The Braintree Buzz

Principal's Update

Like many of you, I hugged my own sixth grader a little harder before heading out the door Tuesday morning. Every senseless loss of life from violence is a tragedy, and the school shooting in Nashville is no exception. If you are interested in resources about how to talk to your child about tragic events in the news, this PBS collection is a good place to begin. If you have questions or concerns about our building security or if your child would benefit from having an extra person to speak to about big feelings, please reach out.

As you may have heard, OSSD is building our Portrait of a Graduate, a snapshot of the characteristics, traits, and experiences that should be shared by every student who graduates from OSSD schools. We are collecting ideas from every stakeholder in the district, including students, families, staff, and other community members. Please have your voice heard by completing our 3 question Portrait of a Graduate survey.

Cognia Testing

As you may have heard in a recent email from Superintendent Millington, Vermont's new end-of-year assessment is called Cognia. Students in grades 3-6 will take the Cognia assessment in literacy and math, and fifth graders will also take science. Each topic includes 2 test sessions. The entire literacy assessment (both sessions) are designed to take about 170 minutes total, math 125 minutes, and science 150 minutes. The data we receive from these assessments will help guide instructional and curricular decisions at the school and district level. As we near the testing window (April 12-May 26), you will see more information from teachers and myself about how to be best prepared. Students are taking practice tests so there are no surprises on test day and they familiarize themselves with the testing platform.

We have test sessions scheduled. If a student doesn't complete the assessment in the provided time, they will have up to five total school days to finish. (Students who require accommodations like one-on-one testing may test on a different day than below due to staffing needs.)

Grade 3

ELA 4/12 & 5/3
Math 5/11 & 5/19

Grades 4-6

ELA 4/13 & 5/8
Math 5/1 & 5/8
Science (grade 5 only) 5/17 & 5/23

Spring is SWEET!

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Seed Orders Close 4/12!

RUHS Partnership

The students in "Interact", a RUHS community service course taught by Sam Holmberg, decided that they wanted to work with students in kindergarten through grade 2 this semester. We leapt at the opportunity to build these community connections with the "big kids". Ten high schoolers joined our K-2 students for PE this week, completing team building activities and getting to know each other. They will all visit the Montshire Museum of Science in May.