Tuesday, March 18th

Tuesday, March 18^th

Dear Parents,

We completed our geometry unit last week and are excited to embark on a final geometry assignment that will be completed at home.  This project provides your child with a creative way to share what they have learned about geometry over the last few months.  Your child is coming home with the geometry project assignment today.  We have gone over the directions in class, and I showed students an example of a completed project.  Students should be familiar with the 26 grade level terms.  I am attaching a glossary of terms as a reference. Projects are due on Monday, April 14^th and will be displayed during the Kohl Learning Fair on Thursday, April 17^th.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

The third grade music program is scheduled for this Thursday, March 20^th from 6:30 to 7:00.  Please have your child ready on the stage by 6:15.  If you have any questions please contact Mr. Owens at antwon.owens@bvsd.org.

Kohl Elementary has been randomly selected to field test the new PARCC test that will take the place of TCAP beginning next year. When we return from spring break, our third graders will take these tests on April 1^st through the 3^rd from 8:30 to 10:00. The tests will cover Reading, Writing, and Math and will give us an opportunity to experience the new test format. 

Here is an excerpt from the PARCC website that explains the purpose of field testing:

In spring 2014, the PARCC Field Test will be administered to over one million students across PARCC states. The PARCC Field Test represents a critical milestone in PARCC’s work toward building assessments for the 2014-15 school year and will give students and local educators the opportunity to experience the administration of PARCC assessments. The Field Test will be conducted in a random selection of schools across PARCC states. The sample of students in the selected schools will represent the demographics of each state and PARCC as a whole. 

On another note, after spring break, our third graders will begin a writing project with BHMS seventh graders in Mrs. Eaman’s language arts classes.  Each seventh grade student will be partnered with a third grader.  The seventh graders will write, illustrate, and publish a book especially for their third grade partner.  Central to the project is the importance of the writing process:  prewriting, writing, revising, editing, publishing, and celebrating.  Our students have thoroughly enjoyed this project in the past, and we are excited to be part of it again.  Participation is an essential element of this project, so please do your best to ensure that your child is at school for our meetings on April 7^th, April 17^th, and April 24^th from 9:00 to 9:30.  There will be a culminating celebration day on May 14^th at 10:00.  This will be a walking field trip to the Miramonte Park.  No parent volunteers are needed.  Permission slips will be sent out at a later date.

Thank you for your continued support. 

I hope that you have a wonderful spring break.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt

Friday, March 14th

Friday, March 14^th

Dear Parents,

TCAP is officially done!! We completed the writing test yesterday and today.  The kids worked very hard, as they did on all of the tests. We will have results of the Reading portion in the beginning of May, and the Writing and Math results will come home next August/September in your child's Friday folder. Regardless of their scores, I want to say how proud I am of the efforts put forth by all of the kids. They worked so hard, and I could see them thinking through all they have learned and using the strategies and skills they have acquired.   It was great to see such hard working kids!

Math:

We completed the unit on Geometry with the unit test this week. It will be coming home in Friday folders next week. The kids worked hard and made corrections to their tests. It was a challenging assessment and once again, they all rose to the challenge. Next week, I will send home a packet about a geometry project the kids are required to complete for the Learning Fair.  Our next unit in Math is about problem solving using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. It will begin on Monday.

Literacy:

Students have written many writing pieces over the last few weeks.  We are going to focus on publishing a few self-selected pieces next week.  Students are also going to work on a Reader’s Theater production in small groups.  We will focus on reading fluency, vocabulary development, and summarizing.

Science:

In science we have been learning about the States of Matter (Solids, Liquids and Gases) and Metric Measurement. We will continue working on this unit after spring break.

It looks like we are going to have nice weather this weekend.  I hope your family is able to get out and enjoy a little sunshine and fun.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt