Dear NHS Community,
As we begin the second week of school, it is so nice to see students settling in to their new grade level. Teachers have been setting the tone for learning by getting to know students and talking with them about their goals for the year. We work to get to know the child in a variety of contexts, both socially and academically.
In the elementary grades, we assess students’ skills in literacy two or three times a year to be able to provide targeted instruction that meets each child’s learning needs. One way we do this in grades K-2 is with a phonics/phonemic awareness assessment that was known as DIBELS. Literacy specialist Amanda Wiernicki has shared the following information to help parents understand how we conduct the assessments and why they are useful in planning.
The Acadience Assessment (Previously known as DIBELS) at North Hampton School:
A Parent’s Guide
What is the Acadience Reading Assessment?
Acadience Reading assessments are measures that help teachers and schools determine how students are performing on important reading skills.
What skills are measured by Acadience Reading and why are they important?
There are 5 “Big Ideas” necessary for beginning reading skills; phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. As seen in the table, NHS is using Acadience to assess phonemic awareness, phonics, and fluency in grades K-3.
How often are students assessed?
All students in grades K-3 are given the Acadience Reading test three times a year; fall, winter, and spring, referred to as the benchmark assessment. Students that receive extra reading help will also have regular “checks” or individual Acadience Reading tests more frequently to monitor their progress.
How much time does it take?
Each Acadience Reading test takes just 1-2 minutes to complete. Acadience Reading tests are “indicators” of the student’s overall reading status, and are not intended to be in-depth or comprehensive measures of reading. Just like using a thermometer to take your child’s temperature, which provides a quick indicator of your child’s general health, these quick Acadience Reading tests provide teachers with information about your child’s reading health and how well he or she is progressing on a particular early reading skill. Acadience Reading measures allow teachers to get valuable information about students’ reading skills without using large amounts of instructional time.
How will the results be used?
A student’s scores on the Acadience Reading measures give our teachers information about whether or not a student is on track for grade-level reading success. The school can quickly identify students who do not meet the goals on each Acadience Reading measure and provide extra help. The results of the Acadience Reading measures can be used by teachers to make decisions about how to prepare their day-to-day reading lessons. School and district staff can also study the test scores across classrooms and grade levels to make decisions about how to best use resources to make sure that every child in the school, including your child, is on track to become an accurate and fluent reader.
The Acadience Reading Assessment at North Hampton School:
A Parent’s Guide
|
Big Idea |
What is it? Why is it important? |
Acadience Reading Measures |
Grades Assessed at NHS |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Phonemic Awareness |
Phonemic awareness refers to your child’s ability to hear and manipulate sounds in spoken words only. This skill is a powerful predictor of future reading success. |
First Sound Fluency (FSF) or Initial Sound Fluency (ISF) Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF) |
K, 1 |
|
Phonics |
Phonics refers to the ability to learn the individual sounds in spoken language and map those sounds to specific written letters in the English language. Students who have strong phonics skills are able to connect individual sounds with letters and use those sounds to read words. |
Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF) |
K, 1, 2 |
|
Reading Fluency |
Reading fluency refers to your child’s ability to read text accurately and automatically so that students can understand what they are reading. |
Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) |
1, 2, 3 |
Curriculum Night
Our Curriculum Night will take place on September 18th between the hours of 5:30 PM and 7:30 PM. This is an evening for parents and guardians to learn about grade level expectations and curriculum. Teachers will give presentations in their classrooms during the first block and then repeat the same presentation during the second block for parents who have multiple children at NHS. Unified Arts/Specialist teachers will have tables set up in the Cafeteria so parents may stop by and learn about those areas of our curriculum. There will be a presentation by the NHS Leadership Team in the Cafeteria at 6:45.
5:30-6:10 Classroom Presentations
6:15-6:45 Presentation by Leadership Team/ Visit Tables
6:50-7:30 Classroom Presentations
Children should not attend this evening event. We have reached out to the Winnacunnet Girls’ Soccer Team to see if they may be able to provide childcare that also serves as a fundraiser for their team. We will let you know more when we have the information.
Operation Kid Sight
Parents should have received a note from Nurse Mara on Thursday about a vision screening.
The Hampton Area Lions Club will perform a vision screening at NHS on Sept. 27th. Volunteers from the Lions Club will use a Spot Vision Screener by Welch-Allyn that takes and instant scan of your child’s eye to determine the possible presence of eye disorders. All students in grades PK-8 will have their vision screened on Sept. 27th unless we receive an ‘opt out’ form from parents or guardians. NHS will notify you if your child does not pass the screening. If you prefer that your child not be screened, be sure to return the opt out form that Nurse Mara sent home.
NHS Athletics Practice This Week:
Reminders
If you use the drop off/pick up car lane at NHS, please be sure to follow these guidelines:
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Pull as far forward as you can
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Have children exit from the passenger side ONLY
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If your child requires assistance with a seatbelt, please park in a marked spot and walk them to the school
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Be patient :)
Dates to remember:
Sept. 5: Meet and Greet with Principal Snyder from 5:45-6:25 PM
Sept. 5: NHS Board Meeting at 6:30 PM
Sept. 11: Early Release Day --12:00 dismissal (lunch will be served)
Sept. 17: School Picture Day
Sept. 18: Curriculum Night 5:30-7:30 PM
Sept. 27: Vision Screening
Oct. 14: No School--Columbus Day