Spotlight
Four Seasons A+ Newsletter - February 2023
Calendar
- Thursday, February 2, 5:30-7:00 pm DHH APTT
- Tuesday, February 7, 7:30-8:30am Morning Meet Up
- Monday, February 13, NAAPID (National African American Parent Involvement Day)
- Monday, February 20, NO SCHOOL Presidents Day
- Tuesday, March 7, 7:30-8:30am Morning Meet Up
- Friday, March 10 NO SCHOOL Conference Prep Day
- Tuesday, March 21, 4:00-7:00pm Conferences
- Thursday, March 23, 4:00-7:00pm Conferences
- Friday, March 24, NO SCHOOL Conferences
- Friday, March 24, 8:00am-2:00pm Conferences
Four Seasons A+ Family Handbook - general information
Principal's Message
I hope this message finds everyone warm on our coldest days this winter. We continue to see incredible academic and social-emotional growth from our students. Over the last two weeks, students have participated in FAST testing. The FAST assessment is given to all K-5 students three times a year. FAST helps us celebrate students' academic growth while also planning individualized and small-group instruction focused on students' academic needs. This planning will take place in teaching teams over the next few weeks.
We are always excited about opportunities for families to join us during the school day and for special events. If you are available, we hope you will join us for National African American Parent Involvement Day on Monday, February 13th. There will be opportunities for family members to eat lunch with their children and to be guest readers in their classrooms.
Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.
In Partnership,
Morning Meet Up - Tuesday, February 7, 7:30-8:30am
Join us for coffee/cocoa/tea & conversation!
Morning Meet Ups:
- Tuesday, February 7, 7:30-8:30am
- Tuesday, March 7. 7:30-8:30am
- Tuesday, April 11, 7:30-8:30am
- Tuesday, May 2, 7:30-8:30am
Parents/guardians/family members are invited to join us for a treat and conversation in the Four Seasons A+ Family Room throughout the year. Our Morning Meet Ups will feature different topics. The focus for Tuesday, February 7 is Celebrating Culture at Four Seasons A+. We will gather feedback for a spring event.
National African American Parent Involvement Day
Celebrate National African American Parent Involvement Day at Four Seasons A+. Drop in any time during the day . We invite parents/guardians/family members to join us for an African American Read-In and lunch with their child. All families are invited to attend.
Volunteer in your child's classroom as part of our African American Read-In promoting reading and works authored by African American writers. Contact your child's teacher to be a guest reader.
You do not have to be a guest reader to participate in our African American Read-In. We encourage you to join your child's classroom as part of the audience. Contact your teacher for reading times.
Lunch with Your Child. PAASAC (Parents of African American Students Advisory Council) helped design the lunch for NAAPID. Lunch Menu: Mesquite BBQ Chicken Leg, Red Beans & Rice, Cornbread Muffin, Peach Crisp, Choice Bar
Lunch times are:
- 10:20 DHH classes and PreK
- 10:30 Kindergarten
- 10:40 2nd Grade
- 10:50 1st Grade
- 11:20 3rd Grade
- 11:30 4th Grade
- 11:40 5th Grade
Thank you to those who already reserved a spot at lunch. If you have not reserved a spot, and are interested in having lunch with your child, please let us know RSVP here. We want to make sure we have enough food to serve everyone.
Monday, Feb 13, 2023, 07:30 AM
Four Seasons A+ Elementary, North Moore Street, Saint Paul, MN, USA
Free for all families. No qualification requirements. No contact information collected.
In Our Classrooms
DHH PreK
Our DHH Preschoolers are learning all about how so many things have to change and adapt to the cold weather around us- Our families, our communities, and animals! We have been learning about hibernating animals recently through read alouds, math/science activities and crafts! During the second week of February, we will be starting our next unit- Helpers in our World. This unit will focus on the people in our community and our school that help us, and how we can be helpers too!
DHH K-2
DHH APTT (Academic Parent Teacher Teams)
- meet other families in their child's class
- review student progress
- learn about standards
- explore ways to support their child at home
Pizza served 5:30-5:45pm. Childcare and interpreters will be provided. Transportation available upon request.
Thursday, Feb 2, 2023, 05:30 PM
Four Seasons A+ Elementary, North Moore Street, Saint Paul, MN, USA
Kindergarten
1st Grade
Hello 1st Grade Families!
We will be talking about friendship in February and coming up with practical ways to show kindness to those in our school community, it ties in perfectly to our community unit for social studies. In math we are continuing to add and subtract and have started writing/solving short word problems. In Literacy we are continuing to work hard on phonics in both whole and small groups. In writing we have started to gather facts about arctic animals for our non-fiction writing unit.
In partnership,
Ms. Pappas and Mrs.H
2nd Grade
Remember to continue to send winter clothes for those days we are outside. Thanks for all the continued support!
3rd Grade
Hello from 3rd grade!
- In math, we are finishing up multiplication and division and will be moving forward into algebra.
- In literacy, reading groups are in full swing and we are really having fun learning, growing and reading together.
