Thoughts from Mrs. Mcentire

Nature's trick of a snow storm during Spring Break shouldn't be allowed! However, here we are on April 1st with snow. The school is quiet and dull - just not the same without the kids, parents, teachers, and staff. We are heading into one of the busiest times of the year. As we finish strong, I just wanted to send my appreciation for your support. This is a time when we have a push to finish our curriculum and then we begin our end of year testing. It's a great time for all of us to see the growth in our students. Hopefully, as we do this, our culture and expectations at home and at school will be to just to our best. Sometimes anxiety is high during our year end testing. While there is rigor associated with them, we have been working all year to increase our rigor. It's definitely been a "Road to Success Year!"

It's getting that time of year when all of our calendars are filling up. I've tried to keep you updated on events that involve parents at the school! Read through this carefully and let your teachers/office know if you have questions.

Testing Information: These tests are given throughout the next 4 weeks. There isn't a time when multiple tests are given on the same day. We carefully analyze the testing schedule so that students are not overwhelmed with the rigor and stamina of testing. However, attendance during this time is critical because students will, at some point, need to make up what has been missed while they were absent.

Acadience Testing:

Reading: We will begin our testing on April 14th. This is a 3-5 minutes reading test done 1:1 with a technician. Students, depending on grade level, are assessed on phonemic awareness, basic phones, oral reading fluency, and comprehension. This assessment helps us look at students growth throughout the year and gives us measures on how far a student has come with grade level reading. It supports our instruction and our small group intervention.

Math: This is another 1-3 minute math screener for grades K-3. This math screener is done both whole class and individually depending on the grade. The testing measures show us number fluency, number sense, and has problem solving questions that involve what students have learned from the core.

iReady Math Diagnostic: This is a computer based assessment. Students have already taken this two other times this year. It measures students mastery of grade level standards, as well as gives an indication of the growth the student has made from the beginning of the year.

RISE Testing: This is given in grades 3-5. It measures core standards in language arts, reading, math, writing and science. Only 5th grade does writing, and only 4-5th grade does science. This supports us with our curriculum maps as it lets us know, standards based, how well students accessed our instruction during the year.

School Community Council

April 10, 2025 - 3:45 p.m.

Online Registration

It's time to start preparing for next year! Online registration will begin on April 11th. This is for ALL students in the district. If you need support, please call our office.

NOTE: Please spread this news to your neighborhood friends! Our registration affects our enrollment and how many sessions we have of each class! Early registration supports us on many different levels. We appreciate your support! Let's make sure our Kindergarten parents are aware of this as well! We will have Kindergarten screening happening the last week of school as well as a day in the summer. More details to come!

April 15 - Cougar Choir Concert - 6:00 p.m.

Payson Track Meets:

For those of you new to our district/school, we have a track meet each year where our 3rd-5th grade students compete against other schools in our catchment area in track and field events. This is held at the Payson High School Football field. Students will ride a bus to/from the event. They can sign up for a home lunch or a school lunch. They will need a water bottle, appropriate clothing, and sunscreen. Parents ARE invited to come and watch students. They are invited to sit in the stands opposite the students, and in some areas, they can stand along the fence to observe. More information will come as this event gets closer. Please mark your calendars:

April 22 - 5th Grade

April 24 - 4th Grade

April 29 - 3rd Grade

May 2 - School Wide Reward - BMX ASSEMBLY

May 15 - First Grade Program (Watch for details from the First Grade Team!)

May 19 - Kindergarten Graduation

May 20 - PTA Sponsored Field Day (For those new to our school: This is a water day! In the afternoon we do water games and then our fire department comes and showers us with water! It's the best day ever! You'll want to send appropriate water clothes - this happens at the end of the day so students will leave.....wet!

May 21 - Fifth Grade Graduation

May 22 - Last day of school- early out

As the weather gets warmer, more and more sandals will be worn at school! This is a reminder that because of the nature of the games/activities that students are doing in PE, closed toe shoes are required! Please make sure your child has shoes that are appropriate on PE days. Note: If it is easier to keep an older, less worn pair of shoes at school, that would be appropriate in their cubbies. Just work this out with your teacher.