Principal's message

Dear Parents,

The end of the school year is fast approaching. We will continue to focus on academics. Last month students participated in SARSEF, the Southern Arizona Research, Science, and Engineering Foundation competition. Ms. Hale’s class won second place in their category and Ms. O’Shea’s class took third place. Ms. Davis’ class won first place in their category and Ms. Shepard’s won third place. Zane Soulen was the individual winner. We are very proud of all our scholars.

Students in grades 3 through 8 will be taking the Arizona Academic Standards Assessment (AASA) test the week of April 3^rd through April 21^st. Students in grades 5^th and 8^th will also be taking the AZ Science (AzSci) test the April 4^th and 6^th.

Be sure to schedule your child’s doctor appointments outside of these dates as it is very important that your child be present for these assessments. Also, it is of the utmost importance that your child comes to school well-rested, having eaten a healthy breakfast. 

You can help your child by:

·      Encouraging your child to try his/her best!

·      Helping your child get a good night’s sleep and have a good breakfast each morning.

·      Helping your child with time management.

·      Reminding your child to read carefully.

·      Reminding your child to check his/her work.

Research shows that students who eat breakfast perform better in exams. We will be asking for donations of snacks and/or gift cards toward the purchase of snacks to ensure that every student at AMS is prepared to do their best. Research also shows that one of the best ways to maximize your focus is to stay hydrated. Even mild dehydration can lead to tiredness, headaches, reduced alertness, and diminished concentration. So have your child start the day with a big glass of water.

We are looking forward to the Spring Recital on May 11^th for K-2 grades, and May 12^th for grades 3-8. Both recitals will start promptly at 5:00 pm. Eighth-grade promotion will take place indoors on May 19. Kinder promotion will take place on May 22^nd. More details will follow for each of these events. Please post these events on your calendar.

This year seems to be flying by, but we still have a great deal to accomplish as we prepare your scholars for the next grade level.

Sandra Lomeland

Upcoming Events

Online ordering

Kinder

Spring is here, and Kindergarten students are BLOOMING! We started the month of March by celebrating Dr. Seuss’s birthday. We enjoyed many fun activities to go along with some of our favorite Dr. Seuss books. In Science, we have been discussing the Sonoran Desert habitat where we live in Tucson. We are very excited about our upcoming field trip on April 4^th to the Sonoran Desert Museum where we hope to see many of the plants and animals we have learned about up close. In Math we are exploring 2 and 3-dimensional shapes and practicing positional words like over, under, next to, and beside. Our ability to read is quite impressive as we continue to learn about long vowel sounds and practice our fluency with our decodables. Both class’s Science Fair projects were sent to SARSEF where Ms. O’Shea’s project, Great “Egg”speriment, won 3^rd place in their category and Mrs. Hale’s project, Sunscreen Challenge, won 2^nd place in their category. We got to build leprechaun traps with our families. However, despite our best efforts setting the traps, those clever leprechauns broke into our classrooms and left a huge green mess while managing to avoid all our well-built traps. To make up for the mess, they did leave us a magical treat which we really enjoyed. 

Mrs. Hale & Mrs. O'shea

1st Grade

Hello, First-grade Families!

This month will be full of fun and exciting things! A few goals for March for our first grades are to continue to progress with our reading fluency, know all our first-grade sight words, and have 100% of our students turn in their homework! With the end of the year coming close we still need to remember classroom expectations, be safe, be respectful, be responsible, and be ready to learn. We will be learning about 3D and 2D shapes, adding and subtracting big numbers. In Social studies, we are learning about maps and places around the world. We are continuing to learn different reading strategies to make us better readers. In science, we are learning about sound and force. We will also be learning about St. Patrick’s Day and how it came to be. March will be full of fun learning in first grade.

From The First grade team,

Ms. Twitchell

Miss, Rachel

Ms. Roberts

2nd Grade

Class 2A is rocking and rolling this spring as we are writing paragraphs, learning about animals and their habitats, and mastering fractions. As the older classes are taking statewide exams, during indoor recess, we are creating items using tinker toys and dominoes as well as learning new card and board games.



Ms. Gilbert

Hello 2B Students and Parents!

The month of April brings spring and a new wide range of topics for our class.

