West Hempstead Weekly Update

“Getting along well with other people is still the world’s most needed skill.
With it…there is no limit to what a person can do.
We need people, we need the cooperation of others.
There is very little we can do alone”

Earl Nightingale

"So how does your social brain work on your behalf? As you are developing, you are becoming one with the larger system and community of which you are a part. As you join groups, do you find that it helps you to talk with others about issues? Do you notice how you become more energetic when you are solving problems together? In groups we contribute our time and energy to tasks that we would quickly tire of when working alone. In fact, one of the cruelest forms of punishment that can be inflicted on an individual is solitary confinement.

Problem solving has become so complex that we need access to all the points of view that we can collect in order to make critical decisions. Practicing ways to think interdependently, to join others in the consideration of important ideas, is one of the most important habits that you can develop. The world is faced with such diverse needs and problems to solve. Global interdependence is made possible through key players who are able to use their social brains to protect and foster the survival needs we now face."

- https://www.habitsofmindinstitute.org/thinking-interdependently/

image attribution: whatboots.com/au

We have just wrapped up our Winter benchmarking in reading and math. We benchmark three times a year (Fall, Winter, and Spring). The data below compares the growth from Fall to Winter. This is a good time to look at real data (without names). This is an intermediate-level class, when normed against the rest of the nation, would be considered "typical." From our perspective, most students are making progress and are on course to make a year's worth of growth. Where this data is valuable is it allows teachers to target instruction.

Summary Data by Subject and Course

Percent Of Students Who Met Growth Projection Math 66.7% Reading 52.4%

Percentage of students with a Growth Index value greater than or equal to zero.

+/-50% of class meeting/exceeding Growth Projection is typical.

Considerably higher than 50% meeting growth -- doing quite well.

Considerably lower than 50% meeting growth invites exploration.

In looking at the report below, this class has five students in reading (purple squares in pink box) and six (green addition signs in pink box) in math who should be receiving targeted support. The remainder of the students (16 in reading and 15 in math) will continue to receive instruction with tweaks dependent upon individual students.

Percent Of Projected Growth Met Math 123.7% Reading 104.8%

Ratio of total Observed Growth to total Projected Growth. A performance of 100% is average, meaning the student growth equaled the projections.

This measure can provide a good indicator of group performance. However, be careful. The assumption is that students will grow at close to the same rate. One or two outliers can skew the percentage for the group. For example, a percentage of 150% could mean that one student's growth surpassed all others.

Count Of Students With Growth Projections And Valid Beginning And Ending Term Scores Math 21 Reading 21

Total of students, including those who showed growth and those who did not.

Count Of Students Who Met Or Exceeded Their Projected Growth Math 14 Reading 11

Number of students with a Growth Index value greater than or equal to zero. The count includes students flagged as Yes or Yes‡ in the Met Projected Growth column.

Median Conditional Growth Percentile Math 67 Reading 47

Percentile that falls in the middle of all the Conditional Growth Percentiles shown.

Based on this data, this class is making progress. The data also indicates that there is room to grow and improve, particularly in reading. We look forward to the work ahead.

The PDP committee created a survey asking for your input regarding various items associated with our professional development options. A link to our survey has been emailed to you. Please take a few minutes to participate in our survey. The survey will be open until 3/1/23. We thank you in advance for your participation.

Ms. Reilly has asked for your input on curriculum writing projects. You must include your requests on the Google sheet emailed previously before March 15, 2023. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to Ms. Reilly. Thank you.

The lottery has been completed. If you registered, you have received a letter home. There are seats available. You can still register at https://www.whufsd.com/o/chestnut-street/page/universal-pre-kindergarten and call 516--390-3150.

If you have not registered for the 2023-2024 school year, please call 516-390-3150 to schedule an appointment.

As per New York State Law, transportation applications to non-public schools must be filled out and submitted to the district on or before April 1st.

To streamline the process, we will no longer be mailing paper applications to each household.

Parents/Guardians are urged to follow this link: https://www.whufsd.com/page/transportation

The WHCSF scholarship application is now available. Please see their letter below.

Dear Parents,

Attached is the 2023 West Hempstead Community Scholarship (WHCSF) Application.

We are proud of our involvement with the students who live in West Hempstead, and along with you, hope to ensure a bright future for your child. College can open the door to so much growth and potential but costs at times, can be prohibitive. Our goal is to make a difference by awarding several scholarships in the amount of $2,500 per student.

If you or your child have any questions with regard to our organization or scholarships, you can contact me at 516-483-7627 or by emailing to whcommynityscholarshipfund@gmail.com

Sincerely,

Eileen Fennell, Chair

Maria Bhola,Co-Chair

WHCSF Selection Committee

2/20 - 2/24 School Closed

2/27 7:30 pm PTSA Meeting - SS VCR

Email: drehman@whufsd.com
Website: www.whufsd.com
Location: 252 Chestnut Street, West Hempstead, NY, USA
Phone: 516-390-3000
Facebook: www.facebook.com/WhufsdRams
Twitter: @WhufsdRams