Blue Ash Elementary MARCH
March 16, 2018
Cultural Celebration Tonight!
Did you know that students at Blue Ash Elementary come to us from 26 different countries and that we speak 25 different languages?
The amazing diversity that we have in our building is one of the things that we are most proud of, and we want to share it with you!
We hope you can join us for our annual Blue Ash Elementary Cultural Celebration tonight, March 16, from 6:30 - 8:30 pm.
Students and families will be wearing beautiful clothing from their native countries, we will experience a variety of incredible music and dancing, we will learn interesting facts about each other's cultures, and we will be able to to taste delicious foods!
We hope to see you here!
Shed the Threads! One week left and we are closing in on 1st place, but we need your help!
All of our schools are in a competition against each other to see who can recycle the most clothing (using our recycling bins at the edge of our front parking lot).
Please take some time to go through your closets at home and bring in any items that you would like to donate....regardless of the condition.....old towels, rags, shoes, etc. can be bagged and placed in the bin.
Any clothing items that are still in good condition will be donated, while items that are soiled or worn will be recycled to make new clothing, blankets etc.
What a great way to help our school, our community and our environment, by filling those bins we are keeping those textiles out of the landfill.
Currently we are in 2nd place.....only 6 bags off of the lead! One more week and.....
THIS TROPHY COULD BE OURS!
Student Information Form for Classroom Placement
Each spring we begin collecting information from parents regarding student placement for the following school year.
While considering your child’s learning characteristics and social interaction style, your child’s current teachers will be carefully placing your child in a friendly, collaborative group with other children with whom he/she works well. If you would like your child to be placed with a specific peer, please complete the form below. Every effort will be made to place your child with one of the students listed below. Please list six names to ensure a classroom placement with a peer. If fewer than six names are provided, the likelihood of your child being placed with a peer listed is decreased.
Please complete by March 16, 2018.
Spring Optional Testing for Identification of Gifted Students
Although your child may or may not have taken the CogAT in December, you may request that your child be tested on the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT). If you wish to have your child participate in this round of testing, all requests must be made through the below online link by March 21, 2018. In order to decrease disruption to your child's instruction, this testing opportunity will take place prior to the start of the school day. We have scheduled this 45-50 minute testing session to be administered from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. on April 5, 2018, at Blue Ash Elementary School.
Please note it is the parents' responsibility to provide transportation the morning of testing to your child’s building. Additionally, know that Sycamore cannot use kindergarten or first grade scores for gifted placement.
Testing Schedule
BAE Families,
There are several assessments given to students during the spring months. Students within grades 2, 3, 4 will take the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessments, first graders take the MPG, in reading and math during the week of March 19-23. MAP/MPG assessments occur three times throughout the year. These assessments are unique in that they are adaptive. This means that the test becomes more difficult the more questions a child answers correctly. When a student incorrectly answers a question, the test becomes easier. Therefore, your students test is specifically created for his or her learning level. In addition, the tests are aligned with the district curriculum, and are taken online via school provided laptops. From these assessments, teachers receive data to influence their instruction and are better able to create flexible groupings, adjust time spent on certain topics, provide additional scaffolding for students, set goals for class/individual growth, and reflect on teaching practices.
OELPA assessments are given to those students in grades kindergarten through fourth that speak English as a second language. Alternately assessed students, in third and fourth grade, take the AASCD assessment. Third and fourth graders will take AIR assessments in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math. These annual state assessments provide a snapshot of our student’s progress in their understanding and application of curriculum standards. These results allow us to benchmark ourselves and identify trends in data that will guide our work with students.
Below, please find a testing schedule. As the schedule pertains to MAP, please see your student’s teacher about their specific testing days and times, as these vary by class and grade level.
Please be mindful of scheduling appointments, vacations or missed school days around the assessment schedule. It is our hope that students are well rested, eat a well balanced breakfast and arrive to school on time each day, especially on days they are to take an assessment.
Thank you!
Updating security
Over the past few weeks we have been preparing families that Sycamore School District will soon be implementing a system to enhance our security and allow us to manage our visitors more effectively within every building.
We will be using "Lobby Guard" which will require all visitors to bring photo identification in order to enter our buildings. The "Lobby Guard" system will scan the identification and then produce a sticker that contains the visitor's photo.
Please be aware that If visitors do not have an ID, they will not be given access to the school. We will provide more information as we get closer to the implementation date.
~~PTO INFORMATION~~
Got games?
It's almost Spring Break! Which means many of us have started spring cleaning! Do you have games or building activities at home that your children are finished with and are potentially gathering dust? The PTO Night Owls would love to take them off your hands! Please bring your gently used (with ALL pieces included) games and/or building blocks/stackables to BAE and put in marked bins near the front office the week of March 19th. We'll distribute them into indoor recess bins in classroom wings after Spring Break! Thanks in advance for your generosity.