Maeser Updates: 24 March 2023

In This Edition

MS March Madness Activity, Student Senior Capstone Project Book Drive, 2023-24 Fee Schedule & Spend Plan, Assessment Announcements (State Testing: Utah Aspire Plus & RISE), Volunteer Help Needed (MS March Madness Snacks, Counseling Donations, Teacher Appreciation, Report Your Volunteer Hours, Questions About Volunteer Hours), Lands’ End 40% Off Sale, Sports Announcements (Spring Sports Academic Eligibility, Sports Physicals, Maeser Sports Guide), Counseling Announcements (Counseling Donations), Can We Reach You In Case Of Emergency? (Opt In For School Text Messages, Update Your Contact Information)

Front Office Hours This Week

7:30am-4:00pm Mon, Wed, Thurs
7:30am-2:00pm Tues (Utah Aspire Plus Testing Day)
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 24
Last Day of Q3
LAST DAY to make up Q3 NGs and failing grades at Advisory Friday
12-1pm Middle School March Madness Activity

Tuesday, March 28
Utah Aspire Plus – Freshmen & Sophomores ONLY on campus
NO SCHOOL for students in grades 7, 8, 11, 12

April 3-7
Spring Break

April 10-27
RISE Testing – 7th & 8th grades (in-class)

Tuesday, April 11
Board meeting & final 2023-24 fee schedule approval

MS March Madness Activity

TODAY — Friday, March 24th — is our Middle School March Madness Activity from 12-1pm. Come participate in a bunch of competitions–pickleball, Rubik’s cubes, chess! We’ll have dodgeball and drawing just for fun! There will be snacks too!

Student Senior Capstone Project: Book Drive

As part of a Senior Capstone project, a book drive to benefit the Ronald McDonald House will be held from March 20th – March 31st. Any and all, new and used books are welcome and appreciated. Donations can be dropped off in the boxes provided in the lobby, Ms. Moser’s or Ms. Smith’s classrooms. If you have any questions contact Mrs. Keene: mary.keene@maeserprep.org.

2023-24 Fee Schedule & Spend Plan: Initial Board Approval & Public Comment Period Open

Our board has given their initial approval to the 2023-24 Fee Schedule & Spend Plan. This document details any and all fees that can be charged to students next school year. If you would like to share any feedback with the board before their final approval of the 2023-24 Fee Schedule & Spend Plan on April 11, you may either:

  • Email finance@maeseprep.org before Tuesday, April 4, OR
  • Request to speak during the public comment period of the March 28 or April 11 board meetings. These meetings are held online. Please contact samantha.stonely@maeserprep.org if you would like instructions for joining the meeting.

Assessment Announcements

It’s that time of year again… when we assess our students’ 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 – Tuesday, March 28
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 17-28
Multistage adaptive summative tests in English, Math, Science and Writing

7th Grade: RISE – April 17-28
Multistage adaptive summative tests in English, Math, and Science

2023 State Testing Schedule for Students in 7th-10th Grades

9th and 10th grade students will take the Utah Aspire Plus this Tuesday, March 28.

This is a special testing day for students in 9th & 10th grades — only students taking Utah Aspire Plus are allowed on campus on Tuesday, March 28. Please make arrangements for your students in other grades, as we will not have space or supervision for them on campus.

Middle school students will take their RISE tests in class beginning Monday, April 17.

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

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 elected 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.

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).

Make-up Testing & Parental Exclusions

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 April and May 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 Help Needed

Snacks for MS March Madness Activity

Help provide snacks for the MS March Madness activity on March 24! We need some snacks for the activity: veggie trays, fruit, cookies and juice. For more information and to sign up, please visit our SignUpGenius: MS March Madness Snacks.

Counseling Donations

The Middle School Counseling team is in need of large bags of individual sized candy. You can use this towards your volunteer hours!

  • Kind: an assortment- chocolate, hard candy like jolly ranchers, tootsie pops or rolls, whatever comes in the assorted bags is fine. We would like some non-chocolate as well.
  • Amount: 4-5 bags/month

Teacher Appreciation

Volunteer to help bring Teacher Appreciation treats for the year by month. Thank you for putting a smile on a teacher’s face today! This is TRULY a blessing for our team. The little things are often the BIG things! For more information and to sign up, please visit our SignUpGenius: Teacher Appreciation Opportunities.

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!

Questions About Volunteer Hours?

Contact us at volunteer@maeserprep.org.

Lands’ End 40% Off Sale

Lands’ End is holding a 40% off sale through March 31, 2023. This is a great time to pick up more expensive uniform items like plaid skirts and blazers! Shop online at landsend.com/school through March 31 and use Code: DESK and PIN: 2886 for 40% off school uniforms (and everything else!).

Sports Announcements

Spring Sports Academic Eligibility

Eligibility for participation in spring activities/sports will be determined by 2nd and 3rd term grades. All students (middle and high school) must have earned a 2.7 GPA with no Fs. In addition, high school students cannot have any Fs/NGs/Incompletes from previous high school terms. All Fs/NGs must be made up by the last day of term.

Sports Physicals

All students, middle school and high school, who will be playing sports this year (2022-23) need a physical in order to play. Physicals completed on or after March 10, 2022 are good until July 15, 2023. Any physicals completed before March 10, 2022 will not be accepted (per UHSAA policy) for this school year.

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: Maeser Sports Guide. The 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

Counseling Donations

The Middle School Counseling team is in need of large bags of individual sized candy. You can use this towards your volunteer hours!

  • Kind: an assortment- chocolate, hard candy like jolly ranchers, tootsie pops or rolls, whatever comes in the assorted bags is fine. We would like some non-chocolate as well.
  • Amount: 4-5 bags/month

Can We Reach You In Case Of Emergency?

It’s important to keep your contact information up to date and opt-in to receive text messages from Maeser — in case of an emergency, this is how we notify parents! In addition, we use your contact information to notify you about important school events and school fees deadlines.

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!