Dear Members of the Morse School Community,
We will be celebrating some exciting milestones during the month of December, including the opening of our beautiful new playground and our transition to standards-based report cards. Please read below to learn more!
Understanding our New Standards-Based Report Cards
This year, we have transitioned to a three-trimester calendar in grades 1-5 and have joined some other Cambridge elementary schools in implementing a new standards-based report card. Our new report card will replace the traditional letter-grade reporting system with a grading system focused on measuring student mastery of the academic content standards (which reflect the things that students should know and be able to do by the end of each school year). The new report card will provide more detailed feedback to you and your child’s teacher about your child’s progress towards attaining the specific skills and knowledge outlined in the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for his/her grade level. Please follow this link to view the current Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks >>
If your child is in grades 1-5, the report card you receive at your parent/teacher conference on Wednesday, December 12th will feature the following metric:
3 - Meeting Expectations
2 - Partially Meeting Expectations
1 - Not Meeting Expectations
There may also be standards on the report card that are labeled as “NA” which means that at this time in the year the particular standard has not yet been taught or assessed. Standards based reporting aims to take behavioral concerns out of the reporting of academic performance. Your child will receive separate grades on his/her report card for social/emotional development and work habits.
For those of you interested in learning more, I have scheduled a parent workshop for next
Thursday, December 6th from 6-7PM in the Morse School library where I will further explain the new grading system and answer any questions you have. All Gr. 1-5 parents and caregivers are invited to join! In the meantime, I invite you to view this 4-minute video, which provides a great overview of the considerations and benefits of standards-based grading (Although posted by Alpine School District in Utah, the video breaks down the same essential elements you will see on the Morse School report card in December).
Please follow this link to view the video >>
Playground Opening Set for Next Week!
Contractors and city officials are taking final steps towards completing work on our new playground and expect that our children will be able to begin enjoying the new play structures as early as next week! Of course, before opening the doors and sending our kids out to play in the updated space, our teachers will discuss playground safety and closely monitor our first few recess outings. We want to make sure that children are staying safe as they enjoy their new playground. Thank you once again to our parents, teachers - and most of all our students - for being so patient and understanding as the new play areas have been developed!
My very best wishes for a wonderful weekend!
Chad Leith
Principal