Quail Call

Students in grades K-3 will be taking the Idaho Reading Indicator (IRI) starting May 5th as required by the Idaho State Statutes. The IRI will be assessing students' early literacy skills.

Students in grades 3rd-8th will be taking the Idaho Standards Achievement Tests (ISATs) starting May 4th. These are state-wide tests in reading, language usage, and mathematics. Students in grades 5th and 8th will also be taking the Science ISAT. The school will not receive any data from the Science ISAT because it is a new assessment and the results will be used as baseline data for the state.

The results of the data are one piece of data collected at one point in time. As an educational organization, it is important that we gather other pieces of summative assessment data that tell the whole story of a child’s achievement. I point this out because I don’t believe that teachers, parents or students should make any changes to their usual routines to “prepare” for the tests. We believe that deep learning of content and authentic skills will naturally transfer to higher test performance and, thus, lead to greater academic achievement.

With that being said, we know we have been in an abnormal year and I want to take a second to talk a little bit about what these tests mean for our school moving forward. The test results will be a part of our overall Idaho School Report Card, which can be found here. Alongside our EL Education School Designer, our staff will use the results to identify specific grade level standards that need to be addressed in the 2021-2022 school year curriculum and potentially other interventions that may be required on a student by student basis.

I hope that this gives you a better understanding of the purpose of the state-wide assessments. You can learn more about these assessments at the Idaho State Department of Education’s website.

Jeneille Branen, Executive Director

Show our wonderful staff and teachers how much we value them! Only

a few families have contributed so far. Please plan your donation now

before it’s too late!

The Parent Crew is working on a special lunch for teachers and staff to

be held on Wednesday, May 5th. You can give in a variety of ways.

1. Contribute to a gift card for take-out from Maialina restaurant.

- drop off cash or a check made out to "Maialina" in an envelope

marked "Parent Crew" at the PPCS office.

- New: Call Maialina at 208-882-2694 or visit the

restaurant at 602 S. Main Street and donate with a credit card,

cash, or check. Be sure to mention that you are contributing to the

Palouse Prairie Teacher/Staff Appreciation Lunch.

- Donations are due May 3.

2. Sign up to bring a dessert or drinks for the lunch here.

3. Personal cards and gifts from students and parents are always

valued. They can be delivered directly to teachers and staff at any

time during Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week, or placed in the

shed on the east side of the building in a box marked “Teacher/Staff

Appreciation”.

The Palouse Prairie Charter School Board of Directors is recruiting candidates to fill 4 open Board seats with terms running July 2021 – June 2024. The PPCS Board of Directors plays a critical leadership role in maintaining the foundation of the EL model through the educational program as well as the long-term sustainability of the school. The board is also responsible for ensuring that the school has strong leadership, sound finances, effective fundraising, and high academic achievement.

Serving on the PPCS Board of Directors is a compelling and rewarding commitment. It might be right for you if:

• You are able to consider decisions in light of what will best serve the whole school community, including students, teachers, and families.

• You would like to share your experience in fields like finance, operations, education, law, human resources, marketing, fundraising, construction, landscaping;

• You have 8 to 10 hours a month, year-round, to devote to board service and commit to attending board meetings (typically once a month);

• You welcome the opportunity to serve as an active ambassador for the school, telling your friends and colleagues about the school and its mission;

• You are willing to help PPCS raise money by connecting the school to people in your network, making a personal donation and asking others to donate, and participating in fundraising events;

• You are able to hold information in confidence and speak with professional discretion in matters concerning our school.

Please consider serving on the Palouse Prairie Charter School Board of Directors.

Interested candidates should submit a one to two paragraphs biography to Jeff Lonneker at jlonneker@palouseprairieschool.org by May 6th.

Run the Palouse is a yearly fundraiser to raise money for our Adventure Program, where students experience activities such as hiking, skiing and rock climbing. The program has been on hiatus this year but will be back next year as pandemic conditions allow. Kids get pledges of financial support from family and friends to exercise the equivalent of a marathon (26.2 miles) over a period of 2 months. This year on June 8th, the last day of school, each grade will run the last 1.2 miles together as a crew. Grades will run separately from each other and all runs will take place starting at PPCS.

Here are a few things you should know:

• Pledges from friends and family should be noted on the form and cash/checks collected in the envelope. Donations also can be made on the PPCS website.
  
• Students need to collect a minimum of $20 in donations to receive a race shirt but may participate in the run at school on June 8th regardless.
• Donations are due at PPCS on May 3rd.
• You can read more on our website, palouseprairieschool.org

If you have any other questions please contact our Parent Crew at ppcsparentcrew@gmail.com

This semester the book fair will be online and in the Book People of Moscow store. Order any item from Book People of Moscow, tell the store that you are supporting the Palouse Prairie Book Fair, and your money will not only support a local business but will also support our school! You can see teachers' wish lists for their classes here: https://www.bookpeopleofmoscow.com/ppcs-book-fair

Are you interested in joining the Peaceful Parenting Group? Our next and last Zoom session for the school year will be on Thursday, May 6th from 7:30 - 8:30 pm.

We will have a special guest and local author, Sara Zaske, join the group and share insights from her book Achtung Baby and engage in a Q&A.

“Ideal for parents of young ones…Unlike many parenting books, Zaske’s is not judgmental, prescriptive or didactic. For that, American parents may soon be saying Danke and sending Achtung up the [bestseller] charts, too.”—USA Today

If you are interested in joining, please email catherine.hogue@gmai.com and/or erinemiko@gmail.com to be added to the group. You need to request to be added to the group in order to receive meeting/Zoom information.

The Friends of Phillips Farm, Inc. (FPF) is accepting applications for an Educational Coordinator and Assistant Coordinator to lead this summer’s three week Nature Camp at the Phillips Farm County Park: June 14-18, June 21-25, and June 28 - July 2nd, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. The Education Coordinator and Assistant will be responsible for developing and carrying out nature activities with children going into grades 1-5. The goal of the camp is to help children gain an appreciation for nature and the outdoor world through hiking wild trails, exploring pond critters, and

participating in fun, interactive learning. Those interested in applying for either position can send a cover letter and resume to Gail Cochran at gcochran27@gmail.com

by April 26, 2021. For more information about the camp see our website https://friendsofphillipsfarm.weebly.com

Click on the button below to join our K-5 Community Circle every Friday, 8:30-9 a.m.

Email: office@palouseprairieschool.org
Website: https://palouseprairieschool.org/
Location: 406 Powers Avenue, Moscow, ID, USA
Phone: 208-882-3684
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PPCS.org/