April 1, 2024

Alcott Newsletter
April 1, 2024

I don’t know how April is here already, but it is!  It really feels like just a few days ago that we were preparing for December vacation.  With the arrival of spring comes a very busy time of year at school.  The days start to fill up with regular learning activities as well as enrichment ones.  I look forward to seeing many of you at various spring events!

Recap of March Events: March was an incredibly busy month!  We had an amazing Multicultural Night at the beginning of the month and an awesome Math Night at the end of the month.  The Book Fair was a great success too. I want to extend a huge thank you to all of the parents who contributed to making these events so successful!

MCAS: Our third graders kicked us off with ELA MCAS last week.  Our 4th graders are taking it this week, followed by our 5th graders next week.  The remaining schedule is below:

  • April 1 and 2 – Grade 4 ELA

  • April 9 and 11 – Grade 5 ELA

  • April 30 and May 2 – Grade 3 Math

  • May 7 and 9 – Grade 4 Math

  • May 14 and 16 – Grade 5 Math

  • May 20 and 21 – Grade 5 STE

Solar Eclipse: We are all very excited about the upcoming solar eclipse on Monday, April 8th.  The Concord Public Schools have a regular, full day of school that day.  Thanks to a grant from the Concord Ed Fund, we have purchased solar eclipse viewing glasses for all of our students so we can all experience the event together.  Though I predict dismissal might be a little bit slower than usual, there is no change to the dismissal schedule that day.

Placement Feedback Form: In keeping with the theme of “how is it this time of year already,” it is hard to believe that we are already starting to think about placement for the upcoming school year.  You are invited to share feedback that you think will help us make the best classroom assignments as possible for the 2024/2025 school year.  We value your feedback and will take it into account as we place students into classes for the fall in grades 1-5.  However, we do want to make sure that families know that placement requests are not a guarantee.  First and foremost, our goal is to create balanced class lists that enable teachers to meet the academic and social/emotional needs of all students.  When we can achieve this goal while also incorporating feedback from placement forms, we will absolutely honor requests.  Should requests make it challenging to achieve our goal of balanced classrooms that meet the needs of all learners, we may not be able to fulfill them.

While we welcome your input, you do not have to complete this form if you do not want to.  The staff at Alcott know their students very well and have lots of experience creating balanced classroom assignments.  The deadline for submitting a placement feedback form is April 24th.

Things you might consider writing on your placement form include:

  • Classroom structures that have been effective for your child in the past

  • The teaching style that your child has responded well to in the past

  • Peer dynamics that would be important for us to know about when making balanced lists

Please do not use the placement form to request specific teachers.  These requests will not be honored.

You can access the placement feedback form here.

Kindergarten Orientation: There will be an orientation for incoming K students and their families on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 15th.  More information (including the time for each session) will be sent directly to families.  If you have an incoming kindergarten student, please make sure that you register them through the parent portal in Aspen so that we can communicate with you about the transition to kindergarten.

April Vacation: This is just a reminder that there is no school April 15-19.

Coffee with the Principal: April’s monthly coffee with the principal will take place on Thursday, April 11th.  This meeting will be held on zoom.  A link will be shared closer to the event.  Bring your own coffee and join me for casual conversation and an opportunity to ask questions.