6 Walker Wildcat News March Edition

Hilda Walker Intermediate School 19900 S. 80th Avenue Upcoming Events Tinley Park, IL 60487

www.summithill.org PHONE (815)464.2285 // FAX (815) 464.2160 March 2

PawMart PRINCIPAL’S PAGE – Ms. Goebel February 3 Students Released @11:30

Teacher In-service in pm Walker Families: March 6 No School/Pulaski Day We certainly have had a mild winter, and I hope it continues March 9 because we are definitely feeling the need for Spring! Who doesn’t SCO – Treat Day want some warmth and sun? And with that being said, a relaxing March 10 and rejuvenating spring break! Because our Chicagoland weather SHEF Pizza Day can be full of variety, please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for the day. Often times, we see students sporting March 15 sweatshirts and shorts despite the frigid temperatures. Gr. 6 Step-up to SHJH, 7pm March 16 As you know, our sixth graders completed In-View testing last PBIS Nacho Day month. Results will be sent home with third quarter report cards on March 17 April 5th. Happy St. Patrick’s Day This month staff will continue focusing on prepping students for March 18 PARCC and wrapping their prep up utilizing mock tests. Students will Drama Clubs’ “Annie” Super be practicing these mock tests on their tablets. Teachers have Saturday, 9am-1pm focused their attention on standards and meeting varied needs of March 20 students, so I am confident that Walker and the entire District will continue to do well on this state assessment. You are welcome to First Day of Spring contact your child’s teacher or me if you have any questions or March 22 concerns about this assessment. As a reminder, the PARCC test will Board of Education Meeting be scheduled to begin April 4th for both our 5th and 6th graders. It will @AC, 7pm assess reading and math and will incorporate three ELA sessions/four math sessions for 5th grade and three ELA sessions/three math March 23 sessions for 6th grade. Testing sessions will range in length from about SCO Open Gym, 4-6pm sixty-110 minutes. March 24 SCO Hot Lunch Before we know it, it will be the end of third quarter and spring break March 27-31 will be upon us. Although we are securely in the second half of the year and assessment season is upon us, please continue to help us Spring Break

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promote a positive academic attitude with your child. We have a variety of events happening this month some of which include our upcoming Social Media Program (March 3 for students and March 14 for parents districtwide), 5th grade DARE graduation (April 21), Annie Drama Performance (May 12-13), and Student Council/Make-a-Wish Spirit Week (March 20-24). Every day is an opportunity to learn and grow- that’s part of the Walker Way! Thank you for your continued support!

Kindly,

Ms. Laura C. Goebel, Principal

Important ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL’S PAGE – Ms. Carroll Announcement

SCO Treat Day-March 9 (Dairy Queen ice cream Dear Parents and Students, bar))

Well it certainly feels like Spring is almost here and things at Hilda PBIS Nacho Day, March Walker are showing no signs of slowing down! With the PARCC 16 assessment around the corner, Annie Jr. rehearsals in full-swing, and numerous clubs and activities underway, we are busy! Our students SCO Hot Lunch-March 24 (Noodles & Co. mac & are continuing to work hard this third quarter and are eagerly cheese, fruit snack, bag looking forward to Spring Break at the end of this month! With of chips, piece of fresh Spring-time approaching and the end of the school year in sight, it’s fruit, and Icee frozen not uncommon for students to begin to experience a little “Spring treat) Fever”. However, despite our unseasonably warm and wonderful weather we still have lots of school left to go this year! I’d like to In the Community encourage the students to remember our three expectations, Be Board of Education Respectful, Be Responsible and Be Safe and to be the best possible Meeting @AC , March 22 example of the Walker Way at all times. Please remember the importance of: completing and turning in your assignments daily, SHEF being safe and respectful in our hallways, classrooms, lunchroom SHEF Pizza Day (for those and busses, and treating one another with respect and kindness students that ordered) on daily. With just about a quarter and a half to go we still have much March 10 to accomplish and many events to look forward to! Wishing you all a happy start to the Spring season!

