Patriot Press

Greetings Families,

Students start state testing this week in their English Language Arts and Spanish Language Arts classes. This year, we will be testing in content classes and not altering our schedule for the test. This allows students to test in the environment they learned the material in and also means that students will test in smaller chunks of time. The Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) provides one piece of information to let us know how we did serving your students this year. We also use other measures as we evaluate our performance as a school. Students can prepare by getting a good night sleep and eating a good breakfast (which we can help with as school breakfasts continue to be free for all students).

As we start to prepare for the end of the year, routines are still very important for students. As much as possible, we keep our routines consistent at school to help our students know what to expect. In my family, as the days get longer, it's tempting to forgo routines, do activities at night, and stay up later. Without fail, when we alter our routines, our kids have a hard day at school the next day.

That being said, there are also some fun activities to look forward to as the school year winds down. 8th graders have a field trip to the air show. There is a spirit assembly at the end of the month. The last week of school brings field days and a variety show. Students that continue to show good behavior have a lot to look forward to. If students make significant mistakes, they may lose out on some of these opportunities, so please encourage them to end the year strong!

Sincerely,

Jeremy Corwin

Principal

• Week of 5/5 - Language Arts State Tests
• 5/8 - PoynterGreen Band Concert - 6:30pm (@ Evergreen Middle School)
• Week of 5/12 - Science State Tests
• 5/16 - 8th Grade Oregon Air Show Field Trip
• Week of 5/19 - Math State Tests
• 5/28 - Latino PAC Meeting 5:30
• 5/30 - Spirit Assembly
• 6/6 - Chromebook Turn In
• 6/6 - Last day to turn in missing work
• 6/11 - Field Day
• 6/12 - Last Day Of School & Variety Show (1/2 Day)

This week is staff appreciation week! Thank you to our leadership students for planning some really fun things for our amazing staff. Our staff at Poynter is outstanding and if you see one of them, it would mean a lot to take a moment to pass on your appreciation for them. Kind words mean a lot.

On Friday, May 16, we will be taking 8th graders on a field trip to the Oregon Air Show. We are lucky that the airport is close enough for us to walk which allows us to take the entire 8th grade class. Permission slips are coming home this week and need to be turned in to advisory teachers by Friday.

At the end of the day on Friday, June 6th, students will be turning in their Chromebooks for the year. It is a good time to check that your student knows where their Chromebook is at and to ensure that it is the one assigned to them. There will be a fee assessed for lost Chromebooks.

This date is also important because it is the last day to turn in missing assignments from 4th quarter.

If your student is interested in participating in cheer, here are some flyers about upcoming events.

Starting in May, students will be taking state assessments in Language Arts, Science, and Math. They will take these tests in there classes and there is not a special schedule associated with the tests. State tests give us one measure on how well we are serving your students. One way to help students prepare for the tests is by ensuring they get a good night's sleep and eat a healthy breakfast. Remind them to charge their Chromebooks.

Can you believe we are already talking about the end of the year? We are working to create special memories for our outgoing 8th graders. One of the events we hold is a raffle at our celebration at Hare Field. We would love your help in acquiring prizes for our students. Here is a letter explaining what we are looking for:

• English
• Spanish

Vera Brosgol will be visiting Poynter on May 9th in the Library. She is the author of Coraline, Paranorman, The Boxtrolls, and Kubo and the Two Strings. More information can be found in the file below. If you would like to order a book with a custom signature, reach out to Mrs. Taguchi.

They are currently building a bioswale to filter ground water outside our school. Because of this, several sidewalks are closed. Take a look at the map below and let your kids know a safe route to cross the street.

We have an Instagram account. Follow @poynterpatriots