In This Edition
Maeser Classical Literature Scholarship, Class of 2023 Graduation Activities, RISE Testing for Students in 7th-8th Grades, Utah School Climate Survey, Volunteer Help Needed (Maeser Appreciation Week, Counseling Donations, Report Your Volunteer Hours, Questions About Volunteer Hours), Sports Announcements (Spring Sports Academic Eligibility, Sports Physicals, Maeser Sports Guide), Counseling Announcements (Homework Breaks), 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-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, April 21
12-1pm Spirit Bowl in the Maeser Gym
Friday, April 28
Submissions Deadline for Maeser Classical Literature Scholarship
May 1-4
RISE Testing Continues – 7th & 8th grades (in-class)
May 1-17
AP Exams
Tuesday, May 16
Last Lecture Assembly
Thursday, May 25
Class of 2023 Cap & Gown Photo; Senior Breakfast (seniors)
Advisory & Awards Day Assembly (all students)
Friday, May 26
9am Graduation Rehearsal
1pm Graduation Ceremony
Maeser Classical Literature Scholarship
Available only to Maeser seniors, this scholarship awards $500 for first place and $250 for second place. Essays (750 words) answering the prompt: “What piece of classical literature moved you to think about life and people in new ways, and how did it change you?” should be sent to Mr. Simmons (dustin.simmons@maeserprep.org) no later than 11:59pm on Friday, April 28th.
Class of 2023 Graduation Activities
Seniors and parents: mark your calendars for these important graduation activities!
Thursday, May 25: Class Cap & Gown photo; Senior breakfast at Maeser
Friday, May 26: Graduation Rehearsal & Ceremony at Thanksgiving Point Show Barn
- 9:00am: Graduation Rehearsal (mandatory for all graduates!)
- 1:00pm: Graduation Ceremony — each graduate may invite up to 8 guests to attend
RISE Testing for Students in 7th-8th Grades
Middle school students will take their RISE tests in class April 24-May 4.
8th Grade RISE
Multistage adaptive summative tests in English, Math, Science and Writing
7th Grade RISE
Multistage adaptive summative tests in English, Math, and Science
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!
RISE FAQs
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 RISE test day does not excuse the student from state testing. We will be pulling students out of class in May for make-up and completion 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?
While we hope you will allow your student to participate in RISE – both to help your student learn how to test well on standardized tests 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 ONE WEEK prior to the start of RISE testing will help us ensure that your student does not access the test and is not scheduled for make-up testing.
Utah School Climate Survey
This month, Maeser will be participating in the Utah School Climate Survey. We will be collecting survey responses from parents and students, as well as our teachers, administrators, staff, and school resource officers. The data collected from the survey will be used to identify student perceptions of school climate issues within our school.
Parent Survey
We want to hear about your experience with your student’s education. We invite you to participate in completing the Utah School Climate Survey. This survey includes questions about your student’s learning, school safety, and interpersonal relationships, as well as your attitudes about the institutional environment and your personal involvement in school. Your responses will be very helpful in improving student relationships, learning conditions, and the overall school environment. We invite all parents, guardians and caretakers to complete this survey for our school.
You can take the survey online by using the unique school link and password sent out to all current Maeser parents by email on April 12. Please submit your responses by Thursday, April 27.
All your responses are completely anonymous. We have no way to connect you to your answers, and results will only be reported as group responses. There are no right or wrong answers. We just want to know about your personal experiences. Responses are housed securely in an anonymous format with The Utah State Board of Education (USBE) for evaluation research purposes. All evaluation research projects are in compliance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, (343 CFR 99.31 (6)) and human subjects regulations (Protection of Human Subjects 45 CFR 46).
As you respond to each item, think about your own personal experiences as a parent, caregiver or guardian at your student’s school. Please answer all of the questions. When you have completed the survey, click on the “Next” button at the bottom of the page. You are done!
We hope you will take the time to provide us with this valuable information. Feel free to email us at assessment@maeserprep.org if you have any questions. Our school’s total survey results will be used to inform and develop appropriate strategies, procedures, and/or programs to enhance our school climate.
Thank you for your time and participation!
Student Survey
The student survey will be given to students in grades 10-12 during class time; it includes 44 questions and should take less than 10 minutes to complete. All survey responses are anonymous and confidential.
Surveys are collected through Qualtrics using anonymized links, and they do not collect information (like names) that could identify individual students. The questions in the student survey center around how safe students feel at school, including topics such as bullying, harassment, discrimination, school discipline, emergency situations, and whether students feel they have access to adults who can help them if they need to report a problem. The questions are primarily phrased in the positive — e.g., “I feel safe at this school” or “students respect one another”.
School staff will use the results of these surveys to help inform our efforts at improving our school climate. Responses are housed securely in an anonymous format with the USBE (Utah State Board of Education). All evaluation research projects are in compliance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, (343 CFR 99.31 (6)) and human subjects regulations (Protection of Human Subjects 45 CFR 46).
Your student’s survey responses will be kept anonymous and confidential, but as a parent or guardian, you have the option to opt your student out if desired using the form at the bottom of this page: Parental Notification/Opt-Out Form – School Climate Survey.
Our desire is to involve parents in their children’s education. If you do not wish for your child to participate in this important activity, please sign and return this form to the school by Monday, April 24.
Volunteer Help Needed
Maeser Appreciation Week
Maeser Appreciation Week is May 1st-5th and we need HELP! Volunteer to help with breakfast and lunches for our team during that week. By the suggestion of parents last year, it was easier to donate gift cards to local restaurants and use those to have lunches brought in (please drop off gift cards in front office by April 28th). We are going to try that again. THANK YOU for helping show our team how much they’re appreciated this year! For every $5 = 1 Volunteer hour. You have been AMAESERING in supporting our Maeser team this year and we really love our Maeser Community!
For more information and to sign up, please visit our SignUpGenius: Teacher Appreciation Opportunities.
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
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.
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
Homework Breaks
How long should my student be doing homework each night? The guideline is about 10 minuts per night per grade level. So a 6th grader should be doing about an hour and a senior in high school about two hours. Some nights there will be more and some nights less. But some students spend a lot more time, which can be frustrating for everyone. Here are some suggestions to help your student work more efficiently. (These are all taken from Creating Positive Futures).
Even though it may sound contradictory to what we want to accomplish, your student should be taking more breaks during study time. According to Creating Positive Futures, taking more breaks will lead to less procrastination, more focus and more efficiency. To help your student be more effective in taking breaks, here are some tips:
- Take breaks
- Leave your study space during your break
- Take shorter breaks, 5-15 minutes only
- Set a timer so you don’t lose track of time
- Choose an activity that recharges your brain such as; walking the dog, getting a drink, jumping on the trampoline, listening to music while organizing your room. (don’t watch tv or youtube because you will get distracted and forget you are on a break)
Parents can help students by talking to them about how they are currently taking breaks and even helping them organize their break and study time.
Find more tips and ideas here: Creating Positive Futures
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!