Sincerely,

Ms. Maura Carroll, Assistant Principal

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IMPORTANT NEWS…

Remember if you need to contact any of our staff, please email them using the first letter in their first name and full last name [email protected]

Progress Reports

Quarter Four 4/28 Report Cards

Quarter Three: 4/5

Quarter Four: Last Day Of School

*Check PowerSchool

weekly for updated

student grades as well as teacher websites at www.summithill.org PBIS A Good Idea……. PBIS Nacho day will be on March 16th. Some students need to call We will have a Quarter 3 PBIS Celebration on March 24th. We will be home from time to time: A good idea would be to jot having an assembly @ 1:40. This assembly will be ran by Pro-kids. It is down parent’s cell phone going to be a lot of fun! numbers and work numbers on a note card. The card Be Respectful can be placed in a small zipper area of your student’s Be Responsible back pack and will be readily available to them Be Safe when needed.

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From the Nurse

PREVENTING BACKPACK INJURIES

Experts warn that overloaded backpacks often result in back injuries among children.

The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) advises parents and caregivers to pay close attention to children's posture and not wait for them to complain about back pain before lightening their load.

Backpack injuries are commonly caused by wearing overloaded backpacks, as well as lifting and carrying them incorrectly. Parents and teachers should guide kids to take preventative measures.

The academy suggested several additional ways to help children avoid pain and discomfort from wearing a backpack:

 Use both shoulder straps to evenly distribute the weight of the backpack.  Tighten the straps and use a waist strap if available.  Place the biggest items in the backpack closest to the back, but remove anything that is too heavy.  Bend at the knees and use the legs when picking up a backpack.  Only carry essential items in the backpack. Leave extra books at home or school whenever possible.  Do not leave backpacks in aisles or walkways to avoid falls.  Parents and caregivers should encourage children to speak up about any pain or discomfort they feel while wearing their backpack, particularly numbness or tingling in the arms or legs.  Children should only wear backpacks that are appropriate for their size.  Parents and caregivers should be aware of any posture changes in their child or red marks on their shoulders from wearing their backpack.

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Safety Patrol

With the fine weather we have been having in the month of February the safety patrol decided it would be a good time to start our program on tornadoes. We would like to share the following information with our parents and the Walker community. We used the website, “Weather Wiz Kids” to gather our information.

A tornado is a violent column of air that is rotating and can reach the speed of 300 miles per hour. A tornado is either funnel shaped or a slender rope-like form. There is a difference between funnel clouds and a tornado. A funnel cloud is a rotating cone-shaped funnel cloud, but isn’t touching the ground. When the funnel cloud reaches the ground it becomes known as a tornado. Wow! Tornadoes can cause damage that is one mile wide and 50 miles long.

Scientist don’t exactly know how tornadoes form, grow, or die. Tornadoes can occur at any time of the year or day. In our area the peak time for tornadoes is in the summer months with the most likely time of a strike being between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. Tornado Alley is the term applied to the states in the middle of America where the most tornadoes strike. These states include, Nebraska, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, South and North Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana. More than 500 tornadoes occur in this area every year.

A must to know!!! A tornado watch means tornadoes are possible, so you should keep an eye on the sky and pay attention to the changing weather. A tornado warning means that a tornado is either on the ground or has been detected by radar. SEEK SHELTER RIGHT AWAY!!!, and don’t stop along the way to open the windows. Windows should never be open during severe weather.

Please check our article next month for safety tips Before-During-and After a tornado.

Walker Band

On Saturday, February 18, band students from Hilda Walker Intermediate School participated in the IGSMA District VI Solo and Ensemble Contest held at Martino Junior High School. Students were judged performing solos or ensembles on their band instruments and all participating students received either a First or Second Division medal for their efforts. The students are under the direction of Mr. Scott Wagstaff and Mr. Jason Collins

Special congratulations to 5th graders Nathan Irace and Aldron Reed for earning a perfect score on their snare drum solo, and 6th graders Esther Spreadbury and Annie Wu for earning a perfect score on their clarinet duet.

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Other 6th grade participants were: Chester Bumaa, Sam Cabal, Katie Ehman, Peter Flores, Ricky Hansen, Ryland Hart, Patrick Irace, Brady Janicki, Zach Johnson, Isabel Kelly, Victoria Lucarelli, Declan O’Neill, Maria Rehm, Gabe Stromberg, and Michael Timm.

