Reed-Custer Elementary School

Email: heather.faletti@rc255.net
Website: www.rc255.net
Location: 162 S. School St. Braidwood, IL 60408
Phone: 815-458-2145
Facebook: facebook.com/RCES255/

Dear RCES Families,

It was wonderful to connect with so many of you during Parent-Teacher Conferences! Thank you for taking the time to partner with us. That time together is so important for your child's success.

If you weren't able to make it, don't worry! Please reach out to your child's teacher to find a time to discuss your child's progress.

Assessment Information

We know we shared a lot of information about your child's progress! When you have a chance, please take a few minutes to review the assessment information from your conference.

MAP Assessment: (1st-5th grade)

You should have received your child's beginning-of-the-year MAP scores. These scores are a great tool that helps us see what your child is ready to learn next and measure their growth. Students in 1st-5th grade will take this test again in January when we return from winter break. We will send the new (January) reports home with the 2nd-trimester report card.

• The MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) assessment is administered in the Fall, Winter, and Spring of each school year to students in Grades 1-5. MAP growth tests are unique as they adapt to your child’s level of learning. If your child answers a question correctly, the next question is more challenging. If your child answers incorrectly, the next question is easier. This results in a detailed picture of what your child knows and is ready to learn. After each MAP growth test, results are delivered in the form of a RIT (Rasch Unit scale) score that reflects your child’s academic knowledge, skills, and abilities. The RIT scale extends equally across all grades, making it possible to compare a student’s score at various points throughout his/her education.
• Kindergarten will take their first MAP assessment in January and again in May. These scores will be sent home with report cards.

MAP Resource

https://www.nwea.org/parent-toolkit/

IAR (Illinois Assessment of Readiness)

Students in 4th and 5th grade should have also received their IAR scores from the previous school year.

• The IAR (Illinois Assessment of Readiness) assessment is administered each spring to students in Grades 3-8. The IAR assessment serves as an educational GPS system to assess students’ current performance and identify the concepts students need to learn to be ready for the next grade level. The IAR assessments provide schools and teachers with more information to enhance instruction. In addition, the IAR is designed to inform you how your child is progressing academically.

IAR Resource (Score Interpretation Guide)

https://il.mypearsonsupport.com/resources/reporting/parent/IAR%20Score%20Report%20Interpretation%20Guide%20for%20Parents%20August%202025.pdf

Please take time to review your child’s reports. As always, don't hesitate to reach out with any questions about your child's reports or progress.

These assessment resources are also available on the Teaching and Learning page of the District website.

Keep an eye on your mailbox! Report cards are scheduled to be mailed home on Thursday, November 12th.

Dream Big, Work Hard, Bake It Happen: Welcome to Our Sweetest Year Yet!

At RCES, we use the Fly Five curriculum to explicitly teach five core social-emotional competencies in all of our classrooms: cooperation, assertiveness, responsibility, empathy, and self-control. While we teach, practice, and reinforce all five competencies throughout the entire school year, they are introduced for the report card on a staggered schedule:

• Trimester 1: Cooperation, Assertiveness, & Responsibility

• Trimester 2: Empathy (added to Trimester 1 habits)

• Trimester 3: Self-Control (added so all 5 are reported)

You will see these competencies under Habits of Success on your child’s report card as they are introduced each trimester. Teachers use the rubric shared during Parent-Teacher Conferences to reflect your child's growth and daily habits in these areas.

Cooperation

• What it means: Working well with others, sharing, taking turns, and learning how to compromise when working in group settings.
• What it looks like in school: Your child listens when others speak, includes classmates in activities, demonstrates good sportsmanship during games, and resolves disagreements respectfully.

Assertiveness

• What it means: Having the confidence to speak up for oneself, ask for help, set goals, and keep trying even when things get difficult.
• What it looks like in school: Your child asks a teacher for help when stuck, keeps trying on a tough assignment, stays positive when facing a challenge, and learns to stand up for their own needs.

Responsibility

• What it means: Making thoughtful choices, owning up to actions, following expectations, and caring for personal, shared, and digital spaces.
• What it looks like in school: Your child follows classroom rules, apologizes when making a mistake, keeps track of schoolwork and supplies, and uses school technology safely and respectfully.

Empathy

• What it means: Understanding how others feel, respecting different cultures and backgrounds, and caring about how one's actions affect others.
• What it looks like in school: Your child listens attentively to peers, includes classmates who are left out, recognizes nonverbal cues or emotional signals, and puts others' needs first even when it's hard.

Self-Control

• What it means: Managing one's thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, resisting impulses, and staying focused on goals even when facing distractions or changes.
• What it looks like in school: Your child practices patience, tunes out distractions to stay focused, handles unexpected changes or disappointments calmly, and uses strategies to regulate strong feelings.

Our focus for the month of November is empathy.

November 5th End of first trimester

November 6th Picture Retakes

• Retakes: Please contact the office if you would like your child to retake their photo.
• Absent & New Students: Pictures will be taken for any students absent on the original picture day and for all new students

November 11th No School

November 12th Report cards will be mailed home

November 24th Early Release (11:50) No PreK or lunches served

November 24th 🍕 Pizza Party Day: Wear pizza-patterned clothes or red, yellow, and white to build a slice.

November 25th-27th No School

🦃🥧Thanksgiving Break 🦃🥧

Enjoy the time with family and friends!

Due to a full recipe of rising student enrollment, our cafeteria dining room will be closed for adult lunch visits this year so our students have plenty of room at the table!

🥞 Breakfast Menu & Serving Times

• Cost: $1.50 for full-pay students

• Serving Time: Daily at 8:20 AM in the RCES Cafeteria

• First Order Up: Breakfast service starts August 18th

A Note for the Chefs at Home: If you’d prefer your child skip the morning breakfast spread at school, please let their classroom teacher know!

🥪 Lunchtime Recipe for Success

• Cost: $2.75 for full-pay students

Lunch Schedule:

• Kindergarten: 10:50 AM – 11:20 AM

• 1st Grade: 11:05 AM – 11:35 AM

• 2nd Grade: 11:40 AM – 12:10 PM

• 3rd Grade: 11:45 AM – 12:15 PM

• 4th Grade: 12:20 PM – 12:50 PM

• 5th Grade: 12:30 PM – 1:00 PM

🍱 Home Cooks Bringing Their Own Lunch

For our young sous-chefs bringing lunch from home, a quick "test bake" at home helps immensely! Please have your child practice opening their own lunchboxes, tricky containers, and packaging before school starts. That way, they can dive right in and fuel up for the rest of the day without a hitch!