Dear Sprague Community,
We had a wonderful experience with Artist in Residence, Andrew Green, from Potato Hill Poetry. Andrew met with classes in grades 3, 4, and 5 to teach and share about poetry. We had a “Poetry Jam” assembly on Friday in which all grades attended. Two students from each class in grades 3, 4, and 5 each shared an original poem, while students in grades K-2 shared a favorite poem by reading chorally. Many thanks to the PTO and Creative Arts chair, Annie Newman for bringing this to us.
We are pleased to invite parents of first and second graders to a musical performance on Friday, April 7th at 2:15 PM. Students have been learning songs in music class to share with our school community.
MCAS
This year, MCAS testing will take place for students in grades 3, 4, and 5 between April 7 and May 26, 2017. Students in grades 3 and 4 will take the English Language Arts and Math tests, while students in grade 5 take ELA, Math, and Science MCAS tests. The schedule has been shared and can also be found at the end of this note again. It is important that students arrive well rested and on time on testing days. If a student is sick, we will schedule a make up. 4th graders will take the MCAS test online for the first time this year. The computer based test is required for all 4th graders in the state. Make ups for computer based testing may be a bit more complicated so we are hoping for really good attendance on those days. Beginning next year, all 4th and 5th graders will take the test in online format. The state is phasing out paper-based testing by 2019. This new version of MCAS will be somewhat different and require written responses to text at all grades. Previously, essay responses were only required in grade 4. We feel our curriculum provides a strong foundation for the skills tested on MCAS, so students should feel comfortable that they are prepared. With any new test, there may be items or formats that seem less familiar, but our teachers will do their best to provide high quality instruction and tips about the test format.
Multi-cultural Night at Sprague
Please consider joining us for the second annual Multi-cultural Night at Sprague on Thursday, March 30 from 6:00-7:30 PM. Families who would like to share information about their cultural heritage and/or country of origin are invited to sign up and make a display. The PTO has purchased display boards. They are available in the office. We will have entertainment provided by the Brazilian drum group, “Grooversity,” a short sing-along with Spanish teacher Vixen Peare, a “Language Learning Share,” and time to visit the exhibits created by Sprague families. If you are planning to make a display board, we also ask that you consider having your child share two or three words or phrases in your heritage language during the “Language Learning Share” time. It will be a simple, yet fun addition to the program. Even if you aren’t planning to share your heritage with a display board, please feel free to attend the event to learn about the diverse cultures and backgrounds of our school community. At Sprague, we have many cultures, but are ONE school! Let’s celebrate our diversity and cultural heritage at Multi-cultural Night! We hope to see you there. Please contact event chair Elaine Marten to sign up or to answer any questions.
We have another Artist in Residence coming to our art classes next week. Please see the message below from Ms. Stabnick:
Pencils Please!!!!!!
You should find the flyer for the Sprague Artist in Residence program attached.
Despite several pleas, we have very few pencils coming in. We were hoping to receive about 10 pencils per student on average. At the moment, we only have enough pencils to carry us through 2 of our 18 classes~ YIKES! We need the pencils ASAP, because we have volunteers ready to saw off the tips THIS WEEK! Our artist in residence, Laura Petrovich Cheney will guide our students in art class April 3rd – 7th. The pencils will be assembled in classic textile patterns to create a wooden quilt that will hang on permanent display at our school. This is quite a rare opportunity for our students and should be exciting for all. We really need those pencils to fuel the community experience!!!!!!!!
Please take a moment to look through backpacks, your work desk, junk drawers and anywhere things accumulate in your homes. We are looking for pencils of any length. Pencils with writing, pictures or advertisements will add a great deal of interest and color to the final design. We are also in need of more parent volunteers to saw the tips off of the pencils.
Please bring pencils to the main office or art room.
Anyone available to saw, should contact Jennifer Stabnick stabnickj
Please act now!
Many, many thanks in advance,
Jen Stabnick
Cheney artist in residence.pdf
Dates to remember:
March 30: Sprague School Multi-cultural Night 6:00-7:30 PM
April 6: PTO meeting at 9:00
April 6: Incoming Kindergarten Parent Information Night 6:30 PM
April 7: Concert @ 2:15 featuring Grades 1 and 2—Parents invited
April 12: Teacher Appreciation Luncheon
April 13: Walk to School Day
April 14-21: No school—Good Friday and school vacation week
May 5: Kindergarten screening during school hours
June 15: Field Day (raindate-June 16)
June 19: Grade 5 Farewell Assembly (given no more snow days)
June 20: Last day of school—half day (given no more snow days)
Please see updated MCAS schedule:
2017 MCAS UPDATED SCHEDULE:
Grade 3 ELA: April 27, May 1, 2,
Grade 4 ELA: April 24, 25, 28
Grade 5 ELA: April 7, 10, 13
Make up for Gr. 4 CBT and Gr. 3, 5: TBD
Grade 3 Math: May 11, 12
Grade 4 Math: May 22, 23
Grade 5 Math: May 8, 9
Grade 5 Science: May 15, 16
Make ups for Math/Science: May 18, 19