Week of April 29th-May 3rd

Welcome back...i hope the break was enjoyable for all. this is a crucial time of the school year. we are rounding third base, but need that extra effort to make it home. i will have extra candy and chocolate in the office as fuel for all the adults. welcome back, please know that every single person at markham is vital  and appreciated.

construction update 1 of many...

1. Construction will begin on Friday June 7th- fencing will be going up that day! Some storage containers are already on campus. All machines and construction material will be on the south side of campus behind the PE storage container. 

2. All Staff members will be asked to turn in their keys by June 7th! The campus will be closed for about a month. I will communicate in mid July once I'm given the ok for staff to be back on campus and I will reissue keys. 

3. Plan on making Friday June 7th your last day on campus until mid July! 

Staff Shout Outs-Timberwolf "howl"

Sunshine: THANKS SO MUCH for the thoughtful gifts, pastries and coffee!!!!!

The Office staff: Thank you for all of your help and smiles on your face!

Sue Vincenty: She is a very devoted teacher. She works her heart out for her students and others. She creates a positive environment in her classroom that allows her students to grow and learn. I also appreciate that she puts so much of her time and creativity making sure the yearbook represents our wonderful school.

Office Staff: Thanks for being wonderful. We love you!

Kathy: For helping me with sooo much prep work!

Megan Burns: She is a wonderful friend and a great teacher! I enjoy having her as part of our K/TK team to bounce ideas off of and share things we have found. I am really going to miss seeing her next year! I wish you the best of luck on your family's new journey!
 
Cortney Parr: She believes her student can and has been doing a great job with GLAD!

Cortney Parr: Cortney is an amazing support and a great advocate for our students. Thank you Cortney for always being someone I can count on!

2nd Grade Team: Great job on our economy store! Students loved it!!!!

Karen Sellers: Thank you for all your help when it comes to DRA's, showing me how to help my students be successful on them, and for you and your team working with our students to get them up to grade level! 

Important Dates... check out the yearlong calendar by clicking HERE

Mon. Apr. 29	Tues. Apr. 30	Weds. May 1st	Thurs. May 2nd	Fri. May 3rd
Box Tops Assembly 8:45-9:45 (K, 3, 4) Box Tops Assembly 9:45 (1,6) Box Tops Assembly 10:45 (2, 5) 5th Grade Data Day	GLAD Coaching 2nd Grade Dia del Nino Celebration During Lunch (Check out schedule and info from PTO) Picture Makeup day (only for students who want it) 5th Grade Science State Testing	Whole Staff Meeting @ 3:00pm 5th Grade Science State Testing PTO meeting at 6 p.m.	TK Fieldtrip Fun Run Kickoff Assembly	6th Grade Data Day
Mon. May 6	Tues. May 7	Weds. May 8	Thurs. May 9	Fri. May 10
AR Assembly 4th Grade @9 AR Assembly  2nd grade @ 2:05	Donuts with Dad @ 8am AR Assembly 3rd Grade @ 2:05 Cano & Soler on Fieldtrip CAASPP TESTING 3-6th	Donuts with Dad @ 8am CAASPP TESTING 3-6th	2nd Grade Data Day Romo & Peralta Fieldtrip AR Assembly 5th grade @2:05	AR Assembly 6th Grade @ 9am

PBIS WORLD- Great Resources for Tier 1,2 & 3 Interventions Click here for more resources

Hello from the PTO!

Spiritwear Orders will be delivered this week!  We will be delivering orders to classroom teachers for distribution.  In order to prevent lost items, we will be asking you to sign for orders that you receive.  Thank you for your cooperation with this process.

DIA DEL NINO:   April 30th.  Hopefully you all received our letter, schedule and map of activities.  We are looking forward to a fun day for all the kids! 

BOARD MEETING:  Our next Board meeting is May 1 at 6p.m.  We will be discussing event planning and fundraisers for next year.  We hope you can join us, and if you can not attend, please feel free to send us an email with your suggestions! 

