November 15, 2007

A letter from Ms. Heffron

November 15, 2007

This week we are finishing the bulk of the WKCE testing in third through fifth grades. You may not know that the federal legislation called No Child Left Behind or NCLB requires that all public school students in the entire country are tested annually in 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, 6^th, 7^th, 8^th, and 10^th grades. The legislation includes percentage targets for the numbers of students overall who have to score proficient or advanced in order for the school/district to qualify as having made Adequate Yearly Progress or AYP. The target goes up each year for the number of students we must have who score at the proficient or advanced levels. The Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam (WKCE) measures a student's knowledge and learning related to learning goals or standards. It does not rank students against other students. Because the stakes around this testing are so high (federal monies to schools and continued local control, for example) we create the best conditions for testing that we can. We do not, though, do extended test preparation in isolation. Our experience and belief is that students score very well based on a rigorous daily curriculum and high quality teaching, which we have here in Whitefish Bay. The results of this testing are generally released to us in the spring. Stay tuned.

Thanks for taking time to meet with your child's teacher(s) for conferences. It sends such an important message to children about the value of education when we are able to partner together.

At this time of giving thanks, I give thanks for having the honor of working with you and your children here at Cumberland. I recognize the importance of the work we do with children and of being in a community that so values educational opportunities. Thank you for entrusting me with your children. I wish you a healthy and thanks-filled break next week.

Notes:

• Reminder: No school Friday (11/16), Wednesday, Thursday, Friday (11/21-23)
• Silver Spring Drive-Vision For the Future-You are invited to attend a panel discussion about the future of Silver Spring Drive hosted by the Whitefish Bay Business and Professional Association and the Whitefish Bay Community Authority, tonight(11/15/07) from 7:00-8:30pm @ WFBHS Cafeteria

Winter Festival Concert Information

The all-school concert will be held on Friday, December 14 at 9:45 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. All-day kindergarteners and 1^st-5^th grade students will perform at both concerts.

Students are asked to dress as they would for any special occasion. There is no need to purchase anything new for this event.

To accommodate all parents and visitors, please try to attend the concert at your designated time:

• Families with last names beginning A-M, please try to attend the 9:45 a.m. performance. Families with morning kindergarteners should attend this performance.
• Families with last names beginning N-Z, please try to attend the 1:30 p.m. performance. Families with afternoon kindergarteners should attend this performance.

Of course, if the designated time does not work with your schedule, please attend the performance that will work best for your family.

The gymnasium doors will open for audience members 45 minutes prior to each performance. The gymnasium doors will open at 9:00 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. for the performances. The approximate length of each concert is 1hour, 15 minutes.

We look forward to seeing you at the Winter Festival concert on December 14^th!