~ Spring Break is Here ~

Spring is finally here, warmer weather is near!

I hope everyone has an enjoyable Spring Break!

AROUND THE SCHOOL

March 23rd:  Report Card Day
March 26th - March 30th:  Spring Break
April 2nd:  School Resumes
April 4th:  Early Dismissal
April 5th: Kindergarten Roundup




Second Grade 
High Ability Identification Process:

Second Grade CogAT Testing:

We have now finished up all the testing for second grade CogAT.  Originally all students were screened and those who received a 77+ percentile rank, then took the full.  As a parent you may be asking yourself, "Should I be worried if my child did not take the full CogAT test?"  No.  This is only one of the two ways to qualify for high ability.  Please remember, CogAT is a test with zero reading.  It is a test which shows how students think.  It often identifies your out-of-the-box thinkers.  There is no way to prepare for it, nor does it test things that are taught in class.  It's just the way the student thinks.  We have the data, but will not make any final decisions until the NWEA data is in.

Second Grade NWEA Testing:

Two scores listed, yours will have one.

The window for the NWEA test will open April 19th.  NWEA data from the end of the year is an achievement test.  Students who are shining in the classroom often score high on this test.  The big change going from second to third grade is the "Language Arts" section.  Students need to score in the 95th percentile or higher, on not only the "Reading" section, but also the "Language Arts" section.  Quite frankly, we do a lot of writing and reading in our third and fourth grade curriculum.  The LA section is not available to kindergarten and first.  A good suggestion that I give parents who are anxiously waiting their child's test scores, look back at past NWEA scores from this year.  Look at their Fall and Winter scores to see how they've done this year so far.  The score you need to look at, is the middle one similar to the highlighted snip above.  The middle, bold number needs to be 95 or higher in order to be considered for HA.  The number of students identified will be around ten percent of the second grade class.  Please don't hesitate if you have questions.  I'm sure this is a little overwhelming.  I'm here to help and answer any questions or concerns that you may have. Students are looked at each and every year for high ability.  Just because they were not identified in elementary school, does not mean they will not be identified later.

High Ability Summer School:

Brochures have gone home with the information about high ability summer school.  It will be taught again by, Mrs. Pethes, a fourth grade teacher at Liberty.  I'm so impressed with her program!  Students really enjoy getting immersed in the theme of Old England.  It's hard to believe, but it's time to start planning your summer to see if you can schedule all those fun activities and educational camps.  It will run Friday, May 31st-Thursday June 21st.  If you have any overlap, no worries.  Mrs. Pethes is very adaptable.  It is offered to all current high ability students grades 1st-3rd grade.  Please fill out the form and turn it into the office by:  Friday, April 27th. 

LANGUAGE ARTS



1ST GRADE:  This week the students completed a project using emotion icons to introduce the idea to our next lesson.  They built different emoticons (think emojis) using punctuation marks.  The catch was each emoticon was to display an emotion.  They enjoyed creating different emoticons, however some lost focus of making sure they showed an emotion.  


Each student took a turn sharing and having the students try to guess the emotion it displayed.  Then we had just enough time to crack our next secret message.  The No Space Cipher did not fool them.  They quickly discovered it was one long sentence without any spaces between the words.  Our message stated:  Punctuation helps us make sense of what we read.  


This led us into a discussion of how the punctuation mark can change the meaning of a sentence.  We will start this lesson when we come back from break.





2ND GRADE:  THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX:  We have wrapped up Book the 1st just in time for spring break.  Our story is organized into 4 books within a book.  Each book we hear from a different character's perspective.  Chapters 14 and 15 of Book the 1st are titled Darkness and Light.  This led us into a long discussion on a theme throughout this book of dark vs light.  We filled the board up to this point of representations of darkness and light.  Then we took some to discuss our thoughts and predictions of what will come with Despereaux.  To end the week, the students wrote a prediction of our next book.

3RD GRADE:  SPARK:  This week the students took the time to go back and make sure the plan still passed all the parameters.  They passed all the parameters with the project, however I gave them a few questions to help them finish some of the small details.  

Then for the rest of the week they took the time to prepare their presentation.  They are enjoying this project and going into such detail. 

 I even have heard comments from students that wanted other ideas stating they are so glad we went with this topic.  They are looking forward to presenting the topic after break.



MATH

1st Grade:  Congruent:  We started our week by reviewing our new term.  They did a good job on remembering the definition, but not the word - it is a tricky one!  Next it was time for some independent practice.  They were given a sheet with different shapes and had to color the congruent shapes with the same color.  Then they were introduced to our new game - match it up.  They are given a set of cards and followed rules similar to memory.  We played two different variations of the game.  They are doing a great job at being able to explain why the shapes are congruent or not.  We will continue with this activity after break.

*We were using my phone as the timer for our game - that we forgot to take pictures.

2nd Grade:  Playground Equipment Design:  This week we were asked to add onto their original floor designs.  Now the students had to create a 3D shape to cover each of the four faces from their original designs.  
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Just like last time they had a set of parameters to meet with their designs.  We worked as a small group to help each student construct their playground.

3rd Grade:  Think Deeply:  This week it was time to wrap up our lesson.  The students were given a set of numbers and had to decide the best property to use for mental math.  I am very proud of this group with their focus on mental math.  At first they were focused on solving and not thinking about the easiest process.  Now that they have the understanding of selecting the right process to solve it with the best property - they rocked this lesson.  




These were some of the best responses I have seen from this group in explaining their thoughts.  To have some fun before break, I introduced this group to Zaccaro Packets.  This is another resource we have as brainteasers for the students.  These are packets that are organized by chapters.  





Each chapter is organized from level 1 and can grow to genius level.  Each student will progress at their own rate with these packets.  They seemed to really enjoy the challenge.

4th Grade:  Think Deeply:  It was time for our Think Deeply again.  This group was given a set of fractions with different denominators and had to decide if it was equivalent to 1.  Now it was time to solve it using common denominators.  

They have a strong background knowledge with this concept from utilizing it in class too.  They were quick to find the solution to our think deeply.  For the remainder of time, they worked on their brainteasers.  We will start our next lesson after break.


Enjoy Spring Break!

Ms Losinski