Avoca West News

Week of January 26, 2023

Report Cards, Viking Time, & All Things MTSS -- Updates and information

Report Cards will head home this Friday with students for our parents and caregivers to review progress and feedback for each student on grade level standards. Our staff have been working feverishly to make sure that this twice-a-year snapshot is informative and also allows for conversations with families and students in where to set our sights for the remainder of the year. Feel free to reach out to your student's teachers with any questions that might come up as you read over the report cards. MAP reports will also be included for our 2nd-5th graders as well as any individual student updates from the Student Services Team.

What's Next for Building Student Progress and Success?

Each of our teams met last week to review winter benchmark and other normed assessment data -- a practice that is built into the fall, winter, and spring or summer for our teams. This time together allows us to use the data to differentiate for our students. "Support" for our students and meeting their needs can take many forms! It may mean embedding additional reteaching and practice of a foundational skill into a student's everyday classroom instruction/setting, revisiting instruction as a grade level based on something seen in the data, targeting a specific need during Viking Time (twice a week for 30 minutes), and sometimes utilizing instructional specialists to provide a more intensive intervention if that's what a student needs. This approach is used for students at all points of the learning continuum -- those below, on, and above grade level standards.

Oftentimes, the structures and procedures we have in place make that support seem invisible to the student -- despite lots of intentional planning and progress monitoring behind the scenes. In order to keep communication with caregivers as transparent as possible, caregivers will be notified if/when a student is receiving a specific, targeted intervention, either through Viking Time or with a specialist. This is a new addition to our communication as a part of our Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) process. If you have questions about what your student is working on during Viking Time, feel free to reach out to your child's teacher.

Want to learn more about MTSS and Assessment within Avoca District 37?

See the invitation below for an in person MTSS 102 Parent Night.

🔗 Connections with Avoca Caregivers 💕

We have several opportunities for our families and caregivers to come learn alongside us and with one another as we enter 2023. We know that what's offered can't possibly meet the needs (and schedules) of everyone, but hope you'll consider penciling those things that pique your interest!

INFORMATION ABOUT SEVERAL UPCOMING EVENTS INCLUDED BELOW

As promised, I'm also inviting ALL parents and caregivers to share their feedback on what they'd like to learn more about for some possible "Caregiver Ed" events this spring and possibly into the fall. Hopefully getting your input will boost engagement as I plan for the months ahead for meaningful connections with our community.

TAKE A MOMENT AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU'D LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT

BY FILLING OUT THIS INTEREST FORM (ALSO EMBEDDED BELOW)

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Not Feeling Well? Out of Town? ATTENDANCE, PLEASE!

Thank you for helping to make sure that our Vikings are here and ready to learn each day and are accounted for each day if they cannot be!

⬇️ Bookmark the link below if you need it!

Avoca West Attendance Notification

Viking VIPs -- Living the Mission and Vision

It's no surprise to me that we have an abundance of students who exemplify the Portrait of a Graduate traits that we want to cultivate in our students! As we make time as a staff to stop and recognize students who are living these traits, it's a great opportunity to reconnect with those whole child components that make Avoca and Avoca's students stand out from the pack. We couldn't be prouder!