Skillin Newsletter from Principal Connolly (May)
Hello Skillin Families!
It’s been a rainy return to school after April vacation, but we’re happy to have all of our students back at school! We have a busy spring ahead of us with only 7 weeks remaining in the school year!! There is a lot of information to share this week and important upcoming dates.
Spring Assessments
Please see below for important information about upcoming assessments for all students.
For 3rd and 4th grade students only
Students in 3rd and 4th grade will take the required state assessment on May 1st and 2nd in reading and math, respectively.
For all Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade students
All students will take the NWEA Measure of Academic Progress in math and reading. This assessment is given in the fall and spring and is used by teachers to help measure student growth.
Assessments typically take between 30-60 minutes per session.
Families can support students by encouraging them to try their hardest and take their time during the assessment. Making sure students are present and on time at school on testing days is also important!
The schedule for testing is below:
Kindergarten - May 17 (math) and May 22 (reading)
1st grade - May 25 (math) and May 26 (reading)
2nd grade - May 23 (math) and May 24 (reading)
3rd grade - May 25 (math) and May 26 (reading)
4th grade - May 23 (math) and May 24 (reading)
Please see this letter from the district’s director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment for more information about spring assessments: District Assessment Letter. If you have any questions, please reach out to your child’s teacher or Mrs. Connolly.
Kindergarten Registration
Online kindergarten registration opens on May 1st! Any child living in South Portland who will be 5 years old by October 15, 2023 must be registered for kindergarten. Please see this flier for more information. Please call Mrs, Quirk in the main office if you have any questions.
May Menus
Safety Drills
As part of our ongoing commitment to maintaining a safe school environment for our children, we continue to regularly practice our safety drills including evacuation (fire) drills in the event we need to evacuate the building and lockdown drills. Our next lockdown drill will be on Wednesday, May 3rd. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Connolly or Mrs. Remsen.
Upcoming Dates
Friday, April 28 - PTA Family Night, 6:00-7:30pm
Wednesday, May 3 - Early Release, dismissal at 12:35pm
Monday, May 29 - no school, Memorial Day
Thursday, June 8 - last day of school, early release, dismissal at 12:35pm PTA
Family Fun Night - Friday, April 28th
Come to the Skillin Gym this Friday, April 28, 6:00-7:30 PM and welcome spring with other Skillin families with a night of fun at school! Activities include a Bunny Hop cupcake walk, upcycled planting craft, bird kite making, outdoor games, and a book swap. We need your help making the Spring Fling fun for everyone!
Book Swap: Please bring your unwanted books to the office by April 27th so that all students who attend TGIF Family Night will go home with a book!
Planting Craft: We need your cans! Turn in empty, clean soup size cans for our gardening craft project. Have your student drop the empty cans in the labeled bin at the front office by April 27th. Note that this is not a drop off event, all children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian!
District Volunteer Training- April 28th, 2023 at noon-VIRTUAL
This Friday, the District will be hosting a virtual volunteer training for any parents/volunteers/chaperones who have not attended volunteer training yet.
Join this training session via google meet here. The training is brief (approximately 30 minutes) but requires your full attention so the session will be cameras on for all participants.
FRIENDLY REMINDER:
To volunteer for ALL SCHOOL & PTA events taking place DURING SCHOOL - you MUST BE VOLUNTEER CERTIFIED.
To volunteer for PTA-Sponsored events taking place NOT DURING SCHOOL HOURS - you do NOT need to be volunteer certified.
TO GET CERTIFIED:
Step one: Complete this registration: Volunteers must register each year using the Volunteer Application.
Step two: Attend a volunteer training, virtual training THIS FRIDAY APRIL 28th 12NOON via google meet here or attend another Upcoming training found on the Volunteer Training Schedule.
