Dear Sixth Grade Families,

Thank you all for making our Hope Bloom’s Auction a fun and successful night. Our Geometric String project was beautiful; thank you to Lyn, Heather, and Ki Lesley for bringing it to life.

Last week, we stepped away from the study of Light to begin our play practice. The students were excited to learn their roles and to get to work memorizing lines. Each year, the students are excited and a little nervous, and the Sixth Grade is no exception. The benefits of a class play still hold true, as the roles assigned help build up and stretch each student in various ways. With each passing year, the class play is longer, and Robin Hood has two acts and numerous scenes. The sets and costumes will continue to stay in the background so the students' inner talents are allowed to shine. This year, the students will engage more actively in procuring and creating props, blocking (working together to decide the various locations they will take on stage), determining movements and gestures for their own character, and supporting their peers with ideas and suggestions. It also gives the students a common goal and a final, fun experience together as we close out the school year.

In and around play practice, the class is preparing to take their first standardized test, the CTP, through ERB. The CTP helps educators assess content-specific, curriculum-based performance alongside reasoning ability and conceptual knowledge. The test is a paper and pencil test (the form in which most of us tested “back in the day”), allowing us to help teach the students how to take this type of test as we work through a sample book of questions and take several components of the CTP. As with our Class Play, this assessment allows us to learn about our students' growth. The CTP is used for instructional planning and for student goal-setting to ensure that we’re on track compared to independent norms. It will also give our students the experience of taking a standardized test. As this is our first time going through this process, we appreciate your patience as we learn the ins and outs of the assessment tool and the process of submitting and reporting scores. Each student's results will be shared with their family.

Announcements and Reminders:

Please help your child practice their play lines at home.
Remember to help your child practice their typing skills at least 4x a week.
While we do not have a Creekcess day in Middle School, the class will take advantage of the warm days and head to the creek when our schedule allows. Please help make sure your child has a change of clothes and water shoes at school every day so they can enjoy the fun!
Please send two full water bottles to school daily; students feel the warmer temperatures and drink a lot of water!

Upcoming Events:

4/30 First Grade Class Play 5:30 p.m.
5/01 Second Grade Class Play 5:30 p.m.
5/11 Community Work Day 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
5/14 Sixth Grade Class Play 5:30 p.m.
5/15 Field Day / Half Day for Kindergarten
5/17 Last Day of School - Full Day

With Gratitude,

Ki Melissa and Ki Lesley