K-5 Elementary School NOVEMBER Updates
November Message from the Asst. Principal
November News from Grades K-5 Dear families, Thank you to everyone who was able to attend our Fall Event and STEM activity! It was so fun having teachers see and talk to you and your children. I hope you had a good time! As we enter the busy season in our personal lives, please be sure to have a plan to work daily on school lessons and to communicate regularly with your teachers. Just a reminder that no extensions will be provided for Semester 1 coursework, and classes close on December 15th at 4:00pm AZ time. Any incomplete work left unsubmitted at the conclusion of Semester 1 will receive a score of 0 and can impact your overall grade. It’s important that you’re staying on track with lesson completion for a successful finish. We’re here to help! Please communicate with your teacher regularly to ensure there is a plan in place to complete the semester successfully. Teachers will regularly input a temporary zero score for incomplete work so that you can see current progress. These are temporary until 12/14 if your student completes the assignment. If the assignment is left incomplete, the zero score will remain at the close of the semester. Monthly Teacher Tip brought to you by grade 3 teachers! Keyboarding: Tips, Tricks and Resources **This is good for state testing preparation. Benchmarks: Winter Benchmarks will be held the first week of December. These are required for students to help teachers (and you!) monitor growth and areas of need in reading and math. More information coming soon! Thank you for partnering with us to educate your children. Kindly, Deanna Woerner, M. Ed Elementary School Asst. Principal |
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Community Board
Be sure to check out the Elementary School Community Board for the month of November!
Kindness Challenge!
Click here to view.
Kindness Challenge!
Click here to view.
Student of the Month---Makayla
Arizona Move On When Reading Law (Grades K-3)
Dear K-3 Parents & Guardians,
In Arizona Connections Academy our focus is on providing the best high-quality reading instruction to all students each day. Through a process called Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), all kindergarten through third grade students are screened for reading difficulties and/or characteristics consistent with dyslexia in the fall, winter, and spring using Acadience Reading K-6. This literacy universal screening process is a brief assessment administered to all K-3 students to inform teachers of students who are on track and students who may need more targeted intervention. This screening does not diagnose for reading disabilities, nor dyslexia.
Per the universal screener, students who are not on benchmark are administered a deeper diagnostic assessment. This diagnostic information provides teachers and specialists with the specific skills needed to target in intervention. Those interventions are started immediately, working to close the gaps. This diagnostic assessment does not diagnose for reading disabilities, nor dyslexia. A change in intervention curriculum, group size, level of intensity, frequency, and/or duration may be needed. More intensive time, duration, and frequency in intervention may be needed and can take place with the classroom teacher or a specialist, such as a reading interventionist. This is considered intensive Tier 3 intervention. The progress of all students receiving intervention is closely and frequently checked. Parents are essential to this entire process. Following the Universal Literacy and Dyslexia Screener in addition to diagnostic assessments, you will be notified if your child is not at grade level.
Arizona’s Move On When Reading (MOWR) legislation places great importance on this process beginning in kindergarten. This ensure all students remain on track to be reading at grade level by the end of 3rd grade. Arizona Revised Statute §15-701 states that if a student scores below the cut score on the reading portion of the 3rd grade statewide exam, he/she will not be promoted to 4th grade until the student makes sufficient progress in reading proficiency. It is understood that each child is unique, therefore exemptions have been established for students to be promoted to 4th grade. Those exemptions are available at www.azed.gov/mowr.
A variety of factors, in and outside of school, can influence a child’s educational path and progress. It is important for parents to share in the educational journey, through constant communication and continued involvement. We encourage you to continue to highlight and celebrate your child’s strengths and share difficulties if they occur. Please reach out to us if you have any questions and we look forward to a successful school year.
Sincerely,
Deanna Woerner, M. Ed.
ES Asst. Principal
In Arizona Connections Academy our focus is on providing the best high-quality reading instruction to all students each day. Through a process called Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), all kindergarten through third grade students are screened for reading difficulties and/or characteristics consistent with dyslexia in the fall, winter, and spring using Acadience Reading K-6. This literacy universal screening process is a brief assessment administered to all K-3 students to inform teachers of students who are on track and students who may need more targeted intervention. This screening does not diagnose for reading disabilities, nor dyslexia.
Per the universal screener, students who are not on benchmark are administered a deeper diagnostic assessment. This diagnostic information provides teachers and specialists with the specific skills needed to target in intervention. Those interventions are started immediately, working to close the gaps. This diagnostic assessment does not diagnose for reading disabilities, nor dyslexia. A change in intervention curriculum, group size, level of intensity, frequency, and/or duration may be needed. More intensive time, duration, and frequency in intervention may be needed and can take place with the classroom teacher or a specialist, such as a reading interventionist. This is considered intensive Tier 3 intervention. The progress of all students receiving intervention is closely and frequently checked. Parents are essential to this entire process. Following the Universal Literacy and Dyslexia Screener in addition to diagnostic assessments, you will be notified if your child is not at grade level.
Arizona’s Move On When Reading (MOWR) legislation places great importance on this process beginning in kindergarten. This ensure all students remain on track to be reading at grade level by the end of 3rd grade. Arizona Revised Statute §15-701 states that if a student scores below the cut score on the reading portion of the 3rd grade statewide exam, he/she will not be promoted to 4th grade until the student makes sufficient progress in reading proficiency. It is understood that each child is unique, therefore exemptions have been established for students to be promoted to 4th grade. Those exemptions are available at www.azed.gov/mowr.
A variety of factors, in and outside of school, can influence a child’s educational path and progress. It is important for parents to share in the educational journey, through constant communication and continued involvement. We encourage you to continue to highlight and celebrate your child’s strengths and share difficulties if they occur. Please reach out to us if you have any questions and we look forward to a successful school year.
Sincerely,
Deanna Woerner, M. Ed.
ES Asst. Principal