Simis Scoop

Hi Simis Families,

This semester has flown by! Our staff and students are working hard and growing every day. Between the PBIS Booster Assemblies, class parties, field trips, art masterpiece projects, DIGGS exploration, IB projects on display, and a school spelling bee, I am constantly amazed at the kindness, creativity, and critical thinking our students bring to school. Congratulations to all who participated in the spelling bee today. The following students will move on to represent Simis in the Madison District spelling bee in January.

First Place: Ansley Robins (Championship word: aquamarine)

Second Place: Charlotte Gallagher

Being part of the Simis community is the greatest gift. Our Holiday Helping program collected gifts for over 128 students across Madison! Knowing that we come together as a group to provide for others is so inspiring. Our students see the compassion their families have towards others and display that in their daily interactions, creating a truly incredible school community.

In this letter I have included information for families about the winter math and reading assessments we do as a school to monitor student progress towards mastering grade-level standards. It is a lot of information, and I hope it helps provide clarity about how we use these assessments to guide our instruction. We have conferences in January and plan to review all information in detail with families during that time.

We have a final Spirit Week next week to get us into the holiday spirit! Information for each day is included below. Our next Scoop will be sent on January 10th when we return from winter break. I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season!

Warmly,

Mrs. Murray

We are thrilled to announce that PATS received a generous $3,000 grant from the Mayo Family Foundation to support our Holiday Helping program! This incredible contribution will provide 30 families with $100 grocery gift cards, helping to combat food insecurity during this holiday season.

Yesterday, PATS had the pleasure of meeting with Bernadette Thies, Executive Director of the Mayo Family Foundation, to share the impact of this program on our community. She was amazed by what we’re able to achieve together.

This year, the need has grown significantly, with our program supporting 44 families (a total of 128 kids) across our Madison community. Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of our Simis community, we’ve been able to bring holiday magic to so many families:

• Families stepped up to take on entire gift lists
• Donated incredible gifts like bikes
• Showed compassion and care through countless contributions

This program would not be possible without the love and dedication of our Family Assistance Co-Chairs, Lindsey Berglund and Tina Gonzalez. Taking on the largest program to date during their first year of leadership was no small task, and they handled it with grace, compassion, and tireless effort.

A huge thank you to the Mayo Family Foundation, our co-chairs, and our entire community for making such a difference in the lives of so many. Together, we’re creating brighter holidays and stronger families.

Our tardies are also increasing and reports of unsafe driving are frequent over the past two weeks. We have over 84 tardies today alone. I know it is colder and dark, but timely and safe arrival to school is important. When we are rushing, it is easy to fall into habits of speeding through the neighborhood. Our parking lots are pretty slow before 7:30 for parents to drop off earlier. If you need strategies for a smoother school drop-off, please contact our school social workers (Kalah Masterson and Roxanne Little).

Please follow the rules of the road when driving to and from school.

• Yield when turning left
• Drive on the right side of the street
• Stay off phones
• Follow staff directions
• Don't block driveways
• Follow speed limits

We are working with the City of Phoenix on a Safety Study for our neighborhood to see how we can enhance neighborhood traffic safety. I receive multiple concerned phone calls from parents about our staff and families almost getting hit by parents turning left from Myrtle onto 10th. I receive multiple reports of parents driving east in a second lane on Northview to pass traffic on the left. Please keep our students, staff and neighbors safe!

Make sure to pick up anything you are missing before 12/20. All items are outside the music room.

Every school year our teachers plan fun and educational field trips for your child to enjoy.

These field trips can cost upward of $4,000. This comes out of our tax credit budget. Tax credit is a tax deductible donation to Simis. There are two options available: a two hundred ($200.00) maximum donation for people filing singly and a contribution of four hundred ($400.00) for families filing jointly. For more information on these Tax Credits visit the Arizona Department of Revenue’s Website or see ARS §43-1089.01 for more information on the law.

In order to offset a portion of the field trip and transportation costs we ask each family

to donate a one-time $50.00 tax deductible payment. This payment not only supports field trips, but also recess coaches, author visits, assemblies and more. Please make sure we have received your payment prior to a student field trip for your student to be able to attend. If you need support paying the activity fee, please contact the front office for a scholarship form. The Madison Simis Site Council reviews and votes on anonymous scholarship forms each month.

At Madison Simis, we are dedicated to supporting your child’s reading journey. One of the tools we use to track their progress and identify areas for growth is the FastBridge Reading Assessment. This assessment helps us determine how your child is progressing toward mastering reading skills and serves as a dyslexia screener for early identification of potential challenges. We would like to share how we use FastBridge and some practical strategies you can use at home to help your child improve in key reading areas.

What is the FastBridge Reading Assessment?

