Memorial Update

1/05/2026

Good Morning Memorial Families,

Welcome back, and Happy New Year! I hope that everyone enjoyed the longer holiday break this year and that everyone is ready for a fabulous 2026!

Later this month on January 28th we will hold our second annual math night. This year we are capitalizing on the Winter Olympics theme and bringing the STEM Olympics to Memorial. Students will have an opportunity to win their own gold medal for participating in different math, science, and technology events throughout the building. We are excited to be partnering with caregivers who work in STEM fields to provide workshops in budgeting, geography, and statistics to our students. We are still looking for one or two more parents who might be interested in running a math station that connects to your career. If interested, please email me at wbell@mursd.org.

We are also quickly reaching the midpoint of the school year, and so your students will be receiving progress reports at the end of the month. Last year, we made a shift in how we communicate student progress to caregivers and families in an effort to help all of you have a better understanding of how your child is doing as measured against the end of year grade level standards. This shift has us focusing on the journey to mastery. For those of you who are new to this way of reporting, here are some helpful things to remember.

1. We assess against end of year grade level standards. That means that your child most likely has not yet "met" or "mastered" that standard at the midpoint of the year, and we do not expect them to have. There may be a couple smaller standards that have been met, but most students will not receive very many "M" marks on this mid-year progress report, and that is very okay.

2. The way that we are measuring progress puts your child on a continuum, of beginning to make progress, making progress, to meeting the standard for the end of the year. Your child's teacher is pinpointing where your child is currently at on the journey. This means that you should not see a student getting a "P" now and then regressing. Once they hit a point, they keep moving forward.

3. Keep and eye on the number of "B" grades that your child is receiving. To meet the standard by the end of the year, we will want your child to be progressing towards the standard in most areas at this point in the year. Your child's teacher has the ability to comment specifically on math and reading standards and should be able to clearly communicate where your child is shining and where they may need a boost.

4. The math domains are broad. To receive a "meeting expectations" in any of the math domains, your child would need to demonstrate mastery of all of the standards in that domain. Please refer to the standards sheets in the resources linked below to see what is expected in each grade level under each math domain. Again, your child's teacher should be reporting specifically about which standards have/have not yet been met in the comment box.

5. Behaviors that Support Student Success are, in my opinion, the skills that we really want to see developing well in elementary school. While a student may be progressing more slowly academically, developing social and emotional skills will support learning and progress as your child grows. Spend time talking with your child about the glows and grows in these skills.

Have a wonderful week!

Warmly,

Wendy

Progress Reporting Resources

New this year! A monthly newsletter from our reading specialist, Mrs. Hagen, with tips and information for families about literacy development and strategies.

Click here to read, or find it in the School Newsletter document.