S P E N C E R L O O M I S
P R I N C I P A L ’ S N E W S L E T T E R
March 7, 2016
U P C O M I N G
E V E N T S :
 Early Release at
12:50pm: Thursday,
March 10th
 PTO Meeting at
6:45pm in the MPR:
Thursday, March 10th
 Report cards sent home: Friday, March
11th
 Non-Student Attendence Day: Friday,
March 25th
 Spring Break: Monday, March 28th—
Friday, April 1st
I N S I D E T H I S
I S S U E :
February Board
Awards
1
PARCC
Teachers Make a
Difference Award
Nominees
8th Annual Science Fair 2
2
2
Thank You Volunteers!
PARRC
2
3-4
PTO News and Notes 5
Each month District 95 asks every building to select a student who represents our District Mission of “Being a responsible, caring citizen in a global community.” For the month of February, parent volunteers were chosen as well. Spencer Loomis chose 1st Grader Camryn P. as Student of the
Month, and Melissa Hull and Jessica Morton as Parent Volunteers of the
Month.
Student of the Month:
Camryn is a caring and kind classmate. He is a hard worker who takes great pride in his work and perseveres through challenges. He is always willing to help his classspeaks positively to his classmates and teachers. It is our pleasure to nominate Camryn as the Spencer Loomis Student of the month! mates in any situation, and is always including others. He has a growth mindset attitude about school and always
Parent Volunteers of the Month:
Melissa Hull and Jessica Morton serve as our PTO co-presidents with positive outlooks, dedication, and welcoming smiles! As PTO Co-Presidents, they are open-minded, energetic and dynamic women. Along with their
PTO Executive Board, they have continued some of the wonderful traditions we have at Spencer Loomis School: the Mustang Pride Picnic, enrichment awards, conference dinners for teachers and bingo night, to name a few. In addition, they've started new traditions such as the incredibly engaging and Science Alliance assembly and first annual school musical ,
“Winnie the Pooh.” These mothers of four somehow find the time to be ever-present here at Spencer Loomis School; always with smiles on their faces and kind, supportive words for everyone. In the end, Spencer Loomis students and staff benefit from their positive spirits.

Spencer Loomis third through fifth grade students will participate in PARCC Testing after returning from spring break; with third graders testing the week of April 4th, fourth graders the week of April 11th, and fifth graders the week of April 18th. Thank you in advance for making sure your child is in school unless they are ill. Please avoid scheduling doctor or dentist appointments on these days. ALL students are required to take these tests, so if a student is absent they will need to make them up upon their return. We encourage parents to make sure their child gets plenty of rest during this week and that they eat breakfast each day as well.
Thank you all for your cooperation.
Parents and students of School District 95 are invited to nominate a teacher for the 2015-2016 Teachers Make a
Difference Award . Each year, three teachers are selected for the award from among the district’s many outstanding professionals. The district wants to recognize teachers who have represented our mission and gone far beyond what an individual normally would be expected to do in helping and motivating a student or group of students.
Nominations must be received by Wednesday March 16th, 2016.
Submit your nomination online -OR- Hand write your nomination using this form
Lake Zurich CUSD 95 will be hosting our 8th annual Science Fair on Saturday, April 16, 2016 sponsored by the District 95 Educational Foundation. The objective of this event is to excite our students about science. Participation is open to all K-8 students including District 95 students, parochial and private school students, and home schooled students. This event will be both educational and fun. Talk with your child about participating in the science fair. Sign up ends March 21st, so sign up now to ensure your spot!! Visit the District 95 Science Fair webpage for more information or to register!
T H A N K Y O U T O O U R V O L U N T E E R S
PTO Event Bulletin Board: Kim Berman
Birthday Bulletin Board: Melody Mueller, Becki Dellefave, Anna Goldenstein, Maggie
McManus
Joanie's Closet Valentines Dance: Melody Mueller
Box Tops/Labels for Education: Chrissie Looper
Community Outreach: Sandy Hull, Krissy Guidici
Valentine's Day Classroom parties: Anna Goldenstein, Judy Kransberger, Kelly Curin, Megan
McDowell, Amber Bode, Sondra Leonard, Liz Gorham, Emmy Conway, Amy Kappelman,
Pam Booth
Spring Sports Spectular: Heidi Lau, Kelly Curin, Janine Fabsik, Heidi Smith, Shanon Strahl,
Jessica Morton
Family Movie Night: Liz Gorham, Emmy Conway, Krissy Guidici, Chrissie Looper
Girls on the Run: Amy Karstens, Tracy Meyer

