Dear Zervas Families,

Despite the recent cold days that have limited our time outdoors, we can look forward to the days getting longer this month.  We are moving into the second half of the school year with the recently noted 90th day of school being our “Half-Way Day”.   In the coming weeks and months, we will continue to work collaboratively and purposefully to address the various academic and social needs of our students; taking advantage of the momentum built earlier in the academic year.

Classroom Clean-Up Day: A big thank-you to all the families who gave up time on their busy Saturdays to come and help with projects in our school.  Teachers and staff commented on how great their rooms looked and were very appreciative of everyone’s help.  The place was hopping; thanks to Kathryn Klassman for organizing the day!

Progress Reports: Progress Reports will be available online for all families on Monday, February 11.  Access information will be emailed from the district shortly before that date.  Students’ current performance levels in a variety of academic and social objectives are reported in reference to our grade-level benchmarks.   Students who are meeting or are on track to meet year-end benchmarks receive a “3.”  “4” indicates performance well beyond grade-level benchmarks.  “2” and “1” indicate varying degrees of required growth toward benchmarks.  Should you have specific questions about your child’s progress report, please feel free to contact your child’s teacher.

MCAS Schedule: Each spring we administer the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests to students in grades 3 through 5 in the area of English Language Arts and Mathematics and to students in grade 5 in the area of Science & Technology/Engineering.

Please mark your calendars with the following dates this year’s test administration.  It is critical that students are in school when testing is scheduled for their grade level.

English Language Arts:

Grade 3 – March 22 and 25
Grade 4 – March 19 (Long Composition), March 20 and 21 (Reading)
Grade 5 – April 1 and 2

Math:

Grade 3 – May 15 and 16
Grade 4 – May 13 and 14
Grade 5 – May 6 and 7

Science:

Grade 5 – May 9 and 10

Early Release: I would like to remind you that this Wednesday, February 6 will be an early release.  All students will be dismissed at 12:30 pm.  The district scheduled one Wednesday release day this year to have less of an impact at the secondary level.

Thank you,

Diana Beck