Valerius Weekly Digest

1/13/20- 1/17/20

NO SCHOOL FRIDAY, JANUARY 17th or MONDAY, JANUARY 20th

Questions to Ask Your Student About Their Day

The trick is to ask about things that are specific, but still open-ended. Move beyond "fine" and "nothing" by asking your kids to describe their world. It's also great to start the conversation with an anecdote from your own day. Try one of these conversation-starters:

Tell me about the best part of your day.
What was the hardest thing you had to do today?
Did any of your classmates do anything funny?
Tell me about what you read in class.
Who did you play with today? What did you play?
Do you think math [or any subject] is too easy or too hard?
What's the biggest difference between this year and last year?
What rules are different at school than our rules at home? Do you think they're fair?
Who did you sit with at lunch?
Can you show me something you learned (or did) today?

https://www.scholastic.com/parents/school-success/10-questions-to-ask-your-child-about-his-day-school.html

zoom_out_map

Upcoming FAST assessments

Over the next few weeks teachers will be taking time to give our FAST assessments in reading. In Kindergarten and First Grade students take the eReading (Early Reading) assessments and in grades 2-5 students take the CBMr assessment. Below are descriptions of these assessments:

earlyReading is an evidence-based assessment used to screen and monitor student progress. Typically administered in grades PreK-1, they may be used for screening up through grade 3 and for frequent progress monitoring at any grade. Each assessment is designed to be highly efficient and inform instruction.

The earlyReading assessments are comprised of 12 sub-tests. Of those sub-tests, FastBridge recommends a composite of four specific sub-tests to be given per benchmark period. The composite varies from fall, winter, or spring, per grade level to best match reading skill development and reliably assess risk. The composite is typically completed in 5-10 minutes per student.

The remaining assessments may be used as needed to further evaluate skill deficits. Results help identify student risk while informing instruction.

CBMreading (Curriculum-Based Measurement for Reading) is an evidence-based, one-minute assessment used for universal screening in English or Spanish (Grades 1-8), and for frequent progress monitoring (Grades 1-12). It is a simple and efficient procedure.

FAST provides benchmark targets for performance to help identify students at-risk for academic failure.

Substantial research evidence demonstrates that CBMreading is a robust indicator of reading development and a useful predictor of student performance on state tests.

CBMreading is an index of word reading efficiency, which is an important ability that facilitates reading comprehension. Students who read a grade-level passage with efficiency are better able to use their cognitive resources to comprehend while reading.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Tuesday, January 14th- Chorus at 8am

Wednesday, January 15th- Band at 8am

Thursday, January 16th- Band at UHS at 7:45 am; BAND CONCERT AT 7pm at UHS AND PTO dine out night at Panera. Grab a soup and sandwich before coming to the concert ;)

Friday, January 17th- NO SCHOOL

Monday, January 20th- NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, January 21st- Band at 8am

Wednesday, January 22nd- LATE START

Friday, January 24th- Chorus at 8am

Friday, January 24th- Valerius BINGO night (6-8pm)