YOUR WEEKLY SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

THIS WEEK (District Summative Testing)

Monday, 3/25 Report Cards go home today

PTSO Mtg at 6:30 PM in

library; everyone is welcome &

free childcare will be provided

Tuesday, 3/26 -

Wednesday, 3/27 Field Day for 3rd

-5th

Grades

Mallet Masters perform at ASU

Future Chefs compete at Aprende

Thursday, 3/28 -

Friday, 3/29 No School

NEXT WEEK (District Summative Testing)

Monday, 4/1 -

Tuesday, 4/2 5th

Grade at Biz Town

Wednesday, 4/3 Jamba Juice after school today!

Thursday, 4/4 -

Friday, 4/5 Brisas Carnival 5:00-8:00 PM

“Kiss the Donkey” at 6:30 PM

THE GECKO

1

HUH? DISTRICT SUMMATIVE TESTING? Yes, during the next two weeks, students in grades 2-

5 will be taking district-created Summative Tests in

ELA (English Language Arts) and Math which we

have created to align to the national Common Core

Standards. They will provide valuable information

as to how our students are progressing on these

Standards.

These tests will also be used to guide the placement

of our 5th

grade students in leveled ELA and Math

classes in 6th

grade next year. All 5th

grade students

will take their ELA and Math test next week. Based

on results, some students will take a follow-up test in

either Math or ELA, or both, the following week.

The purpose of the follow-up assessment is to

determine placement in leveled Math and English

Language Arts (ELA) classes, aligning to Common

Core. It is important to note that while a student

may take the follow-up assessment, they will not

necessarily be placed in an accelerated class.

For 6th

grade Math placement purposes, these

summative tests will be analyzed by math clusters

outlined in the Arizona Common Core Standards,

not as a whole. The overall test score will not be

used to determine placement. Course options for

Math for incoming 6th

graders include 6th

grade

math, 7th

grade math, 8th

grade math, and Algebra.

For 6

th grade ELA placement purposes, these

summative tests will be analyzed by ELA standards

outlined in the Arizona Common Core Standards, not as a whole. The overall score will also not be used to determine placement. Course options for ELA for

incoming 6th

graders include 6th

grade English Language Arts and Advanced 6th

grade English Language Arts.

Identified Gifted students will automatically take the follow-up tests to guide their appropriate course placement.

Students will be able to see their overall test scores in Schoolnet by Monday, April 15; however, please

remember cluster or standard scores will be used for determining placement, not the overall test score viewable

on Schoolnet. Final course placement will be determined by the Middle Schools and will be communicated to

parents following each Middle School’s scheduling procedure.

BRISAS’ FUTURE CHEF FINALIST We are excited to announce that Andrea Hernandez, 4

th

grade student in Ms. Frampton’s class was chosen to

represent Brisas as our finalist in the Future Chefs

competition. She will showcase and make her healthy

mixed salad recipe with homemade strawberry vinaigrette

dressing at Aprende Middle School on March 27, 2013.

Dismissal Reminder If you walk up to pick-up your child at dismissal time,

please remember to stand back off the sidewalk. We need to have a clear path for teachers to walk their students

to the buses, curbside pick-up, etc. The sidewalk has become very crowded with parents and it is making it very

difficult for teachers to walk their students safely to the other side of the school – especially for our kindergarten

and 1st grade classes. We greatly appreciate your support!

Brisas Mallet Masters Hit the Big Stage with the “The Duttons” On Saturday night, the Brisas Mallet Masters performed in Mesa as an opening act for The Duttons. We had 85

students, parents and teachers from Brisas attend this outstanding show that was fun for the entire family!

School Carnival Fast Approaching! Mark your calendar! Friday, April 5

th from 5:00-8:00 PM is our annual School Carnival.

Wristbands & Tickets ~ Save money and time by pre-ordering your bracelets and tickets now. A

printed Pre-Order Form went home with students on Friday; also see attached. Tickets are 50Ȼ

teach; bracelets are $10. Get 10 tickets FREE when you pre-order your bracelet, which will give

kids unlimited access to all inflatables, 25’rockwall, ponies, and our live petting zoo! Food and

games are not included in the price of the bracelets; these booths will only accept tickets, no cash.

Volunteers Needed ~ We need a ton of volunteers to make our annual School Carnival a success!

Every class has a designated attraction that needs to be staffed with volunteers. Please sign-up at

www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C084FABAF2B0-brisas1/808737 for your child’s class. We

greatly appreciate your time and support. Again, we couldn’t do it without you! Thanks so much!!

“Kiss the Donkey” ~ This year’s contest is only 4 days long…just Monday through Thursday. The

classes that bring in the most money will get their teacher to kiss the donkey. As a school, if we

raise $750+, our principal and assistant principal will also concede to kissing the donkey! Don’t

miss the excitement at this year’s School Carnival – 6:30 PM on the main stage!

3rd-5th Grade Field Day We are still in need of parent volunteers to help with our next Field Day this coming

Wednesday, March 27th

. Click www.SignUpGenius.com/go/8050E4EA4A69-field/365223

to sign-up to volunteer. Thank you so much!

