Submitted by Akua Boakye and Jennifer Williams
The Positive Behavior Support in Schools (PBSIS) team of Burnet Middle School, Union, New Jersey, recently led by Student Assistance Counselor Tara Colandrea and under the leadership of school Principal Tommy Harrell, held a Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and Academic Spirit Week in preparation of the New Jersey PARCC tests.
Ms. Colandrea, along with the team, co-ran by English teacher Kimberly Villane, understood that it is a strenuous time of year and wanted to encourage all involved to be at their best. “Our goal is to have all students relaxed and confident heading into the test session,” stated Colandrea. “We encourage every child and staff member to participate in these special days!”
The spirit week consisted of: daily prizes and affirmations, themed days, games, and prize drawings. Themes included “Knock it out of the PARCC,” Sports Jersey Day and “It’s just a walk in the PARCC” sweat pants day.
“Having the themes for the day lessened the stress of what I had to wear each day for testing and allowed me just to focus on PARCC,” Jayleen Alvizures, eighth grader stated.
The week kicked off on May 4, 2018, with “May the Fourth be with you” on the PARCC and centered on a “Star Wars” themed day, which included an advisory period that gave a lesson with tips from Burnet teachers and PARCC quizzes on how to “Jedi” master the PARCC test the following week.
In order to make the week extra special, Ms. Colandrea reached out to the Union Community for help. “We could have never hoped to accomplish such a great event without the continued and loyal support of our extended family, the town of Union,” said Colandrea. “Several local businesses generously donated and joined us in the remarkable celebration. Their bigheartedness made this event a more meaningful and successful experience for the school and was truly appreciated.”
Some of the companies that donated were: Costco of Union, Stop and Shop of Union, Target of Union, Magic Fountain, The Perfect Bite Delights owned by Ivonne McPherson, Yo Addiction, Red Cadillac, Dairy Queen of Union, More Than a Gift Floral Shop, Smarties Factory, and Rita’s of Union.
At the end of each day, students were given motivational prizes to encourage them to keep up the great work on PARCC. “It motivated us to try harder and when I saw the prize it made me feel like I accomplished something,” said Giannell Calderon eighth grader at Burnet.
“It removed the stress of testing,” added Gabriella Thomas, eighth grader.
The PBSIS team took place in cross-curricular work within the building to make the week a success. Mrs. Pielech’s class assisted in all the weeks’ activities by compiling and distributing all the teacher and student prizes. In addition, Ms. Fenton, Art Teacher, designed the bulletin board “Knock it Out of the PARCC” that showcased the week in review at the front lobby of the school.
Some of the student motivators included: Free gift certificates to Rita’s Ice and Hershey Kisses to help kiss the testing jitters goodbye. The testing week aligned with Teacher’s Appreciation week and PBSIS did not let that go unnoticed. More Than a Gift, local flower shop, donated a rose for every staff member at Burnet. And Yo Addiction handed out free yogurts during lunches to name a few contributions.
“I have been looking to do a Teacher’s Appreciation Week and PARCC Spirit Week for a while now and when they fell on the same days, I knew it was the year to get it off the ground,” Ms. Colandrea stated. “I love being able to show the students that they matter and we are behind them in all of their endeavors and I know that their successes also have a lot to do with our teachers, so this was a great experience and I am really proud of the results.”
(above) Burnet Middle School is in great spirits during PARCC and Teacher Appreciation Spirit Week.
