Dear Members of the
J. Turner Hood School Community,
I hope that everyone
is managing to keep warm in this cold weather. The students will be happy when
they are once again consistently able to go outside for recess. I would like to remind you to send your
children to school dressed appropriately for outside recess. Coats, hats and gloves
are very important. We will always go outside for recess unless it is
dangerously cold. If recess is canceled, please understand that it was canceled
due to rain, snow or health recommendations only. It is our belief that
students need physical activity and fresh air and therefore we send the
children outside for recess in the winter.
MCAS- As part of the 1993
Massachusetts Educational Reform Act, a statewide assessment system was
instituted. The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) was
designed to ensure that the Curriculum Frameworks were being implemented in all
schools across the state. MCAS testing begins in the third grade and
students are continually assessed until they meet the high school graduation
requirement. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires all children in
grades three to eight to be evaluated annually in ELA and Math.
We,
as a school, will continue to review all aspects of our instruction. This test
is an important indicator of our
school’s ongoing assessment of student learning and achievement. At the
elementary level the MCAS is designed to provide students, parents, teachers,
and the community with information about the curriculum and student achievement.
The
testing windows for this school year are as follows;
- March 18, 2013 through April 5, 2013 - ELA Testing Block (Grades 3-5)
- May 6, 2013
through May 21, 2013 - Math Testing Block (Grades 3-5), Science Testing
Block (Grade 5)
This
is an important assessment. Please avoid vacation days and appointments during
school hours for these dates. Please feel free to call and speak to me if you
have any questions regarding the MCAS tests.
Sir Ken Robinson- On January 28, 2013 I was invited to attend
a lecture by Sir Ken Robinson as part of a professional affiliation with
Merrimack College. I have been a longtime fan of Sir Ken! Sir Ken Robinson, PhD is an internationally
recognized leader in the development of education, creativity and
innovation. He is also one of the world’s leading speakers with a profound
impact on audiences everywhere. The videos of his famous 2006 and 2010
talks to the prestigious TED Conference have been seen by an estimated 200
million people in over 150 countries.
Please check out my
blog to read more;
School Security- The J.
Turner Hood Elementary School has always been and continues to be a positive,
proactive, and friendly place of learning for our neighborhood students and
families. A large component of this special setting is the safety and
security that we maintain for our students during school hours. All doors will be
locked for the entire school day. This includes the front door. While this
practice ensures safety for all it does require us to change a few additional
practices.
Please be aware that
we will be reinforcing the following safety practices:
1.
Going
forward please be cognizant of drop off times for before school programming as
the front doors are locked and the office is not fully staffed until 8 AM. If
your child does not arrive as scheduled, staff are unavailable to admit them
into their classroom.
2.
After
School programming- Please be advised that as we tighten security, we
respectfully request that parents remain outside of the building during pick up
times. This includes afterschool enrichment.
Just
some friendly reminders:
1.
All
visitors must sign into the office and obtain a visitors badge.
2.
When
you visit the school, no matter how
brief your visit is, you must wear a visitor badge. I have instructed my
staff to stop any visitor, whether well-known
or unknown, if they are not wearing a badge.
3.
Please
do not visit your child’s classroom unless you have a scheduled appointment
with the classroom teacher. Unscheduled visits are very disruptive to the
classroom teacher and to student learning.
4.
Dismissal
– All of our current dismissal practices will remain in place.
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