November Newsletter
2023
Calendar
3-Reflections Entries Due
7-Cafe Zupas Dine Out Night
8-Picture Retake Day
10-5th Grade Veteran's Program, 3:00pm
16-Subway Day-STUDENTS ONLY
15-No School-All Grades-Professional Learning Day
20-24-No School-Thanksgiving Break
29-PTA Meeting & Reflections Celebration at 4:15 in the cafeteria
Message From the Principal
Message From the Principal
Dear Prospect Families,
Thank you to all who attended our Parent/Teacher Conferences earlier this month. We are so grateful for your support and appreciate your involvement in your child’s education! The home-school connection is so important, and our teamwork is paying off in increased student achievement.
Recently, Idaho Education News announced the state’s Top Ten Schools in terms of academic growth and/or proficiency based on Spring 2023 state assessments. I’m excited to share that Prospect made the list based on grade 3rd-5th Math ISAT results! Our school’s Math ISAT scores are in the 90%ile for the state. Although we weren’t in the Top 10 in ELA, our results were strong and came in at the 80%ile. In addition to achievement, Prospect is in the 90%ile for student growth in both Math and ELA. Such amazing achievements for our students, teachers, and families!
Much of our success has to do with the learner dispositions that are a part of the Prospect culture. With the support of their teachers, our students are learning how to be strong learners! Students who earn Pride tickets for using a learner disposition are celebrated on the announcements. Please ask your child how they use their learner dispositions to help them each and every day.
Gwenda Venecia
Prospect Principal
PowerSchool & Grading Resources for Parents & Students
West Ada's Philosophy
The goal of the West Ada School District is to assess and report student achievement in a manner that clearly measures what students know, do, and understand based on a clearly identified set of learning targets aligned to state standards. We recognize learning is a process that takes place over time and is different for each student. Instruction in West Ada allows students to demonstrate levels of understanding communicated with scores that are accurate, consistent, meaningful, and supportive of learning:
Accurate: By basing a student's score solely on evidence of academic learning, the teacher creates a clear picture of what the student has learned without the influence of other factors, such as effort and attitude.
Consistent: The use of proficiency scales describes exactly what the student will need to master and establishes clear expectations of what needs to be learned. All teachers will use proficiency scales based on the same identified priority standards throughout the district.
Meaningful: A meaningful score is one that clearly communicates to students, teachers, and parents what learning has taken place and what learning still needs to occur.
Supportive of Learning: This approach supports learning by focusing on meaningful scores that allow new levels of learning to replace old scores when a student shows improvement.
Academic grades should provide specific, timely feedback to improve student performance. Non-academic factors should not be included in academic grades. Examples of non-academic factors are behavior, responsibility, participation, effort, homework completion, late work, neatness, and extra credit.
In West Ada, student learning is focused on proficiency. Proficiency is the mastery of skills and knowledge demonstrated at each level of learning.
It is important students stay on top of assignments as late work may impact their ability to become proficient. It is recommended students continue to revise work to improve knowledge and skills, therefore, improving their learning.
Click https://www.westada.org/page/assessing-and-reporting-grades to learn more.
Report Card Information
Do you have trouble receiving your student's report card? Read through and make sure you have all the correct information in PowerSchool.
- The email that will be used to send report cards to parents is the “First person to be contacted” email AND the “Second person to be contacted” email on the “Household” tab. These emails come from the “Update Contact Information” form in SchoolForms.
- Emailed report cards will be sent to the first two contacts. In cases of separation/divorce, this allows both parents to receive the information (assuming they are one of the first two contacts).
- If a parent does not have a legal right to their child’s educational records, the parent should not be listed as a contact on the “Household” tab. If the parent is listed on the “Household” tab as one of the first two contacts, they will receive the email.
- Report cards will now have the following language. We hope this new language helps West Ada parents better understand the scores they will see on the report card.
5th Grade Veteran's Day Program
All 5th Grade students will be presenting a Veteran's Day music program on November 10th. Family, friends, and Veteran's are invited to attend. The program will start at 3:00pm. If a student has a family member who served in the military and would like the student to wear their uniform, they are welcome to do so. We look forward to sharing this wonderful program with you.
When the program is over ALL students will return to their classroom. They will exit out their normal doors at the end of the day. Please wait for your student in their normal pickup spot. If you plan to check your child out, please bring your ID with you and check out with the front desk.
Kinder Playground Area
When you are picking up your student from the Kinder/1st grade area, please remember to stay outside of the fenced area. The school grounds are a closed campus from 8:30-4:15. It gets very congested by the door if we have parents and students in that same area. Please help us keep our students safe by remaining on the outside of the fenced area.
Volunteering
Volunteering or visiting Prospect? Make sure you stop first at our main office to check in and receive a Visitor Badge. Always bring your ID with you!
Classroom or field trip volunteers must have completed and turned in a Volunteer Form. Happy to have you, and appreciate you checking in! If you need this form you can find it on Westada.org or stop by the front office.
Student Sign Out Procedure
Please be aware of the procedure for releasing a student during regular school hours:
All students must be signed out at the front office using our district Raptor system. Parents must show their driver's license or other ID to office staff in order to check out their child.
If someone other than a parent or the PowerSchool emergency contact is picking up your child, the school must have a phone call from the parent to allow that release. The person picking up your child will also need to show his/her driver’s license or other ID.
It may take a few minutes to locate your child and get them to the office for release...thanks for your patience and understanding!
Lost & Found
Parents and students are welcome to check our Lost and Found area, located in the front hallway of the school. Thanks for taking home what's yours!
Learner Dispositions
We've added a few more Learner Dispositions this last month. Check them out and ask your student how they have used them at school. Have they earned a Prospect Pride Ticket for any of our Learner Dispositions?
Reflection
*Take time to think about my learning strengths and challenges
*Talk about my learning with others and ask for feedback
*Check my work and make changes to improve it
*Know when I have achieved my goal and decide my next steps
Connections
*Think about what I already know and how it can help me learn
*Find patterns in what I am learning about
*Share my experience with others and learn from their experiences
Question
*Discover what I need to learn
*Find the answers I need
*The more I learn, the more I want to know!
Engaged
*I am motivated to learn
*I actively listen and participate in my learning
*I can work independently or as part of a team