From Your Principal: Mr. Philip Holt  
 

Dear Families,

The winter season is always a busy time of year for everyone and here at the Dennett Elementary School at lot has been going on.  This year we have made strides in updating our technology and have made significant progress in integrating technology into our curriculum.  With the support of our parent group, C.A.S.A., each grade level has their own web page that is linked to the school’s web site www.dennett.mec.edu .  Teachers post a variety of information on their classroom web pages.  Some of what can be found there is homework assignments, class announcements, schedules, links to curriculum web sites, and answers to frequently asked questions.  The response from families has been very positive and the teachers feel that it is a very effective way of expanding children’s educational experiences beyond the classroom’s walls.

District wide, literacy and early intervention have been identified as major focus areas to help ensure a student’s success.  This is the second year that the Dennett Elementary School has provided all day Kindergarten to our youngest students.  It has been well received and to quote one of the Kindergarten parents, “The program is wonderful!  My child loves school and I can’t believe how much they are learning.”  It is my belief that these early learning experiences will lay a solid foundation for the educational future of our students.

Parents often ask educators what they can do to help their children in school.  The response that is overwhelmingly supported by research is to read to your children regularly and to practice math facts with them on a consistent basis.  Over the years, our country has made significant progress in reading but there is still a lot more we need to do to promote math literacy.

As a nation, our public school system has become standards based.  In our state we focus on the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks and every year students in grades three through ten take the MCAS tests.  The Dennett has consistently ranked as a high performing school.  Every year, we as a staff analyze the previous spring’s MCAS results and try to use the data to continually improve our instruction.  Another measure of how our schools perform is the National Assessment of Educational Progress exams.  This is a test that is given in all fifty states.  As the Boston Globe reported this past fall, “The state’s fourth graders topped the nation on the reading and math tests administered in January, and the state’s eighth graders ranked first in math and tied for first with Montana, New Jersey, and Vermont in reading.”  We still have work to do but at the same time it is important to recognize and celebrate our achievements.

In closing, I would like to wish everyone a happy and joyous holiday season.

                                                                                                                                                                                            Sincerely,

                                                                                                                                                                                                Philip Holt