Cavendish Corner News

They’re here! We have started to administer assessments to the students in grades 2 – 6. The MAPs (Measures of Academic Progress) will be administered to students in grades 2 –6 during the next two weeks. The assessments are given in mathematics, reading and language. Students in grade 4 will also take the Science NECAP (New England Common Assessment Program) during this same time. We ask for your help to make the testing experience as valuable as it can be. You can best help your child prepare for the assessment by making sure that she or he is rested on the days the tests will be given. And, as with every day, it is critical that students have a good breakfast before heading off to school. Please do not schedule appointments during this time period or keep your child out for a bonding day. We provided the schedule in another letter, so you know the exact days your child is scheduled to be assessed. If your child needs to be out of school for some reason, please let the teacher know immediately, so we can make accommodations. Children are required to take the assessments during this window and NECAP results are reported to the state. School wide results are reported to the community. If they do not complete the tests they receive a zero, and their school records and school results will be dramatically affected. These results follow your child throughout his lifetime. Thank you for supporting your child and our school during the testing period.

Next Friday evening, May 11, we will be having a “school fling” in the multipurpose room for all of the students. Our own Ian Martel , who is now a student at Green Mountain Union High School, will be the DJ providing a variety of music for dancing. The K – 2 students will dance from 6 –7 p.m., and the students in grades 3 – 6 will dance from 7 – 8:30 p.m.. There will be alternate games for the younger students during their dance time. Once students arrive to the dance, they will not be allowed to go back outside. Parents will need to come into the school to pick up their children at the end of the dance. This should be a fun time for the children, and we are eager to provide this opportunity to them. We do need parent volunteers to help. We still need volunteers to help with set up and clean up, to decorate the gym, to chaperone, to help run activities and to donate refreshments. If you are able to help, please complete the sign up form at the back of the Cavendish Corner and return it to the school.

One of the most important things you can do to help your child be successful in school is to work with him/her on reading. Only fifteen minutes of reading a day makes a tremendous difference in a child’s ability to learn this important skill. For younger children, parents should sit with them and let their child read to them, and then parents could read to them modeling appropriate reading strategies. It is important for parents to read WITH their children. Areas to concentrate on include: fluency, pacing and inflection. Always talk about what the child has read or what you have read. It is important for children to know that there is a reason we read! If you are not able to read with the mon a daily basis, consider asking a sibling or a grandparent, relative or close friend. If you need appropriate materials to read with your child, please ask the classroom teacher or the librarian. They would be happy to provide you with resources.