P.E.A.R.L.

Re-enrollment for current families will be from March 9th to March 23rd. Amanda Jones will send emails out on March 8th with the information and links you will need to re-enroll. Siblings of current students can be enrolled at this time as well. Remember that if you don't re-enroll by March 23rd, your family will go on the waitlist (and we have a long waitlist!). Additionally, if you would like to request a new teacher, please contact Amanda Jones (ajones@qsd48.org).

Mark your calendars! easyCBM testing is in two weeks (March 16th-20th)! easyCBM testing is a schoolwide assessment that all PEARL students (K-8th grade) complete in the fall and spring. It is completed at home, and you can fit it in at a time that works best for you.

ATTENTION!! SBAC testing is coming up, and it’s time to choose your student’s testing day and location. Please use the sign-up form to select the site that works best for your family. Because PEARL serves students across the state and we coordinate multiple testing locations, early sign-ups are incredibly helpful for planning.

We strongly encourage families to complete the form during the first week of March so we can confirm site availability, staffing, and materials for each location. Signing up early helps ensure your preferred testing site remains available.

Thank you for helping us make this year’s Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium testing run smoothly!

If you used the PEARL ELA curriculum at any point in the year, please provide feedback using this form. 

• The form takes 10–15 minutes and is open to any family who used PEARL ELA this year.
• If you stopped using it, you may skip to the final section and answer only those questions.
• Responses are as anonymous as possible (only grade band is requested for context).
• Feedback will be reviewed over the next few weeks, so timely responses are especially helpful.

Thank you for helping make PEARL ELA even stronger for next year.

Second semester funds must be spent by March 15th. If you need ideas about what to purchase, we have put together a great list and included some teacher recommendations. We’ve also given you a look inside Mystery Writing and shared a review from one of our wonderful PEARL parents.

Have you ever thought, "I wish PEARL would teach a Zoom class about (fill in the blank)?" We would love to hear your ideas! 

Believe it or not, we are already planning Zoom classes for the fall. If you have an idea for a class you would like to see offered, please email Mary (mnajar@qsd48.org).

Many students who will be taking the SBAC can benefit from additional writing practice, especially in narrative, opinion, and informative writing. Mystery Writing is an affordable option—available for $25—that provides clear, well-structured writing lessons to support students throughout the year.

Mystery Writing is also a strong supplemental resource for families who are not preparing for the SBAC but are looking for solid, engaging writing instruction. Lessons are delivered through short, student-friendly videos that guide students step by step through the writing process.

Families who are interested can watch a short overview video and use a pacing template to help plan instruction. You can choose one writing genre you would still like to cover this year and follow that genre’s outline using the provided template.

To sign up for Mystery Writing, please email your PEARL teacher and Amanda Jones at ajones@qsd48.org

Last week we announced that all K-6th PEARL families are eligible to participate in Silverwood Theme Park’s Read 2 Ride program. Any student who reads for 10 hours between Jan. 5th-March 31st and fills out a reading log will be awarded a free ticket. Please send completed logs to Nicole Collins at nlcollins@qsd48.org. PEARL teachers will not be able to accept reading logs. 

Also, at the bottom of the reading log please only choose to have your student’s ticket sent via email. PEARL will not be printing and sending tickets. If this will be a problem for you, please email Nicole to let her know. 

Parent Info page (please read to participate!)

Reading Logs

Please note that we can only provide tickets for the students in your family who are enrolled in PEARL.

PEARL Connections offers parents a space to connect, collaborate, and learn together while students take part in activities. Join teachers and other families to share resources, discuss curriculum, and explore school topics in a supportive community setting.

Please email efrantz@qsd48.org if you have any questions about these events.

