I'd like to dedicate this newsletter to one of our greatest Difference Makers ever--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr! I hope his peaceful and erudite ways touch our leaders and citizens of today's world!
Progress Reports:
Progress reports went home in blue folders/backpacks on Friday. Please review and sign and return one copy. The other is yours to keep. Please note I've included some math practice and strategy pages for 2 and 3 digit addition and subtraction. Many need to practice this 2nd grade math skill which we'll be testing on for report cards in the next few weeks. Also, continue to encourage sustained reading of all kinds and genres, too. Remember you can use our Resources page for practice and enrichment. Email me if you have any questions or concerns.
Curriculum Highlights:
*NWEA Testing: I am so proud of the perseverance, growth mindset, and focus the 2nd graders showed in completing the Reading, Language, and Math tests. They are truly a test of stamina as well as academic rigor, and I applaud our class' hard work and supportive attitudes towards each other!
*Difference Maker Research/Living Museum:
Mark your calendars--our Difference Maker Showcase Event will take place on Wednesday, February 6th @ 9:00- 9:45 am. Second graders will be enlightening our Westlake community on their chosen Difference Maker! Hope you and your family members can join us! Click here for a PDF of our flyer.
This past week, we continued our Difference Maker research. You can help support your researchers by asking them how far along they are in the process. Are they reading? Note-taking on their concept maps? Drafting their scripts? Revising and editing? Memorizing? How are they feeling about their research work? Some of us are done with our scripts and are memorizing them with a partner already! We even had Dr. King (Chase) and Jackie Robinson (Mykah) read theirs in front of the class! Very inspiring!
Click here to see our chosen Difference Makers. Remember, during this time you should be putting together a costume for your 2nd grade Difference Maker. We are just a few days away from the big day! Please email me if you have any questions or if I can help in any way. Thank you for your support!
School-wide News:
GATE Testing: The goal of the Westlake Charter School’s GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) Program is to provide differentiated learning opportunities during the regular school day for our students. All current 2nd graders and referred 3rd-8th graders will be given the opportunity to take the GATE qualification test. Click HERE for more information. Referral forms for students currently enrolled in grades 3rd-8th will be accepted from January 7, 2019 - February 1, 2019. Click HERE for the parent referral form.Click HERE for more information about the GATE program at WCS.
Standards Based Grading Parent Night: What is Standards Based Grading? Please join us on Thursday, February 7th, from 6:00-7:00 pm in the Cafeteria for a parent information night about Standards Based Grading.
ATS Testing: Academic Talent Search (ATS) Testing will be held February 5th from 3:45-4:45. If you have a 4th-8th grade student interested in taking this optional test to participate in a summer program at Sac State please look for a flyer sent home this week to get details on this testing.
After-School Live Clubs: This winter session, middle schoolers are leading five after-school clubs for our Explorers. Click HERE for more information and to enter your student in the lottery for their first choice club. **We are still in need of adult chaperones for the two Tuesday clubs. The commitment is four hours over the course of four weeks (Jan 29, Feb 5, Feb 12, Feb 26). Email [email protected] to support our program and earn volunteer hours!
That's all for now! Have a great week!
Mrs. A