Dear Parents,
     Happy Thursday!!  I am not sure I have much to share this week.  It has been a big week of testing!  Iowa Assessments are under our belts!!  Tomorrow we will be completing one more thing for the Iowa Assessments and then taking a CRS test.  Please see below for that.  I can't wait to get scores back and see their growth from last year.

Language Arts -  We have spent our language arts time on Iowa Assessment this week. Wednesday we didn't do any testing so we started writing our Dollars for Scholars Essay.  This is an essay contest put on by the Dollars for Scholars group here in Creston.  The students are writing an essay called "What Education Means to Me".  This essay will be written solely at school.  The essay is due tomorrow. I will help them to edit their essays by checking spelling only. I will not change their words.  This essay should be based on their thoughts, no matter how they put them down on paper.  After we have edited them we will then learn how to use Googledocs.  The students will type their essay in and share it with me so I can print it out.  The student names will not be on the essays and they are then give to 3 teacher in the building to pick their favorite three.  When the top three have been chosen, those 3 will go on to the Dollars For Scholars group where they will judge them and pick a#1 essay.  One person in this room is guaranteed a $50.00 savings bond.  This is so exciting!!  

Math - This week we have been doing math this week.  We have done ST Math and BizTown math.  This week in BizTown we have learned about banks and what they have to offer, we are learning to write deposit slips, and checks and keep track of them in a check register.  Some are really struggling with their registers!  We practiced writing checks and filling out a check register today.  We have also talked about "bad" checks or bouncing a check.  They are having fun learning adult things but have a hard time wanting to listen.  We do some game playing with BizTown and when we do a lot of them don't want to calm down to come back to the lesson.  I have warned them that I would stop playing the games if they couldn't come back to the lesson.  I hope they figure out that I am serious.

Social Studies -  We have not done much of this subject this week.  We have been testing so much.  We have finished a lesson and done a worksheet on it.  I have assigned another state to be put into their notebooks.  We will be sure it gets glued into our notebooks.  Next week we will definitely choose our next state project.  We may get to it on Friday but if not for sure on Monday or Tuesday. 

CRS Testing -  This is called the Constructed Response Supplement Test.  It is a reading test and is used as our 2nd assessment for reading.  The students will be reading a non fiction story and answering 8 questions.  They can go back and find the answers in the text of the story.  We will be taking this test also.

REMINDER!!  WE WILL BE IN SCHOOL TOMORROW!!   The public school is not having school so there are no buses running.  Please be sure you have made arrangements.

Conferences!  Also please remember conferences are next Thursday.  I have just have one or two that have not signed up.  Please be sure to get that done.  Thank you!

I hope you all have a great weekend!  SNOW!! UGH!

God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels