Administrative Team Ms. Pitts, Principal --- Ms. Chapman, Asst. Principal --- Ms. Zizis, Dean of Students

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1 Collier Elementary 350 S. 118 th Avenue Avondale, AZ School Ph. # Attendance Line # Fax # Administrative Team Ms. Pitts, Principal --- Ms. Chapman, Asst. Principal --- Ms. Zizis, Dean of Students Oh, the places you will go! March 2015 Come join us for Collier Literacy Night, Thursday, 3/5! We re celebrating Read Across America and Dr. Seuss s Birthday that night with lots of fun Seuss-tacular games and activities! Spring Pictures will also happen on Thursday and this year it s a little different. Pictures will be taken in front of a green screen, and then parents will be able to choose from a number of different backgrounds. Everyone will have their pictures taken, and after the proofs come back you may choose to order pictures or not. Sorry, but there will be NO MAKE-UP PICTURES if students are absent on Thursday. On Tuesday, March 17, we re asking all 8 th grade parents to please attend a meeting to discuss the particulars and format for 8 th Grade Promotion in June. Mark your calendar to attend and look for a note to go home with more information. Parents as Partners flyers went out last week explaining a new phone QR App that will allow you to access your child s grades from your phone. Check it out so you can stay up to date on your student s progress anytime, anywhere. Upcoming Events 3/5 Spring Pictures Dress Down (Casual Coyote Dress Expectations) 3/5 Family Literacy Night (5:30-7pm) 3/10 Governing Board Meeting (6pm) 3/16 Collier PTA Meeting (6pm) 3/17 8 th Grade Parent Promotion Meeting (5:30pm) 3/20 Friday EARLY RELEASE 12:15 3/23 Math/ELA Benchmark testing all week 3/24 Special Governing Board Meeting (6pm) 3/26 4 th Grade Battle of the Books (6pm) 3/27 PTA Movie Night RIO 2 (time to be announced) 3/27 Casual Coyote Dress Down for $1 3/30 Focus School Town Hall Meeting 6:30pm 3/30 Future Freshman Night La Joya High School (6-8pm) (Be sure to Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and check the Collier Web Site to stay current on Collier activities.) Kindergarten Our kindergartners are getting ready for First Grade every day! They are becoming great readers and thinkers! They are learning how to solve problems and how to justify their answers in both ELA and in Math. Thank you for all of your support!

2 First Grade We are celebrating Read Across America all through the month of March! We are excited about the events happening at our school and in our classrooms to commemorate Dr. Seuss Birthday. In Math, we will begin working on Data and Graphing. In Reading, we are moving into expository text and learning all about non-fiction. Please continue to read with your child nightly. Second Grade Can you believe March is already here?! We will have Benchmark Testing on March 16 th and 17 th. At the beginning of the month, we will be reviewing all of our learning this quarter, focusing heavily on comparing and contrasting two stories about the same topic, as well as breaking down word problems. Shortly after benchmark testing, we will begin our unit on Weather. Students will be identifying the elements of the water cycle, determining cloud types, and even classifying different types of weather! Don t forget, Dr. Seuss Birthday is also the first week of March, be sure to look for us at Collier s Seuss-tacular Event! Third Grade This month we are focusing on animals and conservation. To integrate science, writing, and reading, we will be doing a research project on an animal chosen by the teacher. We will be writing an essay and choosing to adopt this animal as a service project. In math we will be focusing on quadrilaterals, a review of multiplication and division, as well as getting ready for 3 rd quarter benchmark! Can you believe it s that time already?! Thanks for your continued support and if you have any questions please be sure to contact your classroom teacher! Fourth Grade Wow! 2015 is flying! A lot of good things are happening in the classrooms this month. While teaching new concepts we are really focusing on going back and building up more knowledge on concepts we ve already learned, getting prepared for benchmarks. In math the students have done absolutely amazing with geometry. As we continue to work on that we are also going to be adding in measurement! There is so much to do with measurement that we are so excited. Our scientists have been perfecting the scientific method so it is time to put those skills to the test and have science experiments. Reading and Social Studies will be drawn together working on explaining how an author uses evidence to support a point. Fifth Grade Happy Spring 2015! We are looking forward to our literacy-related special event this month. Please continue to check your child s multiplication at home by asking basic 4 questions: What is: 6 x 7; 8 x 4; 9 x 6; and 7 x 3? If your child cannot answer correctly in a timely fashion, he/she needs to study the times table daily. All 5 th graders must know single-digit multiplication as well as they know the ABC s. Students should also practice reading aloud each evening to increase their reading fluency. We look forward to seeing all of you at upcoming Parent-Teacher Conferences in April! Sixth Grade Science In Science, students will be learning about various cells, and the different structures of living organisms to their functions. Language Arts In ELA, students will be evaluating, constructing, and writing opinions and arguments. Social Studies In Social Studies, students will begin studying the development of Middle Eastern and African cultures, with a focus on trade networks, new belief systems and other significant events leading to the Middle Ages. Math In Math, March will focus on collecting, organizing, and displaying data using dot plots, histograms, number lines and box plots. As an extension, we will also calculate and summarize numerical data from a graph.

