PARCC Testing in Room 217

As I'm sure you are aware, PARCC testing begins this week in Room 217.  Below are a few reminders about PARCC:

• Please reinforce for your student that this is an opportunity to show some of what they've learned this year. 
• The most important thing for them to do is try their best! While we want students to take the test seriously, we do not want to cultivate stress and anxiety for them.  This is part of the reason we've been practicing the last few weeks, so students are comfortable with the format and tools. 
• We practice relaxation/refocusing strategies like taking deep breaths, rotating wrists, chair stretching and self encouragement to help students at all times, but especially during testing. We will be continuing to use GoNoodle for brain breaks and relaxation as well.
• Remember chromebooks must come to school fully charged each day. This is critical. We test in the morning each day, so there will be no time to get some "juice" before testing.
• Snacks will remain the same as during the school year.  Fruit, Veggies, or Dairy are encouraged for some extra energy.
• All classes will still get all the same regular specials (PE, music, art and Spanish) for the week, they may just be at different times. Please see the schedule above.
•  All students need comfortable headphones. This year, all students have the option to have math questions read to them. For this reason, they may wear their headphones for up to 60 minutes, which means they need to be comfortable! 
• The Power of Peppermint is something that I was exposed to when working at Roosevelt Elementary School.  I will have mints and gum during testing to aid in student focus.  Click here for some of the research I've found on peppermint and testing.  Please contact me if you do not want your child partaking in peppermint gum or mints. It's a choice, but certainly not required.  
• Due to the length of the PARCC testing, we will not have any classroom tests again until May. I will continue to use my many ways to track student performance and progress during this month, but formal tests will take a break! 

 As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.