FastBridge is a research-based screening tool that assesses several foundational reading skills. These areas are critical for building strong reading abilities and include:

• Phonemic Awareness
• Word Recognition
• Fluency
• Comprehension

Each of these areas plays a vital role in developing your child’s overall reading skills. Below are specific strategies for supporting your child based on the results of the FastBridge assessments.

1. Phonemic Awareness: Recognizing and Manipulating Sounds

Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words. It’s a critical skill for early reading success.

At School: Teachers may provide activities like sound matching, blending sounds, and segmenting words to support this skill.

At Home: You can help your child by:

• Playing rhyming games: Say a word and ask your child to come up with words that rhyme with it.
• Breaking words into sounds: Practice saying simple words slowly and emphasizing each sound (e.g., “cat” = /k/ /a/ /t/).
• Sound sorting: Ask your child to sort objects or pictures by their beginning, middle, or ending sounds.
• Interactive books: Read aloud and encourage your child to repeat words or sounds that stand out.

2. Word Recognition: Identifying Words Quickly and Accurately

Word recognition is the ability to recognize familiar words by heart without needing to sound them out. This skill is crucial for reading fluency and comprehension. These words used to be called sight words.

At School: Teachers use heart word lists, practice techniques like repetition and flashcards, students identify heart words in leveled readers or independent reading texts.

At Home: You can help your child by:

• Using flashcards: Create flashcards of common heart words (like "the," "and," "is") and practice them regularly.
• Reading books with familiar words: Choose books that repeat key heart words so your child can recognize them easily.
• Labeling household items: Label common items around the house (e.g., door, table, chair) to help reinforce word recognition.
• Word games: Play simple word games like "I Spy" using heart words or play memory games with word cards.

3. Fluency: Reading Smoothly with Speed and Understanding

Fluency is the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and expression. Fluent readers can focus more on understanding the text rather than struggling with individual words.

At School: Teachers may provide repeated reading opportunities, where students read the same passage multiple times to build speed and accuracy.

At Home: You can support your child's fluency by:

• Reading aloud together: Take turns reading sentences or paragraphs aloud, encouraging your child to read smoothly and with expression.
• Re-reading favorite books: Encourage your child to read books they enjoy over and over to build fluency.
• Timing reading sessions: Set a timer for one-minute reading sessions, and try to increase the number of words read as your child becomes more fluent.
• Modeling fluent reading: Read aloud to your child with proper expression and pacing to demonstrate fluent reading.

4. Comprehension: Understanding and Interpreting What is Read

Comprehension is the ability to understand and make meaning from what is read. A child who can comprehend a text is not just decoding words but also connecting ideas and making sense of the story or information.

At School: Teachers use text dependent questioning techniques and discuss texts with students to help develop comprehension skills.

At Home: You can support your child’s comprehension by:

• Asking questions: After reading a story, ask your child questions like "What happened first?" or "Why do you think the character did that?"
• Retelling stories: Have your child retell the story in their own words to check understanding.
• Making predictions: Before reading a new book, ask your child to predict what will happen based on the title or pictures.
• Connecting to prior knowledge: Relate stories to your child’s own experiences or to other books they have read to help them make deeper connections to the text.
• Discussing new vocabulary: When your child encounters new words, stop and discuss their meanings and how they relate to the story.

Dyslexia Screening: Early Identification of Reading Difficulties

The FastBridge assessment also functions as a dyslexia screener. Early identification of dyslexia can provide opportunities for targeted support to address reading challenges before they become more significant. If your child shows signs of potential difficulties, such as consistent struggles with phonemic awareness or word recognition, we will collaborate with you to provide additional support and resources.

Next Steps

If the FastBridge results show areas where your child may need additional help, your child’s teacher will communicate with you to create a plan for targeted instruction and support. This may include small group instruction, one-on-one interventions, or specific strategies to help your child succeed in reading. You may receive a letter if your child is not on level for reading. That letter will explain the type of intervention your student will receive. If your child is already on level, they will receive differentiated instruction to extend their skills in class.

Your Role at Home
Encourage regular reading practice, maintain a positive attitude about learning, and reach out to your child’s teacher if you have any questions or concerns about the results. Together, we can help your child become a confident and capable reader.

At Madison Simis, we use the NWEA MAP Mathematics Assessment to track your child’s progress in math and help guide instruction based on their unique strengths and areas for growth. This assessment provides important information about your child’s current understanding of math concepts and skills, as well as their potential for future growth.

The MAP assessment is adaptive, meaning it adjusts the difficulty of questions based on your child’s responses, ensuring a more accurate measure of their abilities. This helps us identify both how well your child is performing at their current grade level and how much progress they’re making over time.

In this letter, we want to explain how we use the results from the NWEA MAP Mathematics Assessment, specifically focusing on two key measures: Achievement Percentiles and Conditional Growth Percentiles.

