Viking Family Update
February 2022
Principal Update
Viking Friends and Families,
Can you believe it is already February? Our students are well into their routines and growing like crazy. Recently, we completed our winter progress monitoring with each and every student in the building. We use the Aimsweb Plus program along with local diagnostics to help us get a good picture of student growth. AimswebPlus™ is an online assessment, data management, and reporting system that provides national and local performance and growth norms for the screening and progress monitoring of math and reading skills for all students in Kindergarten through Grade 8.
But data means nothing unless we use it. Below you will see a sample of a growth report for one of our students as well as a classroom report. This data is used to identify students who may need additional support or additional diagnostic assessments. By using this universal screener three times per year, we can identify students who are "on track" with reading and math, and also identify students who may need additional support to meet goals. Many students, who are identified to receive additional targeted instruction, are progress monitored to ensure they are making adequate progress.
Here are some celebrations:
-The majority of students at BLE are growing at a rate that outpaces national norms.
-Many of our students who were considered "at risk" of not meeting end of year benchmarks are now considered "on track".
-Teacher teams are dedicating additional time in February to analyze data and provide immediate interventions and extensions where needed.
Here are some areas for growth:
-This nationally normed test assesses some skills that we do not teach until late in the year (particularly in Kindergarten). We need to ask ourselves if we need to rearrange the curriculum or wait it out and see the results once we have taught the skill.
-In some cases our students who are most significantly behind made the least growth. We need to determine how to increase the time and intensity of instruction in order to close the opportunity gap for these students.
Spring Conferences on March 22nd and 23rd will focus on those students who are demonstrating that they are below standard in academics and/or behavior expectations. We want to partner with families to best meet the needs of our students.
Please don't hesitate to reach out to your student's classroom teacher if you have questions about his/her progress. You can reinforce your student's basic skills by reading at least 20 minutes every night, and encouraging 20 minutes a day on Lexia and/or Dreambox.
Sample Individual Student Report -
-This students trend is represented by the solid line, the national average is represented by the dashed line.
-This student went from an average performance level to an above average performance level
-ROI means "Rate of Increase" - the national ROI was 2.17 from fall to winter, this student's ROI was 3.97.
Overall this student is growing his skills at a faster rate than the national average and is now ready to tackle complex grade level standards in Reading.
Classroom Tiered Transition Report -
-Students represented in the green part of the triangle have a very low risk of not meeting end of year skills.
-Students in the yellow are "at moderate risk" of not meeting goals for this year.
-Students in the red have a "high risk" of not meeting end of year goals.
This teacher should celebrate! She is moving students to green! Notice that she started the year with 6 students in yellow and red and now has just 3. This allows her to focus her attention more precisely on what each student needs!
BLE is excited to welcome Gansango Music & Dance for a performance of contemporary and traditional African dance and drumming on the morning of February 15th. Gansango is directed by Etienne Cakpo, originally from Benin and now a choreographer and teacher based in Seattle, Washington. Gansango company collaborating artists perform regularly in the Seattle area, nationally and internationally for audiences of all ages.
The company performances fuse music and movement from across the African continent, drawing heavily from the dance and music traditions of Benin, Ghana and Togo, among other countries. Instruction and shows often feature traditional dance from Benin, including ritualistic dances, regional social ceremony dances, such as the Chenkoumé dance from Savalou, and royal historical dances such as the Zéhli dance from the late 1800’s. Live drums (djembé, djun-djun and paholé) and percussion (shaker and bell) accompany modern dance arrangements based on traditional movement while colorful costumes provide cultural context for Gansango’s riveting performances.
Gansango will be here next Tuesday for a live assembly! We can't wait. Thank you to our PTA for financially supporting this opportunity.
Red, White and Pink Dress Up Day on February 14th!
This Month We are Talking About Cooperation!
Cooperation is about assistance and support, about collaboration and teamwork. It is a
necessary tool in our toolbox for creating a community that cares for one another. Here is the definition we are using:
Cooperation: Working together and helping others.
A lot of messaging in our world would suggest that “doing it on your own” is a measure of success. And while independence is important, we must develop skills to work alongside one another and create things, together, that are better than anything we could create on our own. Successful people know when and how to ask for help and are generous in giving it out when they have something to offer! Cooperation requires great communication, self-awareness, and the ability to step up (or step back) when the time is right to best support whatever group you are working with. Over the course of the month, we will be creative in teams, accomplish amazing things side by side, and learn about what it means to do meaningful, PurposeFull work together.
Quick Links
Bonney Lake Elementary
Email: BLE@sumnersd.org
Website: sumnersd.org/ble
Location: 18715 80th Street East, Bonney Lake, WA, USA
Phone: (253) 891-4450