Minnehaha Parents & Families,
Monday, January 29 marks the official halfway mark of the school year already – remember there is
no school that day due to Semester Break.
As you watch the growth & progression of your child throughout the year, remember to offer praise
& encouragement, and look for ways to really reward and show the value of hard work, grit, and determination.
Students can sometimes arrive at a belief that because something is hard for him/her,
that it’s just not something they will ever be good at. This “fixed mindset” is in direct contrast to a
“growth mindset” – the belief and attitude that strengths and talents can be developed. We can help
to feed a growth mindset by continually emphasizing that if something is difficult – that is a good
thing because it means it is challenging us and helping us to grow/strengthen! Letting our students
know how proud we are – especially when things are hard – is important!
This past week, we have started our midyear diagnostic assessments in both reading & math – the
iReady assessments. As a reminder, these computer-adapted tests are taken on computers or laptops
by all students beginning in first grade three times a year – Fall, Winter, and Spring. For more information
– including testing dates for your child – please check with each teacher. The Winter testing
window will be open over the next several weeks. Information from these assessments provides our
teachers with individual student growth data, and gives clear direction to our teacher teams about
areas of instruction to continue to focus on. Results from the iReady assessments will be shared
with you upon completion – it is always exciting to watch how much our students grow!
Troy