Other 5th grade participants were: Gabrielle Alli-Balogun, Lucas Anco, Dominic Angone, Sebastian Avila, Isabella Ball, Michael Ball, Carter Bartels, Toby Bistas, Nate Borgens, Kevin Bradich, Cayla Bradley, Carlitos Cantu, Bianca Castrejon, Marissa Chancellor, Kevin Chomiak, Julia Chonarzewski, Katie Cialdella, Matthew Cornfield, Trent Diedrich, Nathan Domecki, Jack Dudzik, Nicole Einoder, Madalyn Elzinga, Austin Filkins, Ella Fisher, Aidan Fisher, Maggie Fisher, Ali Fittanto, Aileen Fitzgerald, Francesca Flaris, Braden Galbert, Connor Gemmell, Alex Gorczowski, Natalia Gutierrez, Ava Hacker, Jacob Hamilton, Lucas Hanson, Kate Hickey, Elizabeth Hoppenrath, Jamie Jasper, Kira Jekel, Christian Johnson, Andrew Kay, Katie Kerlin, Lindsey Koleno, Ava Krenzelak, Hunter Kuech, James Legno, Nathan Mashek, Glenn McAuliff, Jack Mularz, Emily Neumann, Matt Nowak, Tyra Oghomeh, Obioma Onyeobia, Tyler Orlando, Rylie Petersen, Adam Plastiak, Noah Portwood, Joshua Quinn, Aaron Reece, Kaitlyn Richter, Jacob Rizzo, Kennedy Rogers, Kristen Rowe, Kayleigh Schwarz, Zachary Schwarz, Mya Shaper, Nick Smithgall , Mia Smolinski, Aiden Soroko, Megan Spreadbury, Noah Sytsma, Susan Vasaitis, Sarah Vetter, Gavin Watts, Isaiah Williams, Kaleigh Young, Nyiah Young and Matthew Zych.

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Team Ohio State University

Mrs. Amy Bednarz, Mr. Michael Doody, Mrs. Colleen Maranto, & Mrs. Nicole Rafa

February has turned out to be a busy month. The students are continuing to study Earth’s Systems and how they interact with each other. Students have watched videos, participated in class discussions as well as having read different articles. They are ready to make the Earth a better place to live.

In Math, the students are finishing adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing decimals and will begin fractions. They will learn that fractions are everywhere around them. They will be performing all the operations with fractions.

The Revolutionary War is continuing in Social Studies. The colonies have turned against King George and have won. What type of government will the new country set-up? The students will learn about our new government and how it was established.

All students at Hilda Walker have been reading extensively in order to earn a FREE ticket to Six Flags Great America. Students had to read 360 minutes in order to earn the ticket for a wonderful day out over the summer.

Congratulations to the students in Mrs. Rafa’s class who earned a Six Flags Great America ticket!!

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News from Team Alabama

Mrs. Chikerotis, Mrs. Gallagher, Mr. Klosak, Mrs. Milazzo, and Mrs. Pelkowski

The students on Team Alabama have been working hard learning new reading skills and strategies. Students have been working on main idea/detail, cause/effect, using context clues, and learning their Greek and Latin root origins. These skills and strategies will help them to develop as readers and also prepare them to take our upcoming PARCC assessments.

Students in Mrs. Pelkowski’s class put on a “Super Root” fashion show. Each student dressed as a superhero based on a Greek or Latin root

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TEAM ISU

Mrs. Boudreau, Mrs. Cramer, Mrs. Davault, Mrs. Schaefer, Mrs. Stokoski, Mrs. Zitkus

Team ISU has been working hard to earn various PBIS team incentives lately. Once we earn 25 class paws, we get to celebrate our achievements with an incentive. We earn class paws by being respectful, responsible, and safe in various locations throughout the school such as the library, specials, in the halls, and in our classrooms. Some of the fun incentives we have earned are free time, electronic day, treat day, and mix it up at lunch, just to name a few. Keep up the hard work!

We are doing well with our new Science curriculum. Students have created dioramas about the four spheres and how they interact. Some classes have created a slideshow about the various parts of the water cycle and presented them to the class upon completion. Other classes have written about their life as a drop of water and what life is like as they travel through the water cycle. The students seem to be enjoying the activities and learning process as we journey together on this new adventure.

