January PCM Family Newsletter
" A monthly communication tool for the families of PCM"
Student and Staff Spotlight
Congratulations to the students and staff members who collaborated with one another to celebrate each of our "uniqueness" during our Charting a Course to Inclusive Schools Week Celebration. Thank you to Ms. Loh ( speech and language pathologist) who served as the chairperson for Inclusive Schools Week.
Congratulations to Ms. Nancy who successfully completed her student teaching and has submitted her application to become a CT state certified elementary teacher.
Congratulations to 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th grades who continued to take the lead with the highest percentages of students completing the required 45 minutes of more of IREADY lessons each week during the month of December.
Thank you to all students, staff members, and families who assisted us with raising two hundred dollars for Amelia Assis during our Go Gold for Childhood Cancer event.
Thank you to all students, staff members, and families who contributed to our Toys for Tots drive.
IREADY Winter Benchmark in Reading and Mathematics
IREADY is a computer adapted test. This means that the computer will automatically adjust the difficulty level of each question based on your child's answers.
During the Fall, we shared with you your individual child's scale score reports in Reading and Mathematics.
Our goal is for all children to demonstrate progress ( at least ten points or more) on each assessment.
We need your support with ensuring that our students demonstrate success;
1. Each student needs a working pair of headphones.
2. Each student needs to come to school on time by 8:25.
3. Each student needs to go to be on time and to eat a healthy breakfast.
4. Please speak with your child about the importance of taking time to answer each question to the best of his/her ability. THERE IS NO TIME LIMIT FOR EACH TEST.
If a child rushes through a question, the IREADY assessment assigns either a red or yellow rush flag to the individual students report.
At the conclusion of the IREADY benchmark testing, we will share your child's winter report with you in Reading and Math along with a comparison of his/her individual scores from the Fall.
Monitoring Academic Progress
When you have a question or concern about an individual grade your child receives, you should directly contact the teacher by writing a note or email to the teacher based on the teacher's preferred method of communication.
For students in grades 5, 6, 7, and 8; the student should check his/her PowerSchool account daily. We encourage upper grade students to speak directly to their individual teachers when they have a concern about an assigned grade.
RULER: Best Self Resolutions
Our Best Self represents the attributes and characteristics we display to others when we are self- regulated and not experiencing stress/anxiety.
After reflecting on the attributes/ characteristics that incorporate our Best Self, we will engage in discussions about an action plan to demonstrate our Best Self to others especially during times we experience difficulty with regulating our emotions.
If you would like more information about the RULER program, we encourage you to do one of the following:
1. Talk with your child and a staff member about RULER
2. visit www.ei.yale.edu
3. visit www.rulerapproach.org