- In writing, we are learning about sequence, parts of a story (beginning, middle, end), opening sentences ("the hook") and conclusions. We are in the beginning stages of writing personal narratives.
- In social studies, we are talking about government (president, governor, and mayor) and being good citizens.
We just completed FAST testing, for reading and math. It will be great to see how much growth has been made and what our next steps are to ensure all students are successful.
Thank you,
4th Grade
What a great start to this new year. We completed our mid-year testing in the last two weeks. Moving forward we will use the data from test scores to support students' academic practice.
4th grade finished the multiplication unit and is moving onto division, although we will be revisiting multiplication for the remainder of the school year. Please support and encourage your 4th grader to practice multiplication facts at home.
In writing we are still working on 'Twisted Fairy Tales'. It has been fun to focus on one story and look at a variety of retold stories and perspectives. Students are starting to write their own version of the Fairy Tale.
4th grade students should be reading daily for at least 30 minutes daily, outside of school.
5th Grade
I hope you are all staying warm during these very cold days. Your 5th grade students have been keeping their brains warm at school, that's for sure. We have been working on building our reading lives by expanding our book options with a journey into the world of fantasy novels. Our math time has been spent developing a better understanding of fractions and their relationships to decimals. Also, look out for these dates in February; 2/7 Family Meet Up and 2/13 NAAPID ( National African American Parent Involvement Day).
Speech-Language Tip of the Month
Modeling Social Communication Skills
We all want friendship! Having a friend and being a friend start with sharing and
taking turns! Model and practice sharing and taking turns at home. It can be as simple as rolling or tossing a ball back and forth saying, "My turn!" and "Your turn!" It can be more complex, such as talking about and negotiating the rules of a game.
More ways to model and encourage social communication skills at home:
- Share a snack
- Share blocks or Legos
- Play a card game
- Play a board game
- Take turns on the playground
- With the whole family, take turns telling about something you did today.
Think of your own ways to share and take turns.
SLPs Hope Larson and Chris Holm
Multilingual Learners
The ACCESS for ELL's 2.0 Testing window is open from January 30-March 24, 2023. The MLL Team at Four Seasons will be administering the test throughout the open window. All ELL students will be tested in Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. Results will be available in May. If you have any questions about the test, please contact an MLL Team member at Four Seasons.
Volunteer & Advocacy
Upcoming Volunteer Opportunity: Parents/Guardians/Family Members are encouraged to visit the school during NAAPID, Monday, February 13, and volunteer as a special guest reader or part of the audience during our African American Read-In celebrating literacy with works authored by African Americans. Contact your child's teacher for more information.
Four Seasons A+ hosts monthly Morning Meet Ups where parents/guardians/family members talk with Principal Fell and other community members. Bring your ideas, questions, or concerns to Morning Meet Up. The next Morning Meet Up is Tuesday, February 7, 7:30-8:30am.
Saint Paul Public Schools has many Parent Advisory Councils, or PACs. One of the councils, PAASAC (Parents of African American Students Advisory Council) helped plan the lunch served during NAAPID. These councils advise district staff and host special events. For more information on our district PACs visit https://www.spps.org/Page/23039
Assessment at Four Seasons
At Four Seasons A+ Elementary School, and throughout SPPS, we use a variety of assessments to measure each student’s academic growth. When you hear the word “assessment,” you may think about standardized tests like the MCA (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment). MCAs are one method of measuring reading and math skills for our 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. These tests are given in the spring (April/May). The test results are not fully available until late summer. Because of that timing, MCA scores are often used to look at overall trends, but do not play a large role in guiding instruction.
Other assessments are given at multiple times during the school year and are more helpful in planning differentiated instruction. These assessments include FAST, benchmarking, and unit/quarterly assessments in math. FAST is given three times each year (fall, winter, and spring) and measures each student’s knowledge/understanding of literacy skills such as letter names and sounds, decoding of words, vocabulary, and comprehension. Teachers also use a reading benchmark assessment (benchmarking) to determine each student’s reading level. This information is used to help students pick books at the appropriate reading level (not too hard or too easy), and to create guided reading groups. In math, teachers assess learning at the end of each unit or quarter. Based on this information, teachers know what students have learned and what needs to be reviewed or re-taught.
In addition to MCAs, FAST, benchmarking, and Math unit/quarterly assessments, our Multilingual Learners (MLL) take the ACCESS test, which measures their progress in reading, speaking, listening, and writing. The proficiency levels determined by this assessment are used by teachers to help plan instruction and support for students. ACCESS performance also determines when students exit the MLL program.
At our upcoming spring conferences (March 21, 4:00-7:00pm; March 23, 4:00-7:00pm; and March 24, 8:00am-2:00pm) ask your child’s teacher about recent assessments and how your child has grown academically during the school year.
Four Seasons A+ Elementary School
Email: karen.shanahan@spps.org
Website: spps.org/fourseasons
Location: 318 North Moore Street, Saint Paul, MN, USA
Phone: (651) 290-7595