Lion's Pride
Parents' Curriculum Connection - December Edition
Happy Holidays!
Dates to Remember:
December
December 22nd - Holiday Early Dismissal
December 25-29th - Winter Holiday - Schools Closed
January
January 1st - New Years Day - Schools Closed
January 2nd - Return to School
January 15th - Martin Luther King, Jr Day - Schools Closed
January 16th - Teacher In-Service - Schools Closed
Elementary Testing
Your children have learned so much from December to January. This is due to the collaboration between families and the schools. I am so appreciative of how many parents we have had the pleasure of working with as partners. In addition, I am so appreciative of the hard work of the teachers in this district. They strive to provide the best education possible for your children.
To be sure that we are providing teaching focused on exactly what your child needs, we need to assess. During the month of January we will be assessing your child's reading and math skills.
Students will use a new adaptive computer assessment to determine what they need academically. This program will help to determine each students instructional grade level. Students will then be set on a computer path that can help close gaps and/or provide enrichment. In addition, teacher will use the data to set instructional goals during small group instruction.
In addition, we will be Dibels testing students in K-3 to be sure they have the foundational skills to be able to read. Again, teachers will use the data to drive instruction. This will be done during small group instruction time.
Finally, students in 3rd and 4th grade will take the Linkit! Benchmark in Math and Reading to determine the level of proficiency at grade level skills. This will help provide teachers information about what they can do during whole group instruction to meet your child's instructional needs.
These assessments will help us to make decisions about what your children need to be successful. Thank you for your support and we look forward to continued collaboration with families.
Secondary Benchmarks
In LMS and LHS, students take benchmark assessments at the end of each marking period. This past month marked the end of MP1. Our benchmark assessment questions are each aligned to the NJ State Learning Standards, and are designed to look and feel like the NJ State Learning Assessments, which students take each year from grades 3-9.
Teachers and school leaders do a number of things with benchmark data, including the following:
Assessment of Student Progress: Benchmarks help educators assess students' academic growth and provide insights into how well students are grasping the material .
Identifying Strengths and Weaknesses: Teachers use the data to identify areas where students excel and where they might be struggling, and what they will in turn do for the next marking period
Planning and Instructional Improvement: Benchmark data assists teachers in planning their teaching strategies, content delivery, and pacing to ensure that students are on track to meet academic goals.
Data-Driven Decision Making: Benchmarks provide data that can inform decision-making processes at various levels within the educational system. We use this data to plan at the school and district level and set priorities for improvement.
Be sure to reach out to your student's teachers with any questions about benchmark performance.
Talking About School With Teens (and Pre-Teens!)
Getting information from your middle schoolers and high schoolers about their day can be a little tricky. As the teen years come on, even chatty kids might not have as much to say about their day. We've all heard "Fine," "Good," and "Nothing" as definitive answers to our questions when we see our teens at home-- these questions might help you draw a little more out and engage in quality conversation with your students:
- What is one thing that you learned today?
- What is your easiest class or hardest class/why?
- What is the most exciting/saddest/most unusual thing that happened today?
- What are you reading in ELA? What's it about?
- Who did you help today? Who helped you today?
- If you could choose to only go to one class each day, which class would it be?
- What do you think your teachers talked about in the staff lounge after school today?
- What math topics are you learning about?
- Which part of the day do you look forward to? Which do you dread?
Free Book for Elementary
The elementary students will choose books to add to their personal libraries during the last week of school in December to encourage reading over the break. These books were purchased with Title I Parent funds in an effort to expand our student's home library resources!
Attendance Matters
Attendance is Important to Academic Growth
Dear Families,
During the December 25th- January 1st winter break from school, we are grateful to everyone for helping to restore a routine for showing up to school while supporting students and families.
We appreciate everyone’s efforts to avoid taking extra time off during the winter break. As long as your child is healthy, please encourage showing up to class when school is in session.
Every day of school is an important opportunity for students to learn as well as to connect to their peers and teachers.
We thank:
● Our students and their families who do their best to show up daily even when it isn’t easy.
● Our teachers who go above and beyond to make school a welcoming and safe place for all students to learn.
● Our administrators who help us work together to ensure we create a physically and emotionally safe and engaging learning environment.
● Our many, many healers and helpers - the support staff and community volunteers who provide the extra hands and attention our children need.
We appreciate each one of you. May these days off be restful and healing.
● If your family or your child needs support, please reach out to your child's school for help.
● We look forward to seeing you again when school resumes on January 2nd.
Thank you for partnering with us!
Curriculum Department
Secondary Director of Curriculum and Instruction (Grade 5 - Grade 12):
Marc Mancinelli
Elementary Director of Curriculum and Instruction (Grade PK - Grade 4):
Kathryn Agresta