DINE & DONATE:  We have a dine and donate event at Beach Hut Deli in Vacaville Commons on May 1st from 2-9 p.m.  This is the last day to turn in receipts for the Dollars for Scholars program.  We will be collecting receipts at the dine and donate event, and each person submitting a receipt will be entered into a raffle for a cool summer cooler filled with outdoor activity fun!

FUN RUN KICKOFF ASSEMBLY:  Our Fun Run kickoff assembly is this Thursday, May 2nd.  The Fun Run will be on May 16th.  This will look very different from past runs, and we have contracted with a provider to help us run the event.  Please encourage your students to get pledges -- the PTO will share 10% of net profits with each class, and the top fundraising classes in grades 1-3 and 4-6 will receive a pizza party!    Also, if we raise $5,000 or more, Mr. Bermudez and Mrs. Switzler will be in a dunk tank at a special school event -- every kid who submits a pledge will get a chance to dunk the administrator of their choice!  We also have really cool prizes for the kids, AND there is an option to submit pledges online this year!

On the day of the run itself, encourage your students to wear their wackiest, Kraziest outfits -- tutus, mismatched crazy socks, kooky hats... anything that they want to have fun in!  The students will be running by grade level, so that we can minimize chaos and avoid injuries. 

Without the ability to do fundraisers such as this, we would not have the ability to pay for events, field trips, mini grants, and the other things that the PTO does for our school.  We really need your help to make this the biggest Fun Run ever!!!

SCHOOL SUPPLIES: We still have LOTS of school supplies, so if you are starting to think about stocking up for next year, we have erasers, pencils, spiral notebooks, scissors, crayons, markers, pencil sharpeners and rulers.  We'd love to get these out of storage and into your hands so that you can stock your classrooms.  We have some glue sticks, but very few.

RECYCLING:  The PTO's Recycle for Reading Program has raised over $620.00!  Please continue to encourage your students to bring in cans and plastic bottles for recycling -- no garbage, please!  One of our volunteers ran across a bottle of urine and uneaten food, as well as cockroaches and a frog when processing recycling last weekend!  (EWWWW!)  Please talk to your students and emphasize the importance of only recycling cans and bottles with us, and keeping waste out.  If things do not improve, this program will be in jeopardy.

Have a great week!

Kim & the PTO Team

MATH Interactive Tool!

Interactive Math Tool- Here is an online tool that might be useful. It lists vertically all the standards so you can scroll through and see how different concepts are articulated through the grade levels and exactly how standards build throughout the grade levels.

http://www.mathcoachinteractive.com/mci_common_core.php

MATH PROGRESSION VIDEOS

I encourage all elementary math teachers to check out Graham Fletcher’s website www.gfletchy.com It has great information including performance tasks and progression videos that show where the heart of understanding in certain math strands. From a vertical articulation standpoint it gives great information to educators on depth in certain grade levels.

The Progression of Multiplication (Progresssion Video)

The Progression of Fractions [Progression Video]

The Progression of Division [Progression Video]

The Progression of Addition and Subtraction [Progression Video]

The Progression of Early Number & Counting (Progression Video)

BETTER LESSON- Science, Math, ELA and more

Visit the website www.betterlesson.com and see the plethora of free lessons in several content areas and grade levels for science (and other subjects too!)

Week of April 15th-18th

pilot opportunity for new ela curriculum

If you are teaching grades 3rd, 4th or 5th and are interested in piloting the ELA curriculum that the district is looking at, I encourage you to attend a preview of the curriculum on Monday May 6th from 3-5pm. Currently there is only one program we are looking at and it is called Benchmark Workshop. If your grade level is interested in piloting, we will need to let Ryan Galles at the ESC know. It must be the entire grade level willing to pilot. 5th grade mentioned that they are interested in piloting. Please feel free to stop by Jose's office anytime to look at a mini sample kit that the publisher gave to Markham! 

4th and 5th grade opportunity for a free field trip to lynch canyon kite festival!

