Mrs. Sydor's Classroom

The MSTEP is coming!  Testing for the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress will begin Monday, April 8th right after Spring Break.  Students in grades three through five will be tested during this window.

Please note the following testing dates and subject areas that will be tested on those days:

Fifth Grade Students:

Science:                       Tuesday, April 9          Wednesday, April 10

ELA:                             Tuesday, April 16        Thursday, April 18

Math:                          Tuesday, April 23        Wednesday, April 24

Social Studies:             Thursday, April 25

Fourth Grade Students:

ELA:                             Tuesday, April 30        Thursday, May 2

Math:                          Tuesday, May 7           Thursday, May 9

Third Grade Students:

ELA:                             Wednesday, May 8     Thursday, May 9

Math:                          Tuesday, May 14         Wednesday, May 15

 It is very important that your child is at school on the above dates to take the MSTEP test.  However, if your child misses any of the following dates due to illness or an emergency, the test will be administered on another day before May 23.  Students will not be allowed to take any part of the test after May 23, 2019.                                                       

Listed below are some helpful ideas for parents to use during this year’s testing window or for any testing situation in the future.

PARENT TEST-SUPPORT STRATEGIES

 Preparing for Testing

• Note test dates on your home calendar; schedule appointments on non-testing days.
• Encourage your child to take responsibility for doing their best on the test.
• Help you child learn how to find information independently.
• Praise your child for work done well.
• Encourage your child to ask questions at home and in class.
• Gather available test preparation materials.
• Assure your child knows that you value a good education.

Testing Day

• See that your child is rested and eats breakfast.
• See that your child arrives at school on time and is relaxed.
• Encourage your child to do the best work possible.
• Do not remove your child from school on test days for appointments.
• See that your child eats healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables (the brain needs natural sugar to function i.e. berries, apples, pears, grapes, raisins, etc.)
• See that your child drinks 6-8 oz. of water (water helps move the natural sugar and oxygen to the brain faster)

TEST ANXIETY

Students may experience anxiety about tests and may experience heightened anxiety before a testing situation. A certain degree of test anxiety is normal and may help students prepare more effectively, work more efficiently, and remain focused during testing. Too much anxiety, however, can negatively affect performance. The following strategies may assist students and parents in reducing test anxiety.

Parent Strategies for Reducing Test Anxiety

• Discuss the test openly and in a positive way.
• Have realistic expectations of your child’s performance while encouraging his/her best efforts.
• Emphasize that the test is only one measure of academic performance.
• Emphasize that test scores do not determine a person’s worth.

Please contact the school with any questions regarding MSTEP testing.

Thank you so much for your assistance in making this testing a success for our students!

Hi Everyone! To wrap up our article unit on ‘Pop-up Pizza Museums’, we enjoyed a pizza lunch today. With the first snow, the students loved watching a movie and having pizza in the classroom. Everyone enjoy your weekend! Just a quick reminder that next weeks concludes our fall parent/teacher conferences. I will be available both Tuesday and Thursday from 4-7.

Happy Friday!

We finished out the week creating baseball caps made out of sugar cookies, cupcakes, and frosting. We read an article this week about the World Series and completed the unit with a sweet snack. Everyone participated and enjoyed their treat! 

Just a quick note that Mrs. Webber and her 5th grade students will be having a popcorn sale this Friday. The money is going towards the purchase of ukuleles. Popcorn will be 50 cents a bag or 3 for $1.

The Scholastic Book Fair is this week at Whitmore-Bolles. If you would like your student to purchase books, please send in money tomorrow, Tuesday, October 9th. We will be visiting the book fair as a class at 12:45.

Last week, we finished our Gruffalo and Gruffalo Child’s unit by making Gruffalo Crumble and Gruffalo Play-dough. The students did a great job and we could tell they enjoy cooking at home with their families. Thank you to all the families that sent in supplies.  Just a reminder that picture day is next Wednesday, October 10th.

We’ve been working on our spelling lists and practicing our words throughout the week. We used Wiki sticks, shaving cream, and magnets to make it hands-on and fun. We are reading, The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child to work on story elements and pulling details from what we hear and read. To close out the unit next week, we’ll be making Gruffalo Play Dough and a special snack called Gruffalo Crumble. 

This week we worked on getting to know each other and the procedures and rules of the classroom. We began our spelling lists and did a painting activity that focused on emotions. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Hello everyone,

I am so excited to being the new school year and meet all my new students. I’ve been working in our classroom and everything is ready for Monday.

A little bit about myself…

• I am a mother to four amazing children; three are teenagers and one is a toddler! I’ve got my hands full but love every minute of it.
• I have two cats: Tiger and Duffy. Tiger loves to cause trouble and Duffy likes to snuggle and sleep.
• I’ve been a special education teacher for 7 years but this is my first year with Dearborn Public Schools.
• I love to read anything and everything.

I’m looking forward to meeting everyone on Monday and I know we’ll have a wonderful school year together. Enjoy your weekend and I’ll see everyone soon!