OGPS Press June 2, 2025

See updates and key information below.

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Lauren

OGPS Press Submissions: To submit announcements for the next OGPS Press, email LMurdock@ by Friday, 3pm with the subject line: OGPS Press

See below for MAP Updates

As you all know, MAP Growth and MAP Fluency provide us (teachers), families, and students important and helpful information about students’ skills in reading and math.

• MAP Growth testing (for grades 3, 4, 6, & 8) will take place on Tuesday, June 3rd (reading) and Wednesday, June 4th (math).

• MAP Fluency will take place the week of June 2nd and June 9th.

Please note: Emily has made all the test sessions for MAP Growth and has assigned all accommodations. You will be able to find your test session by typing “Bekenstein” into the “Created By” bar.

Please carefully review the text below to ensure both you and your students are fully prepared for the MAP assessment. If you have questions, feedback, or ideas, please reach out to Emily or Matt. Thank you!

Spring 2025 MAP Assessment Helpful Links:

Testing Schedule: This links to the MAP completion tracker, but the top left cell shows the times and dates for testing.

(top left cell)

MAP Completion Tracker: Please use this to indicate who has completed their MAP tests so we can keep track of who needs to make up their tests.

Proctor login page: This is the website to login. You use your BPS credentials.

You may have to reset your password.

Manual for MAP Growth for Exam School Admissions (grades 5 and 7)

Student Facing Slide Decks: K-2 Student Facing Slide Deck & 3-8 Student Facing Slide Deck

SIX important reminders for test day:

1. CORRECT APP: Students need to use the NWEA Secure Testing app (image to right), NOT the Test Nav app.
2. ACCOMMODATIONS: Emily has assigned all accommodations, including text to speech for all ELs (for math only). That said, please double-check your students' accommodations before the text to ensure there are no errors. Contact Emily or Matt to share any changes that need to be made.
3. DESKS & ENVIRONMENT: Please make sure all desks are in test formation: rows and columns with plenty of space between each desk. Lights should be on, students should be alert and engaged.
4. PENCILS AND PAPER: Please hand out pencils and scrap paper to all students. Sorry, but you’ll have to get this on your own.
5. CIRCULATE: Please actively and frequently circulate while you are proctoring. A reassuring smile goes a long way :-)
6. STUDENT ENCOURAGEMENT: Lastly, please continue to share with students the importance of trying their best and talk to them about the impact MAP has on their education, future, and our ability to teach them best. 🙂

EOY Checklist: Please make a copy of the 2024-25 EOY Checklist. Completed EOY checklists are due June 23, 2025.

Chromebooks: As we prepare for the end of the school year, we are working to ensure all damaged HP Chromebooks are repaired and returned in time for next year. If you have any HP Chromebooks in your classroom or office that need repair — including those with missing keys, broken cases, or cracked screens- please send them to the main office as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, Acer Chromebooks are no longer under warranty, so if you come across any Acer devices with missing keys, please leave them in the carts for now.

Thank you for your prompt attention and support!

Employment/ Licensure Verification Requests: All educators requesting a licensure-related employment verification should complete this form. Such requests include employment and/or licensure verifications for the following purposes:

Spring 2025 Art Show: The arts team is looking for an emcee for the end of the year Arts Show! The show run is from 4 to 5 pm on Thursday, June 12. Anyone interested can email either Marisa Mgiangregorio@bostonpublicschools.org or Britteny bhyslip@bostonpublicschools.org

Attendance: At the end of each month, students who achieve an attendance average of 94% or higher will be awarded an individual attendance certificate, accompanied by a small token of appreciation. These certificates will be available in your mailbox for distribution to your homeroom students by the end of the week, please send them home with your students.

Additionally, the attendance team will deliver monthly attendance stickers to homerooms that have met the 94% attendance threshold. Please place these stickers to the monthly attendance calendar displayed inside or outside your classroom. Classrooms that complete their calendars by the end of the year will be eligible for a prize! Thank you for your support in encouraging our attendance practices.

**Updates that will remain in the OGPS Press each week**

Nurse Updates🩺: Please review the nurse policy below and Sending Students to the Nurse guidance.If you think a student needs to be seen by a nurse, please GChat the nurses together or Call for immediate assistance: Nurse Sue: 617-315-8778, Nurse Tatiana: 508-343-0577, Nurses' Office Extension: 20446.

2024-25 Covid-19 Protocols: Find updated Health Protocols here.

Counseling Referral form: Complete this form if you have any students/families in need of support.

In the 2025 - 2026 school year, shared leadership roles will play a pivotal part in realizing the academic and cultural vision of the Orchard Gardens K-8 Pilot School. Teachers in these roles work to create structures and systems that help us achieve our school-wide academic and cultural goals.

Teacher Leadership positions are critical leadership roles in which faculty leaders are simultaneously working to strengthen our school community in a visible leadership role, while challenging themselves to learn and grow as experts within their classrooms.

Please review the 2025 - 2026 teacher leadership job description here and apply for a role by June 14, 2025. Please reach out to Matt Shuman with questions. Thank you!

