Lower School - 4/16
Dear Lower School Families,
Over the past week, our PreK–3rd grade students have been engaged in NWEA Fluency assessments. This testing season provides an important opportunity to reflect on the growth students have made throughout the year and to take one final step forward as they prepare for the next grade level.
As a reminder, fluency testing helps us better understand how students are developing in foundational reading skills such as letter recognition, decoding, word reading, and oral reading fluency. This information gives teachers valuable insight into each child’s progress and helps us make informed instructional decisions, provide targeted support where needed, and strengthen the learning experiences we provide in the classroom.
Coming up next week, our Kindergarten-4th grade students will be taking the NWEA MAP Growth Assessment. NWEA MAP Growth testing helps us measure academic growth over time, giving us a snapshot of how students are performing in relation to the skills and concepts they are learning. Additionally, it helps teachers identify areas of strength as well as areas that may need additional support. At the same time, it is important to remember that MAP Growth is one data point, not the full picture of a child. It does not define a student’s worth, capture every strength, or tell the whole story of their learning journey. Rather, it is a helpful tool that, alongside classroom performance, teacher observation, and daily work, helps us better support each student’s continued growth.
You can support your child in simple but meaningful ways:
- Ask about their goals and encourage them in this final push
- Emphasize effort over perfection
- Prioritize sleep and a healthy start to the day
- Offer calm encouragement and confidence
- Ensure they are on time and present
In His Service,
Dr. Rachel David
Lower School Principal
Heavenly Father,
Dear God, thank You for the gift of Your Holy Spirit and for the reminder of the Fruits of the Spirit that You grow within us. Help us to practice love in the way we treat others, joy in the way we see Your blessings, and peace in the way we handle challenges. Teach us patience when things feel slow, kindness when someone needs a friend, and goodness when we have the chance to choose what is right. Strengthen our faithfulness so we keep our promises, our gentleness so our words bring comfort, and our self‑control so we make wise choices even when it’s hard. Fill our hearts each day so that our lives reflect Your love and shine Your light to everyone around us.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen
