Families and middle school students, thank you for a great first week of school! It has been so great having everyone back in the building. We had students lead our back to school assemblies, students helping each other out when they noticed others in need, and a lot of patience as we problem-solved some things like lunch service.

Please talk at home about a few important reminders.

• Breakfast is served starting at 7:50. We ask our students to eat breakfast as soon as they get to school to prevent food from being taken to the classrooms. Food in classrooms leads to bugs and mice, which we would like to prevent!
• The gym and library open at 8:05 in the morning. Students should eat breakfast before going there, too!
• Our middle schoolers have been doing a GREAT job of staying seated in the mornings. A special shout out to the 6th graders - they've required the least amount of reminders!
• When students are dismissed to class in the morning and to recess after lunch, we ask that they push in their chairs and pick up all of their garbage. We got better at this as the week went on, but we can still use help to make sure we are showing PRIDE in our space.
• Finally, remember that your student has an assignment journal that we expect them to fill out in every class. Please review the assignment journal with your student at least weekly, if not nightly, so you know what your student is working on at school. If your child fills out their assignment journal daily and you sign it weekly, they will qualify for rewards like ice cream and pizza parties and field trips at the end of the year!

Thank you for your patience as we navigated the first week of school!

We will begin FAST and MAP testing this week and continue into the following week. We do this three times per year in addition to state ISASP testing in the spring. We will test the following subjects on the following days:

• Math (5th-8th graders) - September 4
• Science (6th-8th graders) - September 5
• Fluency (5th graders) and Comprehension (6th graders) - September 10
• Fluency (6th graders) - September 11
• Comprehension (5th, 7th, and 8th graders) - September 12

Testing does not change our schedule - we test the subjects in their class periods. However, if we can avoid students being absent for any reason on these days, it is greatly appreciated! Please talk with your students about the following:

• Get a good night of sleep! We all perform best when we are rested.
• Eat breakfast! Being able to focus on the test rather than feelings of hunger lead to better results.
• Try your best! Many students don't take these tests seriously. However, we use this data to help form intervention groups and classroom interventions. We aren't providing your students with the education they need if we don't have a clear picture of what they know!

If your student has wired headphones (not wireless like airpods), we encourage them to bring them in for testing days so they can listen to the tests, as this is something available to all students for certain tests.

We are excited to celebrate the great results we see from our students in the coming weeks!