Summer 2018 Learning Opportunities

Dear Families, 

The district has posted the summer reading work for students in grades 1-8 and the summer math work for grades 1-5. Students currently in grades K-4 will also receive this work as a paper packet on the last day of school with report cards. Students entering grades 6-12 can access the work on the district and school websites. Review the Summer 2018 Learning Opportunities here.

It is critically important to us that your child engage in fun activities over the summer such as art, music, athletics, camp, outdoor games, and spending time with family and friends. We believe that the summer work we are asking students to finish prior to the start of school in August can be done in conjunction with all of the other important items on your family’s calendar for the summer.

The activities that students are asked to complete are designed to review concepts and skills that they have previously learned and to prevent “summer brain drain.” Independent reading or reading to your child is widely acknowledged in educational research as one of the key elements in overall school success. These activities are meant to be spread over the summer and are not intended to be done in one or two marathon sittings. These tasks also serve to provide an opportunity for families to be informed about the academic expectations for each grade level.

With regard to the math tasks, if a student does not have the knowledge or skill to complete a specific problem, please have your child persevere and give the problem a good try. After you deem that appropriate effort has been expended, please have the child stop, prior to hitting a frustration point. It will be very helpful for next year’s teacher to have a good understanding of which problems students completed easily and which problems may have posed difficulty. With your verification of a good effort, the work will be considered complete and the student will be entitled to participate in any incentive programs held in the schools recognizing completion of summer academic activities. I cannot stress enough that the intent of summer work is to assist students retain skills and knowledge. Similarly, the intent is not to cause undue stress or anxiety for students and their families.

Please contact your child’s current teacher or principal if you have any questions. I am also available during much of the summer. Best wishes for a wonderful vacation!

Respectfully,

Joyce Edwards, Ed.D
Assistant Superintendent for Teaching & Learning