1. Achievement Percentiles: Where Your Child Stands Now

The Achievement Percentile shows how your child’s performance compares to other students across the country who have taken the same test. This is a snapshot of where your child stands in relation to their peers in the same grade.

• What does it mean?
  An achievement percentile tells you the percentage of students in the same grade, across the nation, who scored lower than your child. For example, if your child’s achievement percentile is 70, this means they scored higher than 70% of students in their grade level who took the same test.

• How is it helpful?
  The achievement percentile helps us understand how well your child is performing relative to other students, and it can identify whether they are meeting, exceeding, or needing additional support to meet grade-level expectations. Typically, a student in the 60th percentile or higher for achievement is considered on level for the AZ math state standards. A student above the 90th percentile is considered highly proficient in the state standards.

2. Conditional Growth Percentiles: How Much Your Child is Growing

The Conditional Growth Percentile measures how much your child’s skills have grown compared to other students who started with similar scores at the same time of year. This measure takes into account your child’s previous performance and predicts how much they can improve based on their starting point.

• What does it mean?
  A conditional growth percentile shows how much academic growth your child has made relative to other students who had a similar starting point. For example, if your child’s growth percentile is 85, this means they have made more growth than 85% of students with similar starting scores, which indicates strong progress.

• How is it helpful?
  The growth percentile helps us understand your child’s learning trajectory. It highlights whether your child is making expected progress, accelerating in their learning, or if they need additional support to improve their growth rate. Even if your child’s achievement percentile is lower than expected, a high growth percentile indicates that they are making significant progress over time.

How the Results Are Used

The results from the NWEA MAP assessment, including both the achievement and growth percentiles, help us personalize your child’s math instruction. Based on these results, teachers can:

• Identify areas where your child is excelling and provide enrichment opportunities.
• Pinpoint areas where your child may need additional support or practice.
• Track your child’s growth over time and adjust instructional strategies to help them continue to improve.
• Set individualized learning goals for your child to ensure they are progressing at an appropriate pace.

What You Can Do to Support Your Child

1. Encourage a Growth Mindset: Emphasize that learning is a process, and growth is just as important as achievement. Celebrate their progress and help them see that improvement is a natural part of learning.

2. Provide Practice Opportunities: Use resources such as math games, puzzles, and everyday activities (e.g., measuring ingredients for a recipe or budgeting for a family trip) to reinforce math concepts in a fun and engaging way.

3. Stay Engaged: Ask your child’s teacher about specific areas of strength and areas for growth based on the MAP results. If your child’s growth percentile is low or if they are struggling in certain areas, discuss ways you can help them practice these skills at home.

4. Maintain Communication: The MAP assessment is just one part of the picture. Teachers will continue to assess your child’s progress in multiple ways throughout the year. Keep in touch with them about how your child is progressing and if there are any specific concerns or strategies to focus on.

Next Steps

If your child’s achievement percentile is below expectations, or if their growth percentile is lower than anticipated, their teacher will identify targeted strategies and interventions to support their learning. This could include additional practice in key math areas, small group instruction, or enrichment activities to ensure your child is on the right path to achieving their full potential.

The MAP assessment is just one way we track your child’s progress, but we are committed to using the data to support your child in all areas of learning. Thank you for being an active partner in your child’s education!

The IB Learner Profile trait of "open-minded" encourages students to approach new ideas, perspectives, and cultures with curiosity and respect. Being open-minded means being willing to listen to others, consider different viewpoints, and reflect on one's own beliefs. In a school setting, K-4 students can show this trait by actively listening to their classmates during group discussions, respecting diverse opinions, and asking thoughtful questions when learning about new topics or cultures. For example, a student might show open-mindedness by embracing a classmate’s ideas during a collaborative project or being excited to explore a book about a different tradition. At home, students can demonstrate open-mindedness by trying new activities or foods that their family members suggest, and by being willing to understand different perspectives when talking with siblings or parents. This helps children become more empathetic, tolerant, and appreciative of the world around them.

What is International Mindedness?

According to IB, an internationally minded person is “open-minded about the common humanity of all people and accepts and respects other cultures and beliefs. The internationally minded person takes action through discussion and collaboration to help build a better and peaceful world.”

As a school community, we want to celebrate this!

March 6, 2025, is the date for Simis’ annual International Mindedness Day!

We invite all parents, relatives, and community members to share something about a country with us.

Maybe you lived in that country, or maybe you are from there, or maybe you are just passionate about the world- we would love to hear from you!

Go to the link below to sign up. A future meeting for all participants and helpers will be held to answer all questions and give lots of examples and help.

Sign Up Here!

Explicitly teaching students how to show kindness helps them learn about empathy and caring for others. This month, consider joining us in a Kindness Challenge. See the calendar below for ideas of how your student can show kindness over the next three weeks of school.