Vacaville Unified, in partnership with the Solano Land Trust, is offering an exciting science-driven outdoor adventure at the beautiful Lynch Canyon Preserve. Students, grades 4-5, are invited to learn more about aerodynamics, renewable energy and kite flying on Saturday, May 4th, at Lynch Canyon, an important nature buffer zone between the cities of Fairfield and Vallejo. It is located just north of Interstate 80 between American Canyon Road and Highway 12 (Jameson Canyon Road). This experience will introduce our students to the Solano Land Trust; a vital community partnership that includes other open spaces such as Rush Ranch, Jepson Prairie, King-Swette Ranch and Rockville Trails Preserve. This special event is the first of what we hope will be many engaging, science-focused field trips throughout Solano County. The Solano Land Trust’s goal is to provide outdoor environmental science experiences for all students, especially those who may not have access otherwise.

There is a limit of 200 students, grades 4-5, for both Markham and Padan schools; 100 students per site are guaranteed transportation to and from the event. Parents/guardians are encouraged to participate as are teachers and high school volunteers. Solano Land Trust docents will also be supporting our students’ outdoor adventure. This event is at no cost to students.

Vacaville Unified school buses will be chartered for roundtrip travel from the participating school sites. There will be limited space on the buses for adult chaperones and teachers. Parents may wish to carpool with other adult volunteers to the site.

If you are interested, please let Jose know ASAP so we can reserve some seats!

Staff Shout Outs-Timberwolf "howl"

Samantha Moore: Samantha, although new to being a permanent staff member, is not new to Markham, having sent all 3 of her sons through the grades. She has given so much to Markham. As a member of PTO, she helped organize the wonderful box top assemblies and many field trips. She has been a tireless worker at fundraising events and has roped in her whole family to make Markham a better place. As a teacher, she has helped almost every grade level at one time by being their sub. The teacher who got her knew that the class was in good hands. In her own classroom, she is flexible, competent and really can handle any curve ball, no matter how smelly, that is thrown at her. She is a fun addition to our staff.

Natalie Sylvester: Natalie is an outstanding teacher. In her quiet manner, she invites students into what she is teaching and they respond to her and are engaged in the topic she presents to them. She works hard to be prepared for her lessons and is dedicated to her students. It was a privilege to watch her teach. It is a great loss to Markham that she is leaving but a wonderful addition to wherever she ends up!

Markham howl to all who finished GLAD training in Rescue!: Hard work, dedication, and driving wayyyyyy out there!
 
Mrs. Parr: She has helped and shared ideas with me without hesitation

Mike Milligan: Mike, Thanks for being so accommodating!

Boss Man: MR.B is a rockstar who has come in to the Principal position and has started to implement some great plans for the future of Markham. I am excited for the future and to see what happens next.

Karen Rivera: Karen is a very dedicated teacher. She truly cares about our intervention students and works hard to get them to succeed. Karen works hard for each of her groups and communicates with teachers about the students that come to her. She works hard on Sunshine to provide successful events and helps to provide positivity to the staff. She makes it easy to work with her!

The hardworking student monitors: Monitoring our students at recess is not an easy job. Students can be disrespectful or defiant at times, not to mention there are so many! I am so appreciative of our student monitors who work as hard as they can to help our students be safe out at recess.
 
2nd grade team: working so well together! :)

Stephanie Jones: Stephanie is a great partner to work with on our school yearbook project. She has kept me organized with her google docs and I am enjoying having another person to make decisions and complete the project.

Aaron: Thank you for being a positive male role model for our students

Kathy: Thank you for taking the time to help us teachers in the copy room

Our custodian sub: She is so friendly and helpful. She helped the PBIS team get the cafeteria ready for Muffins with Mom on top of her other duties.

Important Dates... check out the yearlong calendar by clicking HERE

Mon. Apr. 15	Tues. Apr. 16	Weds. Apr. 17	Thurs. Apr. 18	Fri. Apr. 19
6th Grade at Science Camp 3rd Grade GLAD DAY	2nd Grade on Fieldtrip Mrs. Sylvester on Fieldtrip GOTR @ 2:40		Stuffed Animal & PJ Day Legget & Romo on Fieldtrip	No School! 1st Day of Spring Break
Mon. Apr. 29	Tues. Apr. 30	Weds. May 1	Thurs. May 2	Fri. May 3
Box Tops Assembly 8:45-9:45 (K, 3, 4) Box Tops Assembly 9:45 (1,6) Box Tops Assembly 10:45 (2, 5) 5th Grade Data Day	GLAD Coaching 2nd Grade Dia del Nino Celebration During Lunch		TK Fieldtrip	6th Grade Data Day

PBIS WORLD- Great Resources for Tier 1,2 & 3 Interventions Click here for more resources

Hello from the PTO!

