PATRIOT NEWS

Principal Larson Message

Dear Century Families,

We have had a wonderful start to the school year at Century Elementary! Students are settling into routines, learning procedures and expectations, and showing leadership in all areas of the school. We are so proud of the positive energy and responsibility our students bring each day.

Safety has been an important focus throughout September. We successfully completed three fire drills, a shelter drill, and a lockdown drill. These practices help ensure that our students and staff know what to do in case of an emergency.

Students also took their first STAR assessments, which provide a baseline of learning for the year. We know we will see growth and progress as the months go on! During your parent teacher conference visits, I encourage you to discuss this assessment with teachers and understand ways to support your students growth as a learner at home. As a school we have set goals for growth in the areas of reading and math. This year all students have access to a new ELA curriculum - Wit and Wisdom. This robust curriculum ensures our students experience rigor and support in areas of reading and writing. Our teachers are using best practices to engage students as we roll this out.

Last Friday, we had our first school assembly of the year, where we celebrated our September Students of the Month, recognized our 5th grade student leaders, and highlighted all of the wonderful things happening at Century Elementary. Ask your students about the Golden Tray!

Looking ahead to October, we are excited for several upcoming events:

Parent-Teacher Conferences – a valuable time to connect and engage in student learning.
Fire Safety Month – the fire department will visit to teach students about fire prevention and safety.
School Pictures – scheduled for October 9.
Fall Weather – as temperatures cool, please remember to send jackets with your child, as students will continue to go outside for recess.

Thank you for your ongoing partnership in making Century Elementary such a great place to learn and grow. We are looking forward to an exciting and successful school year!

Warm regards,
Dr. Holly Larson
Principal, Century Elementary

Written Notification of School Accountability Report

Dear Parent/Guardian,

North Dakota has launched a dashboard called "Insights," designed to help communities across the state access important information about K-12 districts and schools. Insights features easy-to-read reports on multiple measures of school success, including:

Student Achievement
Choice Ready Results
Performance Comparisons
English Learner Progress
Graduation Rates
School and State Accountability Results
School Improvement Information
Post-Secondary Education
School Environment

Transparency to the Public

North Dakota is committed to informing communities about how well our schools are doing. North Dakota's future success depends on tapping into the potential of all students so they graduate choice ready with the knowledge, skills and disposition to be successful.

State education departments are required to annually create an accountability report for every public school in the state per the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The school accountability reports outline how schools perform on the accountability elements North Dakota selected within its ESSA plan.

How is our School Doing?

To find more information about our School Accountability Report, visit the dashboard at Insights.nd.gov , select "Find my School," and search alphabetically. The school accountability report is posted under the Dashboard heading.

Please note that the data made available to the public masks or hides data for groups with ten or fewer students to protect confidential information about individual students. Therefore, if data is unavailable to less than ten students, it will say "no data available."

A Summary of Century Elementary's Accountability Report follows:

ELA 2 year growth rate - Century: 39%, ND: 49%
Math 2 year growth rate - Century: 39%, ND 49%
Student Engagement - Century: 93%, ND: 86%
NDSA ELA 23-24 - Century: 39%, ND: 46%
NDSA Math 23-24 - Century: 39%, ND: 40%

Family Engagement

We have strong plans for working to improve the educational programs at our school. We want you and your child(ren) to continue actively participating in our educational system. Please help support our high expectations for student achievement by participating in the school educational initiatives, offering input and support in our endeavors to raise students achievement, or volunteering at the school. Meeting our school's goals will take a unified effort, and I look forward to working with our families to ensure success for each student.

Continuous Improvement

All schools engage in continuous improvement for general support; therefore, our school has completed a continuous improvement plan through Cognia.

As part of the overall school improvement plan, a strategy map is generated for ach school. Our strategy map, outlining our key school improvement initiatives, is also available on insights. Century Elementary School is a participating Title 1 School, with a student membership count of 467.

If you have any questions regarding the information in the memorandum, please contact me.

Sincerley,

Dr. Holly Larson, Principal

Important Dates

Oct 1- Early Release @ 1:30 PM

Oct. 2- Parent Teacher Conferences 4-7 PM

Oct. 3- NO SCHOOL - Parent Teacher Conferences 8-4 PM

Oct. 6- PTO Meeting in Library 6-7 PM

Oct. 7- Walk and Roll to School Day

Oct. 7- Parent Teacher Conferences 4-7 PM

Oct. 8- PTO Century Eats at Culvers 4-8pm

Oct. 9- Picture Day

Oct. 13- Vision Screenings for K, 1, 3, 5

Oct. 15- Early Release @ 1:30 PM

Oct. 17- NO SCHOOL

Oct. 22- LAST DAY of Intramurals for 4th grade

Oct. 23- LAST DAY of Intramurals for 5th grade

Oct. 23- The Great Character Dance - 6-7:30pm - Century Gym

Seesaw

Century Parents

Seesaw is our MAIN source of classroom and school communication! Please make sure you are checking your account for IMPORTANT updates each week!

We will be sharing connection information with families of any students not connected at Parent/Teacher conferences next week! Please ask your child’s teacher if you have any questions…our goal is to keep you connected and informed!

Free and Reduced Meal Applications

If your child received Free and Reduced Meals last year and you have not filled out the application again this year you will need to apply again. If you do not reapply by October 9th your students status will be change from Free and Reduced to paid. This application is available online, which is linked below, and we also have paper applications available in the office.

https://www.myschoolapps.com/

Parent Phone Calls

Please make after school transportation arrangements with your children before coming to school in the mornings. We are fielding more calls than usual in the office and would appreciate parents' help in reducing our call load.

Attendance

In order for students to get an excused tardy or absence for any medical appointments they have attended, parents must remember to bring a doctor's excuse to the office when they return. Also, please remember to leave a reason for the absence when calling our attendance line at 701-746-2443.

School Pictures

Caulfield Studios will be at Century to take our Fall school pictures on October 9. Packets will go home tomorrow!

Lost and Found

Century has a lost and found located near the office. It would help greatly if items like backpacks, jacket and boots are labeled with child's name so we can return them to the owner. Please let the office know if any of these items belong to your child.

Peanut & Tree Nut Restricted

Please remember that Century is a peanut and tree nut restricted school! It is important to check all ingredients in the snacks or cold lunches that are brought to school.