Support Playworks!: Playworks New England has loved being a partner with OGPS this year. As we approach the end of the school year, Playworks would like to know more about the interactions between your school and our program. To capture that information, our Annual Survey is available for educators to complete.
This year, we are excited to share that the school with the highest percentage of survey responses will win a breakfast for their school staff! The winner will be chosen on Friday, June 6th after 5:00pm and the breakfast will be delivered to the school the following week.

Participation in the survey is absolutely voluntary. Whether your staff members choose to participate or not in the survey, the school's partnership with Playworks will not be affected. Respondents can choose to give or not give permission for their indvidual survey responses to be shared. If they elect to not give permission to share, their responses will remain confidential. The survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete and will remain open until Friday, June 6th. Please take a moment to complete the survey yourself :)

International Day of Play June 11th - Save the Date: International Day of Play is coming to all BPS schools stay tuned for more information and resources. See flyer, register here by 3/21 to participate, and website. Contact Victoria Batchelor, vbatchelor@bostonpublicschools.org

Upcoming Behavior Management “Spring Series”: This training will take place on 4/14, 4/28 & 5/12 (all from 4:30-6:00 pm on zoom). Register on Vector (See additional details Behavior Management Series). See also FBA Resource Folder with additional resources.

New: Aspire & Inspire Educator Symposium - May 22nd, 5:00-7:00pm, Dearborn STEM Academy

Join us for our finale event to explore ways to grow, share, and lead in BPS! Learn from educator leaders and, if you're a program participant, present your impactful learning experiences! See flyer and RSVP. Contact Kadian Simmonds, ksimmonds@bostonpublicschools.org

ELA

Morning Announcements Schedule

• June 2: Blackett 6S
• June 9: Student Council
• June 16: 8th Grade (all homerooms)

Submit Student Shout Outs!

2024-25 Morning Announcements Schedule

🎉 Shout out to Ms. Akiba and Ms. Hyslip for all their work preparing, motivating, and teaching students in preparation for last Friday’s successful performances at the City Hall Arts Festival!

🎉 Shout out to Mr. D for always stepping in and supporting our students! Whether it is at recess, in the classroom, or in the hallway, he is always there, meeting student needs with care and consistency.

A big shout-out to the Kindergarten team for planning such an awesome ABC countdown!

🎉 Shoutout to Mrs. Green for always making students and staff feel comfortable and cared about

June 2: Objectives and Formative Assessments Due @ 7am

• K - 2
  
• 3 - 5
• 6 - 8
• K-8 ABA
• Arts and Specials

June 4: OGPS Girls Volleyball Game (3:15 vs. McKay K-8 & 4:15 vs. Curley K-8)

June 10: 8th Grade SSW Capstone Presentations Day 1

June 11: 8th Grade SSW Capstone Presentations Day 2

June 12: Spring Art Show, 4pm

June 17: 8th Grade Moving on Ceremony

June 18: K1/K2 Moving On Ceremonies

June 19: Juneteenth, NO SCHOOL

June 20: Field Day, Early Release Day 11:55am

June 23: Early Release Day, Last Day of School 🌞

Additional Important Dates:

Orchard Gardens- Election to Work Agreement 2024-25

BPS Calendar SY24-25

• BPS Department of Academics and Professional Learning: Curriculum resources enclosed

• K - 2 Objectives Submission
  
• 3 - 5 Objectives Submission
• 6 - 8 Objectives Submission
• Arts and Specials Objectives Submission
• K - 5 Assessment Tracker
• 6 - 8 Assessment Tracker

• Orchard Gardens 2024-25 Shared Drive <<BOOKMARK>>
  
• Orchard Gardens Building Map 2024-25
• Orchard Gardens Faculty Handbook and Operations Guide 2024-25
  
• Staff Directory

• Orchard Gardens Master Schedule 2024-25

• Restorative & Conflict Resolution Intake Form
  
• Counseling Referral Form

• BPS Calendar SY24-25

• SY24-25 BPS Assessment Calendar

• Orchard Gardens- Election to Work Agreement 2024-25

• Parking Assignments

Priority 1 Instructional Focus: All educators across all academic disciplines will provide daily unfettered access to complex, grade-level, culturally-affirming texts and tasks and students will have opportunities to read, discuss, and write from such text.

Priority 2 Climate and Culture: Orchard Gardens will create a safe, positive, and inclusive learning environment for all students and community members that affords them a high sense of belonging and celebrate small wins along the way.

Priority 3 Attendance: The number of students experiencing chronic absenteeism will decrease by 20% through shared expectations, support, and accountability among all collaborators, including families, students, and school staff.

Since Spring, the Instructional Leadership Team has been working on developing the Quality School Plan to guide our work for the first 90 days of the school year. You can review the draft of our 2024-25 Quality School Plan here. Our Instructional Leadership Team meeting will continue to be open to our full community, and I encourage you to join to share input and learn more about the strategies we've set forth to reach this year's goals.