Spiritwear Orders are due April 12th!  Please be sure to turn in any orders that have been brought in to your classroom.  

MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL:  The results of the Multicultural Festival Doodle Poll are in.  We've received and heard your comments.  As a result, the Multicultural Festival will be in a different format this year.  It will be in the form of an end-of-the-year community picnic/potluck, with some activities and entertainment,  but without fundraising pressure.  There will be cultural performers, including the Jepson Ballet Folklorico, Aztec dancers and others, and there may be some food vendors there for those who do not want to cook or bring food.  All of this is still forming, and we'll keep you informed.  Let's all just relax and celebrate a successful school year together!  The date has also changed, and will now be on MAY 31st.  

SCHOOL SUPPLIES: We still have LOTS of school supplies, so if you are starting to think about stocking up for next year, we have erasers, pencils, spiral notebooks, scissors, crayons, markers, pencil sharpeners and rulers.  We'd love to get these out of storage and into your hands so that you can stock your classrooms.  We have some glue sticks, but very few.

RECYCLING:  The PTO's Recycle for Reading Program has raised over $581.00!  This Friday is our last Friday school day in April.  Please encourage your students to bring in cans and plastic bottles for recycling -- no garbage, please!

DIA DEL NINO:   April 30th.  Kids will enjoy inflatable slides, an inflatable obstacle course, bounce house, otter pops, music, and other activities during their lunchtime recess.  We will be sending a flyer home about this event, and are hoping to get parents to volunteer.  The more volunteers we have, the more activities we can have available for the kids!

NEW WATER STATION:  The PTO has purchased a  new water dispenser, which will dispense hot and cold water, for your use.  It will be located in the copy room area near the coffee maker/refrigerator.  We hope this will provide some more convenience to you.

WE'RE MOVING!   Due to construction this summer, the PTO Con-Ex/Storage is being taken out of service.  Our Board Members have started the process of moving our property to an off-site storage area, not far from campus.  If you need items from PTO Storage, we appreciate your patience, as things may take a little longer to get to.  Our tables and items that we still need for end of the year activities will remain on campus until the end of the school year.

HELP FOR MARKHAM FAMILIES:  

We have a few members of our Markham Family who are struggling right now and could use our help.  A meal train has been set up for Sally Poe, who is battling cancer.  You can follow this link to sign up.  https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/y27wnk?fbclid=IwAR32KWXjnX0gIl_uTIGwJSq64RDBK95hAdJxjuHmgH30sahypXXAOJpjIZQ

Also, Ryley Hampton, who is in First Grade, is battling leukemia.  A Go Fund Me has been established for her family, to assist them as they spend time supporting her treatment.  You can follow this link to help: https://www.gofundme.com/ryley039s-warriors?fbclid=IwAR2Df2Ip-Uju_lZFUS6TgrxIhQ-EOJCWtoq6b5qLmUl7B7MgRwkQ3kAfAp8

Have a great week!

Kim & the PTO Team

MATH Interactive Tool!

Interactive Math Tool- Here is an online tool that might be useful. It lists vertically all the standards so you can scroll through and see how different concepts are articulated through the grade levels and exactly how standards build throughout the grade levels.

http://www.mathcoachinteractive.com/mci_common_core.php

MATH PROGRESSION VIDEOS

I encourage all elementary math teachers to check out Graham Fletcher’s website www.gfletchy.com It has great information including performance tasks and progression videos that show where the heart of understanding in certain math strands. From a vertical articulation standpoint it gives great information to educators on depth in certain grade levels.

