Dear Neil Cummins Elementary School Community,
It is with mixed emotions that I share some exciting yet bittersweet news with you today. After years of dedicated service and countless contributions to our school, we will be bidding farewell to three beloved members of our teaching staff as they embark on the next chapter of their lives. Janet Pollack, Liza Mathews, and Lori Restani will all be retiring at the end of the 2023-2024 school year..
Ms. Pollack, Ms. Mathews, and Ms. Restani have contributed to the heartbeat of Neil Cummins Elementary, each bringing their unique talents, passion, and commitment to the education and growth of our students. Their impact extends far beyond the classroom walls, shaping the lives of countless children and leaving an indelible mark on our school community.
While we will undoubtedly miss their presence in our hallways, we take solace in knowing that Janet, Liza, and Lori leave behind a legacy that will endure for years to come. Their impact on our students, our staff, and our school community is immeasurable, and they will always hold a special place in our hearts.
Please join me in expressing our deepest gratitude to Janet, Liza, and Lori for their years of service, their unwavering dedication, and the countless lives they have touched along the way. We wish them all the best in their well-deserved retirement and know that they will continue to inspire and uplift others wherever their journey may take them.
With heartfelt appreciation,
Kyle Shaw
Neil Cummins Elementary Principal
CAASPP Testing Begins Next Week For 3rd-5th Grade Students
Testing Schedule- Testing will occur in the morning between roughly 10:00am Tuesday- Thursday. ELA (Reading and Writing) is the week of 5/13, Math is the week of 5/20, and 5th grade also has a Science test.
Home Support- Staff, students and parents form one team to ensure that kids are well-rested and ready to give their best effort over the next couple of weeks. Teachers will make every effort to reduce stress on students. At home, please encourage healthy breakfasts and getting to bed early. Our children look to us in these situations that can be stressful; please provide calm reassurance and perspective that they can do this and we believe in them. Please have students bring books to read if they finish early.
Arrive on Time- Bring students to school on time (please don’t schedule morning appointments). Each morning, teachers will be creating a safe, comfortable environment to transition students into the tests. Late arrivals will be unsettling to your child and will be disruptive to the testing environment. If you must pick your child up for an appointment, please do so after testing.
Testing Approach/ Philosophy- At NC, we focus on the whole child, and we use multiple measures to determine a child’s progress and proficiency. CAASPP results offer some insights into student learning: by individual, by grade level, by content strand, and as a whole school. It will help us look at trends and see how we can adjust to meet student needs moving forward. The scores are not used to determine whether a student moves on to the next grade.
We ask that we, as the adults in their lives, remind our students that they have been working hard, problem-solving, learning different strategies, showing their work and practicing their skills all year. Whatever task is before them, they should put their best effort forth, believe in themselves and know that they can do this. They have a team of teachers, parents and their principal cheering them on!
Annual LCAP Survey Results Summary for Neil Cummins
Thank you to the Cove families that responded to the LCMSD Annual Parent Survey in March. The goals of this survey were to understand how parents, students and staff are experiencing Neil Cummins, to determine how we are progressing toward our school and district goals and to help Neil Cummins and LCMSD continue to improve.
A summary of Neil Cummins results can be found here. Here are the LCAP Survey Results District Summary that was presented at the Board meeting on 4/24. I am happy to share that some of the feedback aligns with areas that we are already acting on as a school and district. These include revising our reading instruction and curriculum to align with the science of reading, hiring additional math and reading intervention personnel for the next 2 years to address gaps that developed during Covid, adding musical theater using prop 28 funding, and improving campus safety through the guidance of our district Safety Task Force.
Thank you to all who participated in this survey.
Board Updates: On May 13, 2024 the Board will meet at 11:00 in Room 401 at Hall to initiate a long-term visioning process. This endeavour will include students later this month and parents/staff/community members in the fall. Stay tuned! Additionally, on May 15, 2024 the Board will meet at 6:00 in the Hall Library. Golden Bell Awards and retirees will be celebrated. Trustees will be presented with the Local Control Accountability (LCAP) draft, as well as the 2024-25 draft LCAP annual update. The Board will vote on district-wide common assessments (iReady) in mathematics and literacy, as well as a National Gun Violence Awareness Day Resolution. The meeting will be live streamed via Zoom (link; passcode - lcmsd). Please know, public comments will only be taken by in person attendees; public comments via Zoom will not be available. We hope to see you there. All agendas can be found here.
Superintendent Coffee Chat Part 2: May 14 from 5:30-6:30 in the Hall Library On May 2, the coffee chat was focused on gathering feedback on our draft goals (LCAP) for 2024-25. Additionally, LCAP survey results were shared. We appreciate all of the input during this meeting. Due to the high engagement, we have scheduled an additional session (minus the coffee) on May 14 from 5:30 to 6:30 in the Hall Library to gather feedback. We will have a brief overview, followed by Q&A/feedback on our goals, and then will open the conversation to any and all topics. We hope to see you there! |