“Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” Will Rogers

When I first read this quote, I thought it sounded humorous; but after thinking about it, the words actually make good sense. We are well on our journey to improve student achievement, but we still have a couple of months that we can continue making gains. During the month of January, we had parent informational sessions about all of the types of assessments students will be participating in during the next few months of school. Many parents came to gather ideas and strategies to be working with their children at home. What a great plan to set your child up for SUCCESS. After all, the time to start preparing students for a test is not the day before the test; instead, it starts now!

A great strategy is to review with your child his/her homework each evening. While this is often easier said than done, it is a great way to reinforce the day’s lessons and clarify learning and/or overcome learning obstacles. Homework in math each night is often expected; but even if there is no math homework, constant review of addition/subtraction or multiplication/division facts will help to promote fluency and computation skills. We have very little time at school to devote to this practice, as the teachers focus on problem solving and real-world mathematical applications.

This real-world application is necessary when students are preparing to take the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). Questions on the CRCT (in mathematics) often have word problems that students have to determine “how” to solve. Rarely are simple addition problems used (even in first and second grades). Instead, a problem is posed using words, and the students have to figure out how they are going to solve the problem and then select the “BEST” answer.

As we discussed at the testing meeting, there are some excellent ways to practice for these problem-solving skills at home. The Georgia Department of Education website has some great resources. Try the following link http://www.georgiastandards.org/mathframework.aspx to access Parent Letters. The CSI: Mathematics – Curriculum, Support, Information pages give some great exercises to do at home to practice math problem solving. These are a wonderful way for the whole family to get involved and practice math!

Not only is February a good time to get a jump-start on testing, but it is also a good month to come to our school. We certainly look forward to seeing you at Parent/Teacher Conferences on Feb. 11th and 12th, and we will also have a Movie Night on Feb. 20. Please plan to bring your child(ren) and watch a great movie! Finally, we will certainly cheer on Lucy Chuang as she represents CES at the county spelling bee on Feb. 28. (She was the third place winner at the district bee!) Way to go, Lucy!

Please be sure to visit our school webpage at http://www.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/ChattahoocheeES/ to get the most up-to-date information about exciting events at CES!

Thanks for all you do to make Chattahoochee a great place to learn and grow!

Jeff Lee