The Gator Gazette
January 14, 2022
Gator Greetings
Welcome Back and Happy New Year! I trust that everyone enjoyed a long and restful winter break. Students arrived back at school this week eager to see their friends and teachers and quickly fell back into our school routine. They were excited to return into classrooms with all new furniture, seating arrangements, and room set up. This allowed for a fresh start for all in 2022! Mrs. Bobb and I also reviewed school-wide expectations with each grade level during lunch periods as a reminder of what it means to Be Responsible, Be Respectful, and Be Safe, as an Allisonville Alligator.
Report Cards for last semester were sent home today with students and will reflect their academic successes and hard work from 1st and 2nd quarter. Please reach out to your child’s teacher with any questions or concerns. NWEA progress reports from December’s winter assessments will be available for parents soon on Skyward as another way to view student growth and achievement. Teachers have spent time this week reviewing expectations with their classrooms and doing some New Year goal setting as students prepare for a strong spring semester.
Picture Retake Day will be next Thursday, January 20th in the morning for those who missed fall pictures. Ordering information can be found later in the newsletter. There are many exciting things coming up this winter, so please read on in the Gazette for information about Allisonville Family Night at the Pacers, registration for the Great North Run, After School Club Information (sent home today with students), and more.
There will be no school on Monday in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I leave you with my favorite quote from Dr. King as we strive to help students achieve both academically and personally at Allisonville: “The function of education is to teach one to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”
We Are The Gators! WE ARE AV!
Mrs. Reffett
Principal
Calendar of Events
1/14 – Report Cards sent home
1/19 – Dr. Martin Luther King Day; No School
1/20 – Picture Retake Day
1/27 – Early Release
1/28 – Gator Gathering
2/11 – Pacers Family Night
2/14 – Valentine’s Parties
2/18 – Midterm
2/24 – Early Release
2/25 – Talent Show
AV Spring Clubs
Books & Bundts
We are so excited to be partnering with Nothing Bundt Cakes!
Parents get a free bundt cake with the attached coupon on the information letter!
Find all the details in the parent information letter and reading log at the end of the Gazette.
Dress for the Weather
NC Orchestra Tootsie Pops Concert
Saturday Science @ NCHS
Great North Run
From January 1st until January 15th, enter the promo code 2022GNR when registering online and get 15% off the already low early bird pricing of individual and family registrations.
Allisonville needs 146 registrations to receive a nice bonus for our school. Sign up today for this awesome community event to support WT schools!
Click the link to sign up today. : https://bit.ly/2022GreatNorthRun
AV Family Night Out @ The Pacers!
What: Pacers vs. Cavs Game on Friday, Feb. 11
Cost of Ticket: $20.00 in special school section
Ticket Includes: Hotdogs, chips, drink, and a Pacers hat.
Game time: 7:00pm, vs. Cleveland Cavaliers.
To order tickets, visit: https://pacers.formstack.com/forms/aesfeb
Picture Retake and Yearbook Order
WT Little League
Upcoming Testing Schedules
WIDA Assessments for EL students - January 10 – February 25, 2022
CogAT testing for students of grades K, 2 and 5 - January 12-26, 2022
IREAD-3 for students of grade 3 – March 7-18, 2022
ILEARN testing for grades 3-8 – April 18-May 13, 2022
CogAT Testing
High Ability Testing (CogAT for Grades K, 2nd and 5th)
From January 12-26, 2022 students in grades K, 2nd, and 5th at all elementary sites will be administered the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). This is a screening measure that is administered to all students in these grade levels. The CogAT provides a snapshot of your child’s abilities in the areas of verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal functioning to determine possible placement in the district’s high ability program. In the past, testing was only available to students who score exceptionally well on NWEA. Now, access has been increased to all students in the identified grade levels.
Process and Assessment:
The verbal assessment measures verbal inductive reasoning, problem solving, and verbal comprehension. The quantitative assessment measures general abstract reasoning skills, particularly inductive reasoning and specific mathematical reasoning skills. The nonverbal assessment measures inductive reasoning skills. The nonverbal assessment differs from the verbal and quantitative measures in that it does not require the student to use information gained from other experiences to solve problems.
Students’ performance on these assessments are combined to produce a composite score. Students achieving a composite at or above the 92nd percentile for their age are considered high ability-general intellectual.
Summary of Results:
The high ability program in Washington Township services students in grades 3-5.
For Kindergarten students, the CogAT will be used as a screener in order to measure areas of exceptionality (to inform schools of instructional needs).
For 2nd and 5th grade students, this is just one piece of the data that school staff will review as a component of multiple criteria used to determine placement for the 2022-2023 school year. We expect to receive the testing results in February. A copy of your child’s results as well as a written summary of strengths and needs for your student will be sent to you.
For more information or questions regarding CogAT testing, please feel free to contact the District High Ability Coach for MSD Washington Township Schools, Andrea Cannon at acannon@msdwt.k12.in.us or Dr. Buchanan-Rivera the Director of Equity and Inclusion at ebuchananrivera@msdwt.k12.in.us.
To learn more about the CogAT, visit the National Association of Gifted Children’s Website here