Color of Our Worlds May 2019
Educating ALL MCSD Students for Success!
Please Complete Title I Parent Survey by May 17, 2019!
A Year in Review
Summer vacation is on the horizon— but it’s not here yet.
1. Learning hasn’t stopped. Teachers are still planning lessons and teaching new content. If your child isn’t in school, he won’t learn this information. Studies show that students who miss just 10% of the school year in the early grades are still behind their peers when they reach high school.
2. Teachers often plan group projects for the end of the year. These projects help your child learn collaboration, problem solving and responsibility. These are skills he’ll need throughout his school career and in the workplace.
3. Regular attendance teaches kids to be dependable—which is an important quality for everyone to develop.
Source:E. García and E. Weiss, “Student absenteeism: Who misses school and how missing school matters for performance,” Economic Policy Institute, niswc. com/elem_absenteeism.
Help Your Child Be on Time
To encourage punctuality:
• Be a good role model. Instead of racing around in a mad dash, show your child the value of getting ready early.
• Create routines. For example, establish a “launch pad” where each evening your child can put everything that needs to go to school the next day.
• Take action. Nagging your child probably won’t help her hurry up. Instead, look for concrete actions that will make a difference. Hand your child her hairbrush. Help her put on her backpack.
How to Help Your Child Prepare for Standardized Tests
Before the test
Be prepared
Many teachers will send information home about testing schedules and class preparation plans. Information that you should know includes:
- What is the test and what will it measure?
- Will the test results affect your child, school, or both?
- Are there ways that you can help your child prepare for the test? (Narang, 2008).
Help your child in areas that are difficult for her
If your child has struggled with a particular area or subject in the past, you may be able to help her overcome some of that difficulty by providing some extra practice. Many workbooks target test preparation by offering practice exercises and questions like the ones students see on the test. Focus your practice on your child's weaknesses rather than her strengths so that she doesn't get bored with the exercises (Narang, 2008).
Give your child a chance to practice
If your child has trouble taking tests, try practicing test questions and studying new words. Your child's school or the library may have some samples to use. Keep the sessions short, and set small, manageable goals so that the extra practice boosts your child's confidence (Narang, 2008).
If you have concerns about the test or testing situation, talk with your child's teacher
Discuss your concerns with the teacher and/or school administrator. If you're not satisfied with the outcome, however, you can reach out to some other organizations that monitor testing, including your local PTA, The National Center for Fair & Open Testing or the ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation (Narang, 2008).
If you believe that your child's difficulty with standardized tests may be the symptom of a problem such as a language or learning difficulty, speak with your child's teacher to learn if your child qualifies for any assessment accommodations.
On test day
Make sure your child gets a good night's sleep and eats a healthy breakfast
Many teachers report that students who don't do well on tests haven't gotten enough sleep, and haven't eaten breakfast on the morning of the test. Doing both of these things will ensure that your child is working at full capacity (Narang, 2008).
Make sure your child is prepared
Some schools may supply the tools your child needs for the test, such as pencils, an eraser, paper, and a calculator. Others may require the students to bring those materials themselves. Check with your child's teacher to see if you need to provide your child with any of these materials. Also, check to see whether you child will be able to make up the test if she is sick on test day (Narang, 2008).
Remain positive
Staying calm will help your child stay calm. If she gets nervous about the test or is likely to experience anxiety during the test, help her practice some relaxation techniques that she can try once she's taking the test (Narang, 2008).
After the test
What about the results?
Assessments vary from test to test, but the test scores should include information that helps you interpret the results. Talk with your child's teacher if you have any questions about the test results. You may also suggest that the school offer a testing information session to parents (Narang, 2008).
Review tests with your child
Help your child review any parts of the test that she did not understand (Narang, 2008).
Retrieved from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/how-help-your-child-prepare-standardized-tests.
D you help your child prepare for tests?
2. Do you encourage your child to study a little each day for several days before a test?
3. Do you make sure that your child gets a good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast before a test?
4. Do you suggest that your child dress in layers to be comfortable on test days?
Spring Forward Ready for the Test. Ready for Life.
