Parents, please make note of these Early Release Dates and Times. Intermediate will release early on both Thursday, May 24th, and Friday, May 25th at 11:30. Primary will release early ONLY on Friday, May 25th, at 11:00

Third, fourth, and fifth grade students will take the STAAR test on April 24, 25, and 26.

TUESDAY, APRIL 24TH

3RD & 4TH GRADE MATH

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25TH

3RD & 4TH GRADE READING

THURSDAY, APRIL 26TH

5TH GRADE SCIENCE

Our third and fourth graders will be participating in Benchmark tests on Tuesday, March 6th, and Wednesday, March 7th. Math will be given to both grade levels on Tuesday followed by Reading on Wednesday. Students will need to go to bed early, have a good breakfast, and be sure to arrive on time.

NO electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed on these practice testing days.

Our fourth and fifth graders will be participating in Benchmark tests on Wednesday, February 22nd, and Thursday, February 23rd.  Fourth grade will test in Writing on both days.  Fifth grade will test on Math on Wednesday and Reading on Friday.  Students will need to go to bed early, have a good breakfast, and be sure to arrive on time.

NO electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed on these practice testing days. 

Food brought in for lunch will NOT be allowed on testing days.

MAKEUP tests will be given to all students who are absent during these days.

Thank you for all your support in our efforts to create for every child the best positive learning environment possible.

Successful kids and successful schools usually share a secret ingredient: supportive parents!

Here are 5 ways you can be involved in your child’s education. Some support your child directly and others benefit the whole school, including your child. Remember, you don’t have to do everything! Choose the activities that fit your interests and schedule.

1. Make sure your children go to school ready to learn. In the morning scramble to get out the door on time, your children may skip breakfast or leave homework behind. The day gets off to a much better start if they pack their backpacks the night before, get plenty of rest and have a good breakfast.

2. Make time for homework. Set up a study area with good lighting and a dictionary, and limit television on weeknights to be certain homework gets done. Make reading an everyday habit. Children who have “no homework” can always review the day’s lessons or read a book for fun.

You may also need to curtail extracurricular activities. Children who take part in other nonacademic activities for 20 or more hours per week usually don’t have enough energy to perform optimally in school.

3. Monitor your children’s academic progress. Don’t wait until report cards come out to check up on how your children are doing. Attend scheduled parent-teacher conferences to get acquainted with their teachers, and don’t hesitate to contact teachers at other times to find out whether your children are keeping up with assignments.

4. When there’s a problem, work with the school on your child’s behalf. If your child starts to slip academically, make an appointment with the teacher to put together a plan for correcting the problem. Teachers appreciate parents who reinforce the importance of schoolwork, and your child will have a better chance of succeeding if you and the teacher agree on a strategy.

If your child has difficulties with a teacher, try to keep an open mind and find out all the facts before jumping to conclusions. It’s always best to try to work out differences with teachers before going over their heads and complaining to the principal.

5. Attend school functions. Going to back-to-school night, the spring concert, school plays, talent shows and other school events shows your children that you value their schools. In a 10-year study of 20,000 teenagers, Laurence Steinberg found that only one-fifth of parents regularly attended school functions, and that those who did were much more likely to have high-achieving students.

Over the next few weeks, intermediate students will be given opportunities to build endurance and become accustomed to more lengthy assessments through the administration of benchmark tests.  These are not six weeks benchmark tests, but more closely resemble the length and rigor of state testing. We will only take one benchmark in each subject area.  We will begin with 4th grade Writing and 5th Grade Math and Reading on February 22nd and 23rd.  Math and Reading benchmarks will be given to 3rd and 4th grades on March 6th and 7th. Science will be taken by 5th grade on March 8th.

Teachers will use the results of these benchmarks to help students build on strengths and target areas of weaknesses. We are confident that our students will be successful.

Mrs. Emily Richeson, teacher at White Oak, recently shared a pdf of Marzano Question Stems. They were excellent and definitely worth passing on to other educators. For a printable copy, either click on the box or HERE.

Our methods of questioning will have a direct result on the level of learning that takes place in the classroom.