WEEK OF DEC. 12-16
SPRING AND 7TH AVE.
GR. 6 - INCREDIBLE JOURNEY - FINISH BK AND POSTTEST - 7TH/SP TH/F
GR. 5 - LAST UNICORN - FINISH BK, MIDNIGHT CARNIVAL PROJECT, POSTTEST - 7TH/SP  TH/F
GR. 4 - WOLFLING - FINISH BOOK, POSTTEST - SP/7TH  TH/F

LITERATURE - NOVEL STUDY
There will be Posttest review during lst session of the week.
Due to MAP testing, Concerts, illness, there may be some exceptions made to above due dates, however as much of the novel work as possible will be completed prior to the week of Dec. 19-22, due to the additional variance in schedules that are anticipated during holiday week prior to winter break.
NOVELS will be collected from students during the week of Dec. 20-22.

CAESAR'S ENGLISH
No new lessons until after winter break.
REPEATS of the last test will be done for students who need to IMPROVE QUIZ AVERAGE.
Six quiz scores are included in the quarter quiz average.  A low score can be eliminated through replacement with a higher score on the test taken this week.

During the week of December 12-16, progress reports will be sent home for students participating in Gr. 4-6 SAIL Advanced Reading, and Gr. 5-6 Accelerated Math.  Gurrie students also receive mid-quarter progress reports at this time through the Accelerated Math and Advanced Lit/English classes. 

Students in all SAIL program classes must maintain a letter grade of at least B- to remain in the class.  A letter grade of B- is an alert, and teachers are in contact with parents where there is concern.  Students who receive a letter grade of less than B- have one quarter to bring the grade up to the B- criteria or be rescheduled from the advanced class to a section of regular instruction.

The current Winter MAP testing is an important component in the identification for next year's qualification for (1)  Gr. 4 - Accelerated Math beginning in Grade 5;  (2) Gr. 3 - SAIL Advanced Reading beginning in Grade 4  (3)  Gr. 6 - Advanced Lit/English beginning in Gr. 7  --  all 6th graders are requalified for the Advanced Lit/English class, including those currently participating in Gr. 6 SAIL.

MAP Percentile Scores in Reading and Math are used for Gr. 3 and 4.  MAP percentile scores in Reading and Language are used for placement in Gr. 7 Advanced Lit/English.  Points are earned toward qualification for any percentile scores above 90, with the following point values:   90-91 (1)  92-93 (2)  94-95 (3) 96-97 (4) 98-99 (5).  In the qualification process we review percentile scores for the latest 3 MAP tests:  WINTER 2011,  FALL 2011, SPRING 2011, and use the highest of those percentile scores for points toward qualification.

Mid-Quarter progress information is being provided to students at this time.  It is important to remember that all students who are participating in SAIL Advanced Reading, Advanced Lit/English, Accelerated Math, and LTHS Algebra must maintain a grade of at least B to remain in good standing in the program.  Reminders regarding this criteria will be provided with progress reports to any students whose current classroom grade may put their continuation in the program in question.  Should a grade of less than B be attained for the first quarter grade, the student has the time limit of one additional quarter to bring the grade up to the required grade of B.

DEADLINES ARE NEAR FOR NUMATS ONLINE REGISTRATION:

GR. 6-8  SAT EXAM   DEADLINE  MONDAY, DEC. 19 FOR SAT EXAM ON SATURDAY, JAN. 28, 2012         

GR. 3-6  EXPLORE TEST  -  DEADLINE THURSDAY, DEC. 15 FOR TEST ON SATURDAY, JAN. 21, 2012
                                        DEADLINE MONDAY, JAN. 16 FOR TEST ON SATURDAY, FEB. 18, 2012

School District 105 is paying the entire test fee and encouraging students who qualified to seriously consider participating in this testing experience.   For Students in Grades 6-7-8, this is especially recommended as a worthwhile experience.

See NUMATS LINK to the LEFT for additional NUMATS registration information.

Individual qualification letters were mailed to parents in Grades 3-8 where students had met the criteria of at least 90 percentile in reading and/or math in the Spring 2011 MAP testing.  Some additional students also received a letter based on a required level of achievement in ISAT testing.

Parents requesting guidance regarding the specific decision for their student to take the EXPLORE or SAT exam, may contact Dr. Kathy Stone via email at kstone@d105.net or Telephone 708-482-2710, Ext. 1242. 

APPEALS for placement in SAIL Accelerated Math and/or SAIL Advanced Reading were accepted through the formal deadline of MAY 25, 2011.  Upon return to school in the fall, new MAP testing has been completed.  New MAP test scores and teacher recommendations are reviewed after each MAP testing session, and teachers are continually monitoring students' classroom achievement to assure students are appropriately receiving advanced opportunities in reading and math.  Communications from parents regarding these opportunities should begin with the classroom teacher as SAIL staff are in close communication with advanced needs within each classroom environment.

