What do you want to be when you grow up?

Yesterday, we had a visit from Smoky Hill High School's leadership group, "The Brotherhood." During Principal Chats they spoke to our students about the importance of having courage, doing well in school and being successful in life. One of the questions that the young men from Smoky Hill asked our students was, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" The kids shared all kinds of dreams they had, from being an astronaut to being a professional athlete. Now, more than ever, children are seeing that there's nothing they can't achieve.

So what can we do, as parents, to expose our kids to career choices? Children can't know if they're good at something unless they try it. By having a wide variety of supplies available, your children can explore different skills, while having fun in the process. Calculators, math puzzles and games, and building sets are appealing to those who might end up in math or engineering careers. Toy medical kits and a supply of Band-Aids are always a hit and can light a fire in future health professionals' lives. Art supplies, craft kits, and musical instruments may spur an interest in the arts. 

Talk about your own job with your kids! Many parents have jobs that their kids can't really comprehend. They might only know that you work in an office building or a store. If you can, participate in Take Your Child To Work Day (this year, on April 23rd) so they can see what a work environment is like. Talk to them about the education and training you needed to get your job.

Sometimes, it can be tempting for us to see a talent in our children and then focus only on that. However, the most successful people in life have a wide variety of interests and abilities. Be proud and encouraging of your young artist's work, for example, but make sure that he or she also does well in math, science, reading and other areas.

It's also important to be realistic. Many of our kids want to grow up to be professional athletes, rock stars, or the president. While shooting for the stars is wonderful, and you should encourage all of their hard work to succeed, help them also realize that the competition for those superstar positions is fierce. Help them expand their dreams to include their ideal job as well as other related careers. If your child wants to be a pro football player, for example, make sure he or she knows about careers in physical therapy, sports medicine, physical education teaching, coaching sports law, etc.

And, of course, connect their dreams to the importance of staying in school, working hard and listening to their teachers! 

 

CSAP is here!

At schools across Colorado you can hear the sound of number two pencils being sharpened and students shushing each other as they begin CSAP (Colorado Student Assessment Program) testing. Sunrise third, fourth and fifth graders will be testing through February and March in the areas of reading, writing, math and science (science is only tested in 5th grade). The data collected via these tests reflect individual student progress toward state standards and allow us to measure their academic growth across school years. 

Many of the tests begin as early as 8:15 so it continues to be crucial that students arrive to school on time. Please help prepare your child for success by ensuring that they get a good night's sleep and have a healthy breakfast each morning. Sharing words of encouragement help to build your student's confidence and help them feel prepared. Thank you so much for your continued support!

• February 24th-25th: 3rd grade ABC tracks Reading CSAP
• February 26th-27th: 3rd grade A track Writing CSAP, 4th and 5th grade A track Math CSAP, 5th grade A track Science CSAP
• March 2nd: 5th grade A track Science CSAP
• March 3rd-4th: 3rd grade A track Math CSAP, 4th and 5th grade A track Reading and Writing CSAP
• March 5th: 4th and 5th grade A track Reading and Writing CSAP
• March 12th-13th: 3rd grade B, C, D tracks Writing CSAP, 4th and 5th grade B, C, D tracks Math CSAP
• March 13th and 16th: 5th grade B, C, D tracks Science CSAP
• March 17th-18th: 3rd grade B, C, D tracks Math CSAP
• March 17th-19th: 4th and 5th grade B, C, D tracks Reading and Writing CSAP

Sunrise Advisory and Accountability Meeting

On February 10th, the Sunrise Advisory and Accountability Committee (SAAC) met to discuss how students are progressing toward learning goals and proficiencies and were invited to share concerns, thoughts and celebrations for next year as we switch to a traditional calendar. The graphs shown here compare last year's CSAP scores (in blue) to this year's MAP scores ("Measure of Academic Progress"). As a staff we spent time analyzing our assessment data and created a top priority list for reading. Students' learning will focus on identifying the main idea of a selection or text, summarizing a text, and making inferences while they read. We are also choosing a common framework to use to teach writing. This will create aligned expectations in writing across all grade levels and will utilize a common language/vocabulary for teachers to use when teaching writing to their students. In addition to having a set time for writing every day, the intermediate grades are integrating more writing into their science.

We are enjoying watching the growth that our students are making across the curriculum! Our next SAAC meeting will be at 6:30, after the PTCO meeting on April 14th. Our intent is to talk more about next year and how a change in our calendar will impact our students. Hope to see you there!