It’s not the years in your life that count; it’s the life in your years--Abraham Lincoln

You can tell more about a person by what he says about others than you can by what others say about him.--Leo Aikman

Remember to click on the page tabs at the top of this blog, particularly "This Week" to see this week's scheduled happenings.

GROWTH MINDSET: WITH TIME AND EFFORT I CAN IMPROVE!

Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.  Never stop challenging yourself.

"Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud."  Maya Angelou

I need to be seen.  I need to be heard.  I need to be respected.  I need to be safe.  I need to belong.  When all of my basic needs are met. . . then. . . I’m ready to learn.             (Anonymous)

Dear Quashnet School Community,
          Our OPEN HOUSE event last Thursday was very well attended.  We thank all those who were able to join us. Your support is vital. We hope that you left the event feeling confident that your child will have a productive learning year and that our school environment is safe, supportive, and respectful. We continually strive to be better.  A special thank you goes to Mashpee Fire Chief Tom Rullo for securing special parking lot lighting for the event.  I also wish to thank sixth grader Jessica Rullo for leading the Pledge of Allegiance at our community meeting in the gymnasium and for guiding parents to classrooms.  I especially want to give a super big “thank you” to Cheryl MacIntire, Ellie Pagano, and Jane Emery who went above and beyond in support of our Open House. 
          The 2014 MCAS individual student performance reports are scheduled to be mailed home to parents this Tuesday.  The Quashnet School staff has completed some initial analyses of our students’ 2014 MCAS performance. We will continue to delve more deeply into the results over the next few weeks and months and will make strategic decisions that will help us improve. We will share the results of our analyses as we progress through the process.  Initial data is shared on the “MCAS/PARCC Page”—click on the tab at the top of the blog.
          As we process and analyze our 2014 MCAS results it is important to keep in mind that this is only one piece of a larger picture about our teaching and learning.  We study each grade level’s aggregate and disaggregated ELA and mathematics performance data and look for strengths and weaknesses. As one point of reference we compare our Quashnet School performance with state averages—how did all Massachusetts students in that grade level perform?  This information lets us know the learning areas where we are stronger and those where we need to improve.  A low state performance average on a question could indicate a poorly written question. 
          Over the next several weeks our staff will take our results and “drill down” looking at specific questions, at group performance on the specific questions, and at individual student performance on these same questions.  We will look at the content of each question, the skills required, the vocabulary, the wording of the question itself, the format of the data presented, and our students’ responses.  One of the difficulties encountered when we drill down and analyze our performance is that not all test questions are released.  We can determine the learning standard tested, but may not be able to determine the content/task involved.   
          Delivering standards-based instruction, using formative and summative grade-level common assessments, giving descriptive feedback, working as collaborative teacher teams to analyze instructional practice and student performance data, and providing targeted interventions when needed will get us to where we need and want to be.  Our teachers, paraprofessionals, and students work very hard every day to reach our goals.  We are proud of them.  
          I encourage parents to visit our teacher sites.  They can be accessed through the website link above (tab).  Once at the Quashnet School website, click on the "Teacher Sites" in the column on the left; then click on the specific teacher's name.  Mrs. Richard's website is linked here: Mrs. Richard's Blog

2014-2015 Quashnet School Council Members:  Patty DeBoer--Principal, Stephanie Manning-- Teacher; Meg Morrison--School Adjustment Counselor; Kathy O'Neill, Sarah Provencher, and Colleen Fraser--Parents; and Jack Phelan--Community Member-at-Large

Congratulations to the following sixth graders who were elected to serve on our Student Council for the 2014-2015 school year:  Clara Signs, Isabella Thayer, Raelynn Aguiar, Elise Sikut, Abigail Jones, Jared Barr, Shea Eaton, Grace Antis, Sean Smith, Ben Kennedy, Nick Santos, Jasmine Davis, Alinna Hanna, and Jack Vinitsky

Recess Fun

Sixth grade teacher Mrs. Babich and her students' parents seem to be having fun at our Open House. 
Don't forget to send in your family photo for display in our front cases.  Also, remember to click on the "This Week" tab above to stay informed about this week's happenings. 

With Gratitude,

Patty DeBoer

Principal

"EMBRACE THE DAY"