It's Test Time!

 We will take MAP tests this week. In early May, Grade 11 students will take Smarter Balanced tests.

We take these tests to see how much we improved in math and reading this year. They also show us if we can use what we have learned. 

Taking hard tests is also good practice for college or on-the-job tests. Hard tests show if we can do our personal best when we have to face a challenge.

Here are the top five important test taking tips we learned about:
1. Sleep 8 hours the night before. Your brain needs it.
2. Peek at the questions BEFORE you start reading.
3. Read slowly and carefully. Do not just skim.
4. "Slash the trash" by crossing out the answers you already know are wrong.
5. Use the clues. Inference questions need detective skills.

We also learned that it is okay to not know everything on the test. The tests are designed so that every person who takes it gets about half the questions wrong! The test will ask you to try things you have not yet learned. That's okay! Just take an "educated guess" after crossing out answers you know cannot be right.

We also learned it is important to take your time. All of us have disabilities that make it hard to go fast. So, we have accommodations (changes to how we do the test) allowing us to take our time to do our personal best. That's why we also do the tests in a small group.

Science proves that when you say "I can do this... I can try my best!" to yourself, your attitude will help you learn more and get more correct, even if they are the hardest ones.

Admin V Students

Learning 4Life Success Period 6/7 students invited some of our administrators to compete with them in a game called Quizizz. The topic was our PBLOs (Performance based Learner Outcomes), the six goals for each student at Tiospa Zina Tribal School.

On Thursday, Dr. Jen Heath and Heather Bainbridge took on the challenge!

In the first round of competition, Itancan and Robert, representing the class, clearly clobbered the Admins, holding a solid lead most of the game.

In Round Two, the game plan changed. Team Nike (Jen and Itancan) barely edged out Team Waste Groovy (Heather and Robert), hanging on to a slight lead throughout all thirty-plus questions. The two teams were neck-in-neck until the very end!

Congratulations to the brain-athletes on both teams! The competition was fun and really focused us on our learning! Pidamaya to Heather and Jen for their bravery in the competition!

Our Leader Board is Filling Up!

Each student in Learning 4Life Success knows it is a class requirement to complete their Rubik's Cube by the end of the year.

Some have been working on it since autumn. Some have just recently gotten energized about tackling the challenge.

Our Leader Board lists the following as completing the Cube SO FAR!!

• Maza O.
• Itancan C.
• Avory R.
• Isaiah H.
• Glendean D.
• Robert L.
• Sister Patrice

Congratulations to all! 

And keep up the excellent effort to all who are working on it!! Your name will be here soon!!!!

Sister Patrice keeps saying that solving a challenge like this is "just like adult life."

• It takes a lot of effort but you CAN be successful.
• You can ask your friends and family for help, but they can't do it for you.
• You can find advice and hints online, in videos, and in books, but you have to be willing to try them.
• You have to try, then mess up, then try again, then mess up again, then try again... until finally you figure it out.
• You need to grow a lot of patience and persistence. 
• Sometimes you have to tell yourself to keep on going even when it is hard.
• It often seems easier when someone else is doing it.
• Getting all mad and angry and slamming things around doesn't solve the cube. It's still there when you're done.
• A half-way effort doesn't solve the problem. You need to do the whole thing.
• It sometimes feels really unfair that others do it so easily.
• It can be fun, but it can also be stressful.
• You sure feel good when you are finally successful...and then, for some weird reason, you want to keep right on going and take on the challenge again!