Dear Parents,
I hope you all had a happy Easter and enjoyed spending time
with friends and family. This week at school we will have some schedule changes
due to testing. For this reason my blog post this week will focus mainly on the
schedule.
Monday and Tuesday are normal days; that is, students have
no state tests on those days and will have their normal classes on those days.
On Wednesday students have their first in-class science test of the quarter. This
is not a state test, just a normal test that will count toward their fourth
quarter science grade. I know I have sent some emails about this test, but as a
reminder, the topics on this test will be weathering, erosion, deposition,
resources, pollution, and the greenhouse effect. This sounds like a lot of topics,
but each of those individual topics were relatively short, and we have been
studying and reviewing this material for weeks.
Students should use their notebooks to study the topics
mentioned above. I gave extra copies of the notes to students who were absent on
note-taking days, so all the students should be well-equipped to study for this
test. Additionally we worked on a practice test in class, and I am sending students
home with copies of the practice test tonight. If they did not finish in class,
they can finish as part of their test study time.
On Thursday and Friday we will have the last of our state
tests. We will take the first halves of the AZ Merit Math and ELA tests on
Thursday. We will take the second halves of the AZ Merit Math and ELA tests on
Friday.
Please make sure that your students get plenty of sleep and
eat a good breakfast before their state tests. Arizona’s standardized tests are
unusually long and stressful compared to the tests most adults remember taking
when they were children. Sleeping and eating properly, therefore, are even more
crucial to students’ well-being on state tests days than on other days. Please
take the time to make sure your students are prepared for these stressful days
by having them go to bed early on Wednesday and Thursday and by having them eat
a nutritious breakfast on Thursday and Friday. We will NOT be assigning
homework on Wednesday and Thursday evenings in order to support students in
getting plenty of relaxation and sleep before their state tests on Thursday and
Friday.
On a different note please remember that students need to
finish the RM curriculum in order to pass into fifth grade. We have missed some
math lab time because of state tests, but we budgeted for this missed time at
the beginning of the year, so the class as a whole is not behind. However, a
few individuals are behind. Right now all students should be working on the
lesson “Subtracting Decimals.” If they are not in this lesson, then they are
behind. If your student is behind please have them spend a little extra time on
the RM program in order to help them catch up. Even 10-15 extra minutes a night
will be useful.
These are all the notes I have for you this week. If you
have any questions, comments, or concerns please send me a message through your
Jupiter Ed account.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Wycklendt
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