January 25, 2013

Hello Roderick Families,

What a cold week!  Despite the frigid temperatures, there were a number of things that took place this week at the Roderick School. 

 

In order for families to plan accordingly, the 2013 ELA MCAS schedule is listed below:

Grade 4 

March 19th - Long Composition

March 22nd - Reading Comprehension

March 26th - Reading Comprehension 

Grade 5

March 27th - Reading Comprehension

March 28th - Reading Comprehension

Grade 6

March 20th - Reading Comprehension

March 21st - Reading Comprehension

If at all possible, please do not schedule any medical or dental appointments for your child/children on the MCAS testing dates.  We greatly appreciate your support and cooperation in eliminating any unnecessary absences.  As always, please do not hesitate to call our teaching staff or me if you have any questions or concerns.

Congratulations to our three Positive Referrals this week!  All three students displayed great character and modeled our school's Core Values.  We are very proud of each of them!

A special thanks to the Roderick students and staff for their generous donations during our Term II Spirit Day.  There were many winter gloves and hats collected today.  I continue to feel extremely fortunate to belong to such a caring and generous community.  The students and staff enjoyed spending the day in their super soft sweatshirts and sporty sneakers.  

Thursday, February 7th - Beginning Band Concert - Gibbons Gym 7:00 PM

Friday, February 8th - Term II report cards sent home

Tuesday, February 12th - Night of the Arts - Roderick School 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Have a great weekend and stay warm!

Best,
Stephen S. Grenham, Principal

January 18, 2013

Greetings Roderick Families,

It was another busy and exciting week at the Roderick School. 

This morning Mrs. Nunes, Mrs. Carceo, Mr. Cederbaum, and Miss White presented an overview on the Reading Street reading program we use at our school. Thank you to our presenters.  They were extremely prepared and did a great job! Thank you to all parents who attended this morning's Principals' Coffee.  If you did not have the opportunity to attend today's Principals' Coffee, you can view the PowerPoint here.  Our next Principals' Coffee will be on Friday, March 15, 2013.  Our topic will be the placement process. 

Mrs. Moon's students finished their project of creating the 2012-2013 KP Boys' Varsity Basketball program.  The students worked very hard on these programs and it really shows.  Awesome job!

The students in Mrs. Kane's 5th grade class conducted a science lab activity that allowed them to explore with a single fixed pulley and a single movable pulley.  They were able to determine that a fixed pulley changes the direction of the force that is applied, but does not reduce the force required to lift the object.  The students also concluded that a movable pulley reduces the amount of force required to lift an object.

  

We had our Final Competition for the 2013 Geo Bee on Monday.  All ten contestants did a remarkable job!  Congratulations to all of you for making the final round.

   

 Congratulations to Patrick M. from Mrs. Moon's class for winning this year's Geo Bee.

 

Thank you to all the Roderick families who were able to complete and return the Summer Reading Program survey.  The feedback is greatly appreciated.  Please know that the full survey (complete with comments) can be picked up in the main office.  The results of the survey were compiled by Mrs. Marie Garozzo (Thank You!) and are presented below.  The results of the survey and the feedback from families will be used to refine and strengthen the program.  

Parent Survey:  Summer 2012 Reading Program	% of parents who Agree or Strongly Agree with each statement
Statement	K	1	2 & 3	4	5	6
1. I was aware that my child was expected to read and complete assignments as part of the Summer Reading Program last summer.	76	77	88	91	93	95
2. I was happy to have my child participate in the Summer Reading Program.	86	94	88	87	87	95
3. My child enjoyed participating in the program.	83	85	73	65	58	43
4. My child completed the expected reading and written responses.	73	85	85	91	95	97
5. The reading and assignments seemed appropriate for my child’s grade level.	79	85	93	92	91	100
# parents responding to the survey at each grade level	42	54	42	63	55	59
# parents who wrote comments on their sheets	16	22	16	26	31	29

Reminder

No school on Monday, January 21st - Martin Luther King Jr. Day

No school on Tuesday, January 22nd - Professional Development Day

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful long weekend!

Warm regards,
Stephen S. Grenham