Words from Secondary

It was another great week in the Secondary School! This Friday is our last day of classes for Seniors, which will be a bittersweet day for all of us. The Middle School will be MAP testing all week, showing what they know in Math, Reading, and Language Usage. 

End of Year Schedule for Seniors

• May 19th: Seniors Last Last Day. Parents are invited to come and see their Seniors walk out of the school at 3:00.
• June 6th: Graduation Practice at 10:00 AM. All School Awards Assembly at 11:00 AM, parents of students receiving awards will receive an invite to attend.
• June 8th: Graduation Practice at 10:00 AM. Junior/Senior Celebration 10:00 AM-2:00 PM. Senior Assembly 2:00PM, Senior Parents are invited to attend.
• June 9th: Graduation Ceremony at 9:00 AM. Seniors should arrive at 8:00 AM

Note: there are no classes for 9th-12th grade students on June 9th. 

Middle School Reminders

8th Grade Moving Up Ceremony: Formal invitations will be emailed the following week:

• Date: June 14th 
• Location: CDS Theater 
• Time: 9:00-10:15 
• Reception: 10:15-10:45 
• Guests: Parents and Sibbings are invited 

8th Grade Field Trip:  Final payment: May 17th 

MS dress down all next week! Students attire should be appropriate for (shorts 3 inch above knee, t-shirt) 

MIT Steam Roller Coaster Challenge in Middle School 

This spring, all CDS Middle and Elementary School Students participated in an MIT STEAM Roller Coaster Challenge and today, our student teams had their roller coasters on full display for our school.  This exciting project-based learning activity was brought to CDS as part of our partnership with MIT and our very own STEAM Team: Xavier Villafranca, Giancarlo Hwu, and Jose Garcia.   

Similar to the High School Roller Coaster Challenge this past fall, our younger CDS students learned about the art, physics, engineering and collaboration components necessary to build a functional roller coaster out of recycled material.   

This is a great example of the active and engaging learning that results from our partnerships with organizations like MIT and Julliard.  Check out our Flickr account for the pictures!

Middle School MAP Testing

CDS students in Grades 6-8 will take the Spring MAP Assessment on May 16-May 18. 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.   

Below is the MAP Testing Schedules for students in Grades 6-8. 

Middle School students will use their own personal computer devices for the MAP assessment.  Windows PC, MACs and Chromebooks will all work for the MAP assessment.  For specific operating system requirements, please click here and scroll to ‘Browser Only Testing.’ Some key pieces for personal computer devices: 

• Please make sure that students come with their devices FULLY CHARGED for MAP testing. Plug devices in overnight prior to coming to school.  
• Please make sure that your students have the CHROME BROWSER on their computer device. MAP works best with CHROME. 
• If you know how to disable popup blockers on your students’ device prior to Monday, you can do that too. Linked here is a CDS Tech Cheat Sheet to assist. We will need to disable popups for MAP, but our team can help your student if needed.
• Students do not need anything else for MAP (no calculator, etc.) - just a fully charged computer with CHROME installed.  Other specific specifications can be found at the link above. Most computers will have these specifications enabled.  We will have tech support on hand to assist all students, and we will have extra devices available if your student’s device isn’t work (limited supply). Students will have an opportunity to practice accessing the testing site prior to test day to ensure that devices are working, popups are disabled, and any technical issues can be resolved.   

Questions about MAP testing? Please contact Liz Cotter, Director of Teaching and Learning: elizabeth.cotter@cds.ed.cr

Thank you!  

From the College Counselor:

Our regular AP Exam session ended yesterday. A total of 105 students took AP exams and a total of 253 exams were applied.  Join me in congratulating all those students who took these exams.

Our course selection meetings will resume on Tuesday of next week. 

Remember to look into Summer Programs, internships, and summer work for our high school students.