Montalbano

Testing PTA

Dear Sope Creek Families,

Thank you for all your support this year – we could not have done it without you!  We especially appreciate all the care and love expressed during this last week of school.  Your kindness and help through this trying time was so valued. 

We wish you a fun, safe summer!  Our children have flourished and grown and we have truly seen “We Are What We Grow” in them.

Congratulations to Sope Creek Elementary School receiving Green School Status and reaching the Gold Level thanks to the effort of our Environmental Committee.

A big round of applause goes to Sope Creek alumni Michelle Brown of Walton HS and Lacey Turner of Wheeler HS – recipients of this year’s Dr. Karen Looft Memorial Scholarship.  Their dedication to education and community service makes us proud.

5th Graders – we wish you a smooth transition to 6th grade.

The rest of our Sope Creekers – we look forward to seeing you in August! 

Remember to check the Sope Creek and Sope Creek PTA blogs throughout the summer for updates on the upcoming school year: 

Pictures of our 2008 – 2009 adventures can be found at:  http://sopecreek.shockleynet.com  Thank you Jerry Shockley for capturing the year in pictures!

Hot Summer? Cool Books!!
Ø  Super Summer Readers regularly read books and magazines and reduce summer learning loss. Studies show that summer reading accelerates learning. Don’t let summer’s heat slow you down.

Ø  For specifics on your grade level reading goals, please visit the Sope Creek PTA site at http://sopecreeklibrary.typepad.com/pta_events/  and look for "Education and Literacy."

Ø  So, read! At the beach, at the pool, in your own backyard. The rewards are immeasurable, the enjoyment is endless.

Ø  Sope Creek Super Summer Readers can reach and exceed our summer reading goals. Those who do can look for additional rewards when school resumes from the PTA Education and Literacy Committee and the Sope Creek teaching staff. But above all, reward yourself with some great reads and have a summer full of fun and exploration!

Ø  From the PTA Education and Literacy Committee: Laura McNeice lkmcneice@yahoo.com, Stefanie Jones cnzmom@yahoo.com, Stacy Baca stacycarl921@comcast.net

The PTA's new Diversity & Inclusion Committee needs your help!  We are looking for volunteers who speak both English and any of the other languages spoken by families at Sope Creek to serve as interpreters for Meet & Greet.   Volunteers would be available to help our international families feel more at home, address any concerns they might have, and encourage them to join our PTA.  If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Wendy Stewart via email at wendywstewart@gmail.com or phone 404 285 4584 cell or 770 933 9187 home.

In an effort to maintain some of the Sope Creek garden beds over the summer, the Environmental Education Committee is looking for volunteers to help with weeding and watering.  If you are available to help, please contact Monica Anschel, monica.anschel@pathbuilders.com, and she will put a schedule together for the summer

news and dates

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CRCT Individual Student Score Reports will be available for you to pick up at our school on Monday-Wednesday, June 9-11, 2009.   Any reports not picked up between June 9-11 will be distributed at the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year.

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Our PTA has created a new committee called the Diversity and Inclusion Committee.  In order to embrace the diverse cultures and languages of students who attend Sope Creek, the Diversity and Inclusion Committee would like to put together a cadre of bilingual volunteers who can serve as language and culture interpreters for school events, beginning with Meet and Greet.  The goal is to overcome any language barriers or cultural nuances that may confuse or intimidate newcomers to Sope Creek.  If you would like to assist with this committee, or would be willing to serve as a translator, please contact the PTA's Diversity and Inclusion Committee Chair, Wendy Stewart via email :  wendywstewart@gmail.com

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Cobb County Curriculum
Georgia Performance Standards
Model Teaching Week
Election Immersion

Standards Based Report Cards

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June & July -- SUMMER!!!

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CRCT Individual Student Score Reports will be available for you to pick up at our school on Monday-Wednesday, June 9-11, 2009.   Any reports not picked up between June 9-11 will be distributed at the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year.

........................................................................................................................

Our PTA has created a new committee called the Diversity and Inclusion Committee.  In order to embrace the diverse cultures and languages of students who attend Sope Creek, the Diversity and Inclusion Committee would like to put together a cadre of bilingual volunteers who can serve as language and culture interpreters for school events, beginning with Meet and Greet.  The goal is to overcome any language barriers or cultural nuances that may confuse or intimidate newcomers to Sope Creek.  If you would like to assist with this committee, or would be willing to serve as a translator, please contact the PTA's Diversity and Inclusion Committee Chair, Wendy Stewart via email :  wendywstewart@gmail.com

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Cobb County Curriculum
Georgia Performance Standards
Model Teaching Week
Election Immersion

Standards Based Report Cards

.........................................................................................................................

June & July -- SUMMER!!!

