April 17: Math Testing

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a lovely Spring Break. We returned to a huge task, the ELA test, and I am proud to say that our children have been amazing throughout their first standardized test. They persevered through an extremely challenging exam. There were many passages and questions that required deep and careful  thinking. Without exception, every child stayed on task and worked through it as best as they could. Regardless of the results, we can all be proud of the determination our children showed this week.

Due to a busy week, we will have a full report of this week and the next from our blog reporters, Gwen and Lulu in the next post. We will also resume our video broadcasts next week. Please keep an eye out for those :)

Here's what to expect for next week:

• Please sign the trips slips that were sent home on Friday. One excursion is a trip two the Vanderbilt Playground for some fun after the testing. The second trip is to the Brooklyn Museum where we will take a tour of their African Mask exhibits. 
• We will launch our unit on Africa this week, starting with the geography of this diverse continent. Each child has been asked to bring in a sturdy 9"X12" piece of corrugated cardboard and some salt dough to build a map of the biomes of Africa on Tuesday so that we can begin this project after the Math testing.
• The NYS Math test will take place on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. There will be homework on Monday but not on the nights prior to the test to ensure a good night's rest. Please make sure your child arrives to school on time and has had a nutritious breakfast. 

Have a marvelous spring weekend!