principal's CORNER
Happy New Year MJP!
I hope you were able to enjoy some time to relax over the past two weeks. New year, new opportunities, so let's get this party started right! Students are scheduled to return to school tomorrow, Monday, Jan. 6th at 8:30 a.m. and we are looking forward to welcoming our scholars back! As you gear up for our first week back, please remind your child to leave all valuables, holiday gifts, toys, games, and expensive technology at home. We want to limit distractions in the learning environment and promote strong student engagement throughout the school day. Please see below for more important updates:
January Dates
Welcome New Staff!
MJP welcomes Nurse Julianne Ahern, who will begin her first day at MJP on Monday, January 6th as our new full-time nurse. Ms. Desiree Halliday will also be joining the team as a lunch monitor beginning tomorrow, January 6th. She will take over Ms. Manion's shifts. Welcome Ms. Halliday and Nurse Ahern!
Planning for Next Year SY20-21
The Perkins School will be getting a new 6th grade and a new 2nd grade ABA class next year. Both will be fully funded by Boston Public Schools. MJP is also a candidate for My Way Cafe funded through the Shah Family Foundation with construction tentatively scheduled for this summer 2020 pending final approval. These exciting new changes mean wonderful new opportunities for our scholars!
We want to hear from you about these proposed changes! Please complete this 2-minute survey to provide your input on planning for next school year 2020-2021 using the link below:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/H75JY2V
A paper copy will be sent home this month in your child's backpack. You may complete the online survey OR paper copy, but please do not complete both.
Instructional Priorities:
School-wide goal - to elevate overall student achievement by 20% on MCAS; 70% correct & 50% Mastery on Illuminate interim assessments
Social Emotional Learning - January Focus: Review Skills for Learning
Math
To increase students' math proficiency, teachers are engaging students in Number Talks at school, during which students explain their mathematical reasoning by using key vocabulary. In addition to Number Talks, we will aim to increase scholars' automaticity with basic math facts by incorporating a brief 1-3 minute "Morning Math with Movement" activity beginning this month during morning announcements. Students will be invited to exercise while skip-counting, adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing to strengthen their number sense and build computational fluency. Our focus will be as follows:
ELA
To increase students' literacy levels, we aim to immerse every student in a print-rich, literacy rich environment at all times throughout each school day. Students are expected to be actively engaged in reading whenever possible, and at no time should students sit or stand around idly, including during morning arrival, transitions, after finishing work early in class, and while waiting for afternoon dismissal.
To help us with these efforts, please encourage your child to check out 3 Books-in-Progress (BIP) from our school library to keep one book in their desk, one in their backpack, and one at home so that they will have a Book-in-Progress on hand at all times. Ask your child to discuss his/her/their favorite part(s) of their BIP or if they could change one part of the story, what would that be and why. Reinforce reading strategies when solving math story problems. Label everything at home (furniture, objects, windows, doors, chairs, tables, etc.) so your child may become familiar with seeing the spellings of common household items in print. Make sure your child writes at home every day, even if only for 5-10 minutes at a time.
Sincerely,
Maisha Rounds, Proud Principal
Michael J. Perkins Elementary School
"The Home of Outstanding World Learners"
I hope you were able to enjoy some time to relax over the past two weeks. New year, new opportunities, so let's get this party started right! Students are scheduled to return to school tomorrow, Monday, Jan. 6th at 8:30 a.m. and we are looking forward to welcoming our scholars back! As you gear up for our first week back, please remind your child to leave all valuables, holiday gifts, toys, games, and expensive technology at home. We want to limit distractions in the learning environment and promote strong student engagement throughout the school day. Please see below for more important updates:
January Dates
- 1/6/20 - Students and teachers return to school
- 1/7/20 - School Site Council Meeting 3:30-4:15 a.m. in the FCRC (Room 103) - Budget Discussions (All MJP staff and families are invited)
- 1/13 - ELA Interim assessment window opens (make sure your scholar gets plenty of rest and arrives to school on time every day)
- 1/13 - School Preview for prospective MJP families 4-5 p.m.
- 1/14/20 - School Site Council Meeting 3:30-4:15 a.m. in the FCRC (Room 103) - Budget Meeting
- 1/14 - ACCESS Testing MCAS window opens (make sure your scholar gets plenty of rest and arrives to school on time every day.
Welcome New Staff!
MJP welcomes Nurse Julianne Ahern, who will begin her first day at MJP on Monday, January 6th as our new full-time nurse. Ms. Desiree Halliday will also be joining the team as a lunch monitor beginning tomorrow, January 6th. She will take over Ms. Manion's shifts. Welcome Ms. Halliday and Nurse Ahern!
Planning for Next Year SY20-21
The Perkins School will be getting a new 6th grade and a new 2nd grade ABA class next year. Both will be fully funded by Boston Public Schools. MJP is also a candidate for My Way Cafe funded through the Shah Family Foundation with construction tentatively scheduled for this summer 2020 pending final approval. These exciting new changes mean wonderful new opportunities for our scholars!
