In last week's Leaf, I shared a few comments addressing concerns or questions raised in our recent parent survey. I'll continue here with information on other important topics.

• Water fountains are closed both in the classroom and around campus. Please make sure your child brings a personal, filled water bottle each day.
• The CDE and the USDA have extended the Summer Meal Service to provide free meals to all students through June 17, 2021. Each school-aged child can receive a free lunch and breakfast at no charge. Students on campus may request a meal and take it home with them at 11:00 AM. When not attending school, families can use our drive through lane on 8th Street to receive a meal for each child in their home. The drive through lane is open from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM daily. If a student needs a snack in the morning while at school, we will offer them a choice of fruit.
• If a student feels ill while at school, a family member will be contacted for immediate pick-up. We may notify a cohort if there has been a sick person in class, and we will very clearly give notice to any cohort member who was exposed to a positive COVID-19 case.
• Please talk with your child about how they're feeling before coming to school. As you do, help them with specific language to describe how they are feeling. An upset stomach can mean, "I didn't have breakfast," or "I'm unsure about my math lesson," or "I feel like I'm coming down with something." Please keep an ill child at home, and contact your child's teacher or one of us in the office about any anxious thoughts your child is having about school, friends or learning.

Please feel free to reach out as you have additional questions.Thank you for all your support!

Amy Stanger

Saturday, May 1: Sycamore gear orders due (see above)

May 3-7 Teacher Appreciation Week

Monday, May 3 @ 6:00 PM: Equity and Inclusion Committee meeting (see below)

Monday, May 3 iReady End of Year Testing Window opens for all students (see below)

Friday, May 7: final date for yearbook orders (taken in the school office)

Thursday, May 27 Open House: This event cannot be held in person. We will share "Open House" with families in a digital format. More soon.

It is no longer possible to order the yearbook online, but we can take orders in the office until this Friday, May 7. Send an envelope with your name, your child's name and room number and the number of yearbooks you'd like. Yearbooks sell for $15 each and payments can be received in cash or check payable to Sycamore Elementary School. The office is open for visitors from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm on Mon., Tues., Thurs. or Fri. and anytime on Wednesday. You may also send the payment envelope to school with your child.

Students in K-6 are familiar with the iReady Diagnostic because they have been using the iReady program all year. They took the math and English Language Arts diagnostics in the fall and in January, and they were already slated to take them in the spring based on our district-wide assessment plan. Students may recall that the iReady program uses their test results to assign them practice lessons in iReady. During this unique time, we are glad to use this familiar measure of student assessment instead of taking on the state's more involved, summative tests.

Teachers will begin assigning iReady assessments this week, and we’ll continue into the next week, as need be. Teachers will remind students about the test's format and suggest a schedule to complete just a portion of the tests each day. The difficulty of questions adjusts based on how a student is doing, and the length of the test will be unique to each student. The tests can feel challenging since they will include questions learners won't feel certain about. We are happy to help, and our intervention teachers are prepared to join students in Zoom to support completion of the tests. The following are resources that may help you support your child with the iReady testing.

• A two-page family introduction with a video and checklist for supporting your child with the iReady diagnostic assessment
• Fridge Tips, a list of simple suggestions to support your child before and during the diagnostic test

If you have questions or if you'd like to talk about your student's performance, talk with your child's teacher or contact the office.

Thank you for your support.

Sycamore’s Equity & Inclusion Committee will hold its monthly meeting this Monday, May 3rd from 6-7:30pm. Come hear about our recent meeting with the Sycamore staff, learn more about how we might best support the Sycamore community, and help draft a statement to submit to the District Advisory Committee on Racial Equity.

Zoom link below. Contact anthea.kraut@ucr.edu with any questions.

https://ucr.zoom.us/j/98176963043?pwd=QUd0QUE4amZMc3dZTlltVkpIVVJjUT09

Meeting ID: 981 7696 3043 Passcode: equity

Claremont Unified will offer a summer program for academic support. Students learning English and those with academic need will be prioritized. The program will be held five days a week from 8:00-12:00 AM. It will begin June 25 and run through July 23. More details will be available soon.

Here are links to two local enrichment programs:

LA County Summer Discovery Program

Claremont Graduate University's Summer Enrichment Program

Joanna Lord recently sent a reminder to PH authors reminding them about final submissions. It's time to go to print, so notify Joanna right away of any last minute questions.

Please send your permission slips for the digital archive and PH Tea to Tina at thensley@cusd.claremont.edu by May 1st. We look forward to including each author in this special event and collection.

PH digital permission slip:

http://bit.ly/SycPHpermissionslip21