As we get closer and closer to the CRCT on April 4th, I wanted to give you some hints that I found online http://www.ehow.com/how_2118577_help-child-ready-standardized-test.html to help prepare your children for the CRCT:
1. Motivate your child to study for the standardized test. Give encouragement to do better each time. Tell your child how important studying is to pass and get a good score on standardized tests. Continue to motivate, no matter what the results maybe, by giving your child praises. A child that feels loved would want to return that love by continuing to succeed in his studies.
2. Make time for study time. Make it a habit to check up on your child's studies regularly. Parental involvement as well as guidance is crucial to a child's success. Devote your time to teach your child. Do this after dinner or after doing the regular homework.
Track your child's progress in a time chart that you can log dates that you helped your child to study and what subjects you have studied. Divide the chart by the number of subjects then have a column for each one. Mark the calendar leading towards the actual testing day to know how much time you have left to get your child ready.
3 . Gather all the study materials that can help with your child's studies. Visit the library and borrow some books specifically for preparing for standardized tests. You can also buy some books if your library doesn't have the latest version. Gather other reference materials about the subjects that are being tested on.
4 .Find out your child's weakness and create a game plan to help your child improve on those. It maybe a good idea to focus your child's attention on his weak points or have your child spend extra time and effort to learn more about those that he has difficulty understanding.
5 .Offer help and explain the subjects to your child by giving practice samples. For example, in math, give more problem solving scenarios. Do them in a series and repeat them until your child understands the whole concept.
6 . Go online and sign up for review forums. There are also sites that offer sample tests which your child can practice on. You can also buy a DVD or audio CD that can offer practice reviews for standardized tests.
7 .Teach good study habits and techniques. Teach your child not to just memorize the answers. It is more important that your child really learns how to get to the answer to ensure that he gets the answers right no matter what the scenarios are.
8 .Ask pointers from teachers and other parents. Organize study sessions with other children's parents; they may have some information that would be beneficial to your child. Being in a study group will also teach your child to interact with other children.
9 .Hire a tutor for your child. There may come a time that you cannot provide adequate study pointers to your child, whether you are too busy or you also do not understand the subjects to be an effective tutor to your child. It is important to know when to ask for help. There are tutors that you can hire to teach your child after school. Don't forget to ask for references and do background checks. Check for referrals from your child's school. They may give a teacher's name that does this as a part-time job. There may also be available tutoring programs in schools that your child can participate in.
10 .Make sure that your child gets enough sleep so that your child is well rested and more alert when studying. Limit the hours of TV watching or playing videos. Feed your child healthy food, particularly those that are rich in protein.Read more: How to Help a Child Get Ready for a Standardized Test eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2118577_help-child-ready-standardized-test.html#ixzz1HBfsxJr1
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Only 3 More Weeks
It is hard to believe, but we are only 3 more weeks away from the CRCT. This year, we have set a very lofty goal of more than 94! That means more than 94% of our students will meet or exceed on the CRCT. While this goal is a lofty one, we really do feel that it is one that we can achieve will lots of hard work, dedication and belief! Our students are working hard each day. Not only are they paying attention to their teachers Essential Questions and standards, they are working hard on really focusing on the skills needed to be successful. They are also working hard to be prepared for the format of the questions that they will see on the CRCT in April. Kennedy students have taken over 5700 practice tests on georgiaoas.org and have spent thousands of hours on Classworks and over 700 hours on brainchild.com. They are really working hard to be ready. With this type of goal and the pressure to pass this test, your child might be dealing with some stress caused by this test. I encourage you to check out our newsletter found on our website: www.barrow.k12.ga.us/kes . It has strategies for students as well as parents to prepare your child for the test.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Storybook Night
This past Thursday night marked KES's third annual Storybook night. Storybook night is always done in conjunction with Mr. Frame's Spring Book Fair. This year we had around 100 people attend and it was a lot of fun. Kindergarten presented A Very Hungry Caterpillar, First Grade did Five Little Monkeys, Second Grade presented The Hat, Third Grade did Reading, Writing, and Little Red Riding Hood, Fourth and Fifth Grade presented their own version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and administration presented Cookies from Frog and Toad Together. It was a lot of fun.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Special Friends Program
Last night was Kennedy Elementary school's opportunity to recognize students at the monthly school board meeting. Below is what I said to recognize the students that work in our "Special Friends" Program.
Dr. Creel and members of the board, it is my honor to stand up here tonight and recognize some of Kennedy Elementary’s stand out students. The students we will be recognizing tonight are a part of a program that I am probably the most proud of at KES. My wife says I am so proud of this program because it was my idea. It was my idea and I did model it after a school that I previously worked at, but the reason why I am so proud of it is because of what the Kennedy Elementary teachers and these students have made out of that idea I had.
At KES, we have a higher population of students with special physical needs. These needs may be with walking, communicating, eating, or seeing, but these students still all CAN succeed in their own way with a little bit and sometimes a lot of patience, assistance and encouragement. That is where the students of the “Special Friends” program come into place. We have 22 typical aged peers that work with these students throughout the day. It may be helping them get from the bus to the classroom, or getting their morning routine of putting up their book bag and making their lunch choices through a communication switch, or reading to them when they need some comfort during the day.
