Wednesday, May 1st

Good evening parents!

**Thank you so much to everyone who signed up to send in items for our ARMT testing week. Wow!  Ya'll are wonderfully supportive in so many ways! I really can't say thank you enough to ALL of our volunteers this year and we still have a few that will be running around this next week helping us with end of the year tasks. I can't say enough "thank you's"!

**Thank you to ALL who helped with our successful field trip to the Birmingham Zoo, as well and ALL who helped volunteer at the Family Fun Fair.  Both were wonderful experiences for all who participated.

**As you know, MONDAY morning (May 6) we begin formal standardized testing for the ARMT. We will complete the Reading portion of the ARMT on Monday and Tuesday, and the Mathematics portion on Wednesday and Thursday.   PLEASE, please, please make sure your child is well rested all of next week.  It is also very important for them to have a healthy breakfast.  Both of these combined, along with the preparation we have worked so diligently on this year, will assist your child in reaching their greatest potential on each daily assessment.  If your child is tardy, and testing has already begun, they will not be allowed to enter the classroom.  They must be to school on time.  Testing Monday-Thursday will begin at 8:00 and be over each day by lunchtime.  If you are scheduled to help volunteer in the classroom next week, come Friday.  Visitors will not be allowed during testing hours.

** I wanted to let you know of some upcoming activities:

...May 4 Celebrate Hoover Day at Veteran's Park 10:00-2:00
...May 6-9 ARMT testing (Students come to school well rested, having eaten a healthy breakfast.)
...May 10 All SSC library books are to be returned to the library
...May 10 Yearbook Distribution (Extra yearbooks go on sale May 13th for $25.00-first come, first serve)
...May 15 Volunteer Breakfast 8:00-10:00 (For all who have volunteered for our class in ANY way this year.)
...May 15 Foundry in a Box is coming to the 4th grade!
...May 16 Class end of the year celebration for students
...May 17 Field Day for students-School items will begin coming home, please have your child clean out backpacks EVERY night.
...May 20 Pajama Day/Read-a-thon/Bring a book from home
...May 21 Game Day/Disney movie (students can bring one board games/card games from home that they know how to play)
...May 22 Wrap up/Clean up - early dismissal at 12:45 (lunch served before dismissal)
...May 23 Cleaning classroom - early dismissal at 11:00 (students have the opportunity to purchase sack lunch prior to dismissal)

**If you know that your child will not be at SSC any time the last week of school, please let me know.  I have a couple of gifts I would like to share with each student and would like to make sure your child gets theirs before they leave for the summer. :)

**If you know your child will not be at SSC the last week/day of school, please send in a self addressed, stamped envelope any time beginning tomorrow morning and I will make sure the final report card is sent to your home.  Otherwise, they will be going home with the students the last day of school.  If I don't received a self addressed/stamped envelope and they are not at SSC the last week of school, the report card will be held in the office for pick up.

**Please look around your house for any of the books I have loaned your child to read this year. I really enjoy sharing my books with my students each year. You may be surprised to find some next year, send them back any time they pop up.


**Thank you so much for supporting your child with ARMT preparation homework.  As I promised the kids, if they can give me 2 more great days of homework as we make our final preparations for the assessments, then I won't give them homework during ARMT week, as well as the remainder of the year.  (I have discussed many times that READING should be exciting, motivating, and fun.  When we find books/magazines that we enjoy and that don't "stress us out" because we struggle to comprehend, then learning is always taking place.  I hope they always continue to read daily by choice, not because a teacher expects it of them, or assigns it as homework.  In other words, even though I won't be assigning homework, encourage them to read for fun.  PLEASE spend time at the Hoover Public Library this summer with your child.  It is an amazing place to be!  Also encourage your child to continue to post on blogs, this will be a great way to keep writing AND have the kids be able to keep up with exciting summer activities that their friends are doing. I will leave that account open AS LONG AS the kids are using it!!!

I appreciate you all!

Mrs. C.

Summer ideas!!! http://tconstantine.wikispaces.com/Summer+Activities 

*Check our calendar for other important dates.