Our classes have been practicing for PARCC in hopes of reducing possible stress or test anxiety come test time. We have used this time to practice problems together, as well as independently. We have discussed how to use the various tools on the computer to help us solve the tasks requested of us. All students seem to be more comfortable with this assessment since we’ve been able to practice together and discuss some of the things they may possibly see on the actual test in a few more weeks. We are beyond proud of them! 

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Notre Dame Team

Mrs. Sajewich, Mrs. Mc Farland, Ms. Mittelstadt, Mrs. Dermody and Mrs. Dempsey

Mrs. Sajewich’s/Mrs. Mc Farland Reading/Language Arts Classes

Students have been enjoying reading the novel, Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief. We have made connections between this literary text and informational texts.

Summit students are reading the novel, The Giver. They are debating on whether their society is utopian or dystopian.

In language classes, we are working on argumentative writing covering all sorts of topics. In addition to writing, we will include our speaking and listening goals when the students participate in a debate.

Ms. Mittelstadt’s Math

In Math, the students have been learning about proportions. They have been using proportions to find distances on maps. They have also been using proportions to convert measurements. Next, we will be moving to Module 9 which focuses on exponents and order of operations. Please continue to practice multiplication facts!

In Summit Math, the students have been working on geometry. They learned about cross sections of three-dimensional figures. The students have also been measuring angles, drawing triangles, and learning about angle relationships such as supplementary angles and complementary angles. The next geometry module focuses on circumference, area, and volume.

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Mrs. Dermody’s Social Studies

The students just finished up writing a paper comparing and contrasting Sparta and Athens. They also utilized technology to create posters recruiting others to join Sparta or Athens. We are now focusing on the culture of the Ancient Greeks as expressed in their religion, literature, and art. The students will learn about Greek Mythology, poetry and different fables that taught Greek values.

Mrs. Dempsey’s Science Class

In Science, the students are wrapping up the chapter on plate tectonics. Next we will begin the book on climate and weather. The students will be learning about the Earth’s atmosphere and what it is composed of that enables it to support life. We will also look at how temperature and weather affect the atmosphere and how global and local winds cause air movement. Moving from the atmosphere, students will apply that knowledge as they learn about the different aspects of weather and how it can cause severe situations. They will learn about air masses and fronts and how scientists are always

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Team University of Michigan

Mrs. Anita Becker, Mrs. Tracy Decesare, Ms. Marianne Hourihan, Mrs. Dawn Krueger, Mrs. Jen Medendorp & Mrs. Tucker

Mrs. Becker and Ms. Hourihan’s Reading and Language Arts Classes

Team Michigan’s ELA students are working hard on argumentative writing. Students have explored parts of an argument essay which include: claim, reasons, and data, Students will be introduce to counterclaim, and a rebuttal when debating topics in class. After reading three pieces text, students learned how to support a claim with logical reasons, relevant evidence, and demonstrate an understanding of the topic. Students will continue to study Greek and Latin roots as well as working with decoding vocabulary. Students are also being exposed to reading a variety of nonfiction articles to compare. Students need to be able to write a summary of the text based on facts versus personal opinions.

In Reading students are reading the novel Lightning Thief. Students continued to practice how to align two texts and explain the relationship between the texts. Triad groups have been making connections between the Hero Journey and the current novel. Students are continuing to learn how to work collaboratively and support answers with text evidence. Students need to support claims when reading literature and explain there thinking. ELA students have been working hard on supplying response stems and citing work. Supporting Inferences is a continue skills being practiced with this novel.

Team Michigan students will also be reviewing test taking skills and doing PARCC practice on the tablets during RTI.

Students should be reading independently for the book challenge and or the current Rebecca Caldwell challenge taking place in the library.

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Mrs. Krueger’s Social Studies Classes

We are about half way through our unit study on Ancient Greece. The first section covered the importance of geography and how the people of Greece relied on the seas. In Section 2, we discussed the two city-states of Athens and Sparta. Then compared how the two city-states had similarities and differences. Our current focus is on Athens and how it blossomed under the Athenian general named Pericles. We will close our unit study with the culture of Ancient Greece including poetry, fables, art, and architecture. Students also continue to learn geography and map skills throughout each unit.