Remember to regularly check your student for lice - whether they have been exposed or not! Winter break is a perfect time to check and/or treat your student for lice. Symptoms of lice include small red bumps from scratching, lice eggs (yellow, tan, or brown dots near the scalp), and adult lice and nymphs (size of a sesame seed, grayish-white or tan). If you have questions about how/when to treat your student, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me for assistance. You can also contact your student’s pediatrician or medical provider.

The bad news? Lice is gross. The good news? Adult lice only live 2 - 4 days without a host, and lice eggs can only live up to 10 days without a host. So as long as no one brings back lice after winter break, there won’t be any lice in our classrooms. Please be kind and courteous to your fellow parents and check your student before returning to school in January 🙂

A few reminders:

• Students should stay home from school for fever, vomiting, diarrhea, painful throat with redness/swelling/signs of infection, persistent cough (non-stop coughing for 20+ minutes), or redness/swelling of the eye(s) with drainage. When in doubt, please call the health office or your student’s pediatrician.

• Students must stay home for a full 24 hours after fever, vomiting or diarrhea.

• Please DO NOT send medication to school in your student’s backpack. If your student needs medication during the school day, please contact the health office.

If your student attended Simis as a 3rd grader, AASA reports are available to be picked up from the Simis front office. Madison Meadows has scores from students who were in 4th grader last year.

December 13th: Simis Spelling Bee

December 18th: TCT 1pm release

December 20th: No School, Teacher Work Day

December 23rd-January 3rd: Winter Break

January 8th: TCT 1pm release

January 15th: TCT 1pm release

January 20th: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, no school

New Library Information!

Please help your students return their library books so they are able to check out new books each week! If books are lost or damaged beyond repair, please:

1) Provide the library with a replacement copy of the same book. Books can be used and in good condition but must be a like-for-like replacement (i.e., hardcover for hardcover).

2) You may now pay the replacement cost of the book through PowerSchool, a check made out to 'Madison Simis,' or cash (exact amount, please).

We want to thank all the awesome library volunteers who keep our library books circulating and Simis students reading! Your time and help is so appreciated.

Looking for a specific book or want to browse and see what’s available in our library? You can search the Destiny Discover website to see all the selections!

If you have any questions or need more information, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We appreciate your involvement and support!

Thank you,

Mrs. Sarmiento & Mrs. Brandstatter

asarmiento@madisoned.org

ebrandstatter@madisoned.org

What is Site Council:

Site Council reviews school data, discusses school procedures and practices, makes decisions about tax credit allocation, and helps inform the principal in decision making.

Recent Highlights: Approved tax credit scholarships, approved K-4 assembly fees, learned about district assessment process and resources

Discussed: Assessments and school improvement updates

Next meeting: Gifted and High Achieving Learners

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sJ2bI1ds4PizNvZ5tbP9fqYA3q2LeV-j/view?usp=sharing

Each year there is an activity fee of $50 for each student. Our Simis Site Based Management Council determines how all Tax Credit resources will be used at Madison Simis. This year we will use these funds to pay for our grade-level field trips, assemblies, and character education.

Process

Parent/Guardian:

https://az-madison.intouchreceipting.com/

The online portal page instructs guardians to login to POWERSCHOOL.

Guests can create an account and login directly through the online portal page.

Once logged in, parents can PAY Fines/Fees that are posted on their student's account or self select Items at Schools. For example, Activity Fees have already been posted on student's accounts and can be paid through Pay Fines/Fees. Please email receipts to simisoffice@madisoned.org.

Native American students may have their activity fees paid by grant funds if they have proof of Tribal membership. Please have interested families contact Martha Sullivan for information.

Families can contact simisoffice@madisoned.org for a scholarship form.

If you are looking for a fun activity to engage your student after school dismisses, don't forget to look at our vendor offerings at Madison Simis!

Madison School District has modules available to families in the THRIVE section of the Madison website. These short and informative videos with experts in the field provide families with resources to approach and support their child in ways that align with the students of the Alpha and iGeneration.

Click here to register as a school volunteer! All adults must be approved volunteers through the District to volunteer at Simis. Please remember when you volunteer that you are approved for a specific area of school during your visit. To avoid distractions in the learning environment, we ask that volunteers come to school to volunteer and then exit the school following their volunteering, not going into other classrooms to visit with students.

Sign up for a lunch visit here! Please read the details on the sign up form for more information.

As a reminder, we ask that all parents sit with their child at the visitor's table in the cafeteria and say goodbye as students head out to recess. Siblings cannot attend with parents/visitors. Friends do not join the lunch visit.

Our school community is amazing! Click here for more information about ways student families can be involved at Simis through PATS.