Looking ahead to the week of May 6 (2nd PE)

Students enjoyed a visit from Fairfield Electric.  They learned about conductors, insulators, and circuits.  They also took what they learned about applied it to several hands-on investigations in class.

Hi, families! 

May 1:  The school district will be closed Wednesday, May 1.

Testing week donations:  There are still a few donation opportunities available for our testing week!  Please check out the link below and let me know if you have any questions!  Thank you so much for your donations!  Sign up for snack donations

SC Ready testing wishes:  Please take a moment to write some encouraging words to our class, in preparation for SC Ready.  We will view your comments the week of testing!   It's your time to shine!

Yard Day:  Please join us this Saturday to help beautify our school grounds!

A note from Mrs. O'Connor about testing:

SC READY & SCPASS

Statewide Assessments

South Carolina Standardized Assessments will be administered at Bookman on the dates below:

May 13 & 14 - ELA Tests (3rd, 4th, and 5th grades)

May 15 - Mathematics Test (3rd, 4th, and 5th grades)

May 16 - Science (4th grade) & Social Studies (5th grade)

May 17, 20, 21 - Make Up Testing Dates

To ensure that students do their best on the tests:

• Get plenty of rest the night before
• Eat a good breakfast
• Arrive at school on time
• Avoid scheduling appointments on test dates
• Do not stress the test; just aim to do your personal best

To learn more about these assessments, you can visit the SCDE webpage at: http://ed.sc.gov/tests/middle/sc-ready/

Donation and volunteer opportunities coming up:  We will have two opportunities coming up (after state-wide testing), in which you can make donations and/or volunteer.  Please mark your calendars for "South Carolina Day" (May 24) and our end-of-the-year party (June 4).  Information will be forthcoming in the next few weeks, but we wanted to give you a heads up!  We appreciate you helping make testing week, SC Day, and our farewell party possible!  

Report cards:  Students received their third nine weeks' report cards Thursday, April 4.  Please take some time to review the report card with your child and set goals for the final nine weeks.  You may keep the contents of the sleeve, but please sign and return the cover.  Several covers are still missing.

Looking ahead to the next week:  As scientists, students will wrap up learning about electricity (circuits, conductors/insulators, and electromagnets).  As mathematicians, they'll study elapsed time.  Students will take a quiz on this unit.  There is no family letter for this unit.  As readers, students will wrap up their study of test-taking strategies.  They will also continue learning how to analyze text, as they prepare to write a text-dependent analysis (TDA).  As writers, they will practice writing a TDA and review parts of speech.

Thank you again for all of your support!  

Looking ahead to the week of April 29 (Computer)

The children enjoyed Field Day!  We appreciate all of the families, who were able to volunteer to help at stations!

Students helped Mrs. Smith in the STEM lab before Spring Break.  They were able to get the school's garden ready for the season!

Hi, families!  I hope you all had a restful Spring Break!

Testing week donations:  If you would like to donate a snack item, breakfast item, juice, or something super sweet, please check out the link below and let me know if you have any questions!  Thank you so much for your donations!  Sign up for snack donations

SC Reading testing wishes:  Please take a moment to write some encouraging words to our class, in preparation for SC Ready.  We will view your comments the week of testing!   It's your time to shine!

A note from Mrs. O'Connor about testing:

SC READY & SCPASS

Statewide Assessments

South Carolina Standardized Assessments will be administered at Bookman on the dates below:

May 13 & 14 - ELA Tests (3rd, 4th, and 5th grades)

May 15 - Mathematics Test (3rd, 4th, and 5th grades)

May 16 - Science (4th grade) & Social Studies (5th grade)

May 17, 20, 21 - Make Up Testing Dates

To ensure that students do their best on the tests:

• Get plenty of rest the night before
• Eat a good breakfast
• Arrive at school on time
• Avoid scheduling appointments on test dates
• Do not stress the test; just aim to do your personal best

A brochure provided by the SC State Department of Education will be sent home with students this week.  To learn more about these assessments, you can visit the SCDE webpage at: http://ed.sc.gov/tests/middle/sc-ready/

Donation and volunteer opportunities coming up:  We will have two opportunities coming up (after state-wide testing), in which you can make donations and/or volunteer.  Please mark your calendars for "South Carolina Day" (May 24) and our end-of-the-year party (June 4).  Information will be forthcoming in the next few weeks, but we wanted to give you a heads up!  We appreciate you helping make testing week, SC Day, and our farewell party possible!  

Report cards:  Students received their third nine weeks' report cards Thursday, April 4.  Please take some time to review the report card with your child and set goals for the final nine weeks.  You may keep the contents of the sleeve, but please sign and return the cover.

Looking ahead to the next week:  As scientists, students will continue learning about electricity (circuits, conductors/insulators, and electromagnets).  They'll enjoy many hands-on activities.  As mathematicians, they'll wrap up their study capacity.  We will be using the Envisions curriculum, so please see the family letter below.  As readers, students will learn about test-taking strategies.  They will also continue learning how to analyze text, as they prepare to write a text-dependent analysis (TDA).  As writers, they will practice writing a TDA and review common prefixes and suffixes.