Mrs. Medendorp’s Science Classes

Students on Team Michigan are finishing the unit on plate tectonics and geologic forces. Our next topic is Weather and Climate. Students will begin this unit with an investigation into the Earth’s atmosphere. Students will learn the different layers that make up our atmosphere, as well as the dynamics of atmospheric heating. Students will complete a lab to simulate atmospheric heating and investigate how different surfaces on Earth affect the amount of heat that is retained close to the Earth’s surface as well as the amount of heat that escapes into the upper layers of the atmosphere. After learning about atmospheric conditions, students will take a close look at global and local wind patterns and how air pressure affects wind patterns. We will finish the chapter by investigating human impacts on atmospheric conditions, including sources air pollution and measures that can be taken to decrease local as well as global air pollution.

Mrs. DeCesare’s Math Classes

As we move into March, we will be working on solving expressions and equations. We will skip Percent and return to Module 8 after spring break. When working with expressions and equations, students will work writing them, solving for a given variable, and using one-step to solve addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division equations. During RtI, students will continue to work on geometry solving for area and surface areas.

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Students of the Month: January and February.’

Students of the Month for January and February on Team Michigan followed the Walker Way! Students are: Mia Galassini, Maria Rehm, Emma Gorter, Mya Ruelle, Ryan Rivera, Alex Gal, Ava Schulz, Tizoc Landeros, and Evan Guenette

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Team University of Illinois

Mrs. Lauren Driscoll, Mrs. Leah Fischer/Mrs. Jen Hodys, Mrs. Kelly Higgins, Mrs. Tammy Johnson, & Mrs. Julie Nance

Social Studies—Mrs. Driscoll

This month students will be investigating the ancient Greek city-states of Sparta and Athens on a deeper level. Students will learn more about these city-states’ government, trade, quality of life, and treatment of non-citizens. Students will also learn about several “neutral” city-states. They will choose one of these to focus on. Students will create a recruitment poster for members of their city-state to join either Athens and the Delian League or Sparta and the Peloponnesian League. Students will also compare and contrast Athens and Sparta in the form of an essay.

ELA—Mrs. Higgins and Mrs. Johnson

Students are continuing to analyze literary and informational text. Students will be examining “The Key Elements of Mythology” and aligning it with our novel Percy Jackson the Lightning Thief. Students continue to work on citing evidence, elaboration, and making connections while writing constructed responses using the RACE method. The RACE method (Restate- Answer-Cite evidence- Explain/elaborate) has been used across the curriculum to help students organize their ideas when citing evidence from one or more texts. Within their writing students are incorporating their English skills learned throughout the school year including sentence structure, capitalization, and punctuation.

Science—Mrs. Fischer

As the students in Mrs. Fischer’s class continue to “dig deep” into our Earth’s history, they will begin learning about Earth’s atmosphere. We will discuss that because of Earth’s different layers, we are able to sustain life. If those characteristics change, we are at risk of destroying our Earth. The students will learn how our daily actions can actually harm Earth and what actions we can take to help preserve what we have. Book I will teach the students about Weather and Climate around our globe and how it affects us each day.

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Math—Mrs. Nance

Team U of I students have been working hard on using ratios and proportions to convert measurements. Students played Jeopardy to review for the 7.3-7.4 summative. We are moving on to Module 9, Generating Equivalent Numerical Expressions. In this module, students will use exponents to represent numbers and will simplify expressions with exponents by using the order of operations.

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P.E. Team

The previous month in physical education has been a busy one. Students worked on their fitness as well as their timing and rhythm during our drum fit unit in the fitness room. These lessons had students performing exercises while following along with various songs and videos. The songs and videos utilized an exercise ball sitting in a bucket along with two drum sticks. The students got to perform exercises while following along to the beat of the song and the cues in the video. Each student would drum on their exercise ball and move to the beat of the music. Overall drum fit was a fun and new way to move! For this unit’s health lesson the students worked on creating a health pamphlet. This pamphlet was a project we assigned to the students to evaluate what they have learned about the following concepts; health related fitness, the FITT principle, the benefits of exercise, and creating a two-week fitness plan. Overall the project turned out very nicely. The students did a very nice job demonstrating their understanding of these PE concepts. Inside of the gym the students finished the badminton unit by playing mini games in teams of two. Once badminton wrapped up we began our jump rope unit. The jump rope unit lasted three weeks and allowed the students to demonstrate various jump rope tricks and abilities. Using any combination of level 1, 2, and 3 jump rope skills students had the goal of scoring enough points to earn them an A. This allowed students to pick and choose which skills to practice and improve. The jump rope unit is wrapping up and we are looking forward to starting out volleyball unit at the beginning of March!