Students will be reading about citizenship and the history of the pledge of allegiance. We will focus on what makes America a great place to live in and why we sing the pledge. Students will also learn how to write a formal letter to a family member and how to address an envelope to be sent through the mail. They will workshop each other’s writing and publish their letters in a polished form. We will also be reviewing how measurement works with rulers and using blocks to count. Scholars will be able to learn the differences between centimeters and inches.

Lastly, for Science, we are exploring different climates and dessert animals. They will be able to sort and identify animals that live in our climate in Arizona.

We have lots of exciting activities and lessons planned for April!

Kind regards,

Ms. Davis

3rd Grade

Hello 3^rd grade parents,

We are so excited to tell you about our field trip coming up on May 3^rd. We will be going to the Insect Discovery at the Flandrau Science Center. We are excited to have a hands on experience with the bugs. In school we have been doing something called Mastery Machine to improve our skills in math and reading. This has been our main focus to improve our scores on the AASA coming up

Mrs. Shepard and Ms. Holbert

4th Grade

4^th grade math and science is working hard this month on state testing in math. The scholars will be learning about electricity and magnetism this month in science.

Ms. Bonillas

In Ms. Kephart’s class, we are continuing to work on the Mastery Machine Assessments. We are seeing great results and the scholars are showing GRIT! We are in the middle of AASA State Testing and the determination and perseverance I see in the scholars as they approach the tests with has been AMAZING! I have seen such great GROWTH this year. Going forward we are working on a Literature Study, “Among the Hidden,” which is assisting the scholars in being able to approach a H.O.T (Higher Order of Thinking) and many standards that come with ELA plus the discussion has been a good balance of teacher/scholar-led. Scholars will also be continuing to work on writing, grammar, and organizing multi-paragraph essays for preparation for fifth grade.



Ms. Kehpart

In April, Ms. Brooks’ 4A class will be taking the AASA test in Writing and Reading. We will be reviewing many standards to prepare for the test. 

Denise Brooks

5th Grade

Hello Centaur Families!



Great day to all of you! It’s another fun learning weeks for our scholars and more to go.

In Math, our scholars did all the standards that needed to be mastered for next week’s AASA. We did a mini lesson for them to refresh what the standard for that day is, modeled the process while our scholars were so focused, attentive, and well behaved. After the classwork, our scholars took the quiz from School City, our online platform where the students will take online tests. The good news is we just consumed 4 boxes of toys. Yes! It means that our scholars really did their best. This is not only in Math but also in their Science subject as well.

Our scholars are showing much eagerness to learn everyday inside the classroom and making progress. persistently while working together to have a safe and fun classroom environment.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out and talk to me.

Thank you for all your support and I look forward to a great year with you and your scholar!

Mrs. Francisco

Happy Spring Centaur Families!

It has been and will continue to be a busy time of year! March flew by with our focus on Mastery Machine and the Standards we focused on to prepare for… AASA! The beginning of April will be our time for scholars to “show what they know” as they take the AASA state tests. We will continue to use Mastery Machine to help students be as prepared as possible for these tests, which will show what they have learned about writing, language arts, math, and science.

Quarter 3 Report Cards went home on March 27. If you have any questions, please contact me by email, phone, or Dojo message.

Thank you for all of your support!

Mrs. Campbell

6th Grade

6th grade took an awesome field trip to the Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium!

In 6th grade, we are continuing our Astronomy unit to learn more about what lies in outer space.

Mrs. Biehl & Mrs. Celaya

Hello families!

March was a wild month full of all kinds of learning. We finished reading a wonderful excerpt from a book the students all loved, called Uprising, and we started our Mastery Machine extravaganza! I’m super proud of my scholars, as they all got dress down passes before break due to their incredible learning. Upcoming in April is AASA, so it’s important that parents know that scholars will likely be a little more stressed than normal. I’ll be providing snacks and mints during testing to help them push through, but any encouragement they can get for English, especially writing, will be important. Thank you so much for being such incredible advocates for your kiddos!

Best,



Ms. Demijohn

7th Grade

7^th Graders this month completed the Ever-changing Earth (Dynamic Planet) and completed the unit and are done with the school city test. Scholars have been working hard on Mastery machine standards for the upcoming AASA test. In April they started with a new unit Science and Engineering. The unit was lost for 6-7 weeks. The scholars are working on Study Island. Watched the documentary on the water crisis in the world and did the worksheets on the water crisis.

Water: The world in crisis and vertical farms: Fresh food for cities are both part of Engineering for all (EfA).

