In This Edition
Truth | Honor | Virtue, HS Drive-In Movie TONIGHT, Assessment Announcements, Assessment FAQs, Volunteer Opportunities (Maeser Appreciation Week, Counseling Candy Donations, Report Your Volunteer Hours), Sports Announcements (Q4 Sports Academic Eligibility, Sports Physicals, Maeser Sports Guide), Counseling Announcements (Miss Krystal’s Counseling Corner Podcast, Ms. Sorenson’s Middle School Podcast, Scholarship Opportunities, College Information Sessions), Are You Missing Important School Communications? (Opt In For School Text Messages, Update Your Contact Information)
Front Office Hours This Week
7:30am-4:00pm Mon-Thurs
8:30am-12:30pm Fri
**PARENTS: Please remember to check in at the front office when visiting the school during school hours, including Fridays. We appreciate your help in keeping our students safe!**
Upcoming Dates and Deadlines
Friday, March 25
Last Day of Quarter 3
8:30pm HS Drive-In Movie
Thursday, March 31
LAST DAY to purchase a 2021-22 Maeser Yearbook for $55 — price goes up to $65 on April 1st!
Friday, April 1
Yearbook Price Increases to $65
April 4-8
Spring Break
School & Office CLOSED
April 18-28
RISE Testing in MS English, Math & Science Classes
Friday, April 22
Utah Aspire Plus Testing
9th & 10th grades ONLY on campus — NO ADVISORY FRIDAY
Truth | Honor | Virtue
Each week in this new feature, we’ll be celebrating some of the great things our school community is doing!
HS Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team is off to a 4-0 start, and has outscored their opponents 22-6. Last week we beat the #1 team in the state 3-2 in double overtime!
Maeser Student Art Display
Students: Take a lunch break to go see the new Maeser art display! Student mosaics have been hung up on the back of the large wall that surrounds the dumpsters outside.
HS Drive-In Movie TONIGHT
All high school students are invited to watch Cars 3 TONIGHT (Friday, March 25) at the school from 8:30-10:30pm. Admission is $2.
Assessment Announcements
It’s that time of year again… when we start assessing student’s growth and proficiency in core subject areas!
The Utah State Board of Education has implemented summative assessments for our students in grades 7-10 (as required by Utah Statute 53E-4-303): middle school students take RISE tests for English, Writing (8th grade only), Science and Math; students in 9th and 10th grades take Utah Aspire Plus – a special pre-ACT test for 9th and 10th grade students that provides a predictive ACT score and areas for improvement to prepare for the ACT, as well as growth and proficiency scores for Utah standards.
These changes provide our students with improved assessments that help prepare them to succeed on the ACT and other college readiness exams.
9th and 10th Grades: Utah Aspire Plus – Friday, April 22
Fixed-form high school assessment with subtests in Reading, English, Math, and Science; provides students with a predictive score for the ACT
8th Grade: RISE – April 19-29
Multistage adaptive summative tests in English, Math, Science and Writing
7th Grade: RISE – April 19-29
Multistage adaptive summative tests in English, Math, and Science
2022 State Testing Schedule for Students in 7th-10th Grades
Middle school students will take their RISE tests in their regular English and Science classes beginning Monday, April 18.
9th and 10th grade students will take the Utah Aspire Plus on Friday, April 22. This is a special testing day – Advisory Friday is canceled and only students taking Utah Aspire Plus are allowed on campus on Friday, April 22.
Please make every effort to avoid scheduling appointments during state testing, to avoid interruptions and distractions during testing.
We appreciate your help in creating a focused and productive testing environment for our students!
Assessment FAQs
7th & 8th Grades: Readiness Improvement Success Empowerment (RISE)
What is RISE?
The RISE assessment is a multistage computer adaptive criterion referenced assessment system that includes summative tests for English, Math, Science, and Writing.
Will RISE be computer adaptive?
Yes, the statute requires these tests to be computer adaptive, but this assessment will be multistage adaptive instead of item adaptive.
How does a multistage adaptive test differ from an item adaptive test?
Both testing methods are algorithm-based approaches to administering testing, but rather than selecting individual items, groups of items are selected, building the test in stages.
The biggest advantage for our students is that they will now be allowed to navigate backward and forward within each stage or test section, so they can review and revise their answers as needed! The inability to go back and change an answer to a previously submitted question was one of the biggest frustrations our students had when taking prior state tests, so we’re thrilled that this functionality has been built in to RISE.
Which students will participate in RISE and for which subjects?
Maeser students in grades 7-8 will participate in RISE. Both grades will be tested in English, math, and science; in addition, 8th grade students will be tested in writing.
Why aren’t we assessing writing in all grades anymore?
The Utah State Board of Education made a policy decision to only assess writing in grades 5, 8, and 11. Writing is still part of the Utah English Language Arts standards and it is expected that students will be taught and assessed in those standards in their English classes.
Where can I get more information about RISE?
The USBE has produced a short video introducing the new test – you can access it here: Introducing RISE (Readiness, Improvement, Success, Empowerment).
9th and 10th Grades: Utah Aspire Plus
The Utah Aspire Plus is a hybrid of the ACT Aspire and test items covering Utah standards. This is a computer delivered, fixed-form high school assessment for students in grades 9 and 10. The test includes subtests for Reading, English, Math, and Science. The tests will provide students a predictive score for the ACT, which is taken by all Utah 11th grade students and is the most commonly submitted college readiness assessment for local universities.