It’s almost time for your child to take the annual state test in math and English language arts. To see what’s expected of your child, check out the grade-by-grade practice test and how it measures real-world skills, like problem-solving and critical thinking.
ESE Parent Survey Open Till May 31, 2019!
Parents of Exceptional Student Education (ESE) students - there's still time to complete the annual 2018-19 ESE Parent Survey! Each year, the Florida Department of Education surveys parents of children with an individualized education plan (IEP) to determine how well schools are partnering with its families to promote parent involvement in each child’s education process.
The survey is open to parents through May 31, 2019. If you have not done so already, please visit www.esesurvey.com to complete the survey which will assist us with improving educational programming for our ESE students.
2019-2020 SATISFACTION & ENGAGEMENT SURVEYS
Thank you for taking a moment to complete our 2019-2020 Satisfaction and Engagement Survey. These surveys are used as a tool to help us assess areas where we are succeeding as a district, as well as areas for improvement. Your time and thoughtful feedback are greatly appreciated.
Annual Earth Day Program at Warfield Elementary School!
Warfield Elementary has their annual Earth Day Program. IMS band joined in the celebration and 2nd grade students sang songs that supported our Green School Efforts to help the Earth.
The Warfield students voted on an Earth day president and this year the winner was The Majestic manatee!
Warfield was awarded the Green School of excellence again this year!
Varun Singh of Pinewood Elementary School is Winner of Academic Games - Social Studies Division
Writing Boot Camp at Warfield Elementary School
Book Tasting at SeaWind Elementary School
BUDDY READING AT WARFIELD ELEMENTARY
WARFIELD STUDENTS SHARE GOOD VIBES FOR FSA
Poetry - More than Rhymes!
A Year of Nature Poems by Joseph Coelho
Home Run, Touchdown, Basket, Goal! Short Poems for Little Athletes By: Leo Landry
My First Book of Haiku Poems: A Picture, a Poem and a Dream By: Esperanza Ramirez-Christensen
My Village: Rhymes from Around the World By: Danielle Wright
Puddle By: Richard Jackson
Snowman – Cold = Puddle: Spring Equations By: Laura Salas
The Roots of Rap: 16 Bars on the 4 Pillars of Hip-Hop By: Carole Boston Weatherford
The Undefeated By: Kwame Alexander
Wheels on the Bus: And Other Favorite Songs and Rhymes By: Tiger Tales
With My Hands: Poems About Making Things By: Amy Ludwig Vanderwater
World Make Way: New Poems Inspired by Art from the Metropolitan Museum By: Lee Bennett Hopkins
Help your child reflect on the year and celebrate success
Here’s how:
• Talk to your child’s teacher. Ask about your child’s strengths and weaknesses. How has she improved? Where does she need more work? Ask what you can do to help your child over the summer.
• Talk to your child about the school year. Ask what she thinks went well. Talk about what challenged her most. Help her figure out what changes she should make for the upcoming school year.
• Review your child’s successes. Look over schoolwork you’ve saved during the year. Point out how much your child has learned—how many new words, for example. Or how she can add and divide. Or how her writing has improved.
• Help your child set learning goals for the summer. Should she spend more time reading? Should she practice math concepts? Guide her, based on the suggestions from her teacher.
• Encourage your child to thank those who have made the year a good one—the teacher, bus driver, librarian, food service worker, etc. This will help her appreciate how many people have helped her.
• Celebrate with a special activity. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or cost anything. Just make plans to enjoy some one-on-one time with your child.
• May 5—World Laughter Day. Check out some joke books from the library for family members to read. Have everyone tell their favorite jokes at dinner.
• May 15—International Day of Families. Discuss what family means to you. How is your family special?
• May 18—Armed Forces Day. With your child, do something special to thank someone who is serving in the military
i-Ready Progress Monitoring Assessment dates have been updated.
The following reasoning was shared:
1. In order to provide students the best opportunity to show mastery of the standards in ELA to meet the Florida Dept. of Education Grade 3 promotion requirement (good cause exemption) by assessing at the end of the school year, after the grade 3 FSA ELA assessment has been administered.
2. Ensure consistency among all grade K-3 teachers regarding the student performance measure identified as their Student Learning Growth score for the evaluation process.
The window is below.
