Dear Bates Families,
Yesterday our school gathered for a community meeting. These monthly community meetings are an important all school ritual for our students and faculty. We sit in a large circle in the gym and sing, celebrate students learning and read a book aloud. Yesterday was a special community meeting honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. In addition to singing songs, our fifth graders provided in a powerful recitation of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, and some of our third graders shared what they have learned about several civil rights heroes. Kalise Wornum, the METCO director, spoke about the 50th anniversary of METCO and presented us with a special Wellesley METCO flag that will be given to each school in Wellesley. We look forward to proudly displaying this beautiful flag inside the Bates School.
We hope you’ll be able to join us for our all school concert celebrating music from around the world on February 16 at 9:00 a.m. in the gym. Also, please save the date for Bates in Bloom on March 9 from 8:45 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Bates in Bloom is an exciting opportunity to visit your child’s class to celebrate his/her hard work this year.
On Friday, February 3 your child will bring home a mid-year Progress Report. These mid-year reports offer an opportunity to learn how your child is doing in school in the areas of social/personal growth, work ethic, effort, academics, fitness and health, art and music. Our report card measures academic performance as follows:
1 = Introductory understanding
2 = Developing understanding
3 = Working understanding
4 = Advanced understanding
We would like you to know that it is fairly typical for a child to receive 2s in areas he/she is still developing. Teachers will continue to work with your child in all of his/her goal areas. The second round of parent teacher conferences in March will provide another opportunity to learn about your child’s continued progress.
Finally, the MCAS testing schedule for grades 3-5 is now posted on our website calendar. The dates are listed below as well.
Have a great weekend.
Warm regards,
Toni Jolley
Upcoming dates:
February 2 Walk to School Day
February 3 Bates Spirit Day
Progress Reports sent home
February 8 Kindergarten Roundup 3-6 p.m. in the Sprague School library
Grade 3 MCAS testing:
ELA: April 25, 26, 27
Math: May 15, 16
Grade 4 MCAS testing:
ELA: April 10, 12, 14
Math: May 18, 19
Grade 5 MCAS testing:
ELA: April 27, 28 and May 1
Science: May 11, 12
Math: May 22, 23