340 N. Alleghany Rd. Grayslake, IL 60030 (847) 223-3668 Fax (847) 223-3525
PARCC ASSESSMENTS From the January 2015, ISBE Division of Public Information Illinois schools will administer new assessments created through the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness
for College and Careers (PARCC) in spring 2015. These assessments are fully aligned to the K-12 Illinois
Learning Standards in English language arts and mathematics and emphasize academic rigor, critical thinking,
problem solving and college and career readiness for all students.
Third- through eighth-graders will take the PARCC in both English language arts and math. The PARCC
replaces the state’s former tests, the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT).
This year, we will be using the PARCC summative assessments, which are designed to measure overall
curriculum and program effectiveness. These assessments are standardized to allow comparison across student
groups. The PARCC summative assessments consist of two required components: a Performance-Based
Assessment (PBA) and an End of Year assessment (EOY).
The PBA component of the PARCC requires that students demonstrate their knowledge and skills through
extended tasks and take the PBA when approximately 75 percent of instruction has been completed.
Students take the second part, or EOY, at approximately the point when 90 percent of instruction has been
completed. The EOY is composed of shorter, machine-scored questions. Note these are not two separate tests
but two parts (PBA and EOY) of one summative assessment and are not intended to measure the growth or
academic progress gained from one part to the next. Instead, growth can be measured when compared to prior
years and when other PARCC assessments become available.
Testing Dates for 3rd
and 4th
grade Woodview students:
Performance-Based Assessment: March 9th
– April 3rd
End of Year Assessment: April 27th
– May 22nd
You can still take the survey!
Woodview Families,
Earlier in the month you received a letter from our superintendent inviting you to take part in the 5 Essentials
Survey. If you did not get a chance to take the survey, we are looking for your feedback regarding Woodview
School. Please take five minutes to follow the link below and complete the state survey regarding Woodview
School. This feedback is part of our state report card.
Please help us reach our goal of at least 20% participation.
We will presell whole pizzas again. Order form will go home at
the end of February.
We are also still looking for donations for the raffle. If any family has an item to donate, please email [email protected]
We are asking each grade level to donate items for a particular theme. Please see list
at the end of the review for items to consider donating.
Thank you to all who have contributed to the Box Tops 4
Education program. Woodview receives 10 cents for
every Box Top submitted! All the money earned through
Box Tops goes directly towards benefiting the children. We love contests! Please continue sending your clipped
Box Tops into your child's homeroom. The next Box Tops
homeroom contest deadline is Friday, February 27th.
Please clip your Box Tops and send them with your child to their homeroom in a zip
lock bag or envelope. 1st and 2nd place classroom prizes will be awarded the following
week! The next contest will begin immediately after the Feb 27th collection has been completed! We have a March 2nd submission deadline, so please do not wait to send
in your Box Tops! Please visit www.BTFE.com to learn more about the Box Tops for
Conversational skills are the foundation for making friends and interacting with
adults. Greetings and good-byes are very important aspects of a conversation since greetings set the
tone for the conversation and good-byes leave a final impression. This article focuses on the critical
components of greetings and good-byes and provides ways to practice these skills.
Tricky Components of Greetings and Good-byes
1. Wording – Many different words and phrases are used in introductions and greetings. The
variations can be confusing for children who have a hard time generalizing skills. For example, “Hello” and “How are you?” for greetings or “Good-bye” and “Bye” for endings. Additionally, less common phrases or more subtle cues can be very difficult to recognize. For example, “I heard the bell,” or “It is getting late.” 2. Context – Children need to understand greetings and good-byes with regards to context. Two
main determinates of context are the person being addressed and the setting of the encounter. For example, “Good morning.” and “Hey there!” are both greetings, but they are appropriate for different people. The same can be said for “Have a nice day.” and “See you later!” In addition to judging context with regards to the individual, children must also understand context with regards to settings. For example, a soccer coach may be greeted in a less formal manner than a teacher or an older person in the community. 3. Body Language – A glance from a familiar person, an outstretched hand to shake, and an
approaching person are ways people engage conversations. These ‘pre-greeting’ behaviors may be understood naturally by some children but other children may need direct instruction in this area.
Strategies for Teaching Components of Greetings and Good-byes Include variety- Activities addressing greetings and good-byes should include a variety of wording as
well as people and situations. Variety helps children generalize the skills to new settings and people. Discussions – Prepare children for an upcoming greeting by letting them know what will occur and
reminding them how to respond. For example, “I am going to introduce you to our new neighbor. Please remember to say, ‘Hello, nice to meet you.” If a conversation has occurred that a child had difficulty with, review the situation. For example, “Bobby, I think when Todd picked up his bag he was starting to end the conversation. Next time, ask him if he has to leave.” Additionally, praise children to encourage correct behavior and be sure to say what they did correctly. For example, “Jane, you did a nice job of saying ‘Good morning’ to Mr. Allen.” Role plays – Have children role play situations with a variety of wording and body language. Be
sure to role play with peers and adults and use different words and settings for the role play. Role play is a fun way to teach new phrases, body language cues, and appropriate responses in a comfortable environment. Literacy activities – Use drawings of people talking to each other with speech bubbles. Include one
person’s greeting or good-bye and have the child complete the other person’s response. Have children write a short story about people meeting for the first time, seeing someone familiar at a store, or leaving for a trip.