*Only students that did not pass the FSA Grade 3 Reading and did not meet the concordant iReady score.
**SAT10 will be administered at school sites as applicable.
EFMC RECEIVES IMPACT 100 GRANT
PLAYS PROJECT at Hobe Sound Elementary School Made Possible Via Support of The Education Foundation of Martin County!
Hobe Sound Elementary is proud to announce the Plays Project. (Purposeful Language Acquisition Yields Success)
With the approval of a $10,000 grant awarded by Martin County Education Foundation, written by principal, Dr. Memmer-Novak, Hobe Sound Elementary’s kindergarten students are now participating in a daily language rich and structured play program.
With the assistance of Ms. Julie Thill-Stellman, Speech and Language Pathologist, the Plays Project is off to a great start!
The Plays Project grant was written by Dr. Memmer-Novak, knowing that many of our students come to school with limited language experiences. We also know that by providing purposeful teacher led play is an important part of early language development for students.
A total of 33 play kits were purchased and organized for the student play centers. The play kits are rotated weekly throughout the kindergarten classes.
A typical week of a Plays Project center looks like:
On the first day of the school week the students are introduced to a new play center ‘theme.” During this time, the teacher and students talk about and gain background knowledge about the play “theme.” The teacher provides details and descriptions about how play should look in these centers. The teacher will also assign specific roles and discuss/show and model to the students how those roles work. For example; with the Flower Shop play kit, the teacher can assign roles such as a cashier, a florist, delivery person, floral designer and a customer.
The goal of the Plays Project is to provide purposeful play opportunities for the children. By promoting language rich opportunities and communication, the students will develop their literacy, vocabulary, math, cooperative social interaction skills, problem solving and collaboration skills.
“Sharing the Benefits of Play” Workshop at HSE with Mrs. Galasso
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT ON STATE STANDARDS
In January 2019, Governor Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order 19-32, calling for the elimination of Florida's current academic standards (known as Common Core standards) by January 2020.
Florida Department of Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran is reviewing the academic standards for Florida’s Kindergarten through grade twelve students and will provide recommendations to Governor DeSantis ahead of the January 2020 deadline.
As part of this process, the Florida Department of Education is seeking public input to find out how parents and the community feel about the current standards and what suggestions they have for improvement.
Please click here to take the state's survey. If you have additional questions or would like to receive updates on the process, please email StandardsReview@fldoe.org.
Find low-cost internet and affordable computers in your area.
Make online safety a priority in your home
To keep your child safe when he’s online:
• Discuss rules and expectations. Use software that helps protect children, but supervise carefully, too. Allow your child to communicate online only with people you both know.
• Set guidelines. Establish times when technology is not allowed, such as during meals. Set a time when all devices must be turned off for the evening.
• Remind your child not to reveal personal information online, such as his name, phone number, school, passwords or location.
• Keep internet access out of your child’s room. Let him go online only when you can see what he’s doing.
• Learn about the websites your child wants to visit and the apps he wants to download. Make sure you approve of the content.
• Encourage your child to tell you if something inappropriate occurs while he’s online. Report your concerns to the authorities.
• Stay informed about online safety.
For more safety tips, visit fosi.org (Family Online Safety Institute) and netsmartz.org (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children).
Connect with the Martin Coutny School District by Subscribing to Martin Moments!
Sign up for Martin Moments, our weekly e-newsletter, and get the latest MCSD news delivered straight to your inbox!
Martin County School District Title I Schools and Program Staff
Elementary Schools:
Hobe Sound Elementary
JD Parker Elementary School
Pinewood Elementary School
Port Salerno Elementary School
Seawind Elementary School
Warfield Elementary School
Secondary Schools:
David Anderson Middle School
Indiantown Middle School
Spectrum Academy
Willoughby Learning Center
Title I Program Staff
Shela Khanal, Director of Title I Programs
Debra George, Coordinator of Title I Programs
Deb Stull, Coordinator District Title Programs: ELL, Immigrant, and FIT
Casey Vasko, Federal Programs/ Equitable Services Liaison
Yvonne Blanco, Title I Department Secretary
Website: https://www.martinschools.org/domain/360
Phone: 772-219-1200