The Progression of Multiplication (Progresssion Video)

The Progression of Fractions [Progression Video]

The Progression of Division [Progression Video]

The Progression of Addition and Subtraction [Progression Video]

The Progression of Early Number & Counting (Progression Video)

BETTER LESSON- Science, Math, ELA and more

Visit the website www.betterlesson.com and see the plethora of free lessons in several content areas and grade levels for science (and other subjects too!)

Week of April 8th-12th

Attached is our newsletter for the week. Thank you for continuing to do the hard work you do daily. It certainly doesn't go unnoticed. Each Markham staff member is an integral part of why our students have the opportunity to grow and excel both academically and socially.

Steps to ear a $10 gift card!
1: Read the article
2. Answer one of the 3 questions (questions are at the end of the article) and be among the first three people to email Mr. Bermudez with the correct  answer. 
3. You will be notified if you are the winner. Thank you for reading through our newsletter! :)

What are Common Formative Assessments Anyway?

By Chris Jakicic
October 31, 2017

One thing I’ve learned as I work with schools across the country is that there are a lot of different definitions collaborative teams are using for common formative assessments, and what these teams think common formative assessments are influences how they write and use these assessments with their students. In our book, Collaborating for Success in the Common Core, we offer the following definition to help teams make sure they’re able to use their results to improve student learning:

“Common formative assessments are team-designed, intentional measures used for the purpose of monitoring student attainment of essential learning targets throughout the instructional process. In addition to providing information about which students need additional support or extension, common formative assessments allow teams to examine the effects of their practice, and gain insight as to which instructional strategies yield high levels of learning. Furthermore, the data can be used to provide frequent feedback to students that they can use to adjust their own learning strategies.”

In our definition, we look at three important concepts that we know help students achieve at high levels through the use of these assessments: they are formative (and thus occur during the learning process), they are team-designed, and they assess essential learning targets.

Formative

The first idea we included in our definition is the importance of the word formative. In working with teams, we’ve found that some teams focus on common assessments rather than common formative assessments. When teams write and use common summative assessments (think, for example, end of the unit tests), they are able to use essential standards and common pacing in their work. While this is a valuable step, we now know that it is formative assessment that truly impacts student learning. In 1998, Black and Wiliam published their revolutionary researchconcluding that formative assessment has a .9 standard deviation impact on student learning. This caused educators at all levels to focus on how to use formative assessment in their work. If student learning is the ultimate goal, then, high performing teams must use formative assessment throughout the learning process. High-performing teams understand that the purpose of formative assessments is different than summative assessments.

Sometimes teams will ask whether they can use their benchmark assessments as common formative assessments as long as they use them in a formative way. Here’s why we recommend that they not do this. Formative questions are intentionally written in a different manner than summative assessment items.

The first thing is that formative items are written around learning targets rather than standards. Learning targets are the smaller skills and concepts students have to learn to become proficient on the standard. When questions are written around these smaller skills and concepts, the information they provide is much more diagnostic than when written around a standard.

Additionally, most benchmark assessments are not tightly linked to concepts that students are currently learning. Sometimes items assess content that was taught in earlier units of instruction and sometimes items assess content that hasn’t yet been taught. We included the phrase “throughout the learning process” in our definition to emphasize how important we believe it is for formative assessment to occur shortly after students are taught new essential content.

When teams design their own common formative assessments, they write items to specifically match the learning targets they want to measure while they are still teaching that content. That means that before teachers move on to new content in the unit, they are able to correct misconceptions students might have that could impede them learning related concepts. This also means that teams are able to move from reporting the percentage correct each student earned to being able to report—for each student—which targets have been mastered and which still need response.

Getting their data back at this level of specificity also allows teams to examine which instructional practices are most effective either for all students or even for certain types of students. In a PLC, we start with the premise that teachers will use the instructional strategies that they believe will be most effective for their students, and that there is no expectation that all teachers will use the same strategies. High-performing teams, however, examine their resultsto see if a particular strategy is more effective. They also realize that, for students who need additional response, using the same instructional strategy they used the first time won’t be very effective. When teams analyze the results of a common formative assessment, they can discuss these issues and learn from each other and from the results.

