September 7, 2021
Dear Families,
I hope you all enjoyed Labor Day weekend! I was grateful for the beautiful weather! This week Walnut Square welcomes our Kindergarten students on Wednesday! Below are updates for the week. Please contact me if you have any questions. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Jen Rubera
Attendance
It is important for healthy children to attend school every day. Beginning in kindergarten, too many absences can cause children to fall behind in school. How many absences does it take for children to fall behind? Missing 10 percent (or about 18 days) of the school year (180 days) can make it harder to learn to read. However, families can help by building good attendance habits. Make it a routine that going to school on time every day is important when children are feeling well. September is Attendance Awareness Month, and HPS is having a weekly contest. Below are links with more information about attendance and the contest.
Walnut Square Routines and Procedures
- Please send in a note with your child if there is a change in how he/she is getting home.
- Please note that there is construction scheduled on the Main St. sidewalk. Because of this, the bus drop off will be on North Ave in front of the parent drop off/pick up line (closer to the intersection of North and Main). If you’d like to walk your child to the schoolyard, please park on one of the side streets. Thank you for your patience and understanding with this. When construction ends, bus drop off and pick up will resume on Main St.
iReady
Walnut Square is implementing a Mathematics and Reading program called i-Ready. Below, you will find information about the program and how we will be using it in the classroom.
What is i-Ready?
i-Ready is an online program that will help us determine your child’s strengths and areas for growth, personalize their learning, and monitor their progress throughout the school year. i-Ready allows us to meet your child where they are and provides us with data to inform instruction.
The i-Ready Diagnostic is an adaptive assessment that adjusts its questions to suit your child’s needs. Each item a student receives is based on their answer to the previous question. For example, a series of correct answers will result in slightly harder questions, while a series of incorrect answers will yield slightly easier ones. The purpose of this is not to give your child a score or grade but to determine how to best support their learning.
What can I do to help?
To help prepare your child for the i-Ready Diagnostic, encourage them to:
- Get a good night’s sleep and eat a full breakfast the day of the assessment.
- Try their best on each question and try not to rush.
- Try not to worry about questions to which they do not know the answers—remind them that it is expected that they will only get about half of the questions correct.
- Be respectful of other students who take longer to finish.
What happens next?
The i-Ready Diagnostic will provide results that help me identify your child’s strengths and determine next steps for instruction. I look forward to sharing these results with you throughout the year and providing a learning experience that will engage your child while teaching important skills and concepts.
If you have any questions about i-Ready, please do not hesitate to contact me or the school. You can also learn more about i-Ready by visiting i-ReadyCentral.com/FamilyCenter.
As always, thank you for your continued support and for being a partner in your child’s learning! It is much appreciated.
Walnut Square iReady Diagnostic Dates
- Tuesday, September 14th Reading Grades 1 and 2
- Thursday, September 16th Math Grades 1 and 2
- Thursday, September 30th Reading Kindergarten
- Tuesday, October 5th Math Kindergarten
Mark Your Calendar!
- September 8th: Kindergarten First Day of School
- September 22nd: School Picture Day
Please click here to read older Walnut Square Family Updates.