K-2nd Grade Field Day What an amazing morning! Students rotated through 17 different stations and had a blast. Our thanks go to Coach

Benson for all her hard work with planning the day’s events. Thank you to Susan Stephens who was also on-hand

to take class pictures for our yearend keepsake DVD and yearbook. Below are just a few pictures:

Most of all, we want to thank the following 61 volunteers who helped students have a safe and memorable event:

Mayra Ruiz

Shirley Pesavento

Sean Tucker

Cheryl Boyce

Jackie Daughtery

Deletha Boyd

Sindy Lederman

Karena Ellison

Jeffery Boyd

Lynette Neild

Christina Georgesu

Shelly Dickman

Yen His Huang

Courtney Lucero

Sheri Jones

Susan Stephens

Nicole Quillian

Julie Colliler

Alissa DeFoe

Laurel Chipman

Wesley Mitchell

Sue Ewing

Todd Cameron

James Kicklow

Melissa Roland

Duane Hoskin

Jenifer Mitchell

John Ewing

Lori Schroeder

Joyce Brock

Sun Woong Oh

Kim Youngsu

Marco Pardo

Phyllis Cagle

Jessica Hirsch

Sarah Rodriguez

Thomas Jackson

Michelle Lopez

Kathleen Hinkely

Yoole Kim

Young Kim

Jennifer Gloria

Hye Eun Sim

Daniella Marino

Stephen Shelby

Kelli Brown

Vincent Gray

Brittany Gray

Mary Hill

William Waggner

Kerry Vance

Jennifer Berrett

Chris Pelletier

Srilatha Viene

Chantel Garcia

Kerri Jackson

Alisha Twitchell

Christine Walters

Wayne Dickman

Lori Rizzo

Jorge Ivonnet

Brisas Garden Club We want to thank Mrs. Pancratz, Ms. Foster, Mrs. Thompson and Mrs. Yazzie

for collaboratively sponsoring our Brisas Garden Club. This is a free after school

opportunity for 3-5th

graders. They all meet on Fridays after school to tend to all

of our gardening needs. They take excellent care of our planters and pots. This

is a picture of them hard at work this past Friday.

Kyrene Parent Summit The Spring Kyrene Parent Summit, an education night for parents, will be held

on April 25th

at Centennial Middle School. The evening will begin with dinner in the MPR from 4:45-6:00 PM,

followed by a variety of parent education sessions at 6:15 PM and 7:20 PM. Parents will be able to choose from 6

topics each hour, such as Preparing for Middle School, Internet Safety, Setting High Student Expectations, Teen

Drug Trends, Bully Prevention Strategies, Getting Ready for Kindergarten, and more. Panel members are

needed for the Preparing for Middle School parent class, and for the Getting Ready for Kindergarten parent class;

please contact Amanda Hamm at 480-541-1520 or ahamm@kyrene.org if you are interested.

Brisas Students Earn their Black Belts This past week, Hailey Cameron and Connor McGowan, both 4

th graders from

Mrs. Buckle’s class, were recognized on morning announcements for achieving

their black belts in karate. Hailey earned her 1st degree black belt in taekwondo,

while Connor earned his 2nd

degree black belt in taekwondo and his 1st degree

black belt in muay tai. This was a huge personal accomplishment and an

excellent example of Brisas students using their Lifeskills and embracing our

school’s Core Values of Pride, Effort, Achievement, Character and Excellence!

Kindergarten Learns about Habitats This past Friday, students from Mrs. Yoshioka and

Mrs. Foster’s classes presented their animal reports.

This was one of the culminating activities in their

habitat unit of study. Students had the opportunity to

choose their own animal to research, write about,

construct its habitat, and then share about their

learning with others. Mr. Katsiris, Assistant

Principal, was quite impressed with how much these

students were learning about the different habitats.

Brisas Support the Whole Child Did you know that Brisas does more than just support

students’ academic development? We care about and

support the whole child. Below is a picture from our

3rd grade Social Group who just finished a series of

sessions on social skills and self-control through the

use of role modeling, practice, and fun games and

activities. They worked on skills such as active

listening, conversational turn taking, nonverbal

communication, personal space, and self-awareness.

Lost & Found We try to routinely remind students and parents to check our

Lost & Found bin found in the hallway outside the front office,

where you’ll find jackets, sweatshirts, lunch boxes, water

bottles, and more. However, you may not realize that we also

have a Lost & Found in our front office that is also full of more

specialty items, such as phones, prescription glasses, watches,

house keys, wallets, jewelry, etc. If your child has lost an item

that is show in this picture, please stop by the front office.

Teaching Others Responsibility On morning announcements this week, we began a

series of short skits written and performed by students

about relevant issues that students face at Brisas.

These students taught their peers the importance of

being responsible with their cell phones. They

reminded students that cell phones must be turned off

during school hours and kept in their back pack at all

times, otherwise they will be confiscated and given to

their parents for further disciplinary action.

Teaching Others Respect On morning announcements this week, we also began a

series of short skits written and performed by students

from Ms. Klotz’ 4th

grade class. During a class

meeting, these students identified some issues that

students are struggling with on the playground and

wanted to be part of the school-wide solution to stop

them. This week, they taught students how to use kind

words, seek to understand instead of just reacting, and

to give others the benefit of the doubt.