Spartan PRIDE
Supporting our school community core values.
Parents as Partners will be held on Tuesday, April 7th at 6 PM in the SMS Library. Due to the holiday weekend, the date has been moved to Tuesday. We will be discussing the SMS Technology Plan, Spartans 4 Spartans Leadership Program and the End of Year Celebration. We will be seeking donations of supplies, volunteers and food for the May 22nd End of Celebration. You will find out how you can help at the meeting and through email communication.
New On-Line Lunch Program!
We are excited to announce our new lunch program. On the Spearfish School District Website, under
school lunch, we now have a link for EZschoolpay. Once you are registered for this program, and
have linked your students, you will be able to monitor their meal activity. You can see how much money they have available in their accounts, what they have been eating, and add money to the account all in one place. They have a video which will help if you have set up
issues.
SMARTER Balanced Testing Window:
Dear Parent or Guardian:
During the dates below, as required by state law all
Spearfish Middle School students will take the Smarter Balanced Assessment in
English language arts and mathematics. Students
will not be testing all day during their testing window, nor will they test
every day during their testing window. The
purpose of this letter is to give you an understanding of the test. It will
also give you a few ideas for helping your student do her/his best on the test.
|
6th Grade Testing Window
|
April 8 – April 17
|
|
7th Grade Testing Window
|
April 20-April 30
|
|
8th Grade Testing Window
|
May 1-May 15
|
The Smarter Balanced assessments measure student achievement in
relation to our state standards in the areas of English language arts and
mathematics. In addition to providing overall scores in those two subjects,
score reports will provide information on student performance in the following
areas:
o
English: reading, writing, listening, and
research
o
Math: concepts and procedures; problem solving
and modeling/data analysis; and communicating reasoning
The new content standards set higher expectations for
students. This means that expectations for student achievement are higher than
they used to be. As a result, it is likely that fewer students will score at
the higher achievement levels on the assessments, especially the first few
years. These results do not mean that schools are performing worse or that
students are learning less. The scores represent a new baseline that provides a
more accurate indicator for educators, students, and parents. Our school is
working to make sure that students can meet the challenge of these new
standards and succeed in high school and beyond.
Your child will take the tests on a computer. The assessments are unique in the way they
adapt to be appropriate for your child’s level of learning. As a result, each
student has the same opportunity to succeed and maintain a positive attitude
towards testing. These tests are not
timed, but we estimate that it will take a similar amount of time as past
assessments. We estimate the English assessment will take 3.5 hours and the
math assessment will take 2.5 hours.
While your child’s grades will not be impacted by their performance on
this assessment, this assessment serves as a way for the school to see how well
we are helping students meet rigorous learning standards. Shortly after the testing period is complete,
you will receive a report showing your child’s scores.
There is no need to study in preparation for the
assessments. We do, however ask that you encourage your children to do their
best and get plenty of rest the night before the assessment. It is important
that you make sure your child comes to school on days that he/she has tests.
Making up a missed test means time out of class and losing important learning
time that cannot be made up.
HOW TO
PREPARE YOUR CHILD TO TAKE
A TEST
|
Here are some things your child can
do:
|
Here are some things you can do:
|
|
REST
Get a good
night of sleep
before the test.
|
DISCUSS
Help your child understand that the Smarter Balanced Test
gives him or her the
chance to show
what he or she knows about
a subject.
|
|
EAT
Eat a good breakfast.
|
SUPPORT
Ask your child to maintain
regular study habits. Do not ask your
child to give extra study time for
the Smarter Balanced Test. The test covers more schoolwork
than your child can learn in a few extra hours.
|
|
LISTEN
Listen carefully to the directions
given for the test and follow them exactly. If the directions are not clear, ask the
teacher to repeat them or to
explain them.
|
RELAX
Students who are calm and sure
of themselves do better
on tests.
|
|
TRY
Do your best and do not give up.
|
|
Information about the assessment can be found at: http://commoncore.sd.gov/assessment.aspx
Parents can access complete Practice Tests in English and
math for grades 3 through 8 and 11 at http://www.smarterbalanced.org/practice-test/.
This testing is very important for your student and the
district. It provides important feedback
that allows us to improve our programming to best support your student’s
learning. Thank you for supporting your student and our school during the
test. Please call if you have any
questions.
Sincerely,
Shane Baier
Spearfish Middle School
Weekly Faculty Bulletin April 6-10, 2015
“Empowering all students
to succeed in a changing world.”
• Preparedness
• Respect • Integrity • Determination • Excellence
1)
NO School, April 6th
2) No Team Leader
Meeting in April
3) Parents as Partners April Meeting,
April 7th at 6 PM in the library
-Technology
Plan Update
-S4S
Leadership Program
-End
of Year Celebration
4) S4S Mentor Training,
(7th grade leaders), 8-11 a.m. in multi-purpose room
See
list provided by Ms. Murphy
5) Incoming 6th Grade Student/Parent
Registration Night, April 9, 6-7 p.m. in the gym
-Jazz
Band and Swing Choir will perform
-See
attached agenda
6) 6th Grade SMARTER Balanced
Assessment Window, April 8-17
7)
Important FLEX Dates:
-Block
6: April 27-May 15
-4/7: Block 6 Course Descriptions Due
8) Reminder
to consider application for a Spearfish Foundation Grant. Go to:
http://www.spearfishschools.org/ for more details.
9) SMARTER
Balanced Q and A: See link below
10) Communicate alignment of lesson plans to the curriculum standards on your
teacher web
pages. -This is
tied to the K12 accreditation process.
Upcoming Events
April 13-14 8th Grade Science D-STEP
April 15 P/T Conferences
Middle School (scheduled)
April 15 "Purple
Up for Military Kids Day!" (Wear
Purple)
April 20-30 7th Grade SMARTER Balanced
Assessment Window
April 22 SMS Technology Committee Meeting, 3:25 p.m. in conf.
rm.
April 25 SLL Saturday
School, 8-Noon
Apr. 15-May 15 STAR Reading and Math Testing Window
May 6 District Staff Recognition Celebration, 5 PM in
the SMS Gym
May 8 SMS All School Dance, 6:30-9:30 PM
May 14 7/8th Grade Band Concert, 7 PM in the HS
Auditorium
May 17 SMS Activities Banquet, 6 PM in the SMS Gym
May 18 7/8th Grade Choir Concert, 7 PM in the HS
Auditorium
May 19 7th Grade Culture Fair, MS Gym and
Multi-Purpose Room, 4:00 PM
May 19 6th Grade Band/Choir Concert, 7 PM in the
HS Auditorium
MAY 20 Annual 6th Grade Fishing
Derby/Cook-out at Iron Creek
May 22 End of Trimester Celebration, 10 a.m. at the
Spearfish Fields
May 22 Last Day of School, 1 PM Early Release (if no
make-up days needed)
A culture is not an abstract thing. It is a living, evolving process.
-Mary Robinson
Make it a great week!
Shane
No comments:
Post a Comment