Middle School At Parkside

Students and Families,

This week we have information about our fall iReady Diagnostic results and also information about a couple of opportunities from our community partners. As a reminder, there are only two weeks left in our first quarter. Students and families should be utilizing Aspen to help check their progress in each of their classes this quarter. If you have questions about grades please contact the teacher of your student directly.

Thank you,
The Parkside Staff

Below, you will find the results from our fall reading and math diagnostic tests for students at Parkside. Your students can show you their scores by logging into iReady and we will also be sending home parent reports with their first quarter report card in November. We also included some answers to frequently asked questions about iReady.

What do the colors and placement definitions mean?

Mid or Above Grade Level: Students at this level have met or surpassed the minimum requirements for the expectations of college- and career-ready standards in their grade level. Students will benefit from instruction in late on-grade level topics or above-grade level instruction.

Early on Grade Level: Students at this level have partially met grade-level expectations. They will benefit from continued on-grade level instruction.

One Grade Level Below: Students at this level are approaching grade-level expectations. They will benefit from continued on-grade level instruction

Two or Three Grade Levels Below: Students at this level will likely need additional support with key skills below their chronological grade level to be ready for grade-level instruction.

Why is the reading data important?

Reading is the most crucial academic skill and the foundation for learning in all classes. Struggling with reading can have a negative impact and cause students to fall behind in every class. Reading proficiency is one of the leading indicators of whether a child will graduate high school.

Why is the math data important?

Math skills are essential in ensuring that our students are college and career ready after high school. Math skills also build on top of each other and providing support for students now will help them find more success in future math classes.

What is Parkside doing to improve student performance?

Teachers deliver grade level instruction aligned with the Ready Math program and support students as they progress through learning standards. Teachers help students track their own progress as they demonstrate their mastery of each different competency area for reading and math. Staff members also monitor student usage of iReady's personalized instruction weekly in class. These lessons are designed to help students fill in any gaps in their learning from previous years. We also identify students to enroll in our Language Arts or Math Essentials classes to help prepare them for grade level instruction. These classes target students that are 2 grade levels behind and students are exited once they demonstrate growth to grade level standards.

How can families help?

- Read to your students at home, encourage your students to read in their free time, promote good attendance at school.

- Encourage your student to take each lesson and quiz question seriously. Emphasize “thinking before clicking,” because just clicking through will not be a productive use of their time nor reflect what your student actually knows.

-Regularly review progress with your student using the My Progress page. Ask your student to click on My Progress at the bottom of the home page. Consider asking general questions such as, “How is i-Ready going?” “What are you learning about?” or “What are you working on?”

- Celebrate your student’s progress. Celebrating milestones, such as passing a lesson or reaching a specific goal, can help keep your student motivated. Consider asking, “What is your goal?” or “What are you proud of?”

- Encourage a growth mindset. Those with a growth mindset believe hard work, perseverance, and having confidence when learning new or challenging things are the keys to being successful. You can promote a growth mindset in your student by:

• Praising their efforts when they persist in accomplishing difficult tasks

• Sharing your belief in their ability to overcome obstacles

• Complimenting them for behaviors they can control such as working hard or creating consistent study habits, rather than innate characteristics such as being “smart”

All students are now required to use their IDs when entering and exiting their school bus. There has been a problem with ID cards that students store in their phone cases. Storing their ID cards in the phone case causing the information on the card to be erased. Our drivers are notifying any students seen doing this that they will need to obtain a new card as well as reiterating that ID cards should be kept on the lanyard provided due to being wiped when kept near mobile devices.

Students will be transported from Parkside Middle School to Girls at Work by the Girls at Work van after school. Parents/guardians will need to pick students up at Girls at Work (200 Bedford St) by 5:30 p.m.

This program meets weekly on Tuesdays. Girls will spend two hours each week building small woodworking projects that they will take home. Girls at Work will also feed builders upon arrival and send them home with a bag of groceries, to help address any nutritional gaps families may be experiencing. They also give out shoes, school supplies and clothing items to all girls who participate.

Financial aid/scholarships are available for this program. The regular cost for this session is $150, but over 95% of our program participants receive financial aid. Our registration form includes income information which we use to determine your scholarship eligibility. They are happy to work with all families regarding financial need.

This program will meet on the following Tuesdays: 11/19, 11/26, 12/3, 12/10, 12/17

Please see the flyer and registration form for more information.

Tryouts for boys and girls basketball will begin on November 12. All 5th graders are eligible to tryout for our Parkside teams. If 5th grade students are not selected, they have the option for trying out for their elementary school's team beginning the week of 11/18. All families need to register their students on FamilyID before tryouts begin. https://hello.familyid.com/

There will be a winter clothing giveaway for children in grades 1 to 8 on November 9 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Ste. Marie Hall (238 Notre Dame Ave). Please see the attached flier for more information.

Assistant Principal (Grades 5 and 8): Nicole Chartier nchartier@mansd.org, Phone Ext: 10

Assistant Principal for Special Services: Jennifer Harrises jharrises@mansd.org, Phone Ext: 1056

Principal: Scott Szuksta sszuksta@mansd.org, Phone Ext: 11

Email: Parkside@mansd.org
Website: parkside.mansd.org
Location: 75 Parkside Avenue, Manchester, NH, USA
Phone: 603-624-6356
Facebook: facebook.com/TheMiddleSchoolatParkside
Twitter: @ParksideKnights