On The Front Burner: Three Things For Monday

January 12, 2015

By Dan Brosgol

On-the-Front-BurnerPARCC Sample Tests Sent Home
Lane School parents were emailed links to the sample PARCC tests last week. The PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) tests, which are going to replace the MCAS, are supposed to be the latest and greatest version of standardized tests. I took a gander at the 4th grade tests last week, and it’s no exaggeration to say that I could not figure out the correct answer for a few of the math questions and several of the ELA (English Language Arts) questions. Want a challenge? Try answering the questions on pages 7-9 and 12-15 on the Fourth Grade ELA assessment. When I tell you that a room full of intelligent and educated adults could not agree on the correct answer, I’m not making it up. I encourage everyone to explore the different sample tests and marvel at either how much smarter our kids must be than we were at that age, or how hard these tests are going to be for them. Or both.

Editor’s Note: Lane School Principal Rob Ackerman shared a sample Grade 4 PARCC  math problem in a note to parents – Click here to check it out.

Bedford Babe Ruth Baseball/Softball Registration Is Open
Yes, it was -7 degrees in Bedford last week. Yes, it was snowing this morning. And yes, Bedford Babe Ruth Baseball/Softball spring registration is open, so if you’re thinking of signing your kids up, please do so right away, as uniforms and equipment have to be ordered in February. Also, if you have a burgeoning softball player, softball clinics are already taking place at BHS on Wednesday nights from 7:30-10 and there are murmurs of some time being reserved at The Edge for baseball workouts. It might seem like a long time until the seasons change and the fields are ready, but before you know it, it will be time for sub-freezing late March practices and that most cherished of early April traditions- the combination Pole Capping and BBRBS Opening Day extravaganza.

Get The Bedford Citizen in your inbox!



Sunday, Noisy Sunday
If you glanced at the Bedford police log last week, you might have noticed two things on the list of calls on Sunday, December 28. At 8:35 am a construction crew was working on Fletcher Road, and at 1:46 pm on Loomis Street another construction crew was on the job. Bedford town ordinances explicitly state the legal working hours on construction and demolition- 7 am-7 pm Monday- Friday, and 8 am- 6 pm on Saturdays, so the Sunday work crews were clearly in violation. Kudos to the police and residents for making sure that for at least one day a week, we get a break from the noise. But more amusing is the fact that when the project manager of one of the projects was asked to stop working on a Sunday, he replied “I didn’t know and we weren’t aware you couldn’t work on a Sunday.” Color me skeptical, but I’m not entirely buying it.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Subscribe
Notify of

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

All Stories

What’s Bedford Thinking about the Red Sox?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Junior Landscaping
Go toTop