Elementary ENotes- September 19, 2016

Message from the Principal:
Dear Parents,

This beautiful weather became slightly cooler this weekend. It reminded me that coats, hats, gloves and boots are soon to be part of our children’s wardrobe.

With these additional items comes additional loss. Our Lost and Found, positioned this year at the foot of the stairs, across from the Tower,  is often overflowing with items students have lost or left. The majority of these are unlabelled, making it impossible for us to try to locate the owner. At the end of each semester, ASW Elementary school donates all unclaimed clothing to a local charity.

Please make it a point to label your children’s clothing and personal items this year. Black permanent marker on the inside of a coat, hoodie, shoes, even on a water bottle, can go long way in helping us- help you- find items which have become lost in the hustle and bustle of the school day.

Warmly,
Jen

IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES:
September 19-23-

• MAP Testing for students in Grades 3-5

September 21-

• First Homeroom Parent PAC Meeting at 8:45 am in the MPR (the meeting room in the *new* building). All Homeroom Parents are encouraged to attend!

September 22-

• PTO Coffee Morning for all parents (8:45 AM)

September 26-

• ASW Board Meeting 6:00 PM

September 29 and 30-

• Elementary Individual and Class Photos (confirmed!) Payment information will be sent home soon.

September 28-

• Professional Development Afternoon for Teachers- All Students are dismissed at 11:30 AM

Information and Events in the ES:
MAP- Measures of Academic Progress Testing- Grades 3-5- 
During the week of September 19-23, we will be conducting the MAP test in the Elementary School. This test is a standardized test students in Grades 3-5 take on a computer. It is also an “adaptive test” meaning the questions change based on how the child answers them. A few important items to note:

• The test is a snapshot in time. Over time, and after multiple tests, the results are interesting because they show the learning progress of a student in Reading and Mathematics.
• The MAP test is not used as a grade. Instead, we compare the test result with what we already know about the learner. If there are inconsistencies, the teachers, together with our Literacy and Math coaches will dig deeper into the data.
• Students and teachers do not “prep” for the test. It is instead a moment when we survey where students are, in order to compare that information with our own, essential, classroom data.
• The results of this first assessment will be shared with parents at Teacher-Led Conferences in October. A follow-up assessment will be given in the Spring to allow us to track and discuss growth over time. (Students in Grades 4-10, who have taken the MAP Test at ASW, will have the benefit of seeing multiple years of data in the handout provided.)
• If you have questions about the MAP test, please contact your child’s teacher; Jen Munnerlyn, ES Principal; or Carol Jordan Director, of Teaching and Learning.
• More information can be found at the NWEA site: https://www.nwea.org/assessments/map/

Teacher-Led Conferences will be help on Tuesday, Oct. 11th (no school for students). 
Single Subjects (Art, Music and PE) as well as Additional Languages (French, Polish and Polish Culture and Language) teachers will be available for you conference with- by appointment. We will be sending out sign-up sheets the week before. If you require the assistance of a translator, please let your child’s homeroom teacher know.

Parent Partnership:
PYP Implementation News
Our Elementary Weebly site continues to grow as a resource where parents can find important information about our school. Last week I encouraged you to check out the Counselor’s Corner where Jamie Hamlin and Karen Gentilini are detailing their work in classrooms and offering parents information on helping students with their social emotional learning.  Here is a little blurb and survey from the

Counselors' Corner:

The ASW elementary school counselors would like to help service the needs and wants of our students and parent community the best that we can. We have created a survey that we feel will help us when planning out our year-long goals for this school year. Please click the following link and answer the following questions by checking the box that most fits your choice so we may use this information when planning our school counseling activities. We will distribute this same survey at the end of the year to measure program success. Your input is extremely important to us!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf17KZjSdQMCOyVG2CR-veaw4LP0zyzC4ZCmVw3cxYoHkr00w/viewform

This week, please take a look at the new blog: PYP @ ASW written by PYP Coordinator- Miranda Rose.

Parents: This site is for you! It is updated regularly. Please make it a point to check in every so often!

Photos
The individual photos for the Elementary students will take place on 28-29 of September. Class photos are scheduled for Friday, September 30. There will be a pre-payment. Each student will receive a printed form. Parents need to fill the form and attach the total payment due ( cash only ). Forms and money will be collected on the photo day by the photographer. Please state clearly on the form which packages you desire. Each student must have his/her own form completed. The photographer offers full refund for those who are not happy with the photos. 
   

Community News:
Chechen Refugee Club encourages you to participate in the Educational Tools Drive for the Kindergarten students from the Refugee Center in Dębak. The center would greatly appreciate any of the following items:

• pens (colored ball pens), crayons, pencils, markers, erasers, scissors
• coloring books, boxes for coloured pencils, drawing blocks, coloured paper
• arts and crafts ornaments (stickers), any type of arts and crafts supplies
• books for kindergarten children in Polish
• educational board games for kindergarten kids (Lego blocks, Twister game)
• thick coloured drawing chalk
• klanza sheet
• any type of sport equipment for kindergarten children including soccer balls, badminton, jump ropes, Chinese jump ropes

Students, parents and teachers may donate new, as well as gently used educational items. 

There will be plastic bins placed in the High School entrance near the elevator, near Ms. Ligita's office at the main entrance, and at the Elementary School entrance. The drive will be held until September 30th.
Please feel free to stop by and drop off your items to support the Kindergarten at the Dębak Refugee Center!
Questions:  sdoering@aswarsaw.org