Stay active!

Your Hilda Walker PE Staff

Attention families, the PE Department is still collecting Box Tops for Education. The Box Tops collected are used to enhance your students Physical Education Experience by providing them with the latest fitness and health equipment. Thank You to all of the families that have contributed. Every Box Top Counts!!!

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Art News

Mrs. Dominik

If you have time, visit ArtWorks at LWE on March 18th from 10am to 3pm.

Art to Remember

Our school, in conjunction with Art to Remember, is offering a program that reproduces your child’s personal artwork onto a variety of colorful products. Some include: magnets, key chains, quilt blocks, beverage insulators, matted prints wall calendars, bookmarks, ceramic mugs, sports towels, mouse pads, heart ceramic ornaments, journals, art sketchbooks, placemats, CD cases, stainless steel travel mugs, pillows, teddy bears with T-shirts, tote bags, ceramic tiles, and T-shirts.

Your child will create artwork following the art class curriculum. Order forms will go out in March. You will have the opportunity to purchase a variety of products featuring your child’s artwork. You are under no obligation to purchase. However, we believe you will be excited by these unique personal keepsakes and a portion of the proceeds is donated to the Hilda Walker Art Program. They make great gifts for family and friends. We are excited to share this unique art program to promote your child’s art!

Walker Art Club

The art club at Hilda Walker School started up this December. Our first art project was to explore the color wheel. The students created a design within a square and then colored it to reflect the hues of the color wheel. Once everyone was all done, together it created a beautiful quilt of color. Our next project was based on Photography. The students used the cameras within the tablets at school to photograph naturally occurring letters in the environment. Each student created their own name out of their photographs. The students are working really hard to improve their art skills each week. This month, the students will be building their own still lives and recreating them in watercolor. We can't wait to see the finished products!

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Tech Bytes with Mrs. Boers

“Believe in your #selfie”

Please bring in a selfie to be put on our #selfie wall. Make sure your name and homeroom is on the back of your selfie if you’d like it back at the end of the year.

This month in tech 5th graders are using Technology to reinforce specific learning topics.

The 6th grade classes are exploring STEM while completing a Jr. Action Lab.

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Reading & Math Tips of the Month

Linda O’Dell - 5th grade Interventionist

Heather Stupay – 6th grade Interventionist

Reading Strategy of the Month

The most important aspect of reading is constructing meaning. If you have a reader who reads making some miscues (unexpected responses to text) that are mostly meaning making, do not interrupt except when the miscues do not make sense or do not sound like language. If a reader reads the sentence “The horse ran down the road” as “The pony ran down the road, do not correct. That sentence made sense in the context of the story and sounded like language. But if your reader said “The house ran down the road,” you need to pause and ask if that made sense. Then have the reader reread the text to make it sensible. Usually when they repeat it incorrectly, they see that they’ve made an error. If the reader says it did make sense, have them reread it anyway because it didn’t make sense to you, the listener. Focusing readers on reading to make sense is what is important.

Math Strategy of the Month

Math News

Conquering Word Problems

The first step to working with word problems is simple, but crucial. Read the entire problem…then read it again! As basic as this may sound, this is where reading comprehension skills come in to play. It is during this crucial time that you must do the following things:

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1. Identify the information that you have: 2. Identify the information that you don’t have (and still need): 3. Determine what the word problem is asking for

The next step is to begin organizing your clues. Start by first assigning variable names to pieces of information you have and do not have. The name(s) should be clear and meaningful.

One thing that has always helps in understanding concepts is drawing them out on paper. Typically, when one can visualize a concept, he or she has an easier time understanding it, whether it’s mathematics or anything else. So, after you identify the information that you have and assign your unknown variables, draw a picture. Be sure to label it with known info and unknown variables.

The last step is to search the word problem for keywords. Some words will tell you what mathematical operation is needed or at work in finding the solution. Listed in the table below are a few of these terms:

Addition: Total, sum, increased by, more than, altogether/together, combined, in all, or plus.

Subtraction: Difference, less/fewer than, decreased by, minus, or less.

Multiplication: Multiplied by, times, of, or product.

