Welcome back to school!
Here are some tips for the beginning of the school year: 1. Buy a Planner - get organized! Write down all your assignments, write down important dates, keep notes of what you need to do. 2. Meet your Teachers - don't be scared to talk to them or ask questions. We are here to teach you and help you so feel free to come talk to us and ask us questions. 3. Keep up with Homework - see number 1 and keep track of all your assignments. It is so hard to catch up once you fall behind so keep turning in all your assignments on time. Once again, it's time to start talking about and prepping for the ACT. Here at Veritas we are starting to offer after school ACT prep workshops. Each subject area has a teacher offering one evening every month to work on test materials. In my room, Juniors, Sophomores, and Freshmen have been working on prepfactory.com to work on all different subject area questions. Starting this work while they are freshmen and sophomores will increase their ability and confidence when they have to take the test Junior year. Make sure your kids know that their hard work will pay off!
Starting in the beginning of next school year, we will be using new forms that the Wisconsin Department of Instruction is publishing. They will contain all of the same information as the old forms, but combining pages together. The biggest change is the I-4 page which links together all of the needs, services, goals, and accommodations. The change is to develop well connected IEPs and to focus on reading achievement as the state's most important focus is Reading Drives Achievement, also known as Results Driven Accountability.
Below are links to sample forms and to a video describing RDA (Reading Drives Achievement)(Results Driven Accountability). http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/laws-procedures-bulletins/procedures/sample/forms http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/results-driven-accountability These forms were developed to help the students achieve goals that are closely aligned with the state common core standards and achieve at levels their peers are achieving. March 21st is the world day for Down Syndrome since people with Down Syndrome have 3 copies of the 21st chromosome. Down Syndrome occurs in one of every 691 babies in the United States. Most people with Down Syndrome have similar characteristics including low muscle tone, upward slanted eyes, small ears, enlarged tongue, and more physical characteristics. Most children with Down Syndrome have delays in walking, talking, sitting, standing, etc. but they all will reach these milestones.
Down Syndrome is celebrated every March 21st to honor those in our lives who are touched by it. Click on the links below to learn more about Down Syndrome. Resources to learn about Down Syndrome http://www.webmd.com/children/tc/down-syndrome-topic-overview http://www.ndss.org/Down-Syndrome/What-Is-Down-Syndrome/ Coming up in one week is the ACT test for all Juniors in Wisconsin. http://www.actstudent.org/testprep/tips/
This link will take you to the ACT prep tips page. The biggest thing to note that the ACT page doesn't address completely is that students should eat a big and healthy breakfast before the test starts. Students can also bring snacks to eat when they are outside of the classroom on a break. This is also important to remember to keep your body functioning well throughout the whole test. http://greatist.com/health/high-protein-snacks-portable http://bebrainfit.com/best-brain-food-snacks/ Healthy brain foods are the best types of snacks for a big testing day like the ACT. Make sure you or your child reads over the ACT prep pages to be sure they are ready for next week! Wisconsin DPI has just announced a new test for all 10th graders. It is called the Wisconsin Forward Exam and it is taking place of the WKCE. https://dpi.wi.gov/assessment/forward Here is a link to go to the DPI site if you are looking for more information about this test. 1. Khan Academy The number one application (IOS or Android) I have used in school and on my own is Khan Academy. They offer a wide variety of subjects like math, science, economics, finance, history, and the arts as well as test prep for tests like the SAT, NCLEX, and more. This app teaches you these topics by showing videos of an instructor teaching and giving sample problems before and after you watch the video. The best part of this app, for me, is that you can watch a video on a specific problem. They have a data base of over 2,000 videos. If I am looking for a video about graphing inequalities, I can search the phrase and find several videos at several different levels about graphing inequalities. It is an excellent score for reteaching a topic that was confusing the first time around. Highly Recommended App! https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/khan-academy-learn-math-biology/id469863705?mt=8 2. Science360 This app is fun to use and has great content. You can scan through hundreds of videos and pictures and learn science facts while you click through the app's multimedia. The only bad thing about this app is that you can't search for specific content topics. If you are interested in science and just want to learn a few new things and broaden your science knowledge, this app is perfect. As it relates to classes, this app is not the way to go to find specific content. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/science360-for-ipad/id439928181?mt=8 3. Skillshare Skillshare is an app for the aspiring artist and creative student. Skillshare provides videos on design, photography, DIY projects, and businesses. There are video tutorials you can watch and there are also classes you can take through the Skillshare app. This app is a self paced app and you can go through the content and choose the topics you want to learn about and take classes based on your free time and your schedule. This app is for creative students who want to learn more on their own about creative arts. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/skillshare-online-classes/id916819843?mt=8 4. Peak
Peak is a fun app that helps to condition and improve the cognitive functioning of your brain. Peak uses fun memory, problem solving, focus, and attention games to help improve the processes of the brain. It tracks your progress and makes games harder when you succeed at them. Peak was developed by neuroscience experts, so you can be assured that the games are reliable. Peak offers a free version and a "Pro" version for $4.99 a month. I would recommend this app because it offers fun games to keep you interested, but also the games help develop brain functioning skills. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/peak-brain-training/id806223188?mt=8 |