP Reading
May 23--Parrish/Cromer/Woods/Sumner MAP Reading
May 24—Kindergarten through Second Grade Field Day (in the morning at Cherry Park on Fields 1, 2 and 3)
May 27—Memorial Day Holiday (No School)
May 28--Second Grade MAP Math
May 31—Third through Fifth Grades Field Day (all day at Cherry Park on Fields 1, 2, and 3)
June 3—9:00 Fifth Grade Graduation (Sullivan Middle School Auditorium); Half Day for Students
June 4—Half Day for Students and Last School Day
June 8—High School Graduation Day (10:00 RHHS, 2:00 NWHS, 6:00 SPHS)