Week of 4/21 Newsletter

Dear 4th & 5th Grade Families,

I hope this letter finds you well! Thank you again for your outpouring of support, last week was fantastic and we are looking forward to the remaining 8 weeks of school to continue that way.

This week, we will be taking the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium Pilot Test. We spent some time last week learning how to use the tools and navigate within the test (practice test can be found here) and I feel confident that the students will be very comfortable “testing the test”. Below are a few notes about the test and our altered schedule.

>Gum: Studies have shown that chewing gum can help with concentration so I’d like to allow students to chew gum while they take the test. You may send in gum anytime this week, we’ll begin taking the test on Monday. If you choose to send in gum for your child, I will collect it, distribute it during the test, and return any extra pieces on Friday.  
>Volunteer Schedule: I would ask that if your normal volunteer time falls between 8:30 and 12 that you would take the week off from working in our classroom, since that will be when we’re taking the test. Afternoon volunteers will still be greatly appreciated!

>Homework: I will not be assigning any homework other than reading this week and there will be no spelling nor a math test this Friday.

This Friday is our Mountain School Earth Day Celebration, thanks to the Independent Studies Class! We would also like to celebrate our March & April birthdays at the end of the day, so if your child had a birthday during the last 2 months, please contact me.

Thank you again and please let me know if you have any questions or concerns, rhonig@santacruz.k12.ca.us.

Best,

Ms. Honig