MMES RtI Update

We are well on our way to implementing a Response to Intervention (RtI) model in literacy at MMES this year!  This is a model of instruction that allows teachers to meet the needs of all students through targeted interventions in areas of weakness or strength.  Part of this process is 3x a year (fall/winter/spring) benchmarking where students are assessed to determine individuals who need specific interventions in reading to strengthen areas of weakness and/or enrich areas of strength.

 

Next week will be our Fall Data Collection week.  At some point during the week, all students will complete a 1:1 assessment (http://www.aimsweb.com/) with one of our school personnel who has been throughly trained to administer these one-minute assessments.  Depending on the grade, this activity will take roughly 3-5 minutes total.  Children will be assessed by their classroom teacher or by one of the staff members below.  I thought it would be helpful to give this information to you so that you can give your child a "heads up" so that they know what to expect next week.  The assessments will take place in our reading room and auditorium.  

 

RtI Data Collection Team:

 

-Classroom Teachers

-Mr. Willis

-Dr. Liz

-Mrs. Meinelt

-Mr. Lunney

-Mrs. DiMascio

-Mrs. Flood 

-Mrs. Filias 

 

We will begin with Kindergarten on Monday and work diligently throughout the week until this important reading data is collected from all students.  Once collected, the data will be used by our teachers to tailor their instruction and interventions to meet the individual needs of our students.

 

MMES RtI Update

We are well on our way to implementing a Response to Intervention (RtI) model in literacy at MMES this year!  This is a model of instruction that allows teachers to meet the needs of all students through targeted interventions in areas of weakness or strength.  Part of this process is 3x a year (fall/winter/spring) benchmarking where students are assessed to determine individuals who need specific interventions in reading to strengthen areas of weakness and/or enrich areas of strength.

 

Next week will be our Fall Data Collection week.  At some point during the week, all students will complete a 1:1 assessment (http://www.aimsweb.com/) with one of our school personnel who has been throughly trained to administer these one-minute assessments.  Depending on the grade, this activity will take roughly 3-5 minutes total.  Children will be assessed by their classroom teacher or by one of the staff members below.  I thought it would be helpful to give this information to you so that you can give your child a "heads up" so that they know what to expect next week.  The assessments will take place in our reading room and auditorium.  

 

RtI Data Collection Team:

 

-Classroom Teachers

-Mr. Willis

-Dr. Liz

-Mrs. Meinelt

-Mr. Lunney

-Mrs. DiMascio

-Mrs. Flood 

-Mrs. Filias 

 

We will begin with Kindergarten on Monday and work diligently throughout the week until this important reading data is collected from all students.  Once collected, the data will be used by our teachers to tailor their instruction and interventions to meet the individual needs of our students.

 

Scavenger Hunt Winner

....Hadley Levendusky is the winner of the scavenger hunt drawing!  Nice work Hadley!  Stop in at the office so that we can plan a date to order lunch out from your favorite restaurant for you, a friend, and myself!  If you know Hadley...pass the word so that she knows that she won!

Scavenger Hunt Results!

Here are the answers to last night's scavenger hunt at Open House.  It was great to see everyone and re-connect last night!

1.  A hornet mascot is now living at mid-court in our gymnasium.  Thank you to Julia Paccone for painting the mascot and our custodial crew for the beautiful new finish on the floor!

2.  The gym is now a "Manchester-Essex green" color.  It was formerly a light tan color.

3.  answers varied

4.  There are 6 bulletin boards/white boards in the new IRWL room.

5.  The gravel along B-wing is there to help water drain better from the roof so that the hallway does not flood anymore...it's the little things that make us happy here :)

6.  Nemo and Dory

7.  PTO, Aquarium committee, beautification committee, Dad's club, mystery reader, lunch time reader, etc.

8.  answers varied

9.  Honesty - Effort - Acceptance - Respect - Responsibility - Thoughtfulness

10.  9.21.12

And the winner is..... (stay tuned for the next blog update!)

Grade 5 Update for 2012-2013

Our fifth graders are in store for a great year this year!  Mrs. Machain, Mr. McDonough, and Mrs. Tomaiolo have some great ideas in store for our "senior scholars!"  I have begun conversations with the students about the fact that they are the "big brothers" and "big sisters" in our "family" now!  With this comes great responsibility and honor.  They are now our role models for our younger students, and I know this class will be nothing short of amazing!

In addition to their academic work, the grade will have many fun and memorable events to mark the last year of their elementary school experience.  The students will travel to New Hampshire for our annual trip to Camp Merrowvista (June 4-7) and will work as a team to fundraise for the trip throughout the year.  Our annual fifth grade play will take place this winter led by director and coordinator Mrs. Tyler Wood.  The year will be celebrated with our Second Annual "Crossing the Bridge" ceremony at MERMHS on June 19th...mark your calendars!  If you are interested in helping out with any of our grade 5 events, please contact Sue Pick at suepick1@me.com.