Thank you again for all of your support!  

Looking ahead to the week of April 22 (2nd PE)

To end our Disability Awareness week, we had a visit from Travis, a Special Olympics' athlete.  He educated students about Down Syndrome, what it's like to be an Olympic Athlete, and how we can show more kindness toward others with disabilities.

They children are learning about magnetism through several hands-on investigations!

Hi, families! 

Testing week donations:  If you would like to donate a snack item, breakfast item, juice, or something super sweet, please check out the link below and let me know if you have any questions!  Thank you so much for your donations!  Sign up for snack donations

SC Reading testing wishes:  Please take a moment to write some encouraging words to our class, in preparation for SC Ready.  We will view your comments the week of testing!   It's your time to shine!

Report cards:  Students received their third nine weeks' report cards Thursday, April 4.  Please take some time to review the report card with your child and set goals for the final nine weeks.  You may keep the contents of the sleeve, but please sign and return the cover.

Half day:  Students will have a half day Friday, April 12.  Lunch will be served and dismissal is at 11:30.  Also, students will not receive a homework packet over Spring Break (or the week we return)!

Field Day, "Through the decades":  We are looking forward to Field Day!  Start preparing now, because we will be representing the 1970s' on April 11!  Students are encouraged to wear 1970s-style clothing... with tennis shoes, too!  Please be sure your child wears sunscreen and brings a bottle of water.  Our Field Day stations will not start till 12:00.  

"Fill the Boot" campaign message from kindergarten:  We are collecting money to give to our local fire station on Spears Creek Church Road.  They will use any money we raise for their Education Fund and to buy smoke detectors for anyone, who may need one.  

Looking ahead to the next week:  As scientists, students will wrap up their study of magnets and begin learning about electricity.  They'll enjoy many hands-on activities.  They will also have a visit from Fairfield Electric.  As mathematicians, they'll wrap up their study of data and graphs, then kick off a unit on customary and metric units of measurement, with a focus on capacity.  We will be using the Envisions curriculum, so please see the family letter below.  As readers, students will learn about test-taking strategies.  They will also continue learning how to analyze text, as they prepare to write a text-dependent analysis (TDA).  As writers, they will practice writing a TDA and review common prefixes and suffixes.

Thank you again for all of your support!  Have a wonderful Spring Break!

Looking ahead to the week of April 8 (Computer)

Field Day is almost here!  Please be sure your child wears sunscreen and tennis shoes Thursday, April 11!  The kids are also welcome to wear hats and sunglasses.  We encourage students to bring a bottle of water and dress up in their favorite 1970's clothing, because Field Day will be taking us "through the decades!"

Mrs. McNeal stopped by to do an interactive lesson on identifying small, medium, and big problems.  She also discussed what the size of our reactions should be for each type of problem.

Hi, families! 

Report cards:  Students will be issued their third nine weeks' report cards Thursday, April 4.  Please take some time to review the report card with your child and set goals for the final nine weeks.  You may keep the contents of the sleeve, but please sign and return the cover.

Half day:  Students will have a half day Friday, April 12.  Lunch will be served and dismissal is at 11:30.  Also, students will not receive a homework packet over Spring Break (or the week we return)!

Field Day, "Through the decades":  We are looking forward to Field Day!  Start preparing now, because we will be representing the 1970s' on April 11!  Students are encouraged to wear 1970s-style clothing... with tennis shoes, too!  Please be sure your child wears sunscreen and brings a bottle of water.   

A reminder from our Special Education team: We are having our Disability Awareness week April 1-5.  The theme for the week is Don’t DIS Our Ability.  Instead of dress up days, we are asking that students wear different colors to represent different disabilities.

WEDNESDAY-WEAR Red  for Vision, Hearing, and other Physical Disabilities

THURSDAY-Wear Green for Mental Health Awareness

Friday- Wear Bookman Spirit Wear or “Born to Shine” Special Olympics Shirts (with jeans)

MAP testing:  Please ensure that your child gets plenty of rest before our MAP tests on April 4 (ELA) and April 9  (math)!  Encourage your child to do his/her personal best, but to not be anxious... this is a time to show all that they know and how much they've grown, academically!  It's their time to shine!

"Fill the Boot" campaign message from kindergarten:  We are collecting money to give to our local fire station on Spears Creek Church Road.  They will use any money we raise for their Education Fund and to buy smoke detectors for anyone, who may need one.  

Looking ahead to next week:  As scientists, students will kick off their magnetism unit.  They'll enjoy many hands-on activities.  As mathematicians, they'll study pictographs and bar graphs.  We will be using the Envisions curriculum, so please see the family letter below.  As readers, students will wrap up their nonfiction text structures unit.  As writers, they will discuss possessive nouns and shades of meaning.

Thank you again for all of your support!