Brookside PlaceSchool

Cranford, New Jersey

Notice for Grades 3, 4 and 5

Parents/Guardians

April 24, 2017

Dear Parents/Guardians:

Brookside Place School students in grades 3, 4 and 5will take the 2016-2017Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for Collegeand Careers(PARCC)beginning on Monday, May 1, 2017 and continuing for seven consecutive school days with Tuesday, May 9, 2017 being the final day. The seven sections of the test (three for English Language Arts / ELA and four for Math) will take place in the morning on all seven days.Students will be taking one unit per day: ELA sections on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and Math sections on Thursday, Friday, Monday and Tuesday. Our goal is to conclude testing each day by approximately 11:00 AM.

Since some of the sections of the computer-based testing will include audio components, students are welcome and encouraged to bring in their own pair of headphones. Please place headphones from home in a plastic bag with the student’s name on it. For those students who do not bring headphones from home, headphones will be available and provided in the testing sections during the entire week of testing.

Classroom teachers will not be assigning homework during the testing period.Some of the suggested snacks for testing days are: water, grapes and raisins. Please encourage your children to remain relaxed and focused on doing their best during this testing period.Additionally we suggest:

  • A good night’s rest is one of the best ways to prepare for these assessments.Children should try to get to bed early.
  • Please encourage your child to eat a good breakfast before coming to school.Please see the reverse for “Breakfast for Success” information from BPS Nurse, Mrs. O’Hara.
  • Children should dress comfortably. They will be sitting for slightly extended periods of time.
  • Punctuality is especially important on testing days.The testing period starts promptly each morning.
  • With regard to cell phones and other electronic devices, it would be tremendously helpful if students could refrain from bringing these to school during testing.
  • Thanks, in advance, for doing all you can to ensure your son/daughter is present for school each day during the testing period. While we have allotted time to administer some make-up tests, maintaining good attendance during testing is very important.

Please be assured that we will be doing our best to make this a positive experience for our students. Please feel free to contact your child’s teacher or me if you have questions about the test administration.

Sincerely,

Michael Klimko,

Principal

Breakfast for Success

A healthy breakfast is important everyday but during standardized testing, it can give students the boost they need to get through a long morning. Studies have shown that eating breakfast helps with concentration, attention and learning. However, not all breakfasts are created equal. High sugar meals will cause a quick rise in blood sugar and lead to a sudden drop in a couple of hours. This quick high and low interfere with concentration and attention. A meal with a balance of protein, fiber and carbohydrate will slow the absorption of sugar and lead to a healthier gradual increase and decrease of blood sugar over a period of 5-6 hours.

Adding eggs, peanut butter, nuts, cheese, or yogurt and high fiber cereals instead of syrups and sugary cereals can make a big difference. Here are some examples:

Substituting peanut butter for your syrup as a waffle topper lowers sugar content by 28 gm and provides an added 7 gm protein.

Spreading peanut butter on toast instead of Nutella lowers the sugar content by 18 gm and gives 7 gm more protein. (Nutella actually has 9 gm more of sugar than jam).

Oatmeal instead of Lucky Charms? That provides 13gm less sugar, an added 2.5 gm protein, and 4 gm more fiber.

An egg can supply 13 gm protein and only 1.5 gm sugar.

Armed with the right type of breakfast, your children will be better prepared for academic achievement.