Happy Friday Chapman Swifts!
I hope you all were able to go outside and enjoy the sun earlier in the week. Just like the seasons change, humans gain energy and spread our learning wings after winter. I was able to join a couple of classrooms this week and saw activities that keep students focused on learning and add a movement component for the extra energy. I love to see teachers adapt to their students and give them a variety of ways to learn.
We are all excited to see and hear more of the learning that has been solidified through this school year. Even with interruptions and bumps in the road, students’ skills grew this winter according to our MAP assessments. Chapman has the 6th highest growth in both Math and Reading amongst all elementary schools and K-8s. Of particular note is our 5th grade class, which had the highest growth in math in the entire district!
More testing is coming up as our state test window opens up for grades 3-5. You will be hearing about the OSAS from your child and their teacher. Hopefully some positive results can come out as well.
We had our last week with Playworks’ Coach Marie who was here through the year to teach students new and fun games to play during recess. There are many 4th and 5th grade students who have signed up as Junior Coaches to get a chance to help with younger grades. When kids play safely together that leaves little chance for issues. They are also learning problem solving skills along the way, so if problems do arise, they are looking for ways to ignore, solve it, and make it better.
We are proud to say that our Swift Tickets are a complete success! Students are eager to show their teachers and other adults in the building how Safe, Respectful and Responsible they can be in all areas of the school. Ask your students about the last ticket they earned. How can we encourage everyone to be kind and positive with one another? We pull tickets from the Chimney every week and give classroom prizes. Once our Chimney is almost full (we are about 10% away), at which point we will have a school wide celebratory event.
Finally, we are thrilled that three Chapman Swifts were invited to join the PPS Honor Choir. Violet Wood, Imran Rakhmatov and Simone Harari are participating in the PPS Honor Choir at the HeART of Portland Celebration on Tuesday, April 16th. The concert will be held at the Portland Art Museum around 6:00 p.m.
Have a wonderful weekend!