3 Seventh Grade Math In Math, students will be predicting future events by using theoretical or experimental probability. Science In Science, students will be exploring different environments and ecosystems on Earth. Social Studies -- In Social Studies, students are in the process of beginning the Civil War and Reconstruction. Language Arts In Language Arts, students are continuing their exploration of narrative non-fiction through their reading of the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. With this as our primary text, we are also examining background informational texts, poems, looking at artwork, and making connections across texts to really delve into our reading. Eighth Grade Social Studies In Social Studies, students will be studying the American Civil Rights movement Science In Science, students are continuing their studies of Physics and will be getting ready and reviewing for the Science AIMS Language Arts In Language Arts, we will start a new novel unit to review literary skills before the AzMERIT Math In Math, students will be exploring data collection and interpreting that data Specials Band In Band, students continue to pursue excellence through the mastery of musical instruments Music In Music students are having fun learning about melody and rhythm by discovering the world of W.A. Mozart through the Magic Flute. Third and Fourth grade students are setting records with their outstanding recorder skills! Middle School Choirs can be heard singing their hearts out to Sondheim s Children Will Listen from the musical Into the Woods, currently in theaters. Keep an eye out for news about our upcoming performances. Computers In March, Kindergarten to 8th grade students continue to use Fast Forward to help them improve reading and language skills. We use Fast Forward to help students prepare for the new state academic standards test and improve our test scores at the end of this school year. On Wednesday, 3 rd 8 th grade students practice typing. Art I am constantly amazed and rewarded in watching the artistic growth of my students. Simply providing the materials for creating is not enough, students need to be nurtured, encouraged, and challenged. A teacher s guidance is needed for the development of critical-thinking skills necessary for life and creative problem solving. P.E. Hello parents and students! PE is an exciting and active class. The next five week students will experience CPR, Soccer, Golf, Health testing (PACER), Volleyball as well as non-traditional sports, and team building experiences. Here is how to stay ahead. Remember to dress warmly in layers, drink at least 8 glasses of water each day, get at least 8 hours of sleep, and eat lots of vegetables and small portions of protein and fruit. E.P. Seventh and eighth graders are learning about the properties of physics and will be designing a paper roller coaster to model those properties in action. prepare Resource This month we want to continue to focus on text anxiety with our students in order to and help them deal with it as we move closer to state testing this spring. The following information is from and this website can be used by parents/guardians

4 with their children at home. Here are things to avoid doing with your child/children: Avoid giving excessive reassurance, such as repeatedly saying, You'll do great! Too much reassurance causes anxious children to seek to discredit the parent's opinion. Avoid telling your child exactly what to do. It is more useful to ask your child to come up with a realistic plan for studying and taking the test. Successful completion of the plan enhances the child's feeling of control and accomplishment, and this will decrease anxiety. Build some relaxation time into your child's plan. Don't ignore the problem by hoping it will go away by itself. Don't be impatient (Just take the test and get over it!). Don't allow the child to avoid the situation (You can stay home today). Tips and Tricks Helping at Home Parents, please continue to monitor your child s grades and encourage your child to complete homework. Homework is one of the best ways for students to reinforce and move information learned at school into their long term memory. It also helps students develop study skills and teaches them that learning takes place anywhere and is nonstop. Homework can nurture positive behaviors such as time management, discipline, independence and responsibility. Don t forget that you can check your child s grades at any time by using the ParentVUE Portal on the district webpage. Melissa Strand and Roxanne Zamora Safety TIP March Is Eye Safety Month To mark March as Workplace Eye Safety Month (and in this case the workplace is the school for students), the American Academy of Ophthalmology has put together some tips to help us alleviate some of the eye problems modern technology has given birth to. They are: First and most important get an eye exam by your ophthalmologist, who can rule out the possibility of eye disease as the cause of your symptoms. You could simply need glasses when working at a computer, or your prescription might need updating; Rest breaks take periodic rest breaks, and try to blink often to keep your eyes from drying out. Medical Minute Show Love for Your Child Every Day continued 1. Mark family game nights on your calendar so the entire family can be together. Put a different family member's name under each date, and have that person choose which game will be played that evening. 2. One of the best ways to familiarize your child with good food choices is to encourage him to cook with you. Let him get involved in the entire process, from planning the menus to shopping for ingredients to the actual food preparation and its serving. It is wonderful when families eat together as much as possible. Good food, good conversations. 3. Don't forget to say, "I love you" to children of all ages! (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2012) Elena Ramirez, RN School Nurse PTA

5 Dear Collier Family, Happy March! We have some exciting events going on this month! Thursday, March 5 th is Literacy Night. We will be celebrating Dr. Seuss and Read Across Collier. There will be lots of fun, hands on activities for students and parents. Hours are from 5:30-7:00pm. More info to follow. Monday, March 16 th there will be a PTA meeting in the Cafeteria at 6pm. Children are welcome. Friday, March 27 th we will be kicking off Going Green with Movie Night and showing RIO 2 in the Cafeteria. Refreshments will be sold. More info to follow. Bullying Busters IF YOU RE NOT PART OF THE SOLUTION, YOU RE PART OF THE PROBLEM. The key message for the month of March that students will be working on with teachers is: Bullying can be stopped. Students will learn to assess the level of danger in a bullying situation. Students will learn strategies to use when confronted with a bullying situation.