Ms. Fathima

During March 7th grade completed the Ever-changing Earth (Dynamic Planet) complete the unit and done with the school city test. Scholars have been working hard on Mastery machine standards for upcoming AASA test.

Started with new unit Science and Engineering. The unit lost for 6-7 weeks. The scholars are working on Study Island. Watched the documentary on Water crisis in the world and did the worksheets on Water crisis. Water: The world in crisis and vertical farms: Fresh food for cities are both part of the Engineering for all (EfA).

James Bugg

8th Grade

8th grade has been working hard preparing for their AzSci test! Testing will begin the week of April 3rd. 



Alison Biehl

Science Learning targets covered this month are completing the Lesson Compounds and Mastery machine standards. Scholars have been working hard on Mastery machine standards by taking tests for our upcoming AASA AZ-Science test.

For Science, during April the scholars have been working hard preparing for 2022-2023 AASA Testing started on April 3^rd and April 10^th which is week 1 and week 2. The AASA testing and AZ -Science will be done with students in the home rooms. Picture day is coming on Monday, April 24^th,2023.

Mrs. Fathima

Hello Families!

It is now testing season! Yay! Just kidding. I know it is a stressful time for many students and their families. But rest assured that your students have been working hard, and I know they will perform to the best of their ability. After testing is over, we will be moving into the final unit. I expect us to delve into the world of literature to prepare students for the academic rigors they will face in high school. As always, if you have any questions please reach out to me directly.

Mr. Min

Specials

Music Department

PLEASE NOTE: The Spring Recital this year will be on Thursday, May 11th at 5:00 pm for K-2 and Friday, May 12th at 5:00 pm for 3-8th grade. We have already begun choir rehearsals for this recital and are excited to share with you the music that your children are learning. The recital will feature our guitar ensembles, choir, and soloists on piano and guitar. We are asking the students to dress nicely for the recital wearing spring colors, no shorts, please. Please come out and support our scholars!

Regards,

Mrs. K and Mr. Nigro

Russian

Art

"We're hopping right into painting in Middle School this month with acrylic and watercolor landscapes and acrylic portraits! 3^rd - 5^th grade is finishing up their drawing projects before moving into multi-media work! 1^st and 2^nd grade are learning about form, with 3D projects on the horizon. Last, but very much not least, Kindergarten is coloring their way through their pattern unit!

Spots are still open for the art club - we are continuing our painting projects before shifting to a multi-media project later this month. 3^rd - 8th-grade^th grade art club meets Tuesdays in the Art room from 4-5 pm."

Ms. Thomas

ELA Intervention

ELA Interventionist Susan Haas is assigned primarily to grades K-3. As we prepare for the AASA (state testing) starting the first week in April, K-2 will continue to work on various phonics, punctuation, and grammar lessons, all important to their ELA education as they advance and move to year end. Third graders have been busy navigating their mastery machine lessons and follow up tests to prepare for AASA, with the focus on key instructional areas most likely to be addressed on the AASA. Our Intervention classes will continue with Iready, our school assigned ELA software program that challenges, educates, and encourages new skills in areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension. Ms. Haas also uses Phonics for Reading, a supplementary phonics program designed to teach phonemic decoding to those needing extra help. The third graders are preparing for the very important ORF (Oral Reading Fluency) test scheduled for the first week in April. We are dedicating extra classroom hours preparing and practicing with the third graders for their ORF assessment to be administered over a few days at the beginning of April. This is very important as these third graders move on from “learning to read” to “reading to learn”, so instrumental to the success as they move up in their grade. Thank you for continuing to read with your child and for providing each student with a healthy breakfast and plenty of sleep, so key to their health, happiness, and success!

Susan Haas

Math Intervention

In March the 8^th graders worked hard and had fun earning prizes doing our AASA preparation which we call “Mastery Machine.” This was a fast-paced recall of the standards covered during the school year. I was impressed with their focus and determination and am very optimistic going into AASA. In computer science 3^rd and 4^th graders wrote programs in BASIC that would perform arithmetic operations on two numbers entered by a user. In April we have three straight weeks of AASA testing, this is your opportunity to show off what you have learned this year. It is imperative that parents and students make the most effort to avoid absences April 3^rd to April 21^st. I can’t wait to see these scores!



Mr. Thompson 

PE