Our Eagle Ridge Teacher of the Year!
The Teacher of the Year program honors outstanding classroom teachers who inspire students of all backgrounds and abilities to excel. The teacher of the year demonstrates a superior ability to foster excellence in education; contributes to the continuous improvement of student learning and the school environment; and maintains a record of superior teaching performance as evidenced by student learning gains, annual performance assessment and recognition of work.
Eagle Ridge Teacher of the Year is Mrs. Randa Katib
Congratulations to Mrs. Katib, on this well-deserved recognition.
School-Related Employee of the Year
As many of you know, the success of a school not only comes from the classroom teachers, it comes from the people who support the classrooms and students in unique ways. That is why we want to also recognize our school-related employee of the year - an individual that demonstrates exceptional skills and dedication on the job and earns the respect and admiration of colleagues and the community.
Join me in congratulating, Ms. Amanda Luzzader, Behavior Technician at Eagle Ridge on this well deserved recognition.
Parent University: Literacy Engagement Through Parental Involvement – Thursday, September 19, at 6:30 p.m.
Dear Parents and Guardians of students of Eagle Ridge Elementary,
Our District is committed to sharpening reading and writing skills across all grade levels, and we are asking parents to join in the effort! On September 19, at 6:30 p.m., join the BCPS Innovative Learning Department and the Parent and Community Involvement Task Force for the webinar Parent University: Literacy Engagement Through Parental Involvement.
District staff will equip parents with tools and resources to help them become partners on enhancing their student’s literacy. Topics include:
· Fun and engaging ways to improve your student’s reading and writing skills
· Accessing textbooks and the District’s media library
· Tips and tricks that lead to improvement
· New programs available to all students
· The District’s new reading initiative
· Instructional Materials Adoption and Review process, and much more.
On Thursday, September 19, access the webinar, Parent University: Literacy Engagement Through Parental Involvement, through this link or at browardschools.com/parentuniversity.
Throughout the presentation, questions will be answered through a chat feature. Closed captioning will be available in Spanish and Portuguese.
To learn more about resources available to help enhance literacy at home, visit www.browardschools.com/innovative-learning.
2024–25 Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) Fact Sheet Grades 3–10 ELA Reading and Grades 3–8 Mathematics
FAST Overview
Florida’s English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics Coordinated Screening and Progress Monitoring System, also called the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST), required in section 1008.25(8), Florida Statutes, was administered for the first time during the 2022–2023 school year. This fact sheet provides an overview of the FAST system for grades 3–10 ELA Reading and grades 3–8 Mathematics.
Grades 3–10 FAST Overview
• Grades 3–10 FAST ELA Reading and grades 3–8 FAST Mathematics assessments are aligned to the Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.) Standards.
• FAST assessments are computer-adaptive. Each item a student receives will be selected to meet blueprint requirements and will adjust item difficulty levels based on how the student responds.
• FAST assessments are administered three times during each school year: once at the beginning of the year (PM1), once in the middle of the year (PM2), and once at the end of the year (PM3).
• Each PM event is tied to a blueprint for the full grade-level content. The ELA and Mathematics blueprints show how many items in each reporting category students will encounter during each PM window.
• Here are descriptions of each PM opportunity for students:
o PM1 – because this administration occurs at the very beginning of the school year, it is designed to provide a baseline score so teachers can track student progress in learning the B.E.S.T. Standards from PM1 to PM2.
o PM2 – by the time of this administration window, students will have had an opportunity to learn the grade-level standards, and this administration will provide a mid-year score to compare to the baseline score from PM1.
o PM3 – this last administration will provide a summative score that will accurately measure student mastery of the B.E.S.T. Standards at the end of the school year. While PM1 and PM2 are for informational purposes only, PM3 is used for school accountability.
Student performance on Florida’s statewide assessments is categorized into five achievement levels. The FAST Achievement Level Descriptions further specify what students should know and be able to do in each grade level Bureau of K–12 Student Assessment 2024–25 FAST 3–10 Fact Sheet August 2024 3 and subject as indicated in the applicable standards. Achievement levels describe a student’s success with the content assessed. As required by state law, achievement levels range from 1 to 5, with Level 1 as the lowest and Level 5 as the highest. Achievement Level 3 indicates On Grade Level performance across all assessments.
PM1 and PM2
It is important for teachers and families to understand that this information is intended to provide baseline and mid-year results for PM1 and PM2 respectively. Therefore, for PM1 and PM2, students may not yet be at grade level; however, this does not necessarily indicate that a student is not on track to succeed. These results are for informational purposes only and should be used to identify areas that may need additional instruction and support. These results should not be considered student achievement designations.
PM3
PM3 provides a summative score at the end of the year to measure student mastery of the grade-level content standards.
Bureau of K–12 Student Assessment
2024–25 FAST 3–10 Fact Sheet
August 2024
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Testing Schedule for Eagle Ridge Elementary School
Monday 9/9 - Star Reading K-2
Tuesday 9/10 - Star Math K-2
Monday 9/16 - FAST Reading Grade 3
Wednesday 9/18 - FAST Math Grade 3
Thursday 9/19 - FAST Reading Grade 4
Monday 9/23 - FAST Math Grade 4
Tuesday 9/24 - FAST Reading Grade 5
Wednesday 9/25 - FAST Math Grade 5
9/26 & 9/27 - Make-Ups
What are the Benefits to Reading Out Loud?
Reading aloud to kids has clear cognitive benefits. For example, brain scans show that hearing stories strengthens the part of the brain associated with visual imagery, story comprehension, and word meaning. One study found that kindergarten children who were read to at least three times a week had a “significantly greater phonemic awareness than did children who were read to less often.” And the landmark Becoming a Nation of Readers report from 1985 concluded that “the single most important activity for building knowledge for their eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children.”
But reading also strengthens children’s social, emotional, and character development. According to a recently published study, reading to very young children is linked to decreased levels of aggression, hyperactivity, and attention difficulties. The study’s lead author shared this insight with The New York Times, “When parents read with their children more . . . they learn to use words to describe feelings that are otherwise difficult and this enables them to better control their behavior when they have challenging feelings like anger or sadness.”
Excerpt taken from Why Reading Aloud to Kids Helps Them Thrive by Deborah Farmer Kris
Below: Find a book list provided by the Florida Department of Education to begin reading tonight!
We are excited to have completed the first two weeks of the "Eagle Shuffle" program at Eagle Ridge Elementary! This initiative is designed to better meet our students' needs by grouping them according to their specific educational priorities, ensuring they receive the right support or challenges. Each morning from 8:10-8:40, all students participate in targeted intervention or enrichment activities, utilizing a variety of resources to enhance their learning experience. We look forward to seeing continued growth and success as we move forward!
IMPORTANT DATES
PTA Virtual Meeting @ 6:30 PM: 09/10/24
APEX Glow Party: 9/13/24
Coffee and Conversation with Mrs. Sierra @ 7:30 AM: 9/18/24
Open house for PRE-K and 5th Grade Dual Lang @ 6:00 P.M: 9/18/24
SAC and SAF @ 2:30 PM: 9/26/24
Kids Of Character K-2: 9/25/24
Kids of Character 3-5: 9/26/24
Quarter 1 Interims: 9/16/24 **NEW DATE**
Schools Closed: 10/03/24
Fall Pictures: 10/07/24
