Dear Parent/Guardian:
New Jersey public schools have had statewide tests for decades, and they have served as an important part of assessing our students’ annual progress. The Start Strong Assessments for English Language Arts and Mathematics will be administered in October 2021. In the spring, your child will participate in either the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments (NJSLA) or the Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) to measure your child’s overall academic progress. Willingboro Public Schools will administer the Start Strong Assessments to students in Grades 4 through 11 in the subject areas of Mathematics and English Language Arts. Additionally, students in Grades 5, 8, and 12 will also take an assessment in the subject area of Science. English Language Learners as well as students with Individual Education Programs (IEPs) and 504 plans can receive certain NJSLA accommodations on a case by case basis. The NJ Department of Education has provided a comprehensive parent portal for the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments. There, parents may look up student-specific reports, along with report guides, test information, and a library of digital test items. Please click here to access this portal. Students with the most significant intellectual disabilities take an alternate assessment in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science called the Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM). If your child has special needs and you have questions regarding testing accommodations, please contact your child’s Case Manager. For more information on the Dynamic Learning Maps, please click here. All statewide assessments are administered at different points in time depending upon the assessment, the school, and grade level. Please refer to this link which outlines our district testing schedule in grades 3-11. Please refer to the NJSLA F.A.Q (Frequently Asked Questions) List on the accompanying page for more information regarding these assessments. For more information please visit the Office of Curriculum and Instruction webpage. Please contact Jennifer Brandon, Supervisor of Science at 609-835-8600 x 1035 if you need additional information about our district’s participation in the state testing program.
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You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose – Dr. Seuss
Here is an awesome opportunity from Rowan for WPS students in grades 7-10...
STEAM: Summer Science at Home is hosted by Rowan STEAM Academy. This program will be a week-long virtual science program for students entering 7th-10th grade. Each day students will take two workshops, Experimental Design and Environmental Science. The Experimental Design workshops will teach your child the elements of designing a controlled experiment and allow them the opportunity to conduct their own experiments right at home! Environmental Science will focus on global warming, human impact, and the importance of eco-friendly products. STEAM: Summer Science at Home will run from 9am-12pm, Monday through Friday. Before the first day of the program, students will receive a box of materials that they will use for their workshops. For local South Jersey students packages will be dropped off by program coordinator via no contact delivery, for those outside of the South Jersey region packages will be mailed. Finally, instructions on how to log on virtually will be sent out closer to the program’s start date. Dates: Week 1: July 6th-July 10th (Students entering 7th - 8th grades) Week 2: July 13th-July 17th (Students entering 9th-10th grades) Happy Learning!! Today is an exciting day for space travel! An article entitled Launch Day Arrives for NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 explains today's schedule to the main event! Launch Day Arrives for NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 Countdown clocks are ticking toward the launch of a new era in human spaceflight. With today’s scheduled launch of NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, American astronauts will once again launch on American spacecraft from American soil to the International Space Station. Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley is targeted for 4:33 p.m. EDT from Kennedy’s historic Launch Complex 39A. Don’t miss a minute of today’s events. Follow the countdown live starting at 12:15 p.m. EDT on NASA Television, on the web at http://www.nasa.gov/live and here on the blog. Behnken and Hurley are spending the morning in the Astronaut Crew Quarters inside Kennedy’s Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building, where they’ll sit down for a preflight meal five hours prior to launch. The crewmates will receive a weather briefing at approximately 12:15 p.m., then begin suiting up in the crew quarters’ Suit Room around 12:30 p.m. Here’s an overview of the countdown milestones ahead: -04:15:00 Crew weather brief -04:05:00 Crew handoff -04:00:00 Suit donning and checkouts -03:22:00 Crew walk out from Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building -03:15:00 Crew transportation to Launch Complex 39A -02:55:00 Crew arrives at pad -02:35:00 Crew ingress -02:20:00 Communication check -02:15:00 Verify ready for seat rotation -02:14:00 Suit leak checks -01:55:00 Hatch close -00:45:00 SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for propellant load -00:42:00 Crew access arm retracts -00:37:00 Dragon launch escape system is armed -00:35:00 RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading begins -00:35:00 1st stage LOX (liquid oxygen) loading begins -00:16:00 2nd stage LOX loading begins -00:07:00 Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch -00:05:00 Dragon transitions to internal power -00:01:00 Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks -00:01:00 Propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins -00:00:45 SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch -00:00:03 Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start -00:00:00 Falcon 9 liftoff The Demo-2 mission will serve as an end-to-end flight test to validate the SpaceX crew transportation system, from launch to docking to splashdown. It is the final flight test for the system to be certified for regular crew flights to the station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Happy Friday! As the week closes, marking 5 weeks of distance learning, kudos to all your hard work students and teachers! Now it is time for a little celebration!!! Happy Earth Day! It is the 50th anniversary!!! I will be hosting a virtual viewing party with Discovery Education!! The title of the event is "A Live Earth Day Visit with Polar Bears." During this event, students will learn all about polar bears, including top ten facts and some simple actions people can take to have a positive impact on our planet. Then, participants will meet a polar bear cub! Teachers have posted details of the virtual viewing party to their Google Classroom stream today. Hope you and your students join the fun!! All New Jersey school buildings will remain closed for in-person instruction for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year and all students and faculty will continue with remote-learning. Willingboro Public Schools has created a detailed Contingency Plan for the community that will guide distance learning. The WPS website has all the information on the Contingency Plan. I am available for any comments, questions, and/or concerns. Take care and stay safe!
