Dear Kent Middle School Families,

The final week of April is upon us, and with it come a number of traditional springtime experiences for our students and staff!

Track Meet - Kent Falcons have been hard at work in Physical Education class learning and practicing a variety of track and field events in preparation for two competitive opportunities coming up this spring. The track and field unit teaches students the history, fundamentals, and important techniques for a number of standard track and field events during PE class. Teachers have skillfully taught our students three field events (Long Jump, Shot Put, and High Jump) and 5 track events (100M, 200M, 400M, 600M, and 1200M). Across the school day, the campus is buzzing with students talking about their favorite events, comparing times, and anticipating their next opportunity to practice.

These experiences in PE class lead to two scheduled track meets, the Area 3 Meet between schools in this region of Marin, as well as the County Championship, meet for strong performers at the Area 3 meet. At these meets, students will compete against some of the best student-athletes in Marin County. The Area 3 meet is scheduled for this Friday, April 28 and the county championship meet is the following Friday, May 5, both at the College of Marin Track next door to Kent! Good luck Falcons!

Kent Karaoke Competition - The Kent Karaoke competition is a fun singing competition that all Kent students are invited to join this spring. Each participant has selected a song to sing as well as a backing track of music to sing along to, and students have been practicing for weeks under the guidance of our Kent music director, Mr. Michael Martinez. Students then sing in weekly competitions on Thursdays in the MP Room, and two winning students get to perform their song at the end-of-year Pops Concert and end-of-year evening concert. Kent Karaoke Competition round 1 competitors sang to a packed MP Room of enthusiastic and supportive peers last Thursday during lunch, with round 2 coming up this week! We love the Kent Karaoke Competition and the courageous students who sing their hearts out in front of their peers! Encourage your child to listen in on Thursdays at lunch!

CAASPP Testing - CAASPP testing begins at Kent next week, and we want to support your child to be comfortable and confident while showing us what they know and are able to do on these important standardized tests. Please see the notes below to help anticipate what to expect with CAASPP testing at Kent starting next week, and to help prepare your child for successful test sessions.

• Linked here is the testing schedule for Kent. Please note that students will be taking the assessment in their regularly scheduled English classes the week of May 1st, and their regularly scheduled math classes the week of May 8.
• The entire CAASPP assessment is computer-based, and students will be taking the assessment with their school-issued Chromebook (6th-8th grades) and their classroom Chromebook (5th grades). Students must come to school with a fully charged Chromebook each school day during CAASPP testing.
• All parts of the CAASPP test are untimed, and students will be provided with as much time as they need to complete the assessment. If students do not finish during the time allotted, we will have make-up sessions offered the week of May 15.
• During Advisory this week, we will be reviewing the testing schedule and discussing how to set up for success on the CAASPP this year at Kent. We will also be watching this video that explains how to access universal tools designed to help students while they are taking the assessment.
• Testing sessions will be occurring during regularly scheduled English and math classes, meaning that testing time will happen at different times each day for your child depending on the day of the week. Please ensure that your child gets a good night’s sleep each night, eats a nutritious breakfast, and has a plan for access to nutritious food during the school day.
• 5th and 8th graders will be taking the California Science Test (CAST) the week of May 22, in Nest class in 5th grade and in science class in 8th grade. The CAST is presented in an identical format to the CAASPP.

If you have any questions about your child’s testing experience or if you need to exempt your child from CAASPP testing this year, please contact our school site testing coordinator and assistant principal, Wendy Holmes (wholmes@kentfieldschools.org) or me (galthouse@kentfieldschools.org). We look forward to supporting our Falcons in their successful completion of their 2023 CAASPP assessment.

Kent Site Council - As you may be aware, our Kent School Site Council is a planning and decision-making body made up of Kent staff, parents, and students. During our monthly meetings, we discuss current events at our school, as well as big-picture goals and initiatives that impact our community. It is an engaged group of stakeholders that encourage positive change through their questioning, discussion, and collaboration. Two parent seats on the Kent Site Council are open for the 2023-2024 school year, and I invite any interested incoming 5th or 6th grade parent/guardian to submit your name for consideration for one of these three-year terms. The Site Council meets on the first Tuesday of the month from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on the Kent campus. If you are interested in serving on our Kent School Site Council, please email site council members Tory Grigg (tory.grigg@gmail.com) and Megan Hirschbein (mchirschbein@gmail.com) by next Friday, May 5. All applicants are invited to share a short summary of their interests and qualifications to serve on this committee. My sincere appreciation to current and future site council members for their many contributions to our school!

Let’s have a fantastic week ahead at Kent!