The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC) assessment is aligned to the
Illinois Common Core Standards and has been developed with focuses on supporting the deeper learning required for college and career readiness.
PARCC Assessment Plan
To develop a summative PARCC score in fulfillment of the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), students will participate in both performance and standardized testing opportunities beginning April 4. School districts have 30 consecutive school days to complete the test administration of the online-assessment. For
2016, PARCC calls for seven (7) testing units at the elementary level (3 English/Language Arts units and 4
Math units).
Major Test Focuses
PARCC is using an evidence-centered universal testing design approach that views assessment as a process of reasoning from evidence to support specific claims about student understanding. Table 1 summarizes the
PARCC English Language Arts (ELA) test focuses. Table 2 summarizes the PARCC Math test focuses.
Table 1. PARCC ELA Assessment Focuses
ELA Focus
Area
Reading
Students can . . .
independently read and closely analyze a range of increasingly complex texts.
Writing
Research produce well-grounded and effective writing for a variety of purposes and audiences.
build and present knowledge through research and the integration, comparison, and syn-
Table 2. PARCC Math Assessment Focuses
Math Focus
Area
Concepts &
Procedures
Problem Solving
Communicating & Reasoning
Modeling &
Data Analysis
Students can . . .
explain and apply mathematical concepts and procedures and carry out mathematical processes with precision and fluency.
solve a range of complex, well-posed problems in pure and applied mathematics.
clearly and precisely construct viable arguments.
Analyze complex, real-world scenarios and construct and use mathematical models to interpret and solve problems.

Level of Rigor (Depth of Knowledge)
Webb’s depth-of-knowledge (DOK) framework has been utilized to establish the level of complex thinking required of students to respond to a PARCC test item. Webb has identified four levels of knowledge that may be assigned to any give assessment task or item. Table 3 (continued on page 2) provides an explanation and brief example of what an assessment item at that level of knowledge complexity might look like.
Table 3. Webb’s Depth of Knowledge and Representative Assessment Task/Item
DOK Level Definition DOK Sample Task/Item DOK
Level
1 basic knowledge, recall, and rote learning
2
3
4
Some application and cognitive processing of learning
Research, synthesize, reason with evidence, and communicate effectively
Extended planning, research, problem solving that call on students’ self-management and reflective skills
Literal comprehension in reading or simple
1-step word problem in math.
Finding the main idea of a story when the idea is not specifically stated or doing a 2step word problem in math.
Have a student read an editorial on nuclear energy and use evidence from the editorial to analyze the strength of the author’s argument.
Students might make and justify an investment decision on the basis of their interpretation of complex data.
Students might be asked to research a topic from multiple perspectives and present their findings orally and in writing, using multiple media.
Students might use their mathematics knowledge to research and recommend the most cost-effective plan for solving an authentic problem, like building a new structure or buying a car.
PARCC assessments will have one-third (33%) of its assessment items and tasks at a Level 3 or higher.
Thus, the combination of ILCCS and the PARCC assessment will attempt to fully integrate content with higher-order thinking.

Stay connected, copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://eepurl.com/Jdts9
 MARCH PTO MEETING is scheduled for Thursday, March 10 th at 6:45 pm in the Multipurpose Room . Please come join us and learn more about spring PTO events. We will also be accepting nominations for our three open executive positions (Vice-President, Secretary & Treasurer).
 FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT - Spencer Loomis families had a great time watching
DisneyPixar’s Inside Out last Friday. Thank you to all who came out for this fun family event and special thanks to Liz Gorham, Emmy Conway and Krissie Guidici for their wonderful planning.
 SPRING SPORTS SPECTACULAR - Saturday March 19th from 4-6 pm , at
Main Street Sports (143 E. Main Street, Lake Zurich). Come on out for a fun-filled afternoon of sporting events, face painting, balloon-making figures and a prize walk. There will also be concessions, raffle baskets and a silent auction. Our goal for this event is to build community and school spirit among Spencer Loomis families as well as help fund our school technology goal of purchasing more iPads for the classroom. Register by March 15 th to get advanced registration discount. http://www.lz95.org/assets/1/9/Spring_Sports_Spectacular_20161.PDF
 WE LOVE OUR VOLUNTEERS!!! Thank you to all our familes that have donated their energy, time and support to the numerous PTO sponsored projects, activities and events this year. It takes a village--we couldn’t do it without you.
Thinking about getting involved? We are looking for chairs for the Back to School
Picnic, New Family Welcome, Staff Meals, Community Outreach, and School
Beautification for the 2016-2017 school year. Questions? Contact Vice-President
Kelly Curin: kmcurin@hotmail.com
 SAVE THE DATES : o March PTO Meeting- Thursday, March 10 th @ 6:45 pm o District 95 Educational Foundation GALA- Saturday, March 12 pm. http://district95foundation.org/foundationgala2016/ o Spring Sports Spectacular- Saturday, March 19 th from 4-6 pm @ Main Street
Sports o Spring Book Fair- April 19-22nd o Variety Show- Friday, April 29th