Division: per, a, out of, ratio of, quotient of, or percent.

Equals: Is, are, was, were, gives, or yields.

The key to help solving word problems is developing the ability to identify keywords and translate phrases and sentences into mathematical equations. As with everything else in mathematics, this skill will only be sharpened after doing lots and lots of these problems. After that, whenever you come across a word problem you will be confident in your ability to tackle it instead of looking at it and thinking to yourself…."Word Problems…Ughh!!!”

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PPS Team – Mrs. Linke, Ms. Rybczynski and Ms. Pall

Tools to Help Overcome Test Anxiety

Providing students with tools and strategies that build both emotional skills and healthy physical habits when preparing for a test can help them overcome test anxiety and the associated symptoms. It is important to help students identify what they are feeling and give them tools that will help them learn to manage emotions such as anxiety, self-doubt, anger, or frustration. The proper physical habits enable students to have enough energy and stamina for their brain to do its job of thinking and analyzing for a sustained period of time.

Share these tips with your children ahead of time to better prepare them emotionally and physically for test taking.

 PRACTICE THE NEUTRAL TOOL: When you have negative feelings about whether you will do

well on the test, practice the neutral tool. It’s important to catch negative mind loops

that reinforce self-doubt. Every time you catch a negative thought repeating itself,

stop the loop and practice going to neutral. Start by focusing on the area around your

heart. This helps to take the focus off the mind loop. Then breathe deeply. Breathe as if

your breath is flowing in and out through the center of your chest. Breathe quietly and

naturally, four-five seconds on the in-breath, and four-five seconds on the out-breath.

While you’re breathing, try and find an attitude of calmness about the situation. Do this

in the days leading up to the test, right before and during the test.

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 ADDRESS THE WHAT-IF QUESTIONS: A lot of times before we have to do something like take a

test, much of the anxiety we feel is a build-up from negative “what-if’” thoughts. What

if I fail, what if I can’t remember anything, or what if I run out of time. Try writing a what-

if question that is positive and can help you take the big deal out of the situation and

begin to see things in a different way. Examples of these kinds of questions are, “What

if I can remember more than I think I can?” “What if I can feel calmer than I think I

can?”

 THINK GOOD THOUGHTS: Science is showing that good feelings like appreciation can

actually help your brain work better. When you feel nervous or anxious, try this. You

can do it as many times as you need to or want to. Remember something that makes

you feel good. Maybe it is your pet or how you felt when you got a big hug from your

mom, or how you felt after a super fun day at the amusement park with your friends.

After you remember how you felt, hold that feeling. Pretend you are holding it in your

heart. Let yourself feel that feeling for 10-20 seconds or more. Practice this tool right

before the big test.

 GET ENOUGH SLEEP: Big tests require a lot of energy and stamina to be able to focus for

several hours. Make sure you get at least eight-10 hours of sleep the night before the

test.

 EAT A HEARTY BREAKFAST: The brain needs a lot of energy to maintain focus on a big test for

several hours. Eat a hearty and healthy breakfast, including complex carbohydrates

and protein to make your energy last as long as possible.

This material has been provided by the Institute of HeartMath, a nonprofit research and education organization specializing in research on how stress and emotions impact learning and performance. www.heartmath.org

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EXPECT RESPECT … Be respectful, Be Responsible, & Be Safe, The Walker Way!

Bully reporting online @www.summithill.org

CELLULAR DEVICE/PAGERS USE (Reference Board Policy 7:190)

The using or possessing of an electronic paging device, cellular telephone, tablet computers, video recording device, personal digital assistant (PDA), or other electronic device in any manner that disrupts the educational environment or violates the rights of others, including using the device to take photographs in locker rooms or bathrooms, cheat, or otherwise violate student conduct rules is prohibited. Unless otherwise banned under this policy or by the Principal, all electronic devices must be kept off and out of sight (stored in student’s locker if student is in Gr. 7 or 8) during the regular school day unless: (a) the supervising teacher grants permission; (b) use of the device is provided in a student’s IEP; or (c) it is needed in an emergency that threatens the safety of students, staff, or other individuals. The District does not assume responsibility for lost, stolen, or broken cell phones. Failure to adhere to the district’s policy will subject the student to disciplinary consequences.

Wildcat News-March 2017 Page 24 of 24