Being sensitive to the class size in grade 5 this year (26-26-27), I was able to successfully advocate for retaining the grade-wide teaching assistant model that we had in place last year in grade 4.  Mrs. Flood looped up with the students and has helped the children transition smoothly to grade 5.  She was able to give the grade 5 teachers the "users manual" for each student before the school year even started.  She will work with children in small groups to "artificially" lower the class size during ELA and Mathematics lessons this school year.  This model worked out beautifully last year, and the students really benefited from the extra support throughout the year.

I am really excited for all that the year has to offer for our fifth-grade students...it is going to be a great one!  Here is a sneak peek of the Activity Center at Camp Merrowvista:

New to MMES 2012-2013!

It was great to have an extra-long summer vacation this year as we were able to complete many projects to improve the physical space of MMES!  Our custodial staff worked tirelessly to make all of these projects come together before the start of the new school year!  Some highlights are below:

• The main arrival and dismissal loop was repaved!  This makes for a smoother arrival and dismissal process and keeps all of us (and our cars) safe during this busy time of the day.  We are hoping to have the parking lines painted in the next week or so.
• The gymnasium got a beautiful facelift!  The walls were painted and a hornet mascot was painted at mid-court!  Thank you to Julia Paccone (MERMHS student) for donating her time and talents to MMES to paint the mascot...it looks marvelous!
• As you know, our space is very limited at MMES.  We are doing everything that we can to use all available spaces optimally.  We have converted the boys and girls locker rooms to teaching spaces.  The locker rooms were demolished and rebuilt with new walls, lighting, flooring, and windows.  One side will be our Motor Room for our occupational and physical therapy rooms and the other side will be our Band Room.  Thank you to Peter Verga, Joe Lucido, Steve Hunt, and our entire custodial staff for their hands-on work to make this project happen!
• The exterior drainage in the grade 1 and 2 wing was a problem in the past.  When it rained, water would flood in through the wall and we actually had to mop the floor in that hallway.  A new drainage system was installed to divert water away from the building in that area.  The damaged tiles were replaced in the hallway and we should be nice and dry on rainy days...hooray!
• Through a grant from Governor Patrick's office, MMES was selected as a model school to develop a special education program for students with intensive reading and written language disabilities.  The former band and copy room was renovated with grant funds to house this new program known as the Intensive Reading and Written Language (IRWL) program.  It was equipped with new paint, flooring, storage, furniture, and an interactive board (to be installed).  This is a beautiful space for our students to work with the special education teacher and reading specialist dedicated to the program!
• Thanks to an anonymous donation last year and a generous Spaulding grant, all of our classrooms will be outfitted this year with sound amplification systems for our teachers, assistants, and students to use during lessons.  These systems allow all students in the room feel like they are sitting "front and center" no matter where they are seated in the room.  Thank you to our community for their support!
• All of our classrooms will be outfitted with interactive boards this year so that every student will benefit from this dynamic technology.  The boards are slated to be installed later this week!
• Many of our aging computers have been replaced with brand new ones.  A new laptop cart was deployed for the upper grades this year as well!
• In an effort to arrive at a common PK-5 experience for the students of MMES and EES, a time audit task force was put together to look at the daily schedule and time on learning.  As a result, the district has adjusted the schedules of both schools so that we are all on the same schedule throughout the day.  One notable adjustment is the arrival times for MMES and EES:
• 8:10 AM - Students can arrive to school, and staff is on duty for supervision on the 2 blacktop playgrounds. 
• 8:15 AM - Students line up to head indoors to begin getting organized for the start of the day.    
• 8:25 AM - Students arriving to school after 8:25 are marked tardy.  
• 8:30 AM- Our specialist classes and academic day begins
• MERSD will be implementing the Common Core State Standards this year.  To support teachers as they shift to the new national standards, MERSD will be implementing the following programs:
• Everyday Mathematics - Common Core Edition
• Write Steps - Common Core Writing Program
• MMES will be implementing a model for supporting students of all levels in reading called, Response to Intervention (RtI).  In the first week of October, all students K-5 will be assessed using tools called AIMSWEB and DIBELS.  These quick measures will identify for us students who are at-risk and need support in literacy.  Small-group interventions will be provided to these students in the classroom.  We will re-assess in the winter and spring as well to monitor student progress...more info to come!
• Facilitated Recess:  We have increased our supervision in the cafeteria and at recess so that we have 6 adults supervising recess and 4 adults supervising the students in the lunchroom.  Thanks to the generosity of our PTO, we have purchased a storage shed and materials for games and activities at recess.  Students in grades 1-5 will now use the turf field and large play structure at recess (blacktop if the ground is covered with snow).  A major benefit to using the turf field is that children can safely run, jump, fall, play, etc. on the turf field! One of our new lunch/recess monitors (Mrs. Brennan) will be organizing optional activities at recess for our students.  For those students who are interested, she will organize games and activities for the children to play.  Students still have the option of "free play" at recess, but the organized activities will be available.  For example, last week they could choose to play "pick pocket tag" and today's activity was called "Magic Carpet Ride."  So far, it seems to be a big hit!

That is all for now...I truly hope that your child has had a great start to the school year.  This is going to be the best one that MMES has seen yet!

John J. Willis

Principal