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Let's Talk Curriculum: New National Standards
Michigan has joined the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, which is in the process of developing national assessments linked to the new Common Core Standards. This is a shift from the standards we have used in the past (Grade Level Content Expectations), which are assessed by our MEAP test. This school year is a transition year, where teachers will be implementing these new Common Core Standards into classroom instruction. In the 2014-15 school year, Michigan schools will be tested over the new standards with the national assessment.
What does this change mean for Townsend Elementary? The common core standards are widely known as being more rigorous and challenging for our students. These standards are meant to raise the academic bar for students in our country preparation for the global job market. One of the biggest shifts at the elementary level is in the area of Reading. Teachers are expected to spend 50% of their reading instruction in the area of informational text. Informational text includes news articles, manuals, or non-fiction books about a specific topic. Special focus is spent on the structures of the text, which could include description, compare/contrast, cause/effect, problem/solution, and sequence. Major math changes include a stronger focus on using charts, graphs, and diagrams to help solve problems. Students are also expected to use inference as a strategy to solve problems. Inferencing is a strategy where students use clues from their reading and background information to come to an answer to a problem.
Staff members at Townsend have been working continuously at transitioning our instruction to align with the new standards. We look forward to this new challenge and cannot wait to see our students succeed!
Thank you for being a part of our school!
Aaron Bush, Principal
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Student Schedule for Grades K-5
Monday: 7:59 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.
Tuesday: 7:59 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.
Wednesday: 9:45 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.
Thursday: 7:59 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.
Friday: 7:59 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.
Pre School Schedule (a.m. class)
Monday-Thursday: 8:00-10:45 a.m.
Pre School Schedule (p.m. class)
Monday-Thursday: 12:00-2:45 p.m.
Reminder: Procedures for Entering the Building at Townsend Elementary
All students who arrive and return home by car are to enter and leave the school through the front door.
The exception is that all third and fourth grade students will enter through the front door but will exit
out the west end door.
Please use the circular drive for drop-off only. Parents who wish to enter the school, please park in the
east front parking lot, along Floyd Avenue. It is important that no one parks in the circle drive. There
will be adults inside the front entrance who will help students find their classrooms the first week of school.
Students who are eating breakfast may arrive at 7:30am and go directly to the lunchroom. All other
children should not arrive at school until 7:55am.
Afternoon pick-up procedure:
Students whose classrooms are in the west wing are to be picked up at the southwest exit. You may
reach it by way of the drive at the west end of the building.
Students in the east wing and the 5th grade classrooms in the south wing are to be picked up at the
south east exit. Enter the east drive and follow the arrows to the rear of the school.
Stay in the right hand lane to pick-up and use the left lane to pass other cars. Please remain in your car
when using the right lane.
You MUST park in the parking lot if you need to leave your vehicle for any reason.
Because of the traffic, busses and crossing guard you should never pick-up your child on the side of
Floyd Avenue.
If you have children in more than one wing, instruct all of them to meet you at the exit assigned to
your youngest child.
The southwest and southeast exits will be open at 2:55 pm for student dismissal.
The buses will be using the circle drive in front of the school. The parking lot inside the circle drive will
be for staff parking only.
Childcare Drop-Off and Pick-Up:
Parents may drop off and pick up students at the southwest exit near the gymnasium. You may reach
it by way of the drive at the west end of the building.
