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APRIL 2024

SCHOOL NEWS

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ST. JAMES

SOLDIERS

CHRIST

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Romans 5:5

God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

ITBS TESTING

 
Next week, April 22nd - 25th, our students in 1st - 5th grades will be taking their end of the year assessment tests. St. James uses the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, a nationally normed standardized achievement test, to analyze the student's strengths and weaknesses, and the school curriculum as a whole. We do not use the data collected from these tests to label students, place students, determine promotion or retention of students, or for report card grades. The scores do however help us determine our curriculum needs, see where we are as a school, and how we can improve your child’s individual education through certain test indicators.

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Attendance is important for these exams, however if your child is sick or there is a family emergency, a make-up day is built into the schedule for Monday, April 29th. All students will be testing from 8:30am - 11am Monday and Wednesday, and 9:00am - 11:00am Tuesday and Thursday. Any 1st - 5th grade students arriving after testing begins for the day, will have to wait in the school office until their class takes their brain break. We will do our best to ensure any missed tests are made up on or before Monday the 29th, however in order to get our scores back in a timely manner, we will have to get tests in the mail no later than the end of the day Tuesday, April 30th. We are asking parents to not schedule any appointments for your child during this time. Also, we will be keeping classroom interruptions and the activity in the hallways down to a minimum, so please check in at the office if you need assistance. Let’s work together and make your student’s testing experience a positive and successful one! 

 

Here are some ways to start your child’s day off right:

  • Ensure your child arrives at school on time. 

  • Have your child eat a healthy breakfast at home.

  • Ensure your child gets a good night’s sleep.

  • Pack a healthy snack for them to eat during their test breaks.

  • Pack a water bottle so they can stay hydrated. 

  • Gently encourage them to do their best.

 

Though we know we have students that do have test anxiety and stress over tests, we will remind them to breathe, say a prayer before they begin, and point them to the bible verse on the back of their spirit shirts. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13  

 

Thank you parents for your support, love, and devotion to our wonderful school! 

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This week in Health class the 4th and 5th grade students were introduced to nutrition facts labels. We talked about where they can be found on food products, what kind of information is found on the labels, and how these labels help us make food decisions. The 3rd grade students wrapped up their lesson on the food journey by creating their own Food Production Chain. I enjoyed seeing the students’ drawing and creativity skills shine through in this assignment. The 1st and 2nd grade students talked about Earth Day, which we will be celebrating on Monday April 22nd. We talked about how a healthy Earth helps keep us healthy because it provides us with clean air, water, food, and land. Then the students completed a recycling activity where they sorted all different kinds of recyclable items into the correct categories. Students were able to recognize how recycling helps keep our Earth healthy. Lastly, Miss. Olmos’s Kindergarten class wrapped up their lesson on the food journey by watching a short video about food and farms, as well as talking about how animals can help provide us with food. Check back next week to see what we will up to!

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