Thirteen More Days?

Dear Families,
I can't believe we are this close to the end of the year! And, with so much still going on, time seems to accelerate. Here are some nitty gritty details you may need to keep track of....

Tomorrow night is the chorus concert at MVMS beginning at 7:00. The kids have worked hard for this one! A note will come home tomorrow from Ms. Robertson with details.

Wednesday is early dismissal, 12:40, because there is a district wide staff lunch!

Friday afternoon, 3:00, is an informal retirement good-bye to our beloved Ms. Harvey! It will be right outside the multi. There is also an 'assembly' beginning at 9:15 that morning. Each grade level is singing a special Harvey song....pretty cute. You are welcome to come to either or both!

Wednesday, June 5th, 8:50 is our little playlet! Seriously, it is short, but the kids do love it. Maybe we will see you there!?

Thursday, June 6th is Open House. I cannot for the life of me figure out when it begins. I will keep you posted!

Friday, June 7th is third grade Economy Day. The kids can bring in their 'goods' or 'services' whenever they want to, although most will bring them in the morning of! Some ideas from years past: origami whatevers, simple sewn items, bookmarks (one year Ms. Harvey bookmarks were a BIG HIT), reconfigured crayons (melted, etc), Caine's Arcade style games, bracelets, comic books, bike trail maps (this student would interview you to determine what kind of rider you were, FYI....he gave me the bike path!) You get the idea, but if not just ask!

Tuesday, June 11th is our third grade end of year bash at Hauke Park! I will need a volunteer to drive our rocket launcher to the park AND someone to buy and bring popsicles to the park. We go after our lunch...pizza in class. We have discovered it is MUCH easier this way...promise. Again, I will get back to you with the specific time.

Wednesday, June 12th is the ever popular Woody's Ice Cream Social after school. An Edna favorite for sure.

Thursday, June 13th, is our last day and dismissal is 12:45.

Are you exhausted thinking about all of this?
We're almost there.
Carrie

Shamama and Humna are explaining a few things during our tour! We loved going to the Islamic Center!

CASSPP Testing!!

Dear Parents,

I've been remiss in not sending this sooner. But...here it is....CAASPP testing!

We begin testing on May 13, just next week. We've begun practicing strategies for test-taking by taking online CAASSP practice tests. The test-taking strategies we review include process of elimination, re-reading the questions, looking for parts of a question you do understand, reading the questions first, using scratch paper, etc.  We will also review what to do when you are experiencing stress during the test-take a deep breath, skip a question and return to it later, or take a mental break. 

It is a lot. Instilling a balanced understanding of why we take this test is tough.....I emphasize that the test reflects how the school and teachers are doing, not necessarily how they are doing. That it is not reasonable to expect to know how to answer each question; in fact, they design the test to find what students know and what they don't know. 

As is true with any standardized test, CAASPP covers many of the California content standards (the common core), in one sitting. These tests provide a single snapshot of a student and don't measure many other skills like creativity, perseverance, sense of humor, friendliness, empathy, or the ability to develop a life long passion for learning. We (teachers and parents) can model a positive attitude regarding the test to keep the stress level low. An important message I will be emphasizing in our discussions is how proud of each and every one of them I am already. They have learned and grown so much this year and I have been blown away time and time again by their hard work and progress.

The best thing teachers and schools can do to teach content is present a rich and balanced curriculum all year. I feel so lucky to be a part of a learning community that has this foundational understanding built into our pedagogy.

Bring on the CASSPP!

Carrie

P.S. If you have more questions, be sure to ask!

Lots of Exciting Events!

Greetings all,

There are a couple of upcoming events I wanted to let you know about. The first is the rescheduled visit to see the horse shoe guy do his thing by the stables on Horse Hill Friday morning. Tanner, the ferrier, is so super cool with the kids, it really is something I'd hate to miss. It doesn't look like rain this Friday! We will walk and be back at school around 10:30?

Second, the second annual Makers' Night is happening at Edna May 15th at 5:00. This is an event not to be missed. Fun times for all....seriously.

Third, we have been invited to tour the Islamic Center on Shell Road May 24th. Two, possibly three, of my former students (Shamama, Humna, and ??) are working on a presentation for us! Again, another walking field trip, there and back. 

Lastly, a request from me. If you have a favorite photo of your child, can you please send it to me? I only need a black and white copy, so you can email it to me. If you have a copy of a photo to send in, please do so. I will just copy it myself! I know it is last minute, but if I could get these by Friday that would be terrific....or next Monday works, too. 

As always, thanks for your support.

Carrie