Team-Designed

The second idea we included in our definition is that these assessments are team-designed to assure that the items are aligned with the learning targets teams are teaching as well as the expected rigor teams have for results. We’ve seen some examples where teams use an assessment designed by curriculum writers or from a test bank of questions and though these items might be aligned with the content taught, they aren’t always aligned to the rigor that it was taught at. This results in information that isn’t helpful to teams in planning the response. Teams can effectively use items they’ve found in curriculum materials or online, but it’s vital that they make sure the item matches the learning target they taught in both content and rigor.

Essential learning targets

The third important concept we included in our definition is that these assessments are used to monitor essential learning targets. Some teams write their CFAs around all of the content they’ve taught. When they do this, they lose the idea of a guaranteed and viable curriculum. We know that it’s impossible to guarantee that all students learn everything we teach. When a team identifies its essential standards, they are agreeing that all students will learn these standards. We expect that they will learn more than these standards, but at least these standards. Agreeing about what is the most essential content assures that students are commonly prepared as they move from grade level to grade level and course to course. This common preparation means that less time is spent on review for previous grade level standards and more time to assure student learning of the essentials. If we know with specificity what students have or have not yet learned, responding is much more precise and, therefore, effective.

In this case, vocabulary matters because your definition of common formative assessment impacts your practice. Consider whether your own work around CFAs aligns with this definition.

Questions for gift cards:

1. What type of assessment, according to this article, truly impacts student learning?

2. What are CFA's?

3. Please describe essential learning targets?

Staff Shout Outs-Timberwolf "howl"

Gabby,Lily,and Gretchen:Thank you for inviting our class to your migrant workers presentation. My class enjoyed it very much

Shannon Pike: For always being so welcoming and helping out with paperwork!

Simone Martin: Thank you Simone for your positivism and genuine persona. You made my week with your sweet comment!

Heather Tuttle: Yay! You are staying at Markham!

Gina Llamas-Cruz: Gina has been working hard on getting ELPAC testing finished!

Jose B.: He is starting Markham down a unifying path.

Shannon Pike: For always being so welcoming and helping out with paperwork!

Fifth and sixth grade teams: Thanks for everyone's support with my challenging situation on Friday.

Alex Hernandez: Alex does her job with excellence in a quiet and steady way. I so enjoy her subtle humor and her keen insights. She gives her students a calm and peaceful environment and gives them a great start to their educational career. It is fun to have her in our circle.

Regina Herrera: Gina is a true blessing to me and to the students in our class. She cares about each child and nurtures them while setting limits and boundaries. She is flexible and without her, we could not deliver the kind of instruction we offer our students. Her sense of fun helps us all enjoy the day. Parents, students and teachers know that she will be honest with whatever needs to be said, but that it is done with a big heart. We are so lucky to have her.

Sunshine (Karen, Gina, Chelcy): Thank you for all of your efforts holding the baby shower for my family! The outpouring of support from our Markham family would not have been possible without your planning. The baby shower was fun, and gave us an opportunity to connect as friends (beyond just colleagues). Thanks for all of your time and coordination!

Important Dates... check out the yearlong calendar by clicking HERE

Mon. Apr. 8	Tues. Apr. 9	Weds. Apr. 10	Thurs. Apr. 11	Fri. Apr. 12
	National Library Workers Day Muffins with Mom day @ 8am GOTR @ 2:40 5th Grade EXPLORIT	Muffins with Mom day 2 8am PTO Dine & Donate at Villa Corona - 4-7 p.m SPICE Program Meeting @ 3pm SPICE Board Presentation @ 6:30pm		AR Breakfast 8:00-8:30 6th Grade Science Camp Meeting @1:05 PTO Spirit Wear orders DUE!
Mon. Apr. 15	Tues. Apr. 16	Weds. Apr. 17	Thurs. Apr. 18	Fri. Apr. 19
6th Grade @ Science Camp 3rd Grade GLAD	6th Grade @ Science Camp Sylvester @ Town Square Library 2nd Grade @ Exploratorium GOTR @ 2:40pm	6th Grade @ Science Camp		No School- Beginning of Spring Break

PBIS WORLD- Great Resources for Tier 1,2 & 3 Interventions Click here for more resources

Hello from the PTO!