We want to hear from you about these proposed changes! Please complete this 2-minute survey to provide your input on planning for next school year 2020-2021 using the link below:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/H75JY2V
A paper copy will be sent home this month in your child's backpack. You may complete the online survey OR paper copy, but please do not complete both.
Instructional Priorities:
- Big Rock #1: Data-Driven Instruction
- Big Rock #2: Coaching & Feedback
- Big Rock #3: Social Emotional Learning
School-wide goal - to elevate overall student achievement by 20% on MCAS; 70% correct & 50% Mastery on Illuminate interim assessments
Social Emotional Learning - January Focus: Review Skills for Learning
Math
To increase students' math proficiency, teachers are engaging students in Number Talks at school, during which students explain their mathematical reasoning by using key vocabulary. In addition to Number Talks, we will aim to increase scholars' automaticity with basic math facts by incorporating a brief 1-3 minute "Morning Math with Movement" activity beginning this month during morning announcements. Students will be invited to exercise while skip-counting, adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing to strengthen their number sense and build computational fluency. Our focus will be as follows:
- Computational Fluency Goals (By the end of this year, students should be able to...)
- K0/K1 & K2: read and write numbers 1-20, count by rote forward and backward by 1's; skip count by 2, 5, & 10
- 1st: read and write numbers 1-100; count by rote forward and backward by 1's, skip count by 2, 3, 5, & 10; add/subtract 50 facts in 5 minutes without regrouping
- 2nd: read and write numbers up to 1,000; skip count forward and backward up to 1,000; add/subtract 50 facts in 5 minutes WITH regrouping
- 3rd: read and write numbers up to 1,000,000; add/subtract 100 facts in 5 minutes WITH regrouping; multiply 0-12 multiplication facts (50 facts in 5 minutes)
- 4th: read and write numbers BEYOND 1,000,000; multiply/divide 0-12 mixed multiplication facts (100 facts in 5 minutes)
- 5th: read and write fractions & decimals to the thousandths place; add/subtract/multiply/divide fractions & decimals; multiply/divide 0-12, 100 facts in 5 minutes
- While I'm not a fan of worksheets and strongly encourage regular daily oral math facts practice through games, practice sheets can be found at www.math-drills.com if you want extra written practice for your child at home.
Reading Fluency expectations are as follows:- K0/K1 & K2 - identify colors, shapes, letter names and sounds A-Z (capital and lower case); identify Pre-K and kindergarten sight words
- 1st - identify all PreK, K, and 1st grade sight words; read a grade level passage (untimed)
- 2nd - identify all PreK, K, 1, & 2nd grade sight words; read a grade level passage (Oral Reading Fluency [ORF] = 50 Words Per Minute [WPM] in the fall; 100 WPM in the spring (this is the 50th percentile)
- 3rd - read PreK-3rd grade sight words; read a grade level passage - ORF = 83 WPM in the fall; 112 WPM in the spring (50th percentile)
- 4th - read content-specific vocabulary (science, S.S.); read a grade level passage - ORF = 94 WPM in the fall; 133 WPM in the spring (50th percentile)
- 5th - read content-specific vocabulary; read a grade level passage (ORF = 121 WPM in the fall; 146 WPM in the spring (50th percentile)
The key is to build fluency practice into your child's daily routine at home. For example, keep a tally chart at home for each day of school, adding 1 more every day. Then, celebrate the 100th day of school together at home! Is your child bored at home or are you looking for ways to keep them busy? Skip count forward and backward playing hopscotch or counting household objects like eating utensils, sheets of paper, coins (pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters). At bedtime, read for 20 minutes or use flashcards to read and spell sight words your child has learned at school this week. Keep it fun by making it into a game with rewards not penalties.
The more students are motivated to read, the more they'll be inclined to read, and the better they will get. Here is the reading log that was shared earlier this year. Students are encouraged to complete and turn in this reading log with the number of minutes read for recognition during the Community Day of Scholars! There may also be little surprises along the way!
ELA
To increase students' literacy levels, we aim to immerse every student in a print-rich, literacy rich environment at all times throughout each school day. Students are expected to be actively engaged in reading whenever possible, and at no time should students sit or stand around idly, including during morning arrival, transitions, after finishing work early in class, and while waiting for afternoon dismissal.
To help us with these efforts, please encourage your child to check out 3 Books-in-Progress (BIP) from our school library to keep one book in their desk, one in their backpack, and one at home so that they will have a Book-in-Progress on hand at all times. Ask your child to discuss his/her/their favorite part(s) of their BIP or if they could change one part of the story, what would that be and why. Reinforce reading strategies when solving math story problems. Label everything at home (furniture, objects, windows, doors, chairs, tables, etc.) so your child may become familiar with seeing the spellings of common household items in print. Make sure your child writes at home every day, even if only for 5-10 minutes at a time.
Sincerely,
Maisha Rounds, Proud Principal
Michael J. Perkins Elementary School
"The Home of Outstanding World Learners"
|
SPANISH/English Versions of past letters available below: Entry Letter 7/2019 Mid-Summer Update 8/2019 Carta Familiar 9/3/19 Carta Familiar 9/6/19 Carta Familiar 10/18/19 Carta Familiar 11/11/19 Carta Familiar 12/3/19 |
| ||||
