Elementary Newsletter
From the Desk of Dr. Buchanan-Rivera
Dear Families,
This has been an interesting time of transitions. Ms. Angela Ruiz stared in her new role this month and we could not be more blessed by her presence! She has been actively involved in student learning and remains visible everyday within the classrooms. We are very thankful to have her serve as the Assistant to the Principal and I know she will be an effective Interim Principal during my maternity leave. Originally, I intended to start my leave after Spring Break, but Baby Rivera may alter that timeline. Nevertheless, please make Ms. Ruiz your first point of contact starting on March 20, 2017. Thanks in advance for your prayers during this season of transitions.
Third and fourth grade students are also transitioning into the statewide testing window. The teachers have been diligently preparing students for assessments. As mentioned, we do not emphasize testing in ways to evoke anxieties, but let students know that this is an opportunity for them to demonstrate strengths that God has provided. Importantly, we do not want students to be blindsided by testing concepts and want them to enter any testing situation with confidence! There is information provided below to help your student throughout this season.
My name has also recently changed to Dr. Buchanan-Rivera. I have been working on my dissertation for a few years and defended my research last week. My research was a quantitative study in which I devised a tool to measure inclusiveness within classroom environments. I am thrilled to conclude the doctoral process and wanted to provide more background regarding the change!
Important Dates
Every Wednesday
Chapel
February 28- March 10ISTEP+ Testing
March 13-17
IREAD-3 Testing (3rd Grade only)
March 13
PTF Meeting 6:30 PM in the Media Center
March 14
Dad's Club Meeting at 6:30pm
March 17
Quarter 3 ends
March 31
No School/ Possible Snow Make Up Day
April 3-7
Spring Break
Updates from Ms. Ruiz
ISTEP+ Reminders and Tips
ISTEP+ (Grades 3-8)
ISTEP+ testing has initiated this week. Elementary teachers have reviewed content with students and reminders should have been sent out in classroom notifications. In the previous elementary newsletter, I shared basic information about the ISTEP+ assessment. However, here are some additional tips to help your child during this testing window for the next couple of weeks.
Getting ready for ISTEP+
Prayer. Take the time to pray with students on the way to school. Some students become extremely anxious while testing. Prayers will remind students the source of their strength. There is no reason for any student to stress about this exam!
Ensure that your child gets an ample amount of rest. Being well rested will give your student an extra boost of energy for test day.
Please make sure your child has a sufficient breakfast. A healthy breakfast which includes proteins is proven to help individuals perform better as opposed to foods high in sugar content. Too much food can also make your student feel lethargic, so it is important to find a good balance to optimize testing conditions.
Attendance. It is important for students to be present for testing. Tardiness could possibly set a negative tone for a student’s day. Therefore, please make appointments in the afternoon if possible. Additionally, TPCA scores are reported to the Department of Education. If a student(s) misses any portion of the ISTEP assessment, the test is consider invalid which reports on the child’s permanent record as a fail. Therefore, if any days have to be missed, please ensure that your child can attend during a make-up test day.
Celebrate. The students have accomplished much learning throughout the year. Celebrate their success! This is a time for them to demonstrate their strengths!
IREAD-3 Reminder
Fourth Grade Family Heritage Project
The Family Heritage Project stemmed from a book read in class. The book was about different family traditions. One of the students noted that most of the students from the room derived from different cultural backgrounds. This led to a classroom discussion pertaining to countries of familial origins. The students determined through discussions that they wanted to engage in a project-based learning opportunity that would allow them to investigate their ancestry.
Students created an idea web that was displayed in the classroom. The web showed different things that the students wanted to research; and furthermore, the students created questions for families and parents to answer. The students used laptops to research their questions and placed the answers into graphic organizers. Since the students were working on informational writing in writer’s workshop, developed an informational essay piece for this project. The students also decided to create fair to demonstrate their research, investigations, and learning.
Students created conceptual models to showcase their knowledge. They also brought in authentic food and cultural artifacts to share with other families.
The project initiated in November and the Family Heritage Fair took place on Feb. 10, 2017. It was a wonderful experience for everyone who was involved!
Thank You
Blessings!