Kemp - Brazile 2/18

Parents-

 

The end of March is rapidly approaching.

 

If the end of March is coming, it can only mean something is coming soon - Spring Break (and that test).

 

Before that though, we have our third quarter report cards going home Wednesday, March 19th. Please sign the Signature Card sent with the report cards and return only the Signature Card. It's my way of showing my boss I gave out all the report cards. This would also be a great time to send in a self-addressed, stamped envelope (two would be best since sometimes the CRCT results do not come in on time). Feel free to use the envelope the report card was in (if it was in one). I'll send home the fourth quarter report card, along with CRCT scores in that envelope. If I don't have an envelope, we'll file them in the office and you can pick them up there.

 

With my sports teams, I always dread the third quarter because that's when many teams slack off and give the opponent an opportunity to beat them. Same with school. Some kids slack and it can come back to haunt them soon. With sports, the coaches try and keep the team focused on the goal and not let them get too overconfident. I find myself doing the same thing with the kids. We have to stay focused on learning.

 

Spring Break begins as school lets out on March 28th. We'll resume classes on April 7th. I'm looking forward to some vacation time with my family (Key West!), but I'll have the looming test in the back of my mind.

 

I always reflect on what we've done, but even more so as the test gets closer. I focused on their math deficiencies early in hopes that they would solidify their foundation in math. I believe in this strategy and it works, but only if the kids continue to stay focused on learning all they can. Some slacked on the morning work, which is a daily math review piece. That's when confusion on topics can creep in. I feel like we're getting a lot of those "creepers" worked out now.

 

In Reading, I've taken the approach of read alouds to model thinking along with reading skills. The kids have been great with this all year and I'm impressed with their insights. We've assessed many times this year and they've always been on track with their skills. For Reading Comprehension, we've worked many practice pages so they're used to the actual work of showing what they comprehend.

 

Our Social Studies and Science units are either great or notorious, depending on your perspective. I've seen incredible growth in the kids. Their subject knowledge is good, but their research and technology skills are amazing. Responsibility is a work in progress, but I think we can see the responsibility has grown in each student. Hopefully, if your child has not mastered it yet, we've identified the areas to strengthen before middle school.

 

We'll finish up the last of the new information for the kids and I'll continue the ongoing review of skills they've learned. We'll take the CRCT tests in about 3 weeks and hopefully master that. After the test, we'll start on skill preparation for sixth grade while continuing to strengthen the skills learned this year. We'll have a little room for the kids to be more creative with their projects after the test. Should be fun.

 

Please let me know if there's anything you're concerned about.

 

Thanks,

Shane Brazile

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