Week 31

Good Afternoon Jacques Families,

This week at Jacques Memorial School and throughout the Milford School District we are celebrating teacher appreciation week. I would like to take this opportunity to share and to express my gratitude for our teachers and staff at Jacques Memorial School.

Everyday I am impressed by, and grateful for, their efforts and their ingenuity. They are an incredibly talented group of teachers who want nothing but the best for our students and families. I appreciate all those extra things; those extra hours they work to ensure learning and to help our students to be successful. Thank you all for everything you do each and everyday that make Jacques Memorial School such a "A Great Place To Start!"

I wish the very best for my teachers all year, but this week is extra special for those at the heart of learning. I hope each of you can show your gratitude in some way or another during Teacher Appreciation Week.

Here are some important reminders and updates:

Math Parent Forum: On Thursday May 12th, there will be a Math Parent Forum from 8:30-9:00 AM at Jacques Memorial School. At this parent event, Mrs. Erin Mello, First Grade teacher and Ms. Leslie Brigagliano Curriculum/Title One Coordinator will review the Kindergarten-Second grade math curriculum and share what parents can do at home to support their child’s learning at home. Please RSVP to Leslie Brigagliano at leslie.brigagliano@milfordk12.org if you would like to attend. Younger siblings are welcome.

JMS Spring Arts Festival/ Luncheon: We have a great opportunity to showcase our musical and artistic talents the week of May 23rd-27th. All students will be singing and performing at the new Keyes Park Granite Amphitheater.

Each class will be singing songs about the subjects they are learning at school, the significance of Memorial Day and school pride. Performing for others is important for our students. Students experience the journey from practice to performance, developing skills and characteristics like planning and devotion to a goal. In addition to the musical performances, each student will have artwork on display. Our students feel a sense of pride and accomplishment when they see their artwork on display. At the end of the Spring Art/Music festival, families are encouraged to take their child’s artwork home with them.

We welcome parents and family members to attend this event. The date and time of each performance and luncheon depends on your child’s classroom teacher. We will record the event for parents who may not be able to attend. Please refer to the table below:

DATE	Classroom Teacher	Time
Monday, May 23rd	Ms. Bailey, Mrs. Matase, Mrs. Mello & Mrs. Stevens	10:30-11:20 am
Tuesday, May 24th	Mr. Duggan, Ms. Foley, Mrs. McQueeney & Mrs. Nivens	10:55-11:45 am
Wednesday, May 25th	Ms. Becotte, Mrs. Cote & Mrs. Martinez	11:20-12:10 pm
Thursday, May 26th	Ms. Casey, Mrs. Egan & Mrs. Nunez	11:45-12:35 pm
Friday, May 27th	Ms. Minott, Mrs. Nadeau & Mrs. Straw	12:10-1:00 pm

After the performance, families are invited to join their students for a picnic lunch. Students and families may bring their lunch from home or order a Picnic lunch from the JMS cafeteria. Lunch is free for students. Families may order and purchase additional picnic lunch(es). You may bring a blanket or lawn chair for the event.

Please look for more information about this event including a RSVP, Permission slip and picnic lunch order form to be sent home. Please return this to your child’s teacher by Friday, May 13th.

SPRING Benchmark Assessments: It is that time of year when we complete our end-of-year assessments. We assess students in the area of phonics, literacy, writing, math, and Kg/1st grade standards. One specific assessment is called Acadience Reading Assessment. The purpose of Acadience Reading Assessment is to monitor your child’s development in reading, to identify students who need additional help, and to guide the teacher’s instruction. Acadience Reading is not used to “grade” a child.

Acadience Reading consists of several brief tests that are used as indicators of critical skills that students need to master in order to become good readers. Much like measuring a child’s height and weight, this assessment provides an indicator of that child’s overall growth. Each Acadience test provides an indicator of how well a child is doing in learning a particular reading skill. The scores tell us whether a child is likely to be “on track” for learning to read, or whether that child may need some additional help in learning important reading skills.

Also in 1st grade only, we use another assessment to measure how your child is performing academically in both reading and math. This assessment is the Northwest Evaluation Association- Measures of Academic Progress (NWEA-)MAP Growth test. This assessment helps teachers check student performance by measuring achievement and growth. We also use the results to tailor classroom lessons and set individual student goals. Your child was tested in the fall and winter. This is a great opportunity for us to measure academic growth. Please remember this is one point of data of several data points we collect throughout the year. These reports will be sent home with report cards and stored in your child’s school file. Please connect with your child’s teacher if you have any questions.

BIKES for BOOKS: Bikes for Books is a reading incentive program created by the Masons for children in the elementary schools in order to help support literacy programs in our schools. Students are asked to read (or be read to) as many books as they can from now until Friday, June 3rd. Students fill out an entry form, (JMS Bikes for Books Google Form) for each book that they read. The entry form includes the name of the book and the author, as well as the student’s name, grade and teacher’s name. The student also fills out a short description of the book. After completing the entry form, please press “Submit”.

The more books they read (or that are read to them, increases the opportunity they have to win a new bike! A drawing will be held on Friday, June 10 for 2 boys and 2 girls to receive a new bike! While student participation is not mandatory, I am sure that it will support and encourage reading!

Sincerely,

Tim O'Connell

Principal