Currently at Caruso
04-06-17
Greetings Caruso Families,
You recently received information from our district office about the upcoming Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessment. At Caruso, students will begin their testing on April 10. The PARCC requires students to take six assessments--three in math and three in English Language Arts. We will take these assessments over a two week period; you can see a detailed schedule here.
Our goal is to emphasize, but not overemphasize this assessment. We encourage students to give their best effort - but we don’t want them to feel any stress about taking the test or about their results. We use these results in a number of ways, including as one piece of data among several in determining class placements (CMS and DHS), helping us track growth from year to year on a number of levels, informing teachers regarding how best to support students, providing us with opportunities for celebration and areas for growth, and measuring us against other schools in the district, area, and state. We will be reminding students of these messages and we appreciate all that you do to reinforce these messages at home.
As a reminder, there are several things you can do to help your children do their best on testing days (and on all days for that matter!):
Make sure they attend school and arrive on time.
Make sure they get a good night’s sleep.
Provide breakfast.
Remind your children to ask the teacher questions if they do not understand the test directions.
Let your children know that you have confidence in their abilities.
Advise your children not to worry about the test – just do the best they can.
You can also reinforce expectations we have for students to prepare for testing:
Arrive with a fully charged Chromebook
Bring a writing utensil for use on scratch paper
Bring their headphones
Encourage them to bring a calculator if desired (the testing platform will have a calculator available on the computer they may use)
Grades 6-7 may only use a four-function calculator with square root and percentage functions. Grade 8 may use only scientific calculators (not graphing).
We strongly believe that our teachers’ daily instruction of the Common Core State Standards has prepared students well (for PARCC and so much more). Students have done an outstanding job all year of being engaged and active learners. If you would like you can view practice tests that show what your children can expect to see on the PARCC tests. If you have any questions regarding PARCC, do not hesitate to reach out to myself, Mrs. Paul, Mr. Milazzo, or any of your child’s teachers.
Sincerely,
Brian Bullis
1st/FINAL Posting - Our Standards-Based Learning Journey
Please consider taking a moment to peruse some recent blogs I have posted regarding our standards-based learning journey. It begins with this post (High Levels of Exposure) and links to additional posts on topics related to:
- The Urgency of Two
- Opportunities to Exceed
- Meeting Expectations Over Time
- Personalized Comments
- Model Scholars
Your feedback is always welcomed as we learn and grow together!
1st/FINAL Posting - TeacherEase or Skyward??
TeacherEase is the system that many teachers at Caruso are currently piloting, as previously communicated. Skyward still remains our official system. Whether or not a teacher is piloting TeacherEase, all teachers will post progress report information on Skyward.
Thank you for your patience and feedback as we work to identify the best solutions for our schools!
1st/FINAL Posting - Locker Room Reminder
As a healthy reminder please reinforce with your children that they should not have any cell phones or cameras out during the school day without teacher permission. This guidance is doubly important in our locker rooms. Due to the serious nature of any potential violations in this area there are signs in these locations to remind students that electronic devices are prohibited.
1st/FINAL Posting - Show Choir Info for 5th-7th Grade Families
Open House: Wednesday, April 12, 6:30-7:45 pm, Caruso Auditorium. All interested 5th, 6th, and 7th grade students and families are welcome.
Dance Clinics:
- Tuesday, May 2, 3:15-4:45pm, Caruso Auditorium (5th grade students, arrive as you are able to make it over; the clinic will officially begin at 3:45)
- Wednesday, May 3, 3:15-4:45pm, Shepard Lunch Room (5th grade students, arrive as you are able to make it over; the clinic will officially begin at 3:45)
Auditions:
- Thursday, May 4: 6-7th grade, Caruso Lunchroom, 3:15-5:15pm
- Friday, May 5: 6-7th grade, Shepard Lunchroom/Choir Room 408, 3:15-5:15pm
- Monday, May 8: 5th grade, Caruso Auditorium, 3:15-5:15pm
Visit the show choir website for complete information. If you have any questions, please contact co-director Christine Wells (cwells@dps109.org).
1st Posting - SWIMMERS: 2nd Annual Duel in the Pool Swim Meet at DHS
Help Caruso Middle School retain the title!
The Deerfield High School swim team is hosting the second "Duel in the Pool" at DHS on Saturday, May 6. This meet pits the DHS feeder schools against each other for a trophy, so come swim for your school! Teams will be coached by DHS swimmers and divers, and all participants receive a t-shirt. All levels of swimmers are welcome! See the details in this flier, which includes a link to register for the event.
5th/FINAL Posting - Summer School Registration
Register before April 13th!
Registration for 2017 Summer School is now open. You can log in to RevTrak and register your child. Meantime, please visit the Summer School website and view the great course offerings for this summer!
Incoming kindergarten families, to register for Kindy Summer Fun, please contact Brandie Roark.
If you have any questions about summer school, please contact Summer School co-principals Kristen Paul and Sam Kurtz, or Summer School secretary Brandie Roark.
6th Posting - Dental Requirements for 6th Grade
About us
Important Caruso/DPS109 Websites & Links
Email: bbullis@dps109.org
Website: http://caruso.dps109.org/
Location: 1801 Montgomery Rd, Deerfield, IL, United States
Phone: 847-945-8430
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarusoMiddleSchool
Twitter: @109Caruso
@109CARUSO TWEETBEAM WALL
Caruso Middle School - A Culture of Caring and Innovation
Archived Communications
04-06-17 Currently at Caruso
08-02-16 Currently at Caruso