Cooper Mountain Newsletter
March 15, 2018
Dear Cooper Mountain Families,
As you know, students are in their element right now. They've had months of instruction and collaborative activities and they know procedures and expectations. As you also know, we are entering the season where students in grades 3-5 will Show What They Know through Standardized Testing called SBAC, while students in K-2 have reading, writing, and math goals to achieve before they're ready for the next grade. Your partnership at home is vital. Thank you for reading with and to your child each day! Thank you for having fun with numbers and building number sense. These activities help students understand the school-life connection.
You can also play a large part in your grade 3-5 student's success in SBAC. You can take the practice tests at home:
Log on to oaksportal.org
Click Students
Click Practice Tests
Click Sign In (don't change anything on the screen)
On the next page, select grade 3, 4, or 5 and then click YES at the bottom of the page
In the green band, *select the test you would like to take:
ELA = English Language Arts. Reading and Writing are combined.
Math = well, Math
CAT = Computer Adaptive Test. The questions increase in difficulty with correct answers.
PT = Performance Task. This calls for more involved reading, analysis, responding or math problem solving scenarios.
*I would suggest that you work with the CAT first.
You will notice that a calculator is not often provided within the math test. Students may use scratch paper, but no calculators unless it is on the screen for them to use.
After you make your selection, just keep scrolling to the bottom of the pages and click YES and Begin Test. You don't need to enter or change any information.
I highly recommend that you set your child up for success by looking at some of these test items - it will illuminate for you just how much your child is learning as well!
Another easy step you can take is to open up a free typing program and help your child learn to keyboard correctly. Yes, we practice at school, but extra time would be very beneficial for your child to be efficient and save time during the assessment. You can try Typing Agent or typingskills.com (You will need to go to about lesson 400 to get to any paragraph typing.) Just like learning to play the piano or dribble a soccer ball, practice makes better! And more fun.
Most importantly, you can support your child by demonstrating confidence in his/her ability, by encouraging them to do their best so that they are proud of themselves, so that you are proud, and so that Cooper Mountain is proud of their efforts.
Thank you and have a wonderful weekend,
Kristin
Teachers decorated their doors
and halls
to celebrate and encourage reading!
Upcoming Events and Announcements
March and April - Busy Months!
Tuesday, March 20 - PTO Meeting 7:00 pm
Childcare provided
March 26-30: Spring Vacation - Schools Closed!
Monday, April 2: School Resumes - 8:45 Principal's Chat
Wednesday, April 4: Walk and Bike to School
Thursday, April 5: STEAM Fair - get those science projects done!
Wednesday, April 11: Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon 10:50-1:00 (See below)
Thursday, April 12: First Grade Music Program 6:00-6:30 pm
Friday, April 13: GRADING DAY - NO SCHOOL for Students
Thursday, April 19: Kindergarten Orientation 5:45-7:00 pm
Tuesday, April 24: PTO Meeting 7:00 pm
Coming Up:
May 7-11 Staff Appreciation Week
May 17th Fifth Grade Music Program 6:00-6:30
May 18th Family Movie Night
Cooper Mountain Elementary School
Email: kristin_lemon@beaverton.k12.or.us
Website: https://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/schools/cooper-mountain
Location: 7670 Southwest 170th Avenue, Beaverton, OR, USA
Phone: (503)356-2070
Twitter: @CooperMtnES
Our Volunteers Have Heart!
If you volunteer at Cooper Mountain Elementary School, we are inviting you to a lunch, put on by the Cooper Mountain Staff, to say "thank you." You have given us so much, and we are grateful for your time, your energy, your financial support, and your wonderful ideas for building and maintaining community. Please set aside Wednesday, April 11, to come, relax, and enjoy lunch with your child's teacher. We will provide salads and some entertainment in the luxurious setting of our gym, and mostly we will provide heartfelt appreciation for the Heart you share with us. More information will come home with your child! I hope you can join us.
Early Release
From Our District
Local Option Levy #34-284 - May 15, 2018
On Monday, January 22, 2018, the Beaverton School Board unanimously adopted a resolution to place a five-year Local Option Levy Renewal on the May 15, 2018 ballot. This is a vote-by-mail election.
If approved, Ballot Measure #34-284 would allow Beaverton schools to preserve 300 teaching positions, maintain class sizes, and help ensure students are prepared for post-high school success. The levy renewal costs $1.25 per $1,000 assessed property value. Homes with the median assessed value of $238,000 would continue to pay about $25 per month. The levy would raise approximately $31 million in the first year.
In 2013, voters approved a five-year local option levy to restore teaching positions that had been cut due to repeated state funding shortfalls. The levy has raised $128 million, and 100% has remained in Beaverton schools to fund approximately 300 teaching positions and reduce class sizes. In the 2017-2018 school year, 158 of these positions were allocated to Beaverton's elementary schools, 53 to middle schools, 70 to high schools, and 18 to options schools.
At Cooper Mountain Elementary School, we will lose three teachers if the Local Option Levy does not pass.