Sign up here

Thursday, March 5th from 2-4pm

Jefferson County Public Library - Humphrey Room

620 Cedar Avenue

Port Hadlock, WA 98339

Port Angeles Main Library - Raymond Carver Room
Friday, February 6, 2026 from 2-4pm
2210 South Peabody St.
Port Angeles, WA 98362

January 30th, 2pm

Kitsap Regional Library, Bremerton - Sylvan Way

1301 Sylvan Way, Bremerton, WA 98310

Port Townsend/Quilcene/Tri-Area/Port Ludlow/Brinnon

December 4th, 2pm

HJ Carrol Park

9884 WA-19, Chimacum, WA 98325

Shelton/Tumwater/Lacey/Olympia

November 7th, 2pm

Tumwater Historical Park

802 Deschutes Way SW, Tumwater, WA 98501

March Health: Hygiene and Self Care

Good hygiene keeps our bodies healthy and helps us feel our best. Washing hands, brushing teeth, bathing, and wearing clean clothes all protect us from germs. Self-care also means taking time to rest, eat well, move our bodies, and do things that make us feel calm and happy. Taking care of ourselves is one of the best ways to stay strong and healthy. This is our health lesson for March and can be found in our PEARL Health series.

March Heritage Lesson: Women’s History Month

Women’s History Month highlights women who changed history through leadership, art, invention, and courage. You can find lesson ideas in our PEARL Heritage lessons.

Lexia Learning Informational Session - Come find out about this reading intervention program for 1st - 8th graders offered in PEARL. March 4th, 10-11am. Sign Up Here.

Parent Training for current Lexia Users, March 23rd, 1-2pm. Sign Up Here.

Information Session

Come find out about this reading intervention program for 2nd - 8th graders offered in PEARL. March 6th, 10-11am. Sign Up Here.

Current Lexia Users - Refresher about reading your reports and teaching resources available, Feb. 24; 11am - noon.  Sign Up Here.

Helpful Checklist

Feeling a need to reorganize in the new year?  Try out this Lexia Weekly Checklist.  Make a copy and edit the sheet to fit your child's week.  Make copies and keep in your Lexia Binder for easy daily use.  Support Video.

Home Choice Boards

Lexia Tips and Tricks:  These Home Choice Boards give lots of fun and easy ideas for keeping literacy alive during school breaks.  Take a look!  

Kindergarten

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

Grade 4

Grade 5

Grades 6.7.8

Skill Builders

If your child is using Lexia, it's important to share in their learning via the leveled Skill Builders. Simply print the Skill Builder for the level they are currently working through on the digital program and spend a few minutes a day or 20 minutes/week to do the same types of activities with paper and pencil. This will help you to see victories and challenges and will allow your child to share their learning with you directly.

Lexia Writing Tools

We've all recently shared writing samples with our Pearl Teachers and you may be having discussions about ways to support your student in writing.  

Our Lexia program provides us with some really neat writing tools in the form of prompts with basic rubrics for students to consider as they write and for parent teachers to use in evaluating student writing for further instruction.  Please check out this great resource!  They are as good for struggling writers as they are for advanced writers.  

The Core5 pack is for younger students who are able to write sentences or paragraphs.

The Power Up pack is for 6th graders and up.

Lexia Tips and Tricks

Now that we've completed our first CBMs of the school year, it's a great time to help your child analyze their own reading fluency. Use this Fluency Checklist or this Fluency Rubric to talk about the aspects of fluent reading with your children at any age. You can also access all of the Fluency passages for more regular practice on our Lexia Resources Doc.

Fluency Packs for Weekly Practice

Anyone can access all of the Fluency passages on our Lexia Resources Doc. Learn more about Lexia at our Parent Training Schedule.

Lexia Close Reads

What are Lexia Close Reads? Available to anyone in Pearl, Close Reads are created for upper-elementary students.  Lexia Close Reads provide opportunities for critical reading and analysis with a variety of real-world text types and engaging topics. The full-color student readers are organized in sets and can be used to develop fluency and comprehension while promoting higher-order thinking, collaboration, and discussion.

Lexia Close Reads Overview

Lexia Close Reads Packs - scroll to the end of each pack for Teacher's Guide.

Dyslexic Advantage Book Study

Who: Any PEARL parent, teacher or caregiver

When: Mondays from noon -1, once each month, Oct. 20, Nov. 10, Dec. 15, Jan 12, Feb. 9, March 16, April 13, May 18.

How: Read the book on your own at home, think about discussion questions and prompts provided, join for facilitated group Zoom discussion of strategies in 7 monthly sessions.

Do: Sign up using This Form & check out a copy of The Dyslexic Advantage from the Pearl Library. Or order your own if you’d like to