This program was designed and created to give the students with the special physical needs the love and support that they needed to be successful, but this program has become much more for these “Special Friends”.
Everyone thinks that to be a success in life, you must be smart, dedicated, hardworking, and committed to being a success. Those are all important, but if you cannot be a person who appreciates differences in others and gets along with others no matter what, you will never be a true success. Truly successful people appreciate and respect people no matter what. That is what these students are learning as they work each day with our students and teachers. These students are learning to put others first and care about people. That is why I am so proud of them.
At KES, we teach on a daily basis to be Ready, Respectful and Responsible. I cannot think of any other students who exemplify that more than these. They have to be ready every day because someone is counting on them to make sure their daily routine is established. They have to be respectful because they see the struggles that these students face and now stand up for these students like they were their best friend or sibling. They also have to be responsible because while they are working in these classes in the morning or afternoon (and some of them even give up their own recess time to help) they still have to do the morning work that all the others are doing. That is why I am so proud!!!
Dr. Creel and members of the board, it is my honor to stand up here tonight and recognize some of Kennedy Elementary’s stand out students. The students we will be recognizing tonight are a part of a program that I am probably the most proud of at KES. My wife says I am so proud of this program because it was my idea. It was my idea and I did model it after a school that I previously worked at, but the reason why I am so proud of it is because of what the Kennedy Elementary teachers and these students have made out of that idea I had.
At KES, we have a higher population of students with special physical needs. These needs may be with walking, communicating, eating, or seeing, but these students still all CAN succeed in their own way with a little bit and sometimes a lot of patience, assistance and encouragement. That is where the students of the “Special Friends” program come into place. We have 22 typical aged peers that work with these students throughout the day. It may be helping them get from the bus to the classroom, or getting their morning routine of putting up their book bag and making their lunch choices through a communication switch, or reading to them when they need some comfort during the day.
This program was designed and created to give the students with the special physical needs the love and support that they needed to be successful, but this program has become much more for these “Special Friends”.
Everyone thinks that to be a success in life, you must be smart, dedicated, hardworking, and committed to being a success. Those are all important, but if you cannot be a person who appreciates differences in others and gets along with others no matter what, you will never be a true success. Truly successful people appreciate and respect people no matter what. That is what these students are learning as they work each day with our students and teachers. These students are learning to put others first and care about people. That is why I am so proud of them.
At KES, we teach on a daily basis to be Ready, Respectful and Responsible. I cannot think of any other students who exemplify that more than these. They have to be ready every day because someone is counting on them to make sure their daily routine is established. They have to be respectful because they see the struggles that these students face and now stand up for these students like they were their best friend or sibling. They also have to be responsible because while they are working in these classes in the morning or afternoon (and some of them even give up their own recess time to help) they still have to do the morning work that all the others are doing. That is why I am so proud!!!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Great Time at the Dance
Last night was a blast. PTO put on the 2nd dance of the year. Close to 300 came out to enjoy a wonderful DJ, good food, and lots of fun. This was the first dance the PTO has done all by themselves and it was a lot of fun. Thank you Ms. Merrill, Ms. Wingfield, Ms. Fudali, Ms.Childs, Ms. Roberts, Ms. Jones, and Ms. Bagwell for leading the rest of the PTO in this dance. I know from experience that they are a lot of work, and you cannot control everything (like having enough $1's) but the reason why we have dances is to provide our families a safe and fun night at the school. THAT IS WHAT HAPPENED last night, and I thank you all for it. It was great to see our students and their families dancing and enjoying themselves. It made it even more special to see the teachers enjoying it along side of them. Thanks KES PTO for a great night!!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Wax Museum
Today our 4th Graders brought to life some of our country's history by putting on their annual Wax Museum. Students researched some of America's most influential historical figures. George Washington, Paul Revere, Betsy Ross, and Abigail Adams to name a few were represented. The students researched these historical characters, wrote a report, dressed the character, and memorized a 1-2 minute speech about their historical character. Every other student in the building were able to come and learn. It was neat to hear our 5th Graders say, "I was Betsy Ross last year!" and our kindergarten students say, "I hope that I get to be Ben Franklin!" It sure was a good project. Great Job Mrs. Ballard, Ms. Bagnasco, Mrs. Marsee, Mrs. Ouzts, and Mrs. Paramore.
Monday, February 21, 2011
2 Weeks without a post
I have gone two weeks without a post on the blog. I know that you have all missed it. Sorry, I guess I just got caught up in stuff. Over the last two weeks much has happened. We have continued with our 4 Wonderful Weeks of Writing and HAMMER Time. The kids are still working hard and doing really well to get prepared for the State Writing Test on March 2nd and the CRCT on April 4-8. Our Pre-k through 2nd graders have also been working extremely hard on mastering GPS at each grade level. It is amazing to see the fantastic writing and math being displayed outside of the classrooms each week. All of our students are also working hard to meet their Accelerated Reader goal as well. Keep reading and working hard KES students.