Dear Lafayette Families –
Week 1 was a resounding success! There were smiles and joy as the children returned to the classrooms this past week. It was incredible to welcome all of you – both new and returning families. A huge thank you to all of our teachers, staff, and families who worked together to create such a smooth and joyful start to our school year.
This week the drop off line starts on Tuesday, 9/5. This is our “kiss and fly” drop off line on Northampton that will run from 8:30 am – 8:40 am. Please be sure your child is on the passenger side of the car and exit the car independently. The drivers and adults must stay in the cars.
This week we will also host two Back To School Nights. The flyer is here with more details.
September 6th – PK, 1st, 2nd, and 5th
September 7th – KDG, 3rd and 4th
6:00 pm Session 1 in classrooms
6:45 pm Session 2 in classrooms
- All information presented will be general in nature
- For any individual concerns, please make an appointment with your child’s teacher
- Parking will be a challenge – a great night to walk over
- This is an adult only evening
There are a few other parent meetings coming up this week, including our first HSA board meeting on Tuesday evening, and our first LSAT meeting on Wednesday morning. Both the HSA and the LSAT are elected groups of parents. Our HSA focuses on fundraising, building community and supporting the programming and teachers within the school. Our LSAT is comprised of both parents and staff and is an advisory board to the Principal and DCPS. The LSAT provides feedback on our comprehensive school plan and our budget priorities. LSAT meetings are open to the public and can be observed by anyone. Want to check it out? Join us this Wednesday, 9/6 at 7:30 am on a Teams link here.
In the classrooms this week, we are moving into the beginning of the year assessments to check in as to where kids are starting the year. These are all slightly different by grade level, but in general we are assessing the beginning of the year levels in both reading and math. You may hear your student talk about iReady and/or DIBELS. This year, all students grades K – 5 will take iReady Reading and Math – both are computer based assessments. Kindergarten – 2nd grade students will also do a phonics reading screener with their teachers called DIBELS. Want to learn more? Your teachers will share more at Back To School Night. You can also read more about DIBELS here. As a reminder, no single assessment tells the whole story of your child as a learner. They are only one data point that we utilize over the course of the whole year. We believe in a whole-child approach to learning, while at the same time using data to help guide us through your child’s learning journey.
I’m also excited to share that our PARCC scores from last year were released about a week ago. PARCC is an online standardized assessment given to our 3rd, 4th and 5th graders in ELA and Math. Our scores showed our students scoring well and making gains in every grade level in math and 4th and 5th grade in ELA. LSAT will review the scores on Wednesday. Be on the lookout for more detailed reporting on our overall achievements!
Here’s to a great week 2. It promises to be a hot one. Looking forward to seeing you all at Back To School Night.
With love,
Dr. B