Sally Mauro students prep for SAGE testing

By CARBON SCHOOL DISTRICT

    Sally Mauro Elementary is moving closer each day toward its SAGE testing period with each passing day, and while that is not forgotten at all, the events at the school spur students on to good behavior and academic excellence.
    Recently the school held their science fair which was judged by local citizens with displays and demonstrations in their cafeteria. Dozens of students participated with subjects and winners in chemistry (Harlan Fiek, Jadyn Nef and Harley Prettyman), physical science (Lily Kardelis, Maddox Woods-Davis, Rozlyn Stowe), engineering (Hunter Pero, Lily Carmichael, Esqui Torres), earth and space (Sydney Kollar, Tanner Herket, Brynlee Moss) behavioral (Abby Anderson, Kaydence Romero), and medicine (Sage Vea, Daxby Duncan, Tysen Adams) represented.
    The school has also instituted a new program for rewarding good behavior in the cafeteria during meal time. It is called the Golden Spatula Award and it is presented to the classes whose students behave well in the cafeteria.
    “We have different behaviors we are looking for during breakfast and lunch time,” said Sally Mauro Principal Jarad Hardy. “Each grade when we see the good behaviors we make a mark on a chart, and when they get so many each day they get a Golden Spatula on the wall chart. If they earn 15 spatulas on the wall then they get an extra recess.”
    A student from the school was recently named as a recipient of honorable mention at the state Reflections program. His name is Colton Day and he is a kindergartner at the school. He won the honor in visual arts.
    The school archery team also participated at the state meeting in February and took sixth in the state. Two students took individual honors, each getting an eighth place in their respective categories.
    Academically, one of the projects this year is the Book in a Bag program that emphasizes the students’ need to read and to grow in their skills and comprehension. Students take home a book in the bag at their reading level and then when they finish it they bring it back and are given another one.
    “We are working on independent reading levels,” said Hardy. “This is where a student can read on their own and understand what they are reading. We match each of those bags and books to the student. Then to move up a level the teacher monitors the progress by each student by having them read some passages on different levels and have them complete some comprehension questions about that reading. If they answer four of the five comprehension questions then we move them up a level in the assessment. And we keep doing that until they can no longer answer those questions correctly. Then we choose the level just below that to be their actual reading level and we give them books in that range. Because of this we have seen some great growth from some students in the school, some of them moving many levels already.”
    Hardy also said they also do a comprehensive reading program where students get together to read or read independently, but they don’t do the program all at one time like some schools do. He said that is because the schedule in the school made that difficult this year, but next year the school will be doing that.
    “This year each grade level has picked a time during the day during which time they do independent reading,” he concluded.