Ms. Michelle Alzamora
Dear Families,
As we head into a period with several short school weeks due to Spring holidays, we wanted to touch base on the importance of routines! While these breaks are exciting, the frequent changes in schedules can sometimes throw a wrench in our young learners' well-being.
Here's the thing: consistent routines provide a sense of security and predictability for children. When their daily rhythms shift significantly, it can lead to disruptions in behavior, difficulty focusing, and even sleep problems.
So, how can you help your child during these disrupted learning weeks?
The good news is, it's all about maintaining some normalcy at home! Here are some tips:
Stick to familiar bedtimes and wake-up times, even on break days. This will help regulate their sleep cycle and ensure they're well-rested for school.
Maintain consistent meal schedules. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner at familiar times will keep their energy levels up and avoid the sugar crashes that can come with holiday treats.
Keep technology expectations the same. Don't let screen time become the new norm during short breaks. Upholding your usual tech rules will make the transition back to school smoother.
By keeping these routines consistent, you'll be setting your child up for success when they return to the classroom. They'll feel more focused, regulated, and ready to learn!
Of course, there's always room for holiday fun! Bake cookies, take long walks, or enjoy some family time – just remember to weave these activities into your existing routines whenever possible.
Here's to a happy and healthy holiday spring season for everyone!
Yours,
Michelle Alzamora
We have begun our Spring MAP assessments. Students in grades 2-5 will take one MAP assessment a week following the schedule below. Your child’s teacher will let you know what days they will be taking the assessments. You will note significant gaps between some of the assessments. This is due to holidays.
MAP April 15 - May 23
Week of April 15 - Language Assessment (completed)
Week of April 21 - Reading Assessment
Week of May 12 - Math Assessment
Week of May 19 - Make-ups
The MAP assessments provide us with external data that compares your child’s performance with a set of recognized standards. Because the assessment is adaptive, we are able to gather information about children outside of the constraints of grade level bands.
This is not an assessment that your child can study for. In order to help her or him do their very best, please ensure that your child gets plenty of rest and eats a healthy breakfast. You can also help your child by not making a big deal about this testing experience. It is not a high stakes assessment and the children have no reason to feel stressed about their performance. You will receive information about your child’s performance on the MAP assessment after all students have completed the tests. For more about the MAP assessment, you can jump to the MAP Family Toolkit.
As a school, we look at the results of the MAP assessments to help us better understand each learner as well as our academic programs. Our classroom teachers will spend time together looking at MAP results in conjunction with other pieces of data about learning. As administrators, we use multiple data points (including MAP) over time to help us understand where our students are doing well and where we might consider making programmatic changes. The Spring data helps us to see trends in student growth over the year. Additionally, we will collect and analyze data from reading and writing assessments.
An invitation for families departing Jordan at the end of the school year.
Join the ES counselors, Tim Steadman and Hayley Jeanes on Sunday, April 21st from 5:30-7:30 for connection, activities, and discussion in relation to transitioning out of ACS and into a new place. This is for elementary school students and parents. This is a great chance to connect more deeply with each other (and other leavers) on the things that make leaving complex. Our location is still to be determined, but we hope you consider joining us in a few weeks.
Please ensure that your child is coming to school wearing close-toed shoes. Many students are wearing slides and flip-flops. While these shoes are fashionable and comfortable, they are not safe for school-related activities.
AAC Jamboree: Practice schedule reminder/update
Track and Field- Starting April 16th they will practice twice per week (Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3-4 pm
Update: Jamboree Meet: Thursday, May 23rd @ ABS
Basketball- After April 16th they will practice twice per week (Mondays and Tuesdays from 3-4pm
Update: Jamboree Tournament: Friday, May 24th @ ACS
Soccer- Will start April 17th (Mondays and Wednesdays 3-4 pm)
Update: Jamboree Tournament: Saturday, May 25th Boys @ AA and Girls @ NES
After learning about the disappearance of one of the LC’s beloved reading buddies, EYP students expressed their love with hand-drawn posters.
🏆📚 Woof-tastic Win! Dog Man by Dav Pilkey takes home the crown in March Madness for ES Readers! 🏀🐾
Blossoming Bookworms: Track your springtime reading adventures with our spring reading challenge! 🌷📚
Chances are your child's emotions fluctuate quite often! Over time, this may make you feel stuck as a parent around how to support your child and yourself in addressing emotional outbursts. It is taxing work.
To possibly help, we've added another tool to our ES Counseling Website - Check out these Tools to Try posters you can print and hang in your home to remind yourself and family members that there are tools you can use. The tools are best used together, as a family - not just for the kids!
We are here and happy to support you if you have any questions or would like to discuss ways to create a calmer home environment.
Tim Steadman and Hayley Jeanes
Guide to ChatGPT for Parents and Caregiver:
Find out how the artificial intelligence (AI) tool works and how to talk with kids about it.
April 3 - Grade 3 Recorder Concert
April 4 - Ramadan Celebration
April 15 - Parent Chat
April 15 - MAP window opens
April 24 - Grade 5 Art Showcase
April 24 - Grade 5 Music Concert
May 20 - Book Swap in the LC
May 20 - Grade 5 to Grade 6 Parent Transition Meeting
May 22 - Grade 1 Music Concert
May 22 - Grade 4 Music Concert
May 23 to 25 - AAC Sports Jamboree
May 26 to 30 - G5 WOW Week
May 29 - Parent Chat
June 4 - Grade 2 Music Concert
June 6 - Grade 5 moving Up Ceremony
June 9 - Day of Play