What is Utah Aspire Plus? I’ve never heard of that test…
Utah Aspire Plus is a hybrid between ACT Aspire and assessment items covering Utah’s 9th and 10th grade standards in English, Math, Reading, and Science.
Will the test be administered in one sitting, like the ACT?
USBE left this up to local schools and districts to decide. Maeser has opted to offer Utah Aspire Plus in one sitting, to help students practice in a setting similar to taking the ACT. Because Utah Aspire Plus is slightly longer than the ACT, students will have a 30-minute lunch break before the Science subtest.
Will Utah Aspire Plus be timed?
Yes, Utah Aspire Plus is a timed test – practice taking exams under timed conditions helps prepare students for success on timed high-stakes tests like the ACT.
Is Utah Aspire Plus computer-adaptive like RISE?
No. While the text will be taken online like RISE, Utah Aspire Plus is a fixed-form test like ACT.
Why aren’t we assessing writing in all grades anymore?
The Utah State Board of Education made a policy decision to only assess writing in grades 5, 8, and 11. Writing is still part of the Utah English Language Arts standards and it is expected that students will be taught and assessed in those standards in their English classes.
What kind of score report will my student receive?
Utah Aspire Plus score reports will be very similar to the report provided by ACT for the ACT Aspire, including a predictive ACT score.
Maeser’s State Testing Schedule
When will Maeser be giving RISE and Utah Aspire Plus?
Middle school students will take their RISE tests in their English and Science classes beginning Monday, April 18.
9th and 10th grade students will take the Utah Aspire Plus on Friday, April 22. This is a special testing day – Advisory Friday is canceled and only students taking Utah Aspire Plus are allowed on campus on Friday, April 22.
What if my student has to miss their scheduled testing?
Missing a test day does not excuse the student from state testing. We will be pulling students out of class in the following weeks for make-up testing. Please make every effort to have your student here on the scheduled testing dates so they can avoid missing class in the last critical weeks of school.
Can I opt my student out of RISE or Utah Aspire Plus?
While we hope you will allow your student to participate in RISE and Utah Aspire Plus – both to receive feedback on areas your student can improve in preparation for the ACT and to help our school improve instruction – we will always respect a parent’s desire to exclude their student from state testing. Though you can submit a Parental Exclusion Form at any point, submitting the form to the school at least 24 hours prior to the test date helps us ensure that your student does not access the test and is not scheduled for make-up testing.
Volunteer Opportunities
Maeser Appreciation Week
Maeser Appreciation Week is coming in May! In preparation for the week, please check out our sign-up sheet for needs: Maeser Appreciation Week. THANK YOU in advance for supporting our Maeser team! For every $5 spent = 1 volunteer hour.
Counseling Candy Donations
Our Counseling Department is in need of candy donations for quarter 4. For more information and to sign up to help, please visit our SignUpGenius: Counseling Candy Donations. Thank you in advance!
Report Your Volunteer Hours
DON’T FORGET! Report your volunteer hours once you’ve dropped off your donation: Report Parent Service Hours. Each $5 spent for donations counts as one hour of volunteer service!
Sports Announcements
Q3 Sports Academic Eligibility
Eligibility for participation in any sports/activities during the 4th term will be based on 3rd term grades. Students (7th-12th) must have earned a 2.7 GPA with no Fs/NGs. In addition, high school students cannot have any Fs/NGs/Incompletes from previous high school terms. If the F/NG/Incomplete is made up by the beginning of the sports season they will be able to participate.
Sports Physicals
All students (middle school and high school) who will be playing sports this year need a physical in order to play. Here is a link to the UHSAA form which Maeser uses for ALL athletes: UHSAA Physical Form
Maeser Sports Guide
For a list of the sports that are available at Maeser for both MS and HS students, click here: 2021-22 Maeser Sports Guide. The Fall Sports Guide includes whether the team is boys, girls, or coed, when tryouts are, who the coach is, and the coach’s contact information, if it is available.
Counseling Announcements
Miss Krystal’s Counseling Corner Podcast
Ms. Sorenson’s Middle School Podcast
Walruses, Cats and end of Term 3
Scholarship Opportunities
The counselors get emailed many scholarship opportunities! We will post these here as we get them: New Scholarship Opportunities
College Information Sessions
Check out this link on our website to join a virtual college information session: College & University Info Sessions.
Are You Missing Important School Communications?
Not getting our emails, phone or text messages? Here’s how to make sure you’re getting all of our important announcements and information:
Opt In For School Text Messages
Our school utilizes the SchoolMessenger system to deliver text messages to your mobile phone with important information about events, school closings, safety alerts, student fees, and more. We will only use text messaging for urgent and important information.
You can participate in this service by sending a text message of “Y” or “Yes” to our school’s short code number, 67587.
You can also opt out of text messages at any time by simply replying to one of our messages with “Stop”.
Update Your Contact Information
If any of your contact information has changed – email address, mailing address, phone number – please let us know asap so we can be sure you’re getting school and teacher communications.
Thank you for helping us keep in contact with your family!