Thank you all for your support during these times of summative assessments (end of year formal testing!) Our first state-wide PEAKS assessment has passed into the history books, though the results will likely not be available until next fall. Contrarily, this week we will be doing our traditional AIMSweb reading and mathematics assessments that our district has been conducting 2-3 times a year for many years. Thankfully, AIMSweb provides instant results and consists of only two 8-minute math tests and 3 minutes worth of reading assessments, all in the classroom setting. Much more manageable!
Next Monday and Tuesday we will wrap up all the mandated testing with the district’s new and more detailed benchmark assessment called MAP (Measures of Academic Progress). This online assessment is a 1 hour math and 1 hour reading test and will eventually replace AIMSweb. The results are anticipated to go home with 4th quarter report cards. For more information please go to: https://www.nwea.org/assessments/map/ On the reverse of this newsletter are instructions on how to complete a practice MAP assessment online. Last week we got to host Senator Murkowski in a school-wide assembly. This event was originally part of our Government unit last quarter but she needed to reschedule to the current congressional recess. Log into our website to see pictures. We are now moving deeper into our rights as citizens of the world, transitioning from the Bill of Rights to human rights. This will wrap up with our nation’s civil rights movement. In science, the sixth graders will continue to prepare for their Kenai Fjords field trip. We will be meeting at Denali at 6am for a prompt 6:15 departure. We are expecting to return between 6pm and 6:15pm on Wednesday and will call the office before we leave Seward to give the most accurate update possible. Please make sure your sixth graders are dressed for windy (and wet) conditions. As I (and Mrs. Riley) will be the teachers in charge for the Kenai Fjords trip, our fourth and fifth graders will be split between the remaining classrooms for the day. In reading we have passed the climaxes and are coming across the falling actions in our novels on the way to resolution. It has been a lot of fun reading these and has been difficult to make sure students aren’t reading ahead! We’ll follow up the novels with a small project. On a separate note, the snow has completely cleared from the playground, yielding new surfaces to play and run on! One new surface, mud, serves as a reminder of the importance of having outdoor shoes/boots that can be worn to and from school and during recess, and a separate pair of shoes that can stay in the classroom/gym. Montessori classrooms do a lot of work on the floor so we try to keep it as clean as possible. As always, please feel free to call/text/email/or stop by with any questions, concerns, or celebrations!
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This week we are taking our state mandated language and math online PEAKS assessments. What can you do at home to help? Make sure children get lots of sleep each night and a full breakfast each morning. Monday’s test only took an hour and is likely one of the longer assessments of the week.
Besides our testing, we will be working on our novel studies, getting through some more rising actions in Hatchet and possibly reaching the climax in I Am Malala. Students seem to be really enjoying the adventures of Brian Robeson, while the I Am Malala group is tackling some deep issues in their autobiographical reading. Ask your child what is happening in their story. We’ll also be doing some math work in geometry, statistics, and graphing. All valuable skills that need a frequent follow up and polishing. In language, we’ll attempt to get started on idioms but we will finish that up next week. In science, we’ll look at life cycles beyond our already studied cycle of salmon. In addition, sixth graders will also begin their preparatory work for their Kenai Fjords field trip next week. Preparations include a Know-Before-You-Go packet that will be a large part of their homework this week, as well as 3-part nomenclature matching cards on animal identification of likely species we’ll find in Resurrection Bay. The chaperone meeting for the field trip is Wednesday evening at 5:30 (there is a cost of $50 per chaperone). You’ll find attached a survey for parents so I may learn how to best build and maintain our vitals lines of communication and partnership. Your time is very much appreciated on this short survey. Last week we had the Peace Concert which was a ton of fun and I saw about a third of the class there! Choir and cellos did an awesome job representing Denali! As always, please feel free to call/text/email/or stop by with any questions, concerns, or celebrations! Barring any further unexpected changes, fourth graders will truly have tested in science by the time you read this. Next week the entire class will be testing in mathematics and language arts. Tests have been taking between 15 and 90 minutes typically per day, so fatigue should not be a concern thankfully, though students should still make sure they’re getting all the rest and nutrition needed to be physically ready as well as mentally ready for these very important assessments.
This week for homework we won’t be practicing any new spelling words to allow time to become familiarized with test taking tools and questioning that may be encountered in the PEAKS exams. You will need to use Google Chrome to complete these practices. In class we’ll continue through our normal routines. Our novel study is finding some good rising actions in both I am Malala and Hatchet. In addition to reading and small group discussions, students are completing comprehension brochures (Hatchet) and packets (I am Malala). Ask your child what they think thus far. This week in STEM we will have a returning guest speaker, retired ADF&G fish biologist Doug Molyneaux (he led the salmon dissection last semester). Fear not squeamish stomachs, dissections are over for a while…this time it is a simulation. We will be learning how biologists take samples of salmon fry and smolt to judge the survival rate, and will be using actual data from a Kuskokwim tributary, and manipulatives, to simulate a field study. This is a three-part activity that will incorporate math as well as the scientific process. Finally, Thursday is a do-not-miss event, Denali’s annual Peace Concert. This is a fundraiser for our sister school in Malawi, Africa and features a choir performance and dessert auction. Set-up for this important event begins at 6pm, while the concert is from 6:30-8pm. As always, please feel free to call/text/email/or stop by with any questions, concerns, or celebrations! Well hello April! By the time you read this, fourth graders will have taken their PEAKS assessment in science. Give them a high five for their effort and hard work! Our next state-mandated tests will assess the entire class on math and language arts and will be the week of April 17th.
Did you know PEAKS has a way for students to practice the tools used on the computer test and provides a small number of sample questions? To check it out, you must use Google Chrome and copy/paste the link: https://wbte.drcedirect.com/AK/portals/ak If you have time and the means, please check this out at home. We will also spend class time practicing the tools. This week we will be fine tuning our math skills in various applications we are likely to find in our assessment while forging ahead in our studies of fractions, measurements, and geometry. Ask your child what they are doing in math (and then ask them what factors and multiples are). In STEM we narrow our study of adaptations from the dissection table to the ability of salmon to find their natal stream. In language/writing we’ll begin looking at metaphors (comparing two things WITHOUT using “like” or “as”). Our cultural studies continue to look at the U.S. Bill of Rights. In reading we’re continuing with our novel studies, I Am Malala and Hatchet (the book Winn-Dixie got bumped for another time). Ask your child which book they’re reading and what the story is about. As always, please feel free to call/text/email/or stop by with any questions, concerns, or celebrations! |