MARCH 18, 2016
Wednesday, March 23
Storytelling Residency with John Porcino begins
Thursday, March 24
PTO Meeting- 5:30pm
ARMS Parent Orientation- 6:30-8:30pm
Friday, March 25
Assembly, featuring Grade 2- 2:15pm
LES Afterschool and Summer Programs surveys due
Saturday, March 26
LES & SES Mullins Center Skate Day- 2:45pm
Tuesday, March 29
All School Concert & Art Show- 6:00pm
~~~~~~~~~~
SPOTLIGHT ON…
LES Afterschool and Summer Programs surveys are due Friday! You can find the link on the school website leverettschool.org or contact Kate in the office if you would like a paper copy.
IN THE SCHOOLHOUSE
The Dilemmas of Standardized Testing
In this edition of the Friday Post, we are publishing the dates for the PARCC and MCAS testing, which will take place in May. Standardized testing presents us with many dilemmas, and there are a wide range of views on how to assess children’s progress. The Leverett School Committee is engaged in an ongoing conversation about how to respond to the State mandates regarding PARCC. I know that they would welcome having parent voices in that conversation.
My own thinking about standardized testing depends on the lens through which I happen to be looking. As a former urban educator, I became very aware of the inequity of education. I have seen many urban classrooms which lacked the equipment, resources, and quality teaching that we almost take for granted here in Leverett. Even the most skilled urban teachers are waging a battle against poverty, limited parental engagement and violence. It is hardly surprising that urban schools have found themselves with big challenges in helping students meet expectations. Many of these urban schools have made significant gains in recent years, and I do think that the advent of standardized testing has played a big part. It is no longer possible for schools to do ‘business as usual’ and accept failure as the status quo. Standardized testing forced urban districts to rethink the ability of their students, and to provide a much better education. It introduced the concept of accountability for all students.
Students in Leverett have generally done quite well on MCAS, because this is an environment where critical thinking is encouraged every day. As I read my teacher observation notes, I am continually impressed at the questions posed in the classroom, from both teachers and students.
With another season of standardized testing upon us, the staff at Leverett Elementary school will continue to be unwavering in our focus on the whole child. We will not succumb to any externally-perceived need to ‘teach to the test.’ As we always do, we will look at each child’s strengths and needs in their daily learning, always seeking new ways to nudge them forward in a way that instills curiosity and gives meaning to that learning. That is our measurement of accountability for our educational practices at LES.
We will give the PARCC test, as we are required to do in May. And we will administer the test, recognizing that it is one piece of data. Our focus will remain on the dozens of other pieces of data that we look at for each child every year, and our deep caring and understanding of each child. That is the enduring constant in framing the work here in the LES schoolhouse.
-Margot Lacey
2016 PARCC/MCAS Schedule
May 3, 4, 5 (Tu-Th): English Language Arts
Grades 3-6
May 10, 11, 12 (Tu-Th): Mathematics
Grades 3-6
May 17/18 (Tu/We): Science, Technology, Engineering MCAS- Grade 5
Kindergarten Call
Does anyone have any candy molds to loan or donate to our kindergarten class? They would like to use them for melting crayons! Contact Mrs. King [email protected]. Thanks!
PTO sponsered EVENT
Family Skate date
Free Ice Skating Event
2:45 arrival
3:00-3:50 Skate time, followed by bake sale snacks!
The Mullins Center Practice Rink
amherst, MA
Sponsored by the Leverett and Shutesbury PTO! Come join us for a family free skating (rentals included) followed by a bake sale of treats! Donations for the bake sale are greatly appreciated. Any questions please feel free to contact me: Theresa Gahagan 413-461-0124
COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD
(Items listed here are not school sponsored)
Leverett Congregational Church, will observe Easter with three special services.
Maundy Thursday, March 24, 7 p.m., Tenebrae Service, with readings and communion.
Easter Sunrise Service, Sunday, March 27, 6:30 a.m., a short service of celebration held in the Emerson Garden beside the church (or inside if raining). Easter Sunrise Breakfast, 7 a.m., in the Leverett Town Hall, a hearty breakfast follows, free, open to the public. Come for the service and/or join us for a community breakfast.
Easter Service, Sunday, March 27, 10:00 a.m.
The Leverett Congregational Church has handicapable access and is Open and Affirming, welcoming all; located at 4 Montague Road, Leverett (across from the Leverett Post Office). Child supervision will be provided. For more information, call Claudia Gere 413-359-0003 or email [email protected].
Help needed with spring cleanup in South Leverett on Juggler Meadow Road. Jobs include leaf and yard raking, pick up & carting brush and apple tree prunings, spreading mulch, weeding and edging projects, setting up summer furniture, and other outdoor chores. I'm looking for a responsible, hard worker who I will train and assist with the work. The pay rate will start at $8.00/hour usually in 2-4 hour periods on the weekends. The pay rate will increase to $10.00/hour based on level of ability and need for oversight.
Call Mary Jo at 413-218-3289 and leave contact information.
FAMILY DANCE -
Sun, Mar 20 from 3-5pm at The Common School
Please come to the COMMUNITY FAMILY DANCE that's fun for all ages!
All dances taught by caller Marguerite Durant, Hilltown Charter School music teacher
Music by local musicians Joanna Morse (fiddle) & Linda Henry (piano)
Potluck snacks at the break (please bring one to share)
Sliding scale donation
This event is co-sponsored by The Common School and Country Dance & Song Society.
The Common School is behind the Hitchcock center off of 116 past Amherst College ( on the right) as you head toward South Amherst.