Message from Principal
Message from Principal
Dustie Gunn, MAED; MBA
Robles Elementary
Embedded Files
Our Bobcats Are Ready: April State Assessments
Dear Robles Families,
As we move into April, we are entering an important time in the school year. Our students have been working incredibly hard, and this month many of them will have the opportunity to demonstrate their learning through state assessments.
Students in 3rd through 5th grade will be participating in the AASA (Arizona Academic Standards Assessment) for English Language Arts and Mathematics. These assessments measure how well students are mastering the Arizona Academic Standards and help us understand how we can continue supporting student learning and growth.
Our testing schedule for April includes the following dates:
April 1st and 2nd – AASA 3rd Grade Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) Testing
April 8th and 9th – AASA English Language Arts (Grades 3–8)
April 14th and 15th – AASA Math (Grades 3–8)
These assessments are an opportunity for students to show the progress they have made throughout the school year. Our teachers have been preparing students through daily instruction and practice with the skills they will need to be successful.
Families can support students during this important time by helping them:
Get a good night’s sleep before testing days
Eat a healthy breakfast each morning
Arrive at school on time so they are ready to begin testing with their class
Encourage them to try their best and stay confident
We are incredibly proud of the hard work our Bobcats have shown this year. At Robles, we continue to encourage students to demonstrate our ROAR values—Respect, Open-Mindedness, Accountability, and Responsibility as they approach these assessments with confidence and determination.
Thank you for your continued partnership and support. When families and schools work together, our students thrive. If you have any questions about testing or how to support your child, please feel free to contact our office.
Warm regards,
Dustie Gunn
Principal
Robles Elementary School
3rd Grade Bobcats:
Learning, Growing, and ROARing with Pride!
Hello Altar Valley Families!
It brings us great excitement to share what our 3rd Grade Bobcats have been up to since the start of the school year. State Benchmarks, Acadience, and CBM are the tests our students have been doing since the beginning and they have been dedicating a lot of time to them. Additionally, our focus since the beginning of 3rd grade has been on following the Bobcats ROAR rules here at Robles, which are to be respectful, open-minded, accountable, and responsible, which adheres to students being on their best behavior and being positive role models for our younger bobcats.
In Mathematics, our aspiration is improving mathematical strategies for students. We are currently working on multiplication and division strategies in word math tasks. Students are learning new ways to solve for an area using addition and multiplication, and they are able to determine which strategies work for them best. We are thrilled that students are advancing their multiplication facts and can relate addition to multiplication strategies! We strive to assist students in developing strategies that work best for them and expanding their knowledge of mathematical skills. We are encouraging students to have the right outlook and self-confidence that is necessary to become successfully skilled mathematicians.
In Reading, In Reading, our instruction is aligned with the AZADE essential standards and focuses on strengthening students’ reading strategies. We concentrate on identifying the moral of a story, understanding figurative language, determining the main idea, using context clues to understand new words, comparing and contrasting ideas, and citing text evidence to support answers. We use the
Six Minute Solution to regularly assess and support students’ reading fluency and accuracy. Our goal is to help students develop strong reading comprehension, expand their vocabulary, enhance critical thinking skills, and build confidence in using text-based evidence.
In Writing, our goal is to streamline the writing process of children. We place a lot of emphasis on topic sentences, writer's purpose, opinion writing, and descriptive details. Our aim is to give students the skills they need to successfully express themselves through writing, conveying their ideas clearly and persuasively, and in exhibiting enthusiasm and creativity during the writing process.
At the end of the year
Our students will be tested on benchmarking and AASA. We anticipate that the children will demonstrate progress by 10% from their current standing. And with the help of the parents, we can make it possible by allowing them to read the passages at home, using the flashcards provided by the teachers, and guiding the kids in answering their homework. In collaboration with each other, both as students and parents, let's show our appreciation for the accomplishment, commitment, and hard work that went into it. We should set higher goals, pursue dreams, and keep striving for excellence in all that we do.
Report abuse