28 April, 2023

Words from Primary

It was an amazing week of Book Week events. Students met a professional author, enjoyed the book fair, and saw their teachers perform in a play, among other activities. Bringing reading to life is so important and we look forward to making this a priority throughout the rest of the year! Wishing you a great long weekend!

MIT STEAM Rollercoaster Challenge (Elementary Students)

The MIT STEAM Rollercoaster Challenge is coming! Please review the important dates and information below:

April 24-May 11: Challenge
May 12: Rollercoaster Exhibit

Words from Primary - Words from Primary

Class Placements for Next School Year

Next school year is around the corner! In May, counselors, teachers, and administrators will meet to work on class placements. We use formal and informal assessment data, observation notes, and parent input to make the best class placements for each child. If you would like to request a type of learning environment (not a specific teacher) for your child, you may do so in writing to Ariel Weissburg (ariel.weissburg@cds.ed.cr) before May 1st. Please note that late requests, requests that include a teacher’s name, or requests to someone other than Mrs. Weissburg will not be considered.

Classroom Placement

At Country Day School, each student will be provided an appropriate program of studies designed to inspire a passion for learning and an opportunity to acquire skills, instill values and develop courage. Consequently, classrooms are balanced according to a multitude of factors and are created by a team of teachers, the principal, counselor and, if needed, learning support team.

We encourage any parent who wishes to request a particular learning environment for his or her child to do so; information from parents is often valuable in adding to the School’s observations and expertise. The only type of request accepted by CDS is one that describes a particular type of learning environment based on a student’s specific needs. Requests that include a specific teacher's name will not be considered. Parent input must be done so in writing to the principal by the middle of May of the previous school year.

While we can not honor all requests, we do assure that all of the information, which follows the above guidelines, sent by parents will receive full consideration as part of the classroom placement process. This policy provides for fair and equal treatment for all concerned. The practice of honoring an individual parent request for a specific teacher is not condoned, as it could deny equal educational opportunity to some personnel and to some students. Requests identifying a teacher’s name will not be considered and will be returned to the requestor. Country Day School will make the final decision regarding student placement for the best possible learning environment for all students.

MAP Testing

CDS students in Grades 1-5 will take the Spring MAP Assessment on May 16-May 25. This standardized assessment will assess students’ literacy and math skills and is given twice per year. MAP scores are a helpful data point for CDS staff to use in identifying areas for additional instruction, the performance and progress of a specific grade level, or whole school trends in learning and growth. MAP Growth scores are just one data point that our instructional team uses to determine how a student, or group of students, is performing. If a student is absent during a scheduled MAP testing session he/she will be able to make-up the test on another date. More information will be shared as we get closer to the assessment date.