Math Help

Here is a GREAT link for parents to help with the math concepts at home! 

http://greatminds.net/parents 

Weekly Update for September 19th

Reminders

-       School attendance is crucial to student growth and achievement. Our days are filled with so much learning and fun, I would like your child to be here as much as possible. Please keep them home if they are all, all absences should be called to the office.

-       We currently have 4,581 class Dojo points! Students have been earning points in the hall, for active learning, and for showing team work. Keep it up! I encourage you to review your child’s personal Dojo story. 

-       We have had a few talks about keeping our hands to ourselves this week. I can see we are becoming more comfortable with one another and it is great to see. But please talk to your child about keeping their hands to themselves, as well as the appropriate way in which we can as a friend to stop. If touching in any way continues after asking a fellow classmate to stop, I need to be notified as soon as possible to resolve the conflict. I want each and every child to feel safe and comfortable.

-       I will not be here Thursday and Friday of next week, the 22^nd and 23^rd. I have a close friend who will be subbing for those 2 days, the kiddos will be in good hands!

-       
SAVE THE DATES

·      School Picture Day- September 28^th

·      Festival of Science- September 23-October 2

·       Annual Gallop Kick off Assembly- September 23^rd

·        Annual Jog-A-Thon- October 7^th

     Annual Clothing Exchange Donations- Taking all donations starting in October

Next week:

Literature

We will be reading “Wilson All Alone” while working with character development, comprehension, and problem/solution. I have to give a big shout out to the kids for working so hard to create detailed and lengthy writing responses. We are not only answering the question but also providing evidence. Way to go!

Math

We will wrap up our measurement unit with a test on Wednesday or Thursday. I look forward to administering and grading the next assessment. We have been using our centimeter rulers daily as we estimate, measure, and compare lengths. Our next unit will be focused on counting, skip counting, and representing numbers to 1,000.

Science

The students have LOVED working with our science kits as we complete the solids and liquids investigations.  We will continue to work on our solids and liquids unit while focusing on properties and changes of matter.

History

Continuing with our community and comparting various communities.

Weekly Update for September 12th

Quite a few updates…

-Every Friday we show our Marshall spirit by wearing Marshall gear and/or blue! You are more than welcome to purchase your very own Marshall spirit wear every first Friday of the month, items will be sold before and after school.  Clothing ranges from $5-$30. I would love to see more of room 8 representing on our spirit days!

-PTO is looking for volunteers to help with t-shirt sales before school on the first Friday of every month, starting at 7:45 a.m. Please contact PTO at evamarshallpto@gmail.com

-We are collect any and all BOX TOPS, please start collecting and sending them in. The funding raised by our box tops goes directly to the classroom and school.

-I attended the monthly PTO meeting last night, the attendance and commitment was inspiring! We really do have the most supportive families.  I highly encourage you to attend the next meeting on October 5^th. We would love to hear your thoughts and ideas that help make Marshall so AWESOME!

-Thank you families for helping at home by signing the fluency reads and making sure homework is complete before turning in. I cannot express how important it is to have the support and structure at home.

-This month our core value is EFFORT: Applying all of your energy to something. Students have been earning points by making an effort to show self-control, participating, following directions, and completing work with neat care!

SAVES THE DATES

-September 13^th- bring your family to Fratelli’s Pizza for dinner and 10% of the profit will go directly to our school. Pizza and fundraising! Woohoo!

-September 23^rd- Annual Gallop Kick off Assembly

-October 7^th- Annual Jog-A-Thon

-October 19^th- Box Tops Collection

-October 25^th- Parent Night (Details to be sent out soon!)

Next week…

Literature

We will be reading a classic “Days with Frog and Toad”, we love all of their adventures! Students will be working on character traits, comprehension, and creating mental images as the story is being read to them.

Math

We have been having lots of fun measuring the classroom! We have made centimeter rulers and have had a chance to measure with meter sticks. Next week not only will be we measuring objects but will be comparing their lengths.

Science

Continuing on with our states of matter unit. The students will get many opportunities to have hands on investigations as we focus on our first state of matter, solids. I can’t wait to hear about their discoveries!

History

We have read about the various parts of our community as well as understanding that a community is where people live, work, play, and solve problems. We will be comparing various types of communities next week as we read chapter 2.

I cannot believe we are already well into September. The year is off to a great start and I look forward to seeing more and more growth within your child each and every day!

Important!

Happy Tuesday families! I will be sending home the following letter attached to the first graded math and think and respond test.  Our grading rubric district wide has changed, we will be assessing mastery of specific skills using a 1-4 scale. All details and rubric chart is below. If you have any questions about a grade(s) your child receives, feel free to reach out to me and I would be happy to help!

Dear families,

Below is the new grading system that is going to be used this year to assess students’ understanding of the content. There will no longer be letter grades in elementary school. All of the FUSD Elementary schools have gone to this grading system. Students will receive a 1­ 4 score to show mastery of an assignment/standard. On this rubric the numbers DO NOT represent a letter grade such as A, B, C, D, F. In the new grading system, we are looking more at understanding of the content rather than the average grade they fall into. Below is an explanation of what each of the numbers mean and how they can be earned.
4 or Exemplary means not only has a student shown understanding of the standard, but that they have MASTERED it and could teac h or explain thoroughly it correctly to another person. This is not just when a student gets all of the pr oblems right. They must show that they mastered it and can teach it to earn the 4.
3 or Proficient means that the student is showing understanding of the standard/content being taught. This would be a student who has provided correct responses that demonstrate their understanding on the assignment/standard.
2 or Progressing means that the student is showing some knowledge of the content but is still lacking understanding in some parts. To get a 2 they are starting to understand but are working on it.
1 or Struggling means that the student has shown a lack of understanding of the content/ standard. Students s till need considerable support to work on this standard/assignment independently.
*It is important to remember that most students will score a 2 or 3. It is uncommon for a student to score a 4 – and that is OKAY! Again this system is not designed to be compared to the traditional A­F system or other 1­4 systems you may have seen.
The purpose of this system to communicate a student’s level of understanding specific to a standard area at that current time. This is intended to be a helpful teaching/communication tool.
PLEASE do not be overly concerned by a 1 on an individual assignment – we are looking for trends NOT averages when we score a report card.
Please Keep this rubric to refer to when your student brings home graded work.

Grading Rubric­ Arizona Academic Standards

4	Exemplary	Student has mastered the standard and can teach another student. ­Demonstrates understanding beyond grade­level standards. ­Consistently meets requirements for exceptional work. ­Demonstrates high level of knowledge and understanding.
3	Proficient	Student can explain/demonstrate the concept to the teacher. ­Meets grade­level standards. ­Consistently meets requirements for proficient work. ­Demonstrates knowledge and understanding.
2	Progressing	Student can partially explain/demonstrate the concept to the teacher. ­Approaching grade­ level standards. ­Meets some requirements for proficient work. ­Demonstrates some knowledge and understanding.
1	Struggling	Student lacks basic understanding of the concept. ­Significantly below grade­level standards. ­Meets few requirements for proficient work ­Demonstrate little knowledge and understanding.