Summer Learning at Putnam Avenue Upper School

Summer Learning at Putnam Avenue Upper School
Posted on 06/05/2020

Hello Putnam Ave. Family,

As you may have heard, our last day of school is officially June 17th. The ending of the school year may bring up a range of emotions for families, students, and staff; please make time to process and reach out if you need support. In preparation for the end of the school year, all advisors will be engaging in closeout meetings with students during portfolio celebrations and presentations. The closeout meetings will ensure contact with every student before the end of the school year and give students and staff a time to reflect on the year and what they have learned.

In addition to taking time to rest and recharge, it is also important that students continue to engage in learning during summer. To support summer learning, we have both math and reading opportunities, which can be found on the Putnam Avenue Family Emergency Closure site under Summer Learning. In addition, Math and English teachers will be sharing this information with students in their Google Classrooms as well. Lastly, keep an eye out for additional information about summer academic opportunities which will be coming soon.

Math
This summer you should continue to practice your math skills and prepare for next year. Your goal should be to spend about 1 hour each week thinking and talking about math.To do so, you have some options. You do not have to choose the same option each week, feel free to mix it up, as long as you record your work on the Summer 2020 Math Log.

Option 1: CPS Summer Math Calendar (current 5th, 6th and 7th graders)
This is a weekly menu of math activities. Each day's activity should take about 10 minutes. You can do 1 per day, or all 5 for the week; it's your choice. The calendars will be printed and packaged with your summer reading books, however you also have access to them digitally. All calendars will also be posted on the CPS website and our Summer Learning page.

Option 2: IXL (current PAUS students)
Continue to work on the recommended skills in IXL. Don't see any recommendations? You can take the Diagnostics and IXL will recommend skills for you to work on. Or, just work on any skills from this year that you feel like you need to practice.

Option 3: ALEKS (current PAUS students)
Continue to work on your ALEKS path.

Option 4: SplashLearn or Symphony Math (current 5th graders)
Continue to practice on SplashLearn and/or Symphony Math, whichever your school uses.

Option 5: Multiplication and Division Practice (current 5th graders, but good practice for all!)
We encourage you to practice multiplication and division facts to 144.

Please reach out to our Math Coach, Michelle Calioro, if you have any questions or concerns.

Reading

Reading is the best way for students to keep growing during the summer and to prepare them for the following school year. Along with all of the academic benefits of reading (expanding vocabulary, increasing background knowledge, and building reading comprehension, to name a few!) there are many physical and mental health benefits as well. Reading reduces stress, alleviates anxiety, strengthens the brain, and improves sleep. In addition, reading is a wonderful form of entertainment and a way to escape to a new world!

This summer, it’s more important than ever that students continue to read every day. At Putnam Ave., we are committed to supporting all of our students in developing their vibrant, engaged, and empowered reading lives. We are excited to share that in addition to a “Scholastic Book Pack” from the district and a Putnam Ave. list of recommended books, ebooks, and audiobooks to read this summer, each student will be given two books of their own from Putnam Ave. to enjoy! One title is a book that all students at Putnam Ave. will read, and the other is by grade level. More information on receiving your student’s copies of these books is included in the linked information below.

We expect for each student to read for 20 minutes a day, every day this summer. Students should read a minimum of five books during their summer vacation. Two of the five books should be the books that students will receive from Putnam Ave, while the other three should be of the students’ choosing. Students should record their daily reading in a reading log to be turned in to their ELA teacher at the beginning of the school year when we kick off our Independent Reading program by discussing the community and individual books read over the summer.

To support your child’s summer reading, we have attached:

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to our Literacy Coach, Adriana Escamilla. We look forward to working with you to continue nurturing your child’s love of reading both in and out of school.

Please take care of yourself, spend time with and focus on your loved ones, embrace balance, and enjoy the Spring sunshine! Make sure that you’re taking time for yourself and your family... check out these new books on Asian and Pacific American History and Life or view 20 musicals and plays released by PBS, pick an activity from the June Get Moving Calendar, scroll through this list of 23 Phenomenal Young Adult Books By Black Authors from the First Half of 2020

Best,

Mirko Chardin
Founding Head of School

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