UPDATED: State Testing & Math Placement Dates

Here's the finalized schedule for the testing dates. Please mark your calendars. Students should be on time to school each day of testing:

Thurs, May 8- Math Placement Part A
Mon, May 12- SBAC (Smarter Balance)
Tues, May 13- SBAC (Smarter Balance)
Wed, May 14- SBAC (Smarter Balance)
Fri, May 16- SBAC (Smarter Balance)
Mon, May 19- CST Science
Tues, May 20- CST Science
Thurs, May 22- Math Placement Part B
Wed, May 28- Math Placement Part C

State Testing & 6th Grade Placement

Over the weekend you should've received an email from the district about state testing this year, and all the changes. Please know that this is a very transitional year, so information is slow. Here's what is known so far.

Fifth grade is taking 3 different tests: 
(1) Smarter Balance online testing,
(2) CST Star Science Test, and
(3) 6th Grade Placement Test.

The online Smarter Balance test is a completely new format and as such this year is a practice year. Students and teachers will be learning the new format of the state test, and while the students will be completing the test, their scores will not be known. Their scores do not count. You will not get results. If you are interested in seeing the Practice tests, please go to http://www.smarterbalanced.org/practice-test/

The entire 5th grade at Mohr will be taking the Smarter Balance tests the week of May 12th. 

The CST Science test is the same format we have done for years with a test booklet. This is the last year of the CST format. As of right now, the test dates are not yet scheduled.

The 6th grade math placement test will also be taken sometime in the month of May. It's exact date is not yet scheduled.

Once these tests are scheduled, I will send out an email with all the dates.

I hope this clears up any confusion. Let me know if you have any questions.

Science Competition

Below is a wonderful opportunity for any students interested in science. If you are interested, please email Cynthia Tien.

Thanks! 

Ms. Wilcox 

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My name is Cynthia Tien, a current junior at Amador Valley High School. I am a part of a school club called Amador Valley Science for Youth, which focuses on engaging elementary school students in interactive science activities to further their exploration of science in particular areas. As a club, we value spreading the fascination and application of science to young minds, and allow them to dive into the world of science. We believe that these experiences will allow the children to expand their interest in topics already covered in class. Currently we do weekly presentations at Walnut Grove and have an audience of thirty fourth and fifth graders weekly. We also periodically do presentations at the Pleasanton Public library!

This year we are excited to announce that we will be hosting an Elementary Science Olympiad (ESO), which is an adaptation of the well-known Science Olympiad that currently takes place at the high school and middle school levels. (More information about the high school and middle science olympiad can be found here: http://www.soinc.org/). Elementary Science Olympiad is a science competition consisting of about 13 or so events that cover a variety of science topics. Students of any potential can compete in these events. We hope that this experience will allow elementary school students to have fun while competing in various events that apply the knowledge they’ve learned over the year.

We are planning to host ESO on May 31st, at Amador Valley High School, from around 9 AM - 4 PM. Teams comprised of 10-15 4th and 5th grade students will be competing as partners or groups of 3 in 13 separate events; each student will have about two events. Results are calculated based on the rankings in these individual events. Event types consist of build, lab, and study events. Build events require students to make a product beforehand and test it on the day of the event. Study events require that the students research and learn a particular topic, which they will be tested on at the day of the event. Lab events require students to use knowledge that they learn beforehand and apply it to the situation they are given on the actual day of the event.

We'll be explaining more about the events individually, to interest kids in the competition. We want as many students involved as possible!

More info about the event can also be found on this site: http://esopleasanton.weebly.com/. If you could forward this link to parents, we'd greatly appreciate it. 

If you have any additional questions, please email cynthia.oddrepublic@gmail.com

Thank you!