Sheiko Shark Tales
February 10, 2023
Principal Update
Important Upcoming Dates
2/15/23 WB African American Parent Network Meeting 7pm WBHS
2/17/23 5th Grade School Spelling Bee
2/20/23 - 2/21/23 Mid-Winter Break
2/23/23 BonaVenture Skate Night
2/27/23 Board of Education Meeting 7pm WBHS
2/28/23 Last day to nominate your child for Advanced Math testing
ADVANCED MATH TESTING INFORMATION 3rd & 4th Grades
Elementary Letter of Notification
February 6, 2023
Dear Families of 3rd - 4th Graders,
Each year, students in grades 3-4 are invited to test for placement in advanced or accelerated math for the coming year. 3rd graders can test for placement in 4th Advanced Math. 4th graders can test for placement in Compacted 1. Students who are currently in Advanced or Accelerated Math, do not need to be nominated or retested.
● 4th Advanced Math covers the 5th grade curriculum. This placement requires students to skip the 4th grade curriculum.
● Compacted 1 is year 1 of a 2-year course sequence in which students learn the 6th, 7th and 8th grade curriculum. Compacted 1 covers the 6th grade and part of the 7th grade curriculum. Compacted 2 covers part of the 7th grade and all of the 8th grade curriculum. Following this sequence students enter Algebra 1. This placement requires students to skip the 5th grade curriculum.
Identifying students who may benefit from this placement is a two-step process.
● First, it is the parents responsibility to nominate their child.
● Then, based on an analysis of a nominated student’s Winter (January) NWEA MAP Math score, qualifying students take the district placement test in March.
To nominate your child for 4th Advanced Math or Compacted Math, please fill out the online form: Advanced or Accelerated Math Nomination Form by February 28th Once this form is filled out, students must meet criteria based off of NWEA. Parents will be notified whether or not their child qualified to participate in the district placement testing. Testing will occur at the student’s current
elementary school. Each building will determine the specific date(s) and time(s) of each assessment to accommodate for unique features of each building’s schedule. Testing dates will be set up by building testing coordinators and will be between March 6th - 22nd.
Not all students are ready to advance a grade level in math. Students ready for the advanced and accelerated math courses should be comfortable with a faster-paced curriculum, show high degrees of motivation, and strong work habits. Please understand that in skipping an entire year of grade level math instruction, your student might enter the Advanced Math class with some grade level concept “holes” which will need to be filled as they are instructed in the advanced math concepts. This might require the student to do additional work during and outside of class.
An Advanced Math student must understand more than just math facts and “routine” or “prescriptive” solutions to common math problems. Students must be able to persevere through problem solving situations that are contextualized and require multiple solution strategies. Communicating how they solved a problem and providing their reasoning and evidence for their problem solving is equally as important. We share this so that you may very carefully make your decision about whether to consider advancing your student.
Please note that it is not expected, nor is it our intent, that all students take these assessments. As stated earlier, not all students are ready to advance an entire grade level in math. A student is not behind in math if the result of this process determines your student should remain in the grade level math sequence.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact me or your student’s classroom teacher by email.
Sincerely,
Kathy Sheiko
Principal
ADVANCED MATH TESTING INFORMATION 5th Grades
5th Grade Letter of Notification
February 6, 2023
Dear 5th Grade Math Families,
The West Bloomfield School District has an accelerated middle school math model in which students learn the 6th, 7th and 8th grade math curriculum in a compacted 2-year math sequence. Following this sequence, students enter Algebra 1. Students who are currently in Advanced or Accelerated Math, do not need to be nominated or retested.
5th grade students are invited to test for placement in middle school compacted math for the coming year.
Identifying students who may benefit is a two-step process.
First, it is the parents responsibility to nominate their child.
Then, based on an analysis of a nominated student’s Winter (January) NWEA MAP Math score, qualifying students take the District’s 5th Grade Math Achievement Test.
To nominate your child to test for compacted math, please fill out the online form: Accelerated Math Nomination Form by February 28th. Once this form is filled out, students must meet criteria based off of NWEA. Parents will be notified whether or not their child qualified to participate in the district placement testing. Testing will occur at the student’s current elementary school. Each building will determine the specific date(s) and time(s) of each assessment to accommodate for unique features of each building’s schedule. Testing dates will be set up by building testing coordinators between March 6th - 22nd.
Not all students are ready to accelerate their math program. Students ready for this accelerated sequence should be comfortable with a faster-paced curriculum, show high degrees of motivation, and strong work habits. An accelerated math student must understand more than just math facts and “routine” or “prescriptive” solutions to common math problems. Students must be able to persevere through problem solving situations that are contextualized and require multiple solution strategies. Communicating how they solved a problem and providing their reasoning and evidence for their problem solving is equally important. We share this so that you may very carefully make your decision about whether to consider accelerating your student.
Please note that it is not expected, nor is it our intent, that all students take these assessments. As stated earlier, not all students are ready to accelerate their math program. A student is not behind in math if the result of this process determines your student should remain in the grade level math sequence.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact me or your student’s classroom teacher by email.
Sincerely,
Kathy Sheiko
January's Sheiko Shark Ticket Winners!!
Today, the students who received the highest amount of Sheiko Shark Tickets from their class celebrated with a pizza lunch! Congratulations to all the winners!
Student Council News
Pine Tree Kickoff is in full effect!
Full Poster & Pine Tree Letter (Sent home this past week.)
MARK YOUR CALENDAR!
Oakland Schools is hosting an African American Read-In
Oakland Schools is proud to host author Derrick Barnes and illustrator/author Vanessa Brantley Newton as our guests for this year's African American Read-In. These award winning authors have a vast collection of books for readers of all ages. The first 500 Oakland County students who register will receive one of their books.
Date: Thursday, February 16, 2023
Time: 6:00 - 8 pm
Location: Virtual via Zoom
You'll receive a confirmation email that includes the event's Zoom link -- keep an eye out for that information in your email inbox. You can find more information about the National African American Read-In here: https://ncte.org/get-involved/african-american-read-in/. Please contact stacey.lamb@oakland.k12.mi.us with any questions.
Spelling Bee
UPDATE-February 17th 5th Grade Spelling Bee
5th grade will have ONLY ONE winner no runner up for this round. We are only able to submit one name for the Oakland County Spelling Bee. Please look for an email from Mrs. VanNostrand for details.
February 27th- school-wide spelling bee to determine the 3rd & 4th grade winners. This round will only be one winner for each grade level.
March- 5th grade winner will participate in the Oakland County Spelling Bee 3/4/23.
Spelling Bee Coordinator- Mrs. VanNostrand