Dear Families,

I hope you are doing well! I want to let all of you know how much I appreciate all that you do as families of IA. Near the end of the year, everyone gets tired (students and teachers alike); however last week I got just the boost I needed. The cards, flowers, and treats you all brought to school for "Teacher's Appreciation Week" touched my heart and I want to "thank you" all very much.

This week we continue CST testing for math. The fourth graders were given a practice test on Friday and I think overall did well and as expected. We did pinpoint one area that needs some attention which I will be covering today. In addition to these tests, I will be starting to assess students using the WRAT test this week. This is an IA assessment and helps us evaluate student growth! If you happen to stop by the classroom, things may not look exactly as usual. Last week, I also reassessed one of my reading groups and found that they had improved their word recognition skills by a minimum of one grade level and in some cases more! Yey!

Please mark your calendar for this Thursday, May 13th for our monthly Family Night Meeting. I'm not sure who is hosting it, but know it is a good time to gain important IA news and information. If you do come, be sure to stop by my classroom and see the current project your child is working on.

Since I mentioned our current project, I want to let you know that your child was given an information sheet to bring home for you to read. Students are required to display their work and I recommended a tri-fold poster be purchased for each student. They are available at Michael's for $5.99. At this point, very few students have brought them to school. They are not required to use a tri-fold poster, if they have another idea about how they want to display their work. Ask your child what they are researching? By the way, we can always use more art supplies. Right now, I am looking for wire we can use under clay to build a 3-D figures and thin dowels.

I think that is it for now! Keep an eye on my BLOG over the next few weeks as I will be announcing an end of the year field trip!
Kim