Weekly Newsletter 9/12/25
September 12th, 2025
As we settle into the new school year, I want to take a moment to reflect on the incredible work our students are doing. The initial excitement has worn off, and now we're in the phase of building a strong and lasting foundation for learning. Our kids are building stamina and resilience as they tackle new routines and academic challenges.
It has been amazing to see the difference from last year. We are in a much more proactive space—not just surviving, but truly thriving. In our classrooms, we're seeing deep learning, focused small groups, and purposeful testing that helps us understand exactly where each student is.
We are so proud of your children and their willingness to take on any challenge. Thank you for being such a vital part of our school community.
- We have noted a lot of poison oak on our school campus, the SLSD maintenance team came out to do an assessment and is going to complete an emergency Pesticide Application. For more information please click HERE.
- Illness are starting to pop up HERE is a quick flyer to reference when a student should stay home for symptoms or when they are still able to come to school.
- We will use class dojo for our main mode of communication as a school and for each classroom. If you have not signed up yet please do so.
- In case you missed our Middle School Open House presentation PLEASE take some time to review it HERE.
- Every Friday we show our Panther Pride by wearing a Dorena shirt or black and yellow/gold! We also are allowed to wear hats every Friday for a quarter or 3 Panther Pride tickets.
- Check out a School Handbook for information regarding our policies!
Dibels (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills)
Dibels is a brief, one-on-one assessment that measures early literacy skills like phonemic awareness, letter naming, and reading fluency. It helps us quickly identify if a student is on track with foundational reading skills.
What it measures: It measures a student's ability to decode words, read connected text accurately and at a certain pace, and understand what they've read.
Why the data is important: The data helps us pinpoint specific reading challenges a student might have. For example, if a student struggles with phonemic awareness, we know to focus on activities that build their understanding of sounds in words. This allows for early intervention and targeted instruction to prevent reading difficulties from becoming bigger problems later on.
MAP Growth (Measures of Academic Progress)
MAP Growth is a computerized adaptive test that measures a student's academic growth over time in math, reading, science, and language usage. "Adaptive" means the test adjusts to your child's performance; if they answer a question correctly, the next one is more challenging, and if they answer incorrectly, the next one is easier.
What it measures: It measures what a student knows and is ready to learn. The results are presented in a RIT score, which helps us understand their current academic standing and their projected growth.
Why the data is important: The data helps us understand a student's strengths and areas for growth across various subjects. It provides us with a snapshot of their learning trajectory, allowing us to create personalized learning goals. This also helps us to track their progress throughout the school year and from year to year all the way to high school, ensuring they are growing academically.
Panorama SEL (Social-Emotional Learning) Survey
The Panorama SEL Survey is a short questionnaire that helps us understand a student's social and emotional well-being. It is not graded and is designed to provide insight into how students are feeling and navigating their relationships and emotions.
What it measures: It measures key social-emotional skills like self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. It also asks about their sense of belonging and their relationships with peers and teachers.
Why the data is important: This data helps us understand the holistic needs of our students. We can use the information to plan lessons and activities that build on their social-emotional strengths and address areas where they might need more support. It allows us to create a more supportive and inclusive classroom environment where all students feel safe and connected.
We look forward to sharing the results with you after each assessment window and discussing how we can partner to best support your child's continuous growth! Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Week 9/15-9/19
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