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| The first thing we did when we went to DC/Baltimore was visit Arlington National Cemetery where Joe's dad is buried (WWII). It was the first time we visited since his mother passed in November 2020. She is buried there now and her name is inscribed on the rear of his dad's gravestone. |
End of Year Activities
Please add me to your EoY activities such as moving on ceremonies or celebrations of learning. If I can, I will make every effort to attend. Thank you!
Equitable Literacy Resources
District resources are available to support equitable literacy! Please review and sign up now.
Just in case you need access to it as you develop your arc of learning for next year, here is the professional learning course catalogue for 22-23.
For ALL current 5th and 7th Grades - Exam School Testing on Site June 8 & 9
The test administration will be held during the school day for current BPS students and on weekend dates at a BPS school location for Non-BPS students. Test accommodations will be provided at all test administrations for students with disabilities or limited English proficiency with appropriate documentation.
The school-based administration will take place during the normal school day, at each of the district’s schools that offer a 5th and 7th grade, on Wednesday, June 8, 2022 and Thursday, June 9, 2022, with make-up dates on Wednesday, June 15, 2022 and Thursday, June 16, 2022. Students will take ELA on day 1 and Math on day
Students in grade 8 are invited to take the exam during the weekend administration, at one of several test locations in Boston.
The weekend administration will take place on Saturday, June 4, 2022 (main administration) and Sunday, June 5, 2022 (for students with religious exemptions as well as those who do not finish the previous day). Weekend makeup test dates will be Saturday, June 11, 2022 and Sunday, June 12, 2022 (for students with religious exemptions).
Important MAP considerations:
Students must complete both sections of the exam to receive a score.
Per MAP requirements, all students must complete the reading section of the test before they can move on to the math section.
Test instructions must be read aloud by the proctor for each section before testing can begin.
Students can take the test in any classroom, with any proctor.
Students are able to save and resume testing from any computer with their login information. When students log out of the test (e.g., end of test day, bathroom break, lunch break), the test saves their progress and presents them with a brand new question when they return.
How to End the Year with Style - from Marshall Memo
In this Education Week article, Michigan teacher Cossondra George suggests activities for positive closure as this difficult year comes to a close:
- Letters to next year’s students – These might include an overview of what the class is like, descriptions of especially enjoyable projects and activities, tips on how to navigate the teacher’s quirks, and suggested strategies for success. George gives these letters to nervous students on the first day of the next school year, and when they read about the class from other students’ perspectives, they “laugh, relax, and get an inside view of what to expect during the upcoming year.”
- Remembering the beginning – If students started the year filling out questionnaires about themselves, they might be amused looking at them on the last day and seeing how much they changed.
- A class scrapbook or memory book – This is a collection of photos and memorabilia collected during the year, either a paper version copied for each student or an electronic version shared online. Older students can contribute photos, younger students might make cartoon-book-style graphics of class highlights with short blurbs describing each scene. When they’re older, students love to look back on class scrapbooks.
- Class evaluations – Students anonymously share their thoughts (via Survey Monkey or Google Docs) on what they learned during the year, the workload, rules and fairness, and their own contributions and effort. George recommends including at least one open-ended question, perhaps: What was your favorite thing we did all year?Describe this class in one word. What is one thing you would change about how this class is taught?
- An awards assembly – Classroom-based ceremonies are different from schoolwide events, focusing more on the community the teacher has built and celebrating each student with an award or prize or funny story based on something special they contributed. George recommends doing this on the last day of school, transforming the classroom with tablecloths, decorations, and beverages, and closing with a reading of an inspirational book like Oh, the Places You’ll Go or a poem the teacher has written about hopes for students going forward.
- An auction – Students get advance notice and earn tickets for on-task behavior, completed assignments, or positive attitudes. The teacher collects an assortment of oddball items – stuff from craft or dollar stores, garage sales or thrift shops, fast food toys, toiletries from hotel stays, classroom posters and decorations, CDs, paperbacks, items that parents and local businesses are willing to donate, perhaps a mystery bag. “Make sure you have a variety of items,” says George, “and that everyone has earned at least a few tickets to spend. Save big items for the end of the auction to keep interest.
“Teaching Secrets: Ending the Year on a High Note” by Cossondra George in Education Week, May 14, 2022
Friday Flyer
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