It's that time of year again...ISTEP testing in Indiana

March brings stress and anxiety for thousands of Indiana students with the much dreaded ISTEP exam. Today was the first day of testing, but also the first day of school after setting the clocks an hour ahead over the weekend.  It was also the first day of our extended school day (an hour added to each day), making up for the 2 weeks of school we missed due to snow.  To ease our 3rd grade students into the testing experience, we decorated their hallway with some inspirational banners sporting test taking strategies and positive reinforcement. This is their first round of testing, with tests next week and then again in April. Our Title I students were equipped with the tools necessary to handle their first test taking experience with success.

Good luck to all my 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade Title I students!

Battle of the Bobcats

Tuesday night my school hosted the first annual "Battle of the Bobcats" basketball game.  This game was between the kindergarten through second grade teachers and the third through fifth grade teachers. Our PTO put together the game in a way to culminate the weeks of fundraising our school had for Pennies for Patients, a charity to help students with life threatening illnesses. One of our third graders is a leukemia survivor and has been a featured success story for Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis. What we had, was an evening of fun that brought our staff, students, and community together.

The Orange Team!
Kindergarten through grade 2 teachers and staff.
 I'm on the floor with the neon green visor.

The Pink Team!
 Grades 3-5 teachers and staff.
They had youth on their side.

The Orange Team a.k.a The Shooting Stars

Running through the banner brought back memories from my high school days as a pom-pom girl

Our pre-game cheer!

The National Anthem

A little blurry but we played a mean game of basketball. I was the first to score a basket. I also made a free throw shot and added 3 points to our team's score. 

The Pink Team ripping through their banner

Our middle school cheerleaders came to cheer us on

Jump-ball with real refs!

The teacher who collected the most money for
 Pennies for Patients got a pie in the face

Teacher relays. Our Orange Team won this one adding 10 points for our team.
 Experience won over youth!

Cheering our relay team!

We let the students have their turn on the court.
 Each student could shoot a basket for a prize.

Our fantastic principal in the green participated as well!

I'm the one in the orange shirt in the foreground with slouched socks. My calves were too thick to pull my socks all the way up. 

More fun with the students

Final score: 16-16 Tie game!
 I think the keepers of the scoreboard added points so everyone ended up a winner.

With such a huge success of our first "Battle of the Bobcats," this is sure to be an annual event!