April 2016

After a snowy start to this week, I am looking forward to the return of warmer weather and wish you all a very happy spring!

Parent/Guardian Input on Placement:
The deadline for parents/guardians to share any information they wished to be considered regarding placement is Monday April 25th.   Letters should be sent to the main office or emailed to Mrs. Charles at acharles@concordps.org  and should include specific information related to your child such as areas of concern for learning or observations of the type of classroom environment you feel would best suit your child’s needs.  Requests for specific teachers should not be made and such requests are not honored.  Letters received after April 25th will not be considered.  Your cooperation in keeping to the April 25th deadline is greatly appreciated.

New Staff:
Please join me in welcoming long-term substitute teacher Katelyn O’Connor to the Thoreau community.  Ms. O’Connor is covering Mrs. Faricelli’s third grade classroom through June.

Transition Planning Workshop: Now is the time for High School Students on an IEP to start planning for their future!

Date:  Wednesday, April 13th, 7-9pm – Parent Mingle 6:30-7pm
Location:  Concord Carlisle High School, 500 Walden Street, Concord, Learning Commons.

Please join the Concord and CCHS SEPAC for an overview of transition planning and key factors critical for postsecondary life, including transitioning to college. This workshop is designed to help you prepare and plan for your, or your student’s, postsecondary needs and goals. Presented by Heather Mahoney, M.Ed., Transition Specialist at CCHS.

RSVP and submit questions in advance to concordsepac@gmail.com. Hosted by the Concord and CCHS SEPAC www.concordsepac.org.

Last day of school:
Our last day of school is Tuesday, the 21st of June. It will be a 12:25 dismissal for all students.

SEPAC Seeking Volunteer Liaisons for Each School: The Concord Public School and Concord-Carlisle Regional School District Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) is looking for liaisons to represent each school in our district. The role of the SEPAC liaison is to represent the SEPAC at various events, help connect parents to the resources SEPAC offers, stay abreast of school happenings, and share information about their school with the SEPAC Board. For more information or to volunteer, please contact Mary Tambor or Becky Robichaud at concordsepac@gmail.com. A more detailed description is available at: http://concordsepac.org/

Seeking Volunteers for the Concord Integrated Preschool (CIPS) Working Committee:
The Concord Public School and Concord-Carlisle Regional School District Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) is looking for volunteers to serve on their CIPS Working Committee. This committee will study various aspects of the CIPS so as to provide recommendations to the Concord Public School on matters pertaining to the Concord Integrated Preschool. Meetings will take place outsideschool hours and the committee will serve from April 2016-April 2017. We are in need of volunteer representatives and are looking for someone to represent the Concord community. For more information or to volunteer, please contact Mary Tambor or Becky Robichaud at concordsepac@gmail.com.

Upcoming Events:
4/7    Professional Day:  No School
4/12  Early Release Tuesday
Book Character Parade
PTG Meeting, 7:00 PM
4/13  Teen Buddies
4/18-4/22  Spring Break:  No School
4/27  Teen Buddies

Forgotten Lunches, Instruments, Homework, Books, Sneakers, Etc.:
In an effort to keep interruptions to learning to a minimum, we seek your support in reducing the number of students who need to leave class to call home to request that items be brought to school.  Please help students learn to be responsible (especially in our upper grades) by reminding them to check to be sure they leave home with any necessary items.  If it is absolutely necessary to drop something off, please leave it in the main office.

Changes to Dismissal Plans:
Please send in a note to your child’s teacher if you need to change his/her dismissal plans for that day. If possible, all play dates should be arranged prior to your child’s arrival at school. If you need to change your child’s dismissal plan unexpectedly, please notify the office by 2:30 PM.  Thank you for your assistance with this matter.

Dismissal/Arrival Parking:
During arrival, please reserve the van accessible spaces for vehicles with handicapped placards. During dismissal, please be sure not to block the crosswalk or fire lanes.  Because the back parking lot is reserved for faculty, parents are encouraged to park along both sides of West Street and on the right side of Pleasant Street or Chase Road.  If it’s not raining or snowing, parents picking up their students should meet them behind the building near the basketball court.  In the case of inclement weather, pick up is in the cafeteria.  Thank you!

PARCC Assessment Dates:
Students in grades 3-5 are scheduled to participate in the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) test between April 25thand June 6th.  The Thoreau-specific PARCC Schedule for Spring 2016 can be found here: http://goo.gl/rSY9rP.  The homeroom teacher’s initials indicate which class is testing on a particular day.  Please see below for general information about test session at each grade level.

PARCC Unit Testing Times
Grade 3
ELA Unit Times
Unit 1:  90 min
Unit 2:  75 min
Unit 3:  90 min

Math Unit Times
Unit 1:  60 min
Unit 2:  60 min
Unit 3:  60 min
Unit 4:  60 min

Grades 4-5
ELA Unit Times
Unit 1:  90 min
Unit 2:  90 min
Unit 3:  90 min
Math Unit Times
Unit 1:  60 min
Unit 2:  60 min
Unit 3:  60 min
Unit 4:  60 min

For more information about the PARCC:
http://parcconline.org/resources/parent-resources
http://www.doe.mass.edu/parcc/