Thank you, so many of you, for coming to the spring conferences! Everyone who came got the letter with the dates for the spring testing. I will include that letter here.

I also updated the calendar for April and May to include the testing dates. You can go to the Elementary Stuff page to see that calendar. I will also print those two pages for the students to have in their 3-ring binders.

April is Poetry Month. We've already started writing free verse inspired by a Chinese poet, Li Po, and the blockprints of a local artist, Yoshiko Yamamoto. 

April 15 is the due date for a couple of important entries on the WAETAG website:

• You can apply for a WAETAG Summer Scholarship.
• You can enter the Student Art Competition. 

I'm on the board of WAETAG, so I want to make sure all my kids (from current to long since graduated) know about these opportunities!

All parents of 5th grade AGATE students are invited to B-9 on March 23 at 5:30. (No, the kids aren't invited to this one.)

I will do my annual "Preview of Coming Attractions." I will tell you everything I know about the AGATE program at the middle schools and what happens at the high schools and the options that are out there for your children. I will even talk a little bit about what comes after high school for those students who need additional acceleration.

Then I encourage parents to talk too, because parents can tell each other even more than I can share.

I have found this to be a highly useful meeting right before spring conferences--we answer all the general questions, and then the conferences can be individual and specific.  

Bring something to drink. We order pizza. It should be a fun evening too! :)

What a great time we've had listening to CBA presentations!

Next week we will have students start to read their short stories out loud. That's always a fun time too.

Now take a look at the discussion notes from our social studies lesson today. Ask your child to explain!