April 25, 2025
Dear Families:
What another great week! Our Grades 3-5 students worked quite hard on taking their MCA Reading Tests…Thank you all! We have no makeups! Let’s do the same for Math. Math is Tuesday and Wednesday this next week. We got this!
On another note. Mrs. Leenderts, School Nurse, communicated with families about head lice. Please take this seriously. It is an unfortunate event and takes much work to get rid of them. Please follow the recommendations. It can be done. Thank you all for your work in this regard!
Looking forward to another great week at HBC!
SW/WC WRITING CONTEST:
Earlier this month Kai Wiertzema, Vivienne Tatge and Bryce Metzger were recognized at the SW/WC Creative Writing Contest in Marshall. They submitted stories they wrote in our Horizons Program and were awarded medals and a copy of the anthology that included their story.
Third grader KAI WIERTZEMA -3rd place fiction grades 3 and 4 (he wrote a story about a chicken factory worker that gets turned into a chicken tender - eventually he gets found in a bag of chicken tenders that his father purchases at the store)
Fourth Grade Vivienne Tatge - 1st Place fiction grades 3 and 4 (She wrote about a chicken nugget that gets lost in the lunchroom at school. He teams up with a french fry to explore the building and eventually gets asked to be the school's new mascot)
Fifth Grade Bryce Metzger - 1st Place Nonfiction grades 4 and 5 (wrote about overcoming his fears of swimming with dolphins during a trip to Florida)
ATTENTION PARENTS: H-BC Elementary has seen cases of head lice. Your awareness is needed to stop the further cases. Treatment Protocol
PATRIOT PALS CHILD CARE CENTER
PRE-ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN!
Click on the link here to begin the process:
CLICK HERE for MORE INFORMATION
GRADES 3-5 MCA Testing Schedule:
Tuesday, April 29- MATH
Wednesday, April 30- MATH
May 6 & 7 -Grade 5- SCIENCE
Please make sure your child gets their rest prior to the testing! We will have a hot breakfast for them when they get to school!
LET’S CELEBRATE!
May 7 is School Nurse Day
May 5-9 is Teacher Appreciation Week
LOOKING AHEAD:
Monday, April 28 - 5th Grade D.A.R.E. Graduation 9:30 am
May 16- H-BC Elementary Puppy Relays
JOIN OUR H-BC TEAM - HBC is seeking dedicated tutors for the 2025-26 school year to join our AmeriCorps ELC and Reading Corps programs. You can make a meaningful difference helping our youngest learners build essential skills and confidence! Check out all the details here: https://5il.co/3aymf
25-26 LPA REGISTRATION: NOW is the time to complete the registration for next year's preschool class. See all the information here: 25-26 Little Patriot Academy Registration
E-LEARNING: If we have an E-Learning Day, Here is the information- E-LEARNING LINK
Spring Assessments Coming Soon
Spring Testing is an important time to check progress for our students. As we get closer to April, we will enter the Spring Assessment season. Please click this LINK to see our HBC Assessment Calendar. This will give you an idea when each assessment is scheduled for ACTs, MCAs and NWEAs.
Information for Families Regarding MCA III Assessments: (New)
MCA Statewide Assessments Dear Families,
The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) requires that statewide assessments are annually administered in reading, mathematics, and science. They are designed to provide the state, districts, and schools with a snapshot of student learning of the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards.
When will HBC Students take the MCA Tests? What Grades will take the MCA Tests?
MCA Reading - (3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 10th) - Wednesday, April 23rd and Thursday April 27, 2025
MCA Math - (3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 11th) - Tuesday, April 29th and Wednesday, April 30th
MCA Science - (5th, 8th and 10th) - Tuesday, May 6th
What are the MCA Tests? The Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) and Minnesota Test of Academic Skills (MTAS) are reading, mathematics, and science standards-based assessments that measure student learning of the Minnesota Academic Standards. These assessments are used to meet federal and state legislative requirements. Most students take the MCA, but students who receive special education services and meet the MTAS eligibility requirements may take the MTAS instead.
Why do we give these assessments? MCA results provide valuable information for the school, district and MDE about how well students have learned concepts and skills from the academic standards. Educators and schools can use the results to plan instruction and evaluate their curriculum. Families can also use the results as one way to measure how students are doing on the content that is part of their daily instruction. School- and district-level test results are used in federal and state accountability measurements.
How are the MCA administered? The MCAs must be taken in person, even if your student is enrolled in an online program. For students temporarily learning online, they will take statewide assessments when they return to school. Your school can provide more specific information about the health and safety measures they are taking to ensure students and staff stay safe and healthy during test administration. Most students take the MCA online, but some eligible students take the assessment in a paper test book instead. For the MTAS, teachers work with each student individually using paper test materials.
Please reach out to me if you have any needs: