April News
GRAND SALINE INTERMEDIATE
Volume 1, Issue 3
A Note from the Principal:
Upcoming Events:
April 13-Report cards go home
April 14-No school
May 8-3rd,4th STAAR Math Test
5th Grade STAAR Math Re-Test
May 9-3rd,4th STAAR Reading Test
5th Grade STAAR Math Re-Test
May 10-5th Grade STAAR Science
Test & 4th Grade Field Trip to
Kilgore Oil Museum
Transportation:
We are working to make our car
lines run smoothly. Our top
priority is your child’s safety.
Please ensure the Intermediate
car tags are visible from the
visor. If you have arranged
another person to pick your
child up, you must call the
school and make arrangements
or provide them your car tag for
the pick up.
Contact the office before 3 p.m.
if your child will have different
arrangements for getting home.
Make sure your contact card
information is always current.
Grand Saline Elementary
and Intermediate Parent /
Teacher Organization:
Come and join us at the
elementary cafeteria the 2nd
Monday of each month at 5
p.m. for our regular meeting.
If you have questions about
PTO, feel free to contact Mrs.
Core. Your help is always
welcome!
WHAT? STAAR? Oh yeah, we are going to strike back this year! Our
students have been setting goals and achieving them throughout the
school year and we are ready! Parents and guardians we need your
help. Sometimes students become anxious about testing. Please remind
your child of these good test taking strategies.
1. Positive Attitude--"Attitude is the little thing that makes a big
difference."
2. Relax—Take a deep breath, stretch, and try again.
3. Me Only!—Don’t worry if others finish before you. Focus on
yourself.
4. Focus, Focus, Focus!—Try not to day dream. Focus on what you are
reading.
5. Do Your Best—Think clearly, read carefully, and put forth your
best effort.
6. Go Slow—Read each question slowly and carefully.
7. Get Un-Stuck—If you get stuck, don’t get frustrated. Re-read the
question
8. Prepare your body—Get a good night’s sleep and eat a healthy
breakfast.
STAAR WARS...The Students Strike Back
A big THANK YOU to all who came out and helped our students, parents, and
staff “Strike Back” at the STAAR test! Fourth and Fifth graders have already
struck back at their first round of STAAR testing. We are expecting amazing
results as they all worked really hard! We will continue to “Strike Back” as we
prepare for our next round of STAAR testing in May.
Teacher of the Year
Two very incredible teachers from the Intermediate campus were
nominated by their peers for Teacher of the Year...Mrs. Erwin and Mr.
Perriit . Both are extremely hard workers and show a true love for
educating our students. Congratulations to both for being nominated
and to Mr. Perritt for winning Teacher of the Year for our campus!!!
Box Top Club
Remember...Box Top Club meets April 19th from 3:45 – 4:30.
Please continue to send box tops until the end of the school year!
Page 2
April News
Fifth Grade News
5th grade has done a great job and worked very hard on both the Math and Reading
STAAR tests! As April approaches the 5th grade students are still learning a lot! In science,
students are learning about animal and insect life cycles. We will welcome our new class pet
Tad the Tadpole and we will watch the tadpole transform into a frog and grow through
each stage of the life cycle. In math, students continue to review and practice the math
readiness skills as we all anxiously await the arrival of our STAAR results. In ELAR, students
are getting ready to start their research for the Living Museum in May. Each student will be
able to choose someone from history to research and recreate themselves as this person for
the highly anticipated Living Museum. Come out and see the hard work the students have
created! More information on the date and time will be coming home soon!
Third Grade News
Fourth Grade News
Over the next four weeks we will be working
on covering the rest of our TEKS for our
STAAR reading and math tests. In reading,
we are working on making inferences,
drawing conclusions, and identifying the
main idea. When your child reads at home,
have them make inferences before reading
another chapter or page. Ask your child to
tell you the main idea after each paragraph
they read. We call this brain prints. Have
them draw conclusions based on the title and
pictures.
Please continue to practice your math facts.
Problem solving is an important skill to
practice as well. You can help your child
prepare for the Math STAAR by reviewing
addition facts, subtraction facts, and place
value. Remind students to take their time
when reading and working out problems.
Math – working this 6 weeks on Geometry
Science – Inherited Traits
Reading – Reviewing Reading Strategies,
Main Idea, Summary, Inference, Cause and
Effect, Compare and Contrast, Problem/
Solution
Writing – Auto-biography writing and
letter writing (reminders will come home
asking for addresses of a family member
who lives out of town or state)
AR – Please continue to read 20 minutes
each night
Book It – April is the last month
Reading homework will be sent home on
Tuesdays and Thursdays
STAAR WARS
The Students Strike Back