February 4, 2014
Dear Zervas Families,
It is hard to believe that is it February already! 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.
Coming Soon: New Zervas Logo!
Perhaps you’ve heard the buzz from your child about our new Zervas mascot: The Zebra! Well, we are now embarking on creating a Zervas Zebra Logo! In Art class, students in all grades have been trying their hand at designing such a logo. With over 150 entries, the task now falls on this month’s 5th grade student council to determine a rubric and narrow down the entries to 5 finalists. Then all students and staff will vote to determine the winning logo. We look forward to sharing this with you in the next few months!
Dynamic Diversity Night
It was wonderful to see all the families who attended last week’s Dynamic Diversity Event. Children and families engaged in several activities promoting the examination of our cultural identities and about ways we can respect each other’s experiences and backgrounds. A big thank you to Amy Behrens and Jacqueline Butera, co-chairs of our Respect for Human Differences Committee, for organizing this event – it was a great success!
Progress Reports
Progress Reports were available online for all families starting on Monday, February 3. Access information was emailed from the district. 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.” A “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.
School Council/Science MCAS Parent Evening
I invite you to join the Zervas School Council for a presentation by Diana Beck, Principal of Zervas School and Jenny Craddock, K-8 Science Coordinator reviewing and discussing our K-5 science curriculum and recent MCAS Science scores. This will take place on Tuesday, February 25, 2014, 6:30-7:30 pm in the Zervas School Library. We hope to see you there!
Reminder of our 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 24 & March 25
Grade 4: March 18 (Long Composition), March 19 & 20 (Reading)
Grade 5: March 26 & 27
Mathematics and Science & Technology/Engineering
Grade 3: May 14 & 15
Grade 4: May 8 & 9
Grade 5: May 5 & May 6 (Math), May 12 & 13 (Science)
Early Release
I would like to remind you that this Wednesday, February 5 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
