MCAS on Tuesday

On Tuesday, March 20, fourth graders at Fox Hill will have the Long Composition portion of MCAS.  This can be one of the longer days of MCAS for many children as they are asked to write a narrative essay from a prompt.  Students need to work through all of the stages of writing that we have been practicing: brainstorming, planning, writing a rough draft, editing/revising, adding SALT, and finally writing a final draft of their essay.  For some, this task will take most of the day.

Because it is a "marathon," we allow students to make themselves comfortable on that day, even bringing slippers and wearing pajamas if they'd like.  They can chew gum if they bring it from home as well.

I strongly encourage parents to make sure that students go to bed early on Monday night, get a good night's sleep, and eat a hearty, healthy breakfast on Tuesday morning.  They will break for snack and it would be very helpful if the snacks they bring are healthy snacks that will keep them focused and working hard.  This is a long day and we need to do everything we can to make it as comfortable as possible!

Personal Assitant for the Day!

At the recent fundraiser auction, Joey won the opportunity to be Mrs. Wood's Personal Assistant for the Day!  Some of his responsibilities were to plan the morning work, write the morning message, run the morning meeting, help teach classes and assign students homework.  As payment, Joey and two friends were treated to ice cream at School House Ice Cream.  What a fabulous Personal Assistant he was!

Running a game of "Alibi"



Ahhh, it's nice to have an Assistant!

And finally, the ice cream reward!

The Patriots Send a Thank You!

Room 16 received a package yesterday straight from the New England Patriots!  Just after the loss of the Superbowl, kids in our class wrote to members of the Patriots team letters of support.  Our goal was to offer some advice on how they might handle their defeat, and perhaps share a similar experience that we have had.  Yesterday, in response to our letters, the Patriot's organization sent every student in our room a team picture and a Patriot's pencil.  Also in the package was a pennant that now hangs above our classroom door. 

In part, the enclosed letter reads, ".... thank you for your support of the team!...The Patriots recognize the importance of hard work, dedication and teamwork...We hope that each of you will strive to exemplify these values in your schoolwork, since education is very important to success in life...we loved reading your thoughtful letters!"

This made for an exciting Leap Day!