Friday, April 1st
Dear Parents,
Students completed their PARCC English Language Arts tests this week. I am very proud of their efforts! We will start the math PARCC assessments next Wednesday, April 6th. Students will complete the mathematics sessions on April 7th, 8th, and 11th. Our testing time runs from 8:30 to 9:50.
If you are interested in seeing what the tests are like, or your child is interested in practicing a little more, you can find the practice test at these links:
Part 1: http://epat-parcc.testnav.com/client/index.html#login?username=15MT03PTEO&password=Practice
Part 2: http://epat-parcc.testnav.com/client/index.html#login?username=PT03M&password=Practice
Be sure you are in either Firefox or Explorer for the test to work. They do not work in Chrome.
We are excited to begin a collaborative writing project with BHMS seventh graders in Mrs. Eaman’s classes. Each third grader will be partnered with a seventh grader who will write, illustrate, and publish a book especially for their third grade partner. This is an exciting and rewarding creative writing project. We have participated in this project for many years now, and our third graders have loved the process.This project will begin on Friday, April 22 and conclude on Thursday, May 19. Please make a note of the dates below and add them to your calendar. It is important that our third graders are here on these dates to work with their seventh grade buddy. Seventh graders will be coming to Kohl for the first two visits and then we will meet them in the park on the third visit for our celebration.
Central to the project is the importance of the writing process: prewriting, writing, revising, editing, publishing and celebrating. Some of the specific skills and focus areas will be interviewing, brainstorming for ideas, story writing for a particular audience, vocabulary, plot development, characterization, dialogue, and punctuation.
The purpose of the initial trip (Friday, April 22nd) will be to get to know one another via an interview as well as brainstorming story ideas. Third graders will be actively involved by sharing their interests, writing, and favorite books. The second trip (Tuesday, May 3rd ) will allow both parties to share writing: seventh graders the progress draft of the book and third graders will share drafts of their story writing.
The final trip (Thursday, May 19th )will be focused on celebrating the completion/publication of the book. Each seventh grader will share their book and then give it as a gift to his partner. This date will be a walking field trip to Miramonte Park. We will send permission slips home with students at the beginning of May. We will not need chaperones for this trip.
Thank you for your support. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Important Dates to Remember
April 6th, 7th, 8th, and 11th- Math PARCC tests
April 10th-Class Picture Day
April 15th and 18th-No school
Sincerely,
Aisha Galt
