Activities for the Week of April 26

April 23, 2010

Dear Families,
As we wind down the month of April it’s time to start preparing for our last quarter of school, and all the closing events and ceremonies that come with that. Our report cards for the 3rd quarter should go home today, April 23. Please review them carefully and contact your teacher if you have any questions or concerns.

Letters are being sent home informing you of an informational workshop for parents on Internet and Cyber Safety as part of our next OPT meeting this Thursday, April 29. We are all aware that cell phones, electronic games and internet sites play a great role in our children’s lives. They are useful tools, but they also present risks that many adults are not aware of. Mrs. Scott will review the different media – texting, YouTube, FaceBbook and others, and provide tips for parents so that they can monitor or block sites or information you do not want your child to have access to.

We hope you will join us on April 29. I will also be offering the last evening volunteer training workshop for those of you who wish to chaperone field trips this year. There will be one more after school session on Monday, May 10 if you cannot attend this workshop. We do hope as many of you as possible can attend on Thursday.

I would also like the parents of students in Grades 3-5 to be aware that our children will be attending a performance by the Ogdensburg Command Performance at 9:00 a.m. the morning of Friday, April 30th. These performances are held at the high school and we will transfer the students by bus. This performance is entitled “Freedom Train” and tells the story of Harriet Tubman.

We will continue to keep you posted through the blog and through flyers home of our upcoming events. We hope you enjoy all the spring activities.

Preparing for State Testing

April 8, 2010

Dear Families,

It’s time for Spring vacation and a little rest and fun for our students and staff. School will resume on Monday, April 19 and it will be a busy time, especially for our students in Grades 3-5. At the end of the month it will be time to start assessing those students in in fulfillment of the New York State assessment requirements for No Child Left Behind.

We will experience some substantial changes in the testing schedule this year. Last year our students took English Language Arts during two weeks in January and for a similar amount of time in early March they took the Math assessments. This year, all our students will test for two consecutive weeks just one week after we return from Spring vacation. All students will take assessments in English Language Arts from April 26-28 over 2 or 3 days. The following week they will take mathematics assessments from May 5-7 for the same number of days.

Since we will only have 1 full week of school after our vacation, many teachers will choose to send home practice materials during the April break. If they do send such exercises, please do your best to help you child practice needed skills during our few days off. We all recognize the need to rest and enjoy free time, but a little effort dedicated to practice would be helpful.

Thank you for the support you give us daily as we work together. Please contact me at school if you have any questions or concerns.