A HUGE thank you for the spectacular BIG NIGHT event on Saturday! Our staff is grateful for your support in raising over $80,000 for Waters school programs. Thank you to co fundraising chair persons Leah Rieger and Jessica Kaune for your vision in making the night a success. In addition, thank you to all of the WatersToday board members and many volunteers for your hours of “behind the scenes” work to make the event happen.
Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) began this week. The federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) sets the expectation that every student participates in state assessments and requires that states calculate rates of proficiency out of at least 95% OF ELIGIBLE STUDENTS. Universal participation in assessments promotes equity, excellence, and transparency.
Illinois has made a lot of improvements to the state assessment for grades 3-8 since it debuted in 2015, thanks to the active partnership of Illinois educators. The Illinois Assessment of Readiness is shorter, returns results more quickly, and measures not just what students know but also what they can do with what they know, as well as their growth over time. A school’s participation rate on state assessments impacts its rate of proficiency and its annual designation.
ESSA requires states to calculate proficiency by dividing the number of students who met or exceeded standards by either the number of students who tested or 95% of the number of students who should have tested, whichever is greater. Schools with less than 95% participation in state assessments are ineligible to receive the Exemplary designation.
Schools with any student group that has a participation rate below 95% for three consecutive years will develop and implement a Workplan for School Improvement. Opting out decisions will have a detrimental impact on our school’s standing with the state. It will require an additional workplan for school improvement in addition to our CIWP. English Learners must take all portions of the IAR to meet federal requirements, even those in their first year in the U.S. Their results in that first year provide a baseline for growth but do not count for accountability
Students and Staff are preparing STEAM week activities which begin Monday, March 18th. On Friday, March 29th there will be a Mini Maker Faire afterschool from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm. STEAM projects will be on display. Come see our mini makers in action! More info to come!
Basketball playoffs begin next week. Both 5th and 6th grade girls and boys teams made the top 12 teams to qualify for playoffs. Our 5/6 girls finished the regular season undefeated! Congratulations to our athletes and Coach Barlow, Coach Rangel and Coach Orlov. We look forward to March Madness!
As our Basketball season comes to a close, Mr. Wall is coaching Track and Mr. Changet is coaching girls soccer. More information will be coming on soccer tryouts soon.
April is quickly approaching! There will be no classes/school for students on Friday, April 5th (Professional Development day for staff) and Student Parent Teacher conferences on Wednesday, April 10, 2019 between the hours of 12 noon-3 pm and 4pm -6 pm. Spring Break is April 15th - 19th.
Please join us at our LSC meeting on Tuesday, March 19 at 4 pm.
As winter turns to spring, please stop by the lost and found to collect your children’s winter gear.
In a few weeks, it will be cleared and donated to a local charity.
Ms. Kipp
Principal