Good Morning Memorial Families,
No School November takes a brief pause this week as we will manage to squeeze in five consecutive days in a row! It is also the start of the holiday season as the Hindu festival of lights, Diwali, began yesterday. I wish all who celebrate a very Happy Diwali. I put up my Christmas tree yesterday, and I truly love the way the winter holidays bring about light in a very dark time of the year.
Many families attended conferences two weeks ago and received updates about your child’s progress so far. In a few weeks, the trimester one report cards will be released on Powerschool. It is important to remember that MURSD uses standards-based grading, which does not correlate well with traditional numerical percentages or letter-based grades. Essentially, students progress on a journey throughout the year towards the end of year grade level standards that Massachusetts has set forth. The goal would be that your child has mastered most, if not all of the standards by the end of the year. At this point in the year, we do not expect that your child has met most of the grade level standards. For reference, here is the grading scale:
4: Exceeding the standard (demonstrates advanced understanding)
3: Meeting the standard (demonstrates an understanding independently)
2: Progressing towards the standard (demonstrates a partial understanding)
1: Not yet progressing towards the standard (is not yet demonstrating understanding)
When we focus on standards, we are able to grade a student in a way that honors the learning that happens. With traditional grading, student grades are averaged throughout the trimester, essentially penalizing a student for not understanding the content well at the start. By grading against a standard, we allow students to feel safer making mistakes as part of the learning process, because their final “grade” is simply expressing how well your child has mastered the content by the end.
An essential part of the elementary school report card is the section that talks about your child’s work habits and effort. At the elementary level, we hope that these skills steadily develop within each child, setting them up for success at higher levels of education. A child who is demonstrating perseverance, strong effort, and a positive attitude towards learning is better equipped to meet grade level academic standards. Take the time to review the report card with your child, and set goals for trimester two in areas that could use a boost. As always, if you have questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out!
Today is World Kindness Day, and we are finishing up our Raise Craze Kindness Challenge. I urge everyone to commit to a positive action today that will fill someone’s bucket and bring a smile to their face. We could all use a little sunshine and light heading into the second half of November.
Have a wonderful week!
Warmly,
Wendy and Lauren
