October 8, 2021
Dear Fourth and Fifth Grade Parents,
As Mrs. Barbelet communicated in September, students in 4th and 5th grade will be taking part in the state-required Start Strong Assessment this month in addition to the spring New Jersey Student Learning Assessment (NJSLA). 4th grade students will take part in the testing on October 12 and 13, and 5th grade students will take part on October 14 and 15.
The Start Strong Assessment, which consists of one English/Language Arts unit and one math unit per grade level and is administered on computers, will serve as a replacement for the canceled Spring 2021 administration of the NJSLA. Over the past few weeks, the Dorchester staff has been working with your children to ensure that students are prepared and confident with the concepts, as well as the digital format of the assessment.
Please make a special effort to be sure your child gets sufficient rest, eats a healthy breakfast, and arrives on time for school on their testing days next week. Also note that no outside technology is permitted in the testing rooms. For that reason, we suggest students leave their smartwatches at home on testing days.
As always, thank you for your support and cooperation.
Sincerely,
Stefanie Marsich
Stefanie Marsich
Dorchester School Principal
201-930-5600 ext. 166