Spiritwear Orders are due April 12th!  Please be sure to turn in any orders that have been brought in to your classroom.  

MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL:  The results of the Multicultural Festival Doodle Poll are in.  We've received and heard your comments.  As a result, the Multicultural Festival will be in a different format this year.  It will be in the form of an end-of-the-year community picnic/potluck, with some activities and entertainment,  but without fundraising pressure.  There will be cultural performers, including the Jepson Ballet Folklorico, Aztec dancers and others, and there may be some food vendors there for those who do not want to cook or bring food.  All of this is still forming, and we'll keep you informed.  Let's all just relax and celebrate a successful school year together!  The date has also changed, and will now be on MAY 31st.  

SCHOOL SUPPLIES: We still have LOTS of school supplies, so if you are starting to think about stocking up for next year, we have erasers, pencils, spiral notebooks, scissors, crayons, markers, pencil sharpeners and rulers.  We'd love to get these out of storage and into your hands so that you can stock your classrooms.  We have some glue sticks, but very few.

RECYCLING:  The PTO's Recycle for Reading Program has raised over $581.00!  This Friday is our last Friday school day in April.  Please encourage your students to bring in cans and plastic bottles for recycling -- no garbage, please!

DIA DEL NINO:   April 30th.  Kids will enjoy inflatable slides, an inflatable obstacle course, bounce house, otter pops, music, and other activities during their lunchtime recess.  We will be sending a flyer home about this event, and are hoping to get parents to volunteer.  The more volunteers we have, the more activities we can have available for the kids!

NEW WATER STATION:  The PTO has purchased a  new water dispenser, which will dispense hot and cold water, for your use.  It will be located in the copy room area near the coffee maker/refrigerator.  We hope this will provide some more convenience to you. 

WE'RE MOVING!   Due to construction this summer, the PTO Con-Ex/Storage is being taken out of service.  Our Board Members have started the process of moving our property to an off-site storage area, not far from campus.  If you need items from PTO Storage, we appreciate your patience, as things may take a little longer to get to.  Our tables and items that we still need for end of the year activities will remain on campus until the end of the school year.

HELP FOR MARKHAM FAMILIES:  

We have a few members of our Markham Family who are struggling right now and could use our help.  A meal train has been set up for Sally Poe, who is battling cancer.  You can follow this link to sign up.  https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/y27wnk?fbclid=IwAR32KWXjnX0gIl_uTIGwJSq64RDBK95hAdJxjuHmgH30sahypXXAOJpjIZQ

Also, Ryley Hampton, who is in First Grade, is battling leukemia.  A Go Fund Me has been established for her family, to assist them as they spend time supporting her treatment.  You can follow this link to help: https://www.gofundme.com/ryley039s-warriors?fbclid=IwAR2Df2Ip-Uju_lZFUS6TgrxIhQ-EOJCWtoq6b5qLmUl7B7MgRwkQ3kAfAp8

Have a great week!

Kim & the PTO Team

MATH Interactive Tool!

Interactive Math Tool- Here is an online tool that might be useful. It lists vertically all the standards so you can scroll through and see how different concepts are articulated through the grade levels and exactly how standards build throughout the grade levels.

http://www.mathcoachinteractive.com/mci_common_core.php

MATH PROGRESSION VIDEOS

I encourage all elementary math teachers to check out Graham Fletcher’s website www.gfletchy.com It has great information including performance tasks and progression videos that show where the heart of understanding in certain math strands. From a vertical articulation standpoint it gives great information to educators on depth in certain grade levels.

The Progression of Multiplication (Progresssion Video)

The Progression of Fractions [Progression Video]

The Progression of Division [Progression Video]

The Progression of Addition and Subtraction [Progression Video]

The Progression of Early Number & Counting (Progression Video)

BETTER LESSON- Science, Math, ELA and more

Visit the website www.betterlesson.com and see the plethora of free lessons in several content areas and grade levels for science (and other subjects too!)