The last bell for the school year rang out a few short hours ago. The last bus and car/walk student boarded and waved good-bye school and cheered hello summer. I'm not sure where you find yourself this afternoon, but here in Newtown, it is raining cats and dogs, and I think a few elephants too with great rumbles of thunder. I like to think it is God sending showers of blessings for us to start our summer and reminding us to wash away those due dates, tests, quizzes, worries or struggles we might have had, and take with us the accomplishments, smiles, and good memories and head into summer ready to reflect, relax, and refresh.

Whatever summer might bring our way, just take this reminder from our All-Star Track Team; don't ever let a little rain or downpour get in your way of accomplishing your goal and having fun.

Dear St. Rose Families,

After reflecting over summer work that has been distributed in the past; and observing student performance during the school year, we have decided to take a different approach to "summer work" this year. As a faculty, we are in agreement that all students in a grade level do not need the exact same practice over the summer to keep skills current and ready themselves to begin a new grade level. We have IXL available to us and this program offers a Summer Hub where students can practice skills from the previous school year, and also boost those skills by working with skills they will apply in the upcoming year. This allows a more individualized/personalized practice experience for each child;' much more beneficial, less frustrating for some, and less "boring" for others. There are no packets to hand in; simply have your child work in IXL. You will be able to see their progress, and awards the program gives for their work. Teachers have access to the rosters for their students and will be able to see what skills were practiced over the summer.

You will see below, screenshots and some details on logging in and finding your way through the program. I hope you will find these helpful.

In addition to IXL, teachers have distributed Reading Logs, as reading 20-30 minutes a day is highly recommended. Also, check with local bookstores and your town library. They have programs to encourage reading and many have incentives for reading.

Journaling/letter or postcard writing is also a great summer activity. Written communication to family and friends is a treasured gift (and we would love to get postcards to display on our hallway bulletin boards). Use those phones, and cameras to take summer fun pictures, and to snap interesting sites from your trips. We'd love these too.

Finally, students in grades 1-5 should practice basic math facts and fact families. Addition/Subtraction for grades 1-5 and multiplication for grades 3-5. These foundational skills have great impact on your child's math experience. Not mastering facts can cause great frustration and errors in computation, as well as slow down work as they learn other concepts. A little practice with math facts goes a long way.

Most importantly, we hope you have safe travels, get much needed relaxation, and have fun making memories with your child.

Wishing you sunny skies and miles of smiles!

Mrs. B

It is required that you use the SRLES address when accessing IXL on the internet. This will load our school database, which has your child's login information to ensure they are working in the correct account and one the same one they worked in during the school year.

When you get to the sign in screen, you should see "SRLES" at the end of the Username. Your child's user name is their email address (not including the @srles). They should use the same IXL password they have used throughout the school year. This is the recommended way to log in. Following are other options, but require additional information.

If they cannot remember their IXL login information they can use the "Sign in with Clever" option (this is the portal we use for Edmentum during the school year). Please make sure they are logged into their school account and then they can simply select (1) "Log in with Google". If they have their (2) Clever Badge (QR CODE) they can scan that or they can (3)'Log in with Clever", if they have their username and password.

Once your child has logged in, they should see the "Welcome" followed by their name, in the upper right hand corner.

On the Welcome screen, our child can select a subject to work on, similar to what the did during the school year. Recommendations will suggest skills to work on based on the history of what they have been working on during the school year. This is a good way to practice skills they have learned during the school year and/or those they have struggled with during previous practice.

To access the summer skills work and challenge, your child should select "Skill plans" and on the dropdown menu, select IXL plans. This will take them to the "Spotlight" screen where they will be able to select subjects and grade level. They can work on practice for skills from the grade they are "graduating" from or the grade they will be enrolled for the new school year.

In this example, a graduating 4th grader is going to work on strengthening math and ELA skills from the 4th grade year with Summer Boost plan, and then to onto Summer Adventures with skills from grade 4 then grade 5, to prepare for next year. Below are the opening screens they will see for these different choices.

Prayer for the End of the School Year

At the end of this school year we give thanks to God:

For all the teaching and learning that has taken place in our school,

For the talents and gifts that have been shared and

the challenges that have been faced;

For the respect and care that has been given.

For the faith that has been lived in our daily struggles,

for the hope that has lifted our hearts on the dark days;

and for the love that has kept us going.

We give thanks for the community that we are, and we ask you Lord:

Bless our students and teachers as they leave for summer:

May they stay safe in your love.

Bless our families as they take our vacations,

may their time together leave them with memories to cherish.

Pour out your love on all of us that we may return renewed and refreshed to continue our journey together.

We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.