Dear Sicomac Families,
It was a wonderful week here at Sicomac School. Even though the temperatures have dropped, the building has been full of warmth, joy, and learning. Thank you to our families for preparing and supporting your children each day. Students arrived bundled up and ready for outdoor recess, put forth their best effort on the Middle of Year iReady assessments (and the results are strong!), and our 4th and 5th grade chorus helped set the tone for a festive season.
Festive Fun
Today, the Polar Express rolled through our Pre-School, First, and Second Grade hallways. Students enjoyed cookies, hot chocolate, songs, and plenty of pajama-day excitement. It was a wonderful opportunity for our youngest learners to come together and make lasting memories. Earlier in the week, our 4th and 5th grade chorus delivered two stellar performances, one for the full student body and one for families. We are officially in full holiday swing, and it has been a joy watching your children smile their way through the week.
Academic Growth
I’m proud to share that we are seeing strong school-wide growth in both Language Arts and Math based on our Middle of Year iReady diagnostics. As a school, we are clearly moving in the right direction. The data shows meaningful increases in the number of students performing on or above grade level, as well as significant reductions in the number of students working two or more grade levels behind. This progress reflects your children’s hard work and the strategic, consistent instruction delivered by our teachers. As always, we will use this data to guide our instruction as we enter the winter months. There is still work ahead, but these results show that our plan is sound and being carried out with great care.
Reminders for Families
Please continue to send your children to school dressed warmly for winter weather. We will get outside for fresh air as often as conditions allow.
Report cards for the first marking period are available for viewing on Genesis today, December 12th, at 3:30 pm. Please know that report cards are intended to be a way to communicate with parents how their child is progressing towards meeting the grade level standards for a particular subject area. Learning is a continuum, and there will inherently be areas of strength and areas of growth for each individual student. Given that we utilize a standards-based report card, the indicators provide a context for whether the student is meeting, exceeding, or progressing towards a standard. Oftentimes, there are one or two benchmarks in a given subject area that a student is still working towards meeting. This should be met with an open, growth mindset, and a feeling that the student just hasn’t met the standard yet, but is working towards it. Please refer to the information about standards-based report cards, including the benchmark links for each subject area, on our website. As always, we value the home-school connection, and look forward to continued collaboration throughout the school year. Finally, please note that parents must acknowledge the “Standards Based Report Cards Form” in their Genesis account prior to being able to access their child's report card. If you have any difficulty accessing the portal, please email our Genesis help desk at genesis@wyckoffps.org.
12/23 - Minimum Day
12/24-1/4 - School Closed for Holiday Recess
Sincerely,
Keith Dunbar, Principal