Hi Everyone,
A big thank you to everyone having patience in showing your I.D. in support of new visitor system. We really do appreciate your help. Staying on the safety theme…you will be notified whenever we have any type of safety drill (fire, lockdown, sever weather). Lockdown and sever weather drills are done once in the fall and spring. Fire drills take place every month. We have completed our lockdown and severe weather drills for the year already. We still have our April and May fire drills to complete. Students will always be aware that we are practicing (drill). For our lockdown and sever weather drills I actually walk the students and staff through the drills so there is never a chance of miscommunication about the drill being real or not.
Kudos for Castle Hills students, teachers, and staff..….. During the week of March 19th, a representative from Great Expectations visited our campus for 2 days. The purpose of this visit was to evaluate our implementation of Great Expectations. I am very happy to report that based on this evaluation we continue to be a Great Expectation Model School. In order to be awarded this designation, 90% of our teachers need to implement all 17 Great Expectations practices 100% of the time. All of the 20 classrooms visited implemented all 17 practices 100%.
Also, on March 27th Castle Hills Elementary was honored by the Lewisville Chamber of Commerce during their monthly meeting for being named the March School of the Month. School of the Month is awarded each month by the Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by the Denton Area Teachers Credit Union.
Next week State Testing starts. On Tuesday, April 10th, 5th grade students will have their math assessment and 4th graders will participate in their writing assessment. On Wednesday, April 11th, 5th grade students will have their reading assessment. Please remember that the school is closed to visitors on those days. Our students work very hard throughout the year and we are confident that they will do very well on these assessments. Of course, a good night’s sleep and breakfast can’t hurt either.
Although it is only April, this time of year the extra activities in and out of school creates very hectic time of the year. Schedules in school are forever changing, and flexibility is important. It is always our goal here at CHE to ensure communication is a top priority. Please help us stay aligned with our goal of communication and make sure that you read the information that goes home in the Tuesday Newsday Folders, Cyber Tuesday, and blasts that PTA sends out. We will keep our marquee up to date as well. If, for some reason you have a question, please contact your child’s teacher or call the office.
Kindergarten registration is this Thursday, April 5th and Friday, April 6th. Students new to the school at any grade level can register at this time too. Please help us get the word out. Thank you.
Mrs. Donna J. Taylor, M.Ed
When I talk to students about the STAAR Test, I tell them something my daughter told me when it was her turn to test in school..She said, “I love testing day. It is my opportunity to show all that I learned,†I love that philosophy. It is looking at the positive instead of the negative. I also remind students that they put in extra questions that haven’t been used before. So, if they find one they aren’t sure of or don’t know how to do, just give it your best shot as it might be a question to see if they can use what they do know to get the correct answer.
I really don’t want our students to come to school afraid of the test. They have learned the skills during the year to do very well on the test. What I do suggest for parents are the following tips:
Ask good questions that your child has to think through to get the right answer. For example: These apples are $0.69 each. That is about 70 cents so how much would it be for 3? There are opportunities all the time for this type of question in the grocery store.
How about one like this: It is now 3:05. We have a 10 min. drive. Soccer practice lasts 1 hour. What time do you estimate we might be home for the night?
Read road signs as appropriate and ask questions about it. See what your children get out of the sign. Or commercials on TV..,..ask what it was about and what they thought about that product.
There are many ways we can quiz our children and make it a fun game instead of “REAL†Math (like homework). The best part is when you can relate something you have done with their “REAL†math homework. “You can do this. Remember when we did…â€. Juat think how smart you will be if you jumped the gun on a skill that the teacher taught later!!
When the test day rolls around, follow these guidelines:
- Don’t talk about that subject the night before.
- Do something fun to take the child’s mind off testing.
- Have them get a good night’s sleep.
- Have a good breakfast (with protein).
- Tell them they get to show off what they know as they go out the door.
Happy testing season,
Carol Rains