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Spring Pictures

LIFETOUCH CLASS and INDIVIDUAL PICTURES 

Tuesday- Feb. 26th (1, 3, and 5th grades)

Wednesday- Feb. 27th (4, K and 2nd grades)

Yearbooks

 

Yearbooks are still on sale. 
To be guaranteed a yearbook, you must PREORDER ASAP . 

Yearbooks are now $30.00 each. 

Lunch and Learn: Testing Inservice

2007-2008 Testing Information

• Testing Schedule
• Description of Tests
• Interpreting Data

(See the attached PowerPoint Presentation)

Download lunch_and_learn_07_rev.ppt

Another Award Winning Year!

Under the No Child Left Behind legislation, and as mandated by state law. 

Georgia is required to develop a Single Statewide Accountability System (SSAS) which includes consequences and awards.  In elementary school we use the Georgia Criteria Referenced Competency Test (CRCT).  These awards are presented to schools that show excellence in student achievement and/or progress in student achievement. 

We have been awarded the 2007 SILVER AWARD, which means that 96% of our students met or exceeded state expectations on the GA CRCT and over 25% of students exceeded standards.  More specifically 96.92% of kids met or exceeded standards (which means we missed the GOLD AWARD by .08%).  We also had 60.98% of our children to exceed standards.  We are certainly proud of being recognized as a school of distinction!

For more information visit:  http://gaosa.org/Index.aspx (click on) Accountability → Report Card → K-12 Public → Cobb → Sope Creek → Report Card

 

Welcome New Staff Members

We are very excited to welcome the following staff members to Sope Creek this year!  Thanks to our wonderful PTA for providing us with a luncheon during preplanning.

Martha Whalen, Principal

Jessica Appleyard, Assistant Administrator

Rebecca Grindstaff, Area Lead Teacher

Lauren Brady, Psychologist

Angie Bonadio, Secretary

Fallon Cassidy, Kindergarten Teacher

Sheryl Gunning, Kindergarten Teacher

Angela Yim, 3rd Grade Teacher

Sally Seymour, 5th Grade Teacher

Judy Bullard, Gifted Teacher

Cheri Vaniman, 5th Grade Spec. Ed.

Jennifer Bradley, LD/SC Primary, Spec. Ed.

Emily Darr, SID/PID, Spec. Ed.

Susanna Alexander, Spec. Ed. Para

Anabella Almeida, Spec. Ed. Para

Donna Wallace, Spec. Ed. Para

Robin Calnan, Nurse

CRCT On-line Information

Dear Parents (Grades 1-5),

Your child will be taking the Criterion Referenced Competency Tests in the spring of 2007 in the areas of reading, language arts, and mathematics. Students in third, fourth, and fifth grade will also be tested in science and social studies. These tests will be based on the curriculum (either Georgia Performance Standards or Quality Core Curriculum) your child is being taught at school each day. It is important for your child to attend school each day and complete assignments to learn the required curriculum. All students in grade three must pass the reading portion of the test in order to advance to fourth grade.  Students in grade five must pass both the reading and math portions of the test to advance to middle school.

The Georgia State Department of Education has developed an on-line assessment system containing practice tests your child can take at home if he/she has access to the Internet. There is no charge for the assessments and you can monitor your child’s progress easily. The practice tests are based on the skills and knowledge that will be tested next spring and test items are presented in the same format that students will see on the actual test. Students may take the student tests as many times as they wish, whenever they wish. Student test results do not affect a student's grade. In fact, student test results are not automatically recorded, although a student may choose to save a result and/or send a result to his or her teacher.

The on line assessment system requires Internet Explorer 5.5-6.0 or Netscape 4.5-4.78 to run.  The program uses a browser checker that will notify you if your browser is not compatible with the on line assessment system.  If you receive an error message from your browser, you will need to convert to a browser that is supported by the on line assessment system for the program to work properly. 

Beginning February 1st, your child can access practice tests in the following way:

1. Go to http://www.georgiaoas.org
2. Login with the student’s Georgia Test identification number. Your child's teacher has been given this 10 digit number, but feel free to call me as well to retrieve it 770-916-7085 x225. 
3. The password is education. 
4. The Student Welcome Page will appear and your child can click Student Tests. 
5. Choose the subject area from the list of available subjects.
6. Select the test from the list.
7. Click the Take the Test button. The test will begin.
8. Once the test has been completed, click the Grade My Test button at the bottom of the page; a pop-up window will display.  Click OK.
9. The results of the student’s test will display. You can either save or discard the results. 
10. Click on Return Home if finished or click on a test option button if you want to take another test. 
11. Click the Logout button when you are finished working in the on line assessment system. 

We hope this resource will be helpful to you as your child prepares for testing.  If you have any questions concerning your child’s progress, contact his/her teacher. 

Sincerely,

Kimberly Montalbano

Asst. Principal and Testing Coordinator

Welcome!