Alloway Township School

Even among edu-cators, curriculum is compli-cated to define. A Google search for ‘curriculum’ will yield unique definitions de-pending on the source. A local definition is important for parents and guardians to have.

What is our definition of curriculum?

Curriculum is a living docu-ment that guides:

1. what students will learn;

2. how they will learn it;

3. how teachers will deter-mine if they have learned it.

What will students learn?

There are many layers to what students learn. The proper starting point is the standards.

The state provides us with New Jersey Student Learning Standards (NJSLS) for lan-guage arts, math, social stud-ies, and special areas. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) guide our science curriculum. Standards are the bones of a curriculum. Standards identify the con-tent, the academic infor-mation/concepts, and the skills, the verbs that guide what students do with the information/concepts.

How will students learn it?

The standards provide the critically important skeletal bones for the curriculum, but those bones must be layered with a layer of muscle next—that’s where the district has local control. At Alloway, teachers and administrators provide the expertise to decide the following: resources, units/lessons, and differentia-tion (for Basic Skills, Gifted/Talented, and Special Educa-tion). Quality curriculum is not driven solely by a text series. Quality curriculum often lists a text series as a resource but other materials pair with the text. Alloway aims to use re-sources that are considered to be ‘the gold standard’ in edu-cation. This is called organic curriculum, and curriculum at Alloway is organic.

How will teachers know if students have learned?

Teachers assess students daily. An assessment is simply a check for understanding so that course corrections can be made; it does not always look like a “test.” Assessments are a critical component to curricu-lum because they shed light on proper pace, individual pro-gress, and individual growth. Sometimes assessments are grades; sometimes they are not.

Special dates to

remember!

10/2-10/6 Week of Respect

10/6 School Closed for Teacher

In-Service

10/9 School Closed for Colum-

bus Day

10/9-10/13 Fire Safety Week

10/16-10/20 Violence Aware-

ness Week & School Bus Safe-

ty Week

10/23-10/27 Red Ribbon Week

10/24 Board Of Education

Meeting @ 6:30pm

10/30 School Picture Retakes

and Makeups

Standardized

Assessments

2

Volunteer w/PTA! 2

Did You Know? 2

PEP Team 3

8th Grade Visit to

Coombs Farm

3

Butterfly Parade and

Release

3

Inside this issue:

All About Curriculum!

Once a tiger, always a tiger! Volume I, Issue 2 September 2017

With this as a start, cur-

riculum comes alive in

the classroom. Teachers

at Alloway are masters

of their craft: making

curriculum transform

from a document to a

rich learning experi-

ence.

At the June board

meeting, curriculum

written by our profes-

sionals was approved

by our Board of Educa-

tion. Teachers worked

tirelessly during the

2016-17 school year to

revise all curriculum to

reflect both standards

and best practices. The

curriculum can be

viewed through the

‘School Publication’ link

on the school Website.

PARCC

Subject Areas: Math & ELA

Grade Level Tested: 3-8

# of Administrations: 1 (Spr ing)

Mode of Testing: computer*

Testing Time Allotted: 4 hours

Testing Window: April 16-May 25

Results Arrive to District: Summer

Additional Information:

http://understandthescore.org/

https://parcc.pearson.com/

http://www.nj.gov/education/

assessment/parents/

Required? Yes, by state

impact the school. They include:

Services– School Store, Holi-

day Shop, Spirit Wear, Book Fair….and more!

There are many, many opportunities for par-ents to get involved at ATS. We welcome parents as room parents and guest present-ers/readers. Parents are encouraged to at-tend open door events. For maximum in-volvement, join the PTA. The PTA is run by a dynamic group of parents. There are plenty of ways for energetic volunteers to positively

Su

Standardized Assessments State statute requires that schools provide parents and guardians with information about state and commercial assessments that will be administered during the school year. At Alloway, the state assessment is Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College (PARCC), and the commercial assessment is Measure of Academic Progress (MAP).

Did you know…… that starting with this year’s freshmen class (HS graduating class of 2021), students in NJ must meet or exceed expectations on the Grade 10 ELA and Algebra PARCC tests as a graduation re-quirement?

There are no substitute tests of record for our current K-8 stu-dents. Performance on PARCC at Alloway is an indicator for being on track to meet graduation require-

Page 2 All About Alloway

MAP

Subject Areas: Math, Reading, & Language for 3-8; Math and Reading for K-2

Grade Level Tested: K-8

# of Administrations: 2 (Fall & Spr ing)

Mode of Testing: computer*

Testing Time Allotted: untimed **

Testing Window: Fall (Oct. 10-20) Spring (March 1-14)

Results Arrive to District: Next day

More Information: nwea.org/parent-toolkit

Required? Not by federal or state (but for diagnostic purposes—yes)

* - accommodation & accessibility options available

** - typical time per area– less than an hour & less than a half hour for K-2

ments, but it is also a data source for identifying students for Algebra placement, Gifted/Talented (G/T) and Basic Skills Instruction (BSI).

At Alloway, we do not teach to the test; we teach to the standards and the curriculum. PARCC tests whether students have met the grade-level expectations relative to the stand-ards. MAP, in contrast, specifically measures where students are on a growth chart relative to the skills within the standards.

PARCC 2017 NJ &

School Reports:

http://www.state.nj.us/

education/schools/

achievement/17/

parcc/spring/

Individual Score Re-

ports not picked up

were mailed home.

Events - Dances, Ice Cream Social,

Career Day, Appreciation Days ….

and more!

Sponsorship - Field Day T-shirts,

graduation tassels, a BIG item on

this year’s horizon….and more!

Become a member for only $4. and get

involved!

PEP Team

8th Grade Visits Coombs Farm!

Volume I, Issue 2 Page 3

P.O. Box 327

43 Cedar St

Alloway, NJ 08001

Phone: 856-935-1622

Fax: 856-935-3017

We’re on the Web!

www.allowayschool.org

A group of 8th grade student

leaders spent trained on Sept.

20th to become peer educators.

PEP team utilizes the best prac-

tice of older, mentor students

building positive peer relation-

ships with younger students to

impact decision making. PEP

team delivers presentations to

younger students about making

good decisions and the dangers

of various substances including

tobacco and drugs.

Thank you, Mrs. Gioielli, for fa-

cilitating this excellent program!

A group of 8th grade students

joined students from around

Salem County to attend Ag

Day. They rotated through

Ag/STEM stations including:

use GPS in a corn maze, agri-

cultural engineering, pumpkin

patch, and animal care.

Thank you, Mrs. Dilks, for

exposing students to the world

beyond our walls!

Annual Butterfly

Parade and Release