In February, WPS students had opportunities to learn first hand about the importance of Science in the world. Students from Memorial Middle School were invited to attend Lockheed Martin’s Annual Engineer’s Week. Students participated in an assembly line that produced lego planes and learned the importance of production and lead time. They also constructed aluminum foil boats and were in a competition to see whose boats could hold more pennies, a fantastic activity to learn about problem solving and design. The fun didn’t stop there, students were able to see a real robot in action! Kudos to Mrs. Blatchley and Mrs. Jackson for leading a fabulous opportunity for students!! 4th grade students from Twin Hills Elementary School honored legends in the field of Science among other African American heros at the Black Wax Museum presentation at the courthouse in Mt Holly. Scientists like Mae Jemison and Percy Julian were featured. Mae Carol Jemison is an American engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut. She became the first black woman to travel into space when she served as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Percy Lavon Julian was a research Chemist and a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants. He is credited with assistance in the creation of medicine to treat glaucoma and arthritis. A round of Applause for the 4th grade teachers that curated this wonderful opportunity for our students. These experiences and many more that happen in the District’s classrooms are extremely important for scientific thinking! “When encountered with a problem, knowing which skills to utilize, the manner in which to use them and how to work through a process in a logical fashion are essential to growth in understanding.” An article entitled The art of scientific thinking: Why science is important for early childhood development, discusses the skills necessary for Scientific thinking and the impact it has on a child's academic life. Check it out to read about some ways to assist your child in the development of this skill. Please join the Office of Curriculum and Instruction for an opportunity to explore District curricula, highlighting core subjects. This event will be held at Willingboro High School, 20 JFK way on February 20th from 6:00-7:30 pm. Hang around after for a Q&A session on this year's STEM Conference. We look forward to seeing you!
If we can spark children's curiosity of the outside world, then we can spark a love of Science. Dr. Yi-Chin Lan, a professor at the University of Texas, explains the importance of exploring the outside world with your child in an article written for the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Even something as mundane as why the clouds are grey can spark a child's curiosity in Science. Below are tips for parents that will extend Science learning from the classroom and build upon the knowledge they are receiving in school, 1.Value your child’s questions. “Mommy, why is the moon following us?” With this question, a child lets us know she/he is thinking about how the world works. We can respond in ways that encourage her/his scientific thinking. Enjoy discussing the questions your child asks. Encourage her/him to share her perspective and observations. 2. Explore and find the answers together. You don’t have to be your child's encyclopedia and quickly try to answer all your child’s questions. Responding with “What do you think?” or “I don’t know but we can find out together” can stimulate more thought and additional questions. Explore and find the answers together. 3. Give children time and space to explore. Children learn science through trial and error. They need time to experiment, try things out, and think on their own. Wait before jumping in with "correct" answers. Give your child the time and space to explore and discover on her own. 4. Accept that explorations are often messy. Whether it’s outdoor exploration with mud and sticks or indoors with water, children are likely to get dirty when they explore materials. Dress children in old clothing and tell them it’s ok to get dirty. 5. Learn from mistakes together. If an experiment goes wrong, take advantage and investigate with your child to see what went wrong. A mistake can lead to all kinds of possibilities and it provides opportunities for you and your child to refine your ideas, understanding, and hypotheses. 6. Invite curiosity. Science learning begins with curiosity. Observations and questions can create a climate of discovery – key to scientific learning. Children can learn a lot about science even at bath time. Let your child ask her own questions but you can also stimulate curiosity. For instance, when seeing a rubber duck float in the water, invite him to think by saying, “I wonder if the soap will also float?" See what questions she asks and what experiments she tries. 7. Support further exploration. Intentional adult interactions with children can extend their learning. When the moment is right – maybe when she’s done exploring on her own, offer a suggestion to extend her exploration. Guide your child by asking questions like, “What might happen if we try this?” Share some things you find while exploring, - a beautiful striped rock, for example. This lets your child know there is always something worthy of our attention and investigation. 8. Encourage children to record their observations. Writing, drawing, or taking photographs are all ways to record observations - an important scientific skill. Such records allow children to keep track of what they saw, heard, questioned, or discovered. When you notice your child is interested in something (like the moon, leaves changing on the trees, or the growth of a plant) you can suggest ways for them to record what they have observed. “Do you want to draw that?” or “Do you want to take photos?” or “Do you want me to help you write down what you noticed?” 9. Make good use of your electronic devices. Take pictures of a stunning butterfly, record frog sounds, use a website or app to learn more about a specific phenomenon or creature. 10. Use items you have at home to experiment and explore. You don't need to spend money buying science supplies. Consider using materials you might have at home to learn about science principles. The theme is... All students received a STEM Conference Packet to bring home that contains valuable resources on how to complete a successful STEM project. Remember, gone are the days when we did cookie cutter projects! Now we are looking for solutions to real world problems. Look at these upgrades to age old science fair projects.. Below is a list of resources to help you support your student as they prepare for science experiments that offer solutions to problems.
As always, support is available from your student's Science teacher. Please do not hesitate to contact the teacher for more information. Happy experimenting! |
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