February Principal’s Message
Hello Diamond Ridge Families! We are happy to report how well things are going at school! Students and teachers have been working hard on increasing skills and meeting goals, and great progress is being made. We look forward to sharing your child’s progress with you at SEP conferences on the 11th and 12th. February is another busy month with our 3rd – 6th graders taking the writing SAGE test. Many of you may be wondering why the students are taking their SAGE writing test so early in the school year. Last year, teachers across the state noticed that the amount of text students were asked to read before writing was taking too long to read, and contained too much information for students to process and use in their written responses. The state listened to the teachers’ suggestions, and adjusted the amount of text students are required to read by cutting the word count almost in half. Because of the change in text length, all writing tests will be human scored, and compared and verified with a computer scoring system. Next year, if all goes well, the state can use the computer scoring system to score students’ responses, and the writing test can occur at the end of the school year along with the reading and math tests. We all realize that testing students in February is not ideal, however this practice is state-wide, and we are confident that our teachers have done their best to prepare students to do their very best on their test. The SAGE test is one measure of students’ skills and abilities, and the data it provides helps schools better determine both strengths and areas to improve upon. At SEP conferences we will be able to share many ways we collect information about our students to best meet their educational needs.
Important dates to remember in February:
- SAGE writing test for 3rd – 6th graders.
- Feb. 5th – PTA meeting 3:30. School Community Council Meeting 4:30. All are welcome!
- Feb. 9th – School Fundraiser Begins.
- Feb. 11th & 12th – SEP Conferences.
- Feb. 12th – Valentine Parties & SHORT DAY.
- Feb. 13th & 16th – NO SCHOOL (Presidents’ Day Weekend)
- Feb. 19th – 4th graders participate in NAEP testing for the nation’s report card. (See the school website for more information on NAEP.)
- Feb. 24th – School Fundraiser ends.
We look forward to seeing all of our families at SEP conferences. See you soon!
Debbie Koji, School Principal
Monica Thayer, Assistant Principal