Dr. Kathy Stone  kstone@d105.net

ADVANCED READING - MAP Reading scores are reviewed throughout the Grade 3 school year, and students who achieve an 85 or above percentile in reading are given the CogAT Cognitive Abilities Test (Verbal Battery).  All students in Grade 3 receive a Reading placement letter in May of Grade 3.  For those students who are identified for SAIL Advanced Reading, the Advanced Reading pullout program begins in Grade 4.  It involves 2 weekly sessions during the normal classroom reading time.  Students who do not qualify may be considered based on most recent MAP reading scores of 90 or above percentile.  Appeals include administration of the CogAT Verbal Ability test, as well as a review of other evidence such as list of books recently read by the student, writing sample, ISAT Reading score, growth in RIT Reading score, and correlation with peers in reading. 

ACCELERATED MATH - Students are initially identified for Accelerated Math in April of Grade 4. 

Parents are asked to contact the Grade 3 classroom teacher should they see a need to provide further input regarding advanced needs of students once the students have been working in the Grade 3 classroom for several weeks during the first quarter of the school year.

ADVANCED READING - Grade 3 Reading MAP scores are documented in fall and winter of Grade 3.  Students who score at or above the 85th percentile are given the CogAT Cognitive Ability Test in Spring of Grade 3.  All students in Grade 3 receive a Reading placement letter in May of Grade 3.  For those students who are identified for SAIL Advanced Reading, the Advanced Reading pullout program begins in Grade 4.  It involves 2 weekly sessions during the normal classroom reading time.  Students who do not qualify may be given appeals consideration based on most recent MAP reading scores of 90 or above percentile.  Appeals include administration a review of other evidence such as list of books recently read by the student, writing sample, ISAT Reading score, growth in RIT Reading score, and correlation with peers in reading. 

ACCELERATED MATH - Students are initially identified for Accelerated Math in April of Grade 4.  All 4th grade parents received a Math placement letter in May of Grade 4.  Students continue in the Accelerated Math class from grade 4 through grade 8.  There is no re-qualification or yearly placement letter, however, students are required to maintain a grade of at least B to remain in the Accelerated Math class.  Other students can be considered for moving up to Accelerated Math if they show evidence of most recent MAP Math scores of 90 or above percentile and high teacher recommendation.  Part of appeals will include quantitative CogAT ability test and GAP assessment for Grade 5 math.

Parents are asked to contact the Grade 4 classroom teacher should they see a need to provide further input regarding advanced needs of students once the students have been working in the Grade 4 classroom for several weeks during the first quarter of the school year.

ADVANCED READING - All students who have previously participated in SAIL Advanced Reading in Grade 4 will continue in SAIL Advanced Reading in Grade 5 and 6, unless the parent has been contacted and the student is earning of grade of less than B in Reading.  Due to this continuation process from Grade 4 to 6, there were no placement letters mailed for Advanced Reading.  A flyer was mailed home to all 4th grade parents with the Math placement letter, advising of the appeals process for consideration in SAIL Advanced Reading.

ACCELERATED MATH - Once students are placed in Accelerated Math, they continue in the Accelerated Math class from grade 4 through grade 8.  There is no re-qualification or placement letter, however, students are required to maintain a grade of at least B to remain in the Accelerated Math class.  Other students can be considered for moving up to Accelerated Math if they show evidence of most recent MAP Math scores of 90 or above percentile and high teacher recommendation.  Part of appeals will include quantitative CogAT ability test and GAP assessment for Grade 6 math.

Parents are asked to contact the Grade 5 classroom teacher should they see a need to provide further input regarding advanced needs of students once the students have been working in the Grade 5 classroom for several weeks during the first quarter of the school year.

ADVANCED READING - Students who have participated in SAIL Advanced Reading in Grade 5 continue placement in Grade 6, provided they have maintained the criteria of at least a grade of B in reading.  In the spring of Grade 6, all students who have previously participated in SAIL Advanced Reading are included in a complete re-qualification process.  Letters were are mailed in May for placement in Advanced Lit/English in Grade 7.

ACCELERATED MATH - Students can be considered for moving up to Accelerated Math if they show evidence of most recent MAP Math scores of 90 or above percentile and high teacher recommendation.  Part of appeals will include quantitative CogAT ability test and GAP assessment for Grade 7 math.

Parents are asked to contact the Grade 6 classroom teacher should they see a need to provide further input regarding advanced needs of students once the students have been working in the Grade 6 classroom for several weeks during the first quarter of the school year.

The provisions for Grade 7 and 8 include Grade 7 Accelerated Math, Grade 8 LTHS Algebra I and a daily Advanced Lit/English for both grades 7 and 8.  Qualification includes points earned:
MATH - Latest MAP Math score of 90 percentile or above, high points on teacher checklist, Gr. 8 GAP Assessment
LIT/ENGLISH - Latest MAP Reading and/or Language score of 90 percentile or above plus teacher checklist.

Parents are asked to contact the Grade 7-8 subject area teacher should they see a need to provide further input regarding advanced needs of students once the students have been working in the Grade 7-8 classroom for several weeks during the first quarter of the school year.

GIFTED & TALENTED ORGANIZATIONS