I hope this letter finds you well and that you enjoyed different activities during our break other than shoveling snow. At this point in time, we have used the five snow days allotted in our calendar and the last day of school is now Friday, June 20th. I am not certain if there are more snow days what the decision will be as to whether days will be taken from the April break, which is the current plan, or added to the end. A lot depends on how many more, if any, snow days will occur. I will keep you posted.

Speaking of snow days, when we have a snow day, the lunch that is served on the day we return is the lunch menu from the snow day. For example, we had a snow day on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the lunch items served for hot lunch were the ones scheduled for Tuesday. Thursday's lunch was Wednesday's lunch, etc. This information is important, especially for those of you monitoring your children's lunch because of food allergies.  

As you know our third, fourth and fifth graders will be taking the new SBAC test (Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium) this spring. The test measures the students' learning based on the Common Core Standards. The test is to be completed entirely electronically through the use of our computer lab and laptop carts. This year's test is a field test as we will, in essence, be "testing the test." The teachers and I are working on developing a testing schedule which will be shared with parents once finalized. Although we are not looking to add additional school events during this period, we expect to follow our regular school routines and proceed with "business as usual" as far as learning and instructional programs are concerned. School life will not stop because of this test, although we are eager to see how it will unfold, given that we are dealing with not only a brand new test, but a new administration of the test.

I am excited to share that we are offering a newspaper writing activity to our third, fourth and fifth graders starting the first week of March. Mrs. Millspaugh, gr. 3 teacher, will be overseeing the morning program, with Mr. Harris helping with the publishing aspects of it. More information will be forthcoming next week, so please look for it to come home. Students will meet Monday and Tuesday mornings from 7:45 to 8:30. (If students cannot commit to both mornings, attendance on one morning is acceptable.) Although open to our older students only, the "newspaper" will include contributions from our younger students as well. It will be a great way to showcase our students' writing skills and creativity.

Speaking of writing, Mr. Donato D'Albis (Mr. D), writing consultant, will be here next week to work with our third, fourth and fifth graders. He will also do a parent presentation on Thursday morning, 2/27 from 9 to 9:45, when he will discuss the importance of vocabulary, along with the reading to writing connections. He is an enthusiastic presenter so I would urge you to attend if your schedule allows. 

Sincerely,