AES Families,
As indicated in the letter included in this week's Wednesday folder, next week our students in Kindergarten through 5th grade will participate in the NWEA MAP Growth Assessment. This assessment provides valuable information about each student's academic growth and helps teachers plan instruction to best meet their individual needs.
MAP Testing Schedule: Tuesday, August 11 – Reading (Kindergarten-5th); Wednesday, August 12 – Language Usage (Grades 3–5); Thursday, August 13 – Math (Kindergarten-5th)
To help your child feel confident and prepared, we encourage them to spend a few minutes exploring the MAP practice site before testing.
Students can practice using the MAP testing platform by visiting: https://practice.mapnwea.org/#/practice-landing) (Username: grow and Password: grow) The practice session takes about 15 minutes and allows students to become familiar with the testing tools and question types before test day.
How You Can Help:
- Make sure your child gets a good night's sleep before each testing day.
- Encourage them to eat a healthy breakfast.
- Ensure they arrive at school on time.
- Remind them to simply do their best.
MAP allows us to celebrate each student's progress while helping teachers provide instruction that meets every child's individual needs.
In addition to MAP testing, we are also beginning to administer the DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) assessment for all Kindergarten through 5th grade students. DIBELS is a brief, one-on-one assessment that helps teachers identify each student's strengths and needs in foundational reading and literacy skills. The information gathered allows us to provide targeted instruction and interventions to ensure every child continues to grow as a reader. Like MAP, DIBELS is not a graded assessment. It is simply another tool that helps us understand where students are in their reading journey and how we can best support their success.
Additional School Reminders:
Friday Ice Cream Sales - Our Friday ice cream sales will begin on Friday, August 21. Additional information regarding purchasing will be shared soon.
Friday Lunch with Your Child - We are excited to welcome families back for Friday Lunch with Your Child beginning Friday, September 11 (the week after Labor Day). Thank you for your understanding and partnership as we help our students build successful habits during this first month of school.
It has been a wonderful first full week of school and we are grateful for your partnership.
With love,
Meridith Wages Peck, Principal
