October 16, 2020
Dear Burr Families,
We are halfway through October with Thanksgiving not far away. I hope conferences went well, and you were able to get specific information on how your child is progressing. We are giving STAR to students this month, but, honestly, STAR is a moment in time and not the primary indicator of what a student can do as a reader and mathematician.
Our most important assessment measures are when teachers get to know students really well as learners, and then use this information to plan for instruction. This is much more challenging and robust that a spreadsheet of numbers. We believe the following methods (both in the short and long term) are more powerful evidence of a student's strengths and areas of need:
Listening to a child read out loud. If a teacher knows where on a developmental continuum or where using a progression of grade level skills a student is, they can isolate both strengths and areas of need.
Running Records. A running record is a more formalized way of having students read aloud to teachers and includes error analysis, fluency rates, and comprehension work.
Writing samples. A writing sample can tell a teacher writing process information like how much a student is writing, what types of word choice and language they are using, and how they organize their thoughts. Writing samples - especially over time - can also demonstrate a transfer of skills - like how well a student spells or understands grammatical concepts.
Short math quizzes. End of unit math assessments are summative and can give a teacher important information about what a student learned during a specific unit. Short check ins along the way, however, can give teachers current information that can inform their instruction. These quizzes don't need to be formalized to be highly effective. For example, a teacher meeting in a small group with two students who have white boards can ask them to solve 1-2 problems and learn a lot about what they know.
Conferring with students. At Burr, teachers confer with students consistently in reading, writing, and math. These conferences serve different purposes but the end result is a teacher supporting a student either 1-1 or in a small group. Purposes can range from helping a student determine a topic for writing to a discussion about what a student is reading independently to skill work on a specific phonics skill.
Overall, please know that there is a lot of thought put into knowing what academic skills students have and what still needs work.
As always, if you have any feedback or questions, don't hesitate to contact me directly at jbluestein@fairfieldschools.org
Be well,
Jason
We are learning at Burr!
Great, Amazing, Wonderful Opportunity
For the past year, Burr staff has participated in a lot of terrific professional development work with the Reading and Writing Project at Teacher's College. Every year, The Project offers a professional development opportunity for families. We have five spots that we would love to offer to Burr parents. The workshop is virtual and occurs on Friday, October 23rd and runs from 11:00-3:00. You could attend all or part of the day. HERE is a link to more information. Please let me know if you are interested at jbluestein@fairfieldschools.org . These workshops are wonderful, so I would highly encourage you to join us.
Parent Corner
Reminder: Parents please remember to keep your child home if s/he had a COVID test and the results are pending.
Resource: Link to CDC
Read It (Together): The Suitcase
Read It (Grades 3-5): The Campaign
Read It: Hidden Valley Road
Watch It: PBS Video Resources for Parents
Watch It with Your Children: Our Planet on Netflix
Behavior Handbook/Technology Pledge
Below is a link to our school Behavior Handbook. We review it with students at school, but I would encourage you to read it over at home. Some of the ideas in it are pre-Covid and not quite applicable at this time. However, the technology pledge on page 11 is definitely timely and worth a reminder at home. We are speaking with students about good manners when accessing Google Meets. These include: 1) Being present at live meets for the entire meet and being on time. 2) Finding a space at home for Google Meets that is an appropriate work space. Students should also avoid having toys or other items that could distract from the lesson. 3) Making sure to listen to the teacher and not calling out verbally or using the chat box in distracting ways.
I would also encourage you to review Burr's three key words. Understanding, Respect, and Responsibility. There are some great suggestions for read aloud books on the last page of the handbook that can open up space for some great conversations about how the characters are demonstrating these important characteristics.
Halloween
Students will be allowed to wear Halloween costumes to school on Friday, October 30th. As in the past, we would ask that students do not wear costumes that are inappropriate and/or promote graphic violence. We would also ask that students refrain from bringing anything to school that could become a mess - like fake blood. Unfortunately we will not be having a kindergarten Halloween parade this year. We will be having craft based parties (no candy or food) but due to Covid safety regulations, we will not be able to have any parent volunteers or visitors.
Veteran's Day
HERE is a link to a letter I sent out about Veteran's Day earlier in the week. As many of you know, Veteran's Day is our favorite assembly at Burr - certainly our most powerful and moving. We would love your help gathering recorded messages from Veterans to share with students and staff.
Playground
Per the school district and Town of Fairfield, playgrounds at all elementary schools are not available for visitors during and just after school hours. They are available after 4:30 and on weekends. Thank you for your cooperation.
Book Fair
The PTA Book Fair is here! This is a great opportunity to get books in your child's hands and support our school. As you talk with your child about ordering books, have them think about what a Just Right book is. In fact, I would ask them specifically to tell you. Reading just right books will ensure that students practice the thinking skills they need to read more and more sophisticated texts. Being able to read the words at a fluent pace and having the skills necessary to comprehend the text make reading much more enjoyable for any reader.
The Book Fair runs through Sunday, October 27th.
It will be held virtually, and will run for 2 weeks.
All orders over $25 will ship for free, and directly to your home!
Lots of great titles will be available, including the new release "Dog Man: Grime and Punishment"
If you would like a sneak peak, click here for the catalog
Town Library Services
HERE is some awesome information about Fairfield's Public Library.