Hello Parents,

Many dates and some changes to the school calendar have been made on the website. I will keep this calendar as current as possible and use it as a repository for information related to the happenings at City Garden.

Friday, September 16 there will be early dismissal at 1pm for professional development. The work the teachers and I will be undertaking will be related to our standardized test information, both from NWEA and the MAP, and outlining a plan for the year for the school, each classroom and individual students.

This data is used to monitor progress at all levels and as part of our accountability to the state and to our charter sponsor, Saint Louis University. It is also used at this time of the year to validate what we are seeing in the classroom and to put another quantitative measure on what each student is demonstrating academically. One goal for us as a staff is to see the importance of this information and be able to put into the context of a well-running classroom. There are many qualitative measures which are even more telling in regards to a students success.

Children will rarely be pulled out to do ‘MAP prep’. Certain testing strategies and the need to build test endurance for the April test will occur after the first of the year and do take time for the children. These are also skills that will be valuable for students throughout their entire educational career.

Mark your calendars!  Saturday, Sept. 17th, at 3:00pm is the City Garden Family Picnic at Tower Grove Park.  We will gather at the Gus Fogt Picnic Site (just north across the street from where we gathered last year).  Please bring lawn chairs or blankets as well as soft drinks for your family.  We'd also be grateful if you brought chips, a salad, or a dessert to share with all (enough to serve ~25 people).  We are looking for a group of parent volunteers to help with this event.  Please contact Kristina Mavers-Vogel, family support coordinator, at kristina@citygardenschool.org or 314-664-7646 if you would like to volunteer.  Hope to see you there!
 
The Parent Education Night has been moved to October 6, 2011 at 6:30pm due to scheduling conflicts. I look forward to seeing you all there to talk Montessori and share ideas about your children.  Childcare is available if you RSVP to LaDonna at 314-664-7646 or LaDonna@citygardenschool.org.

And now for something goofy, need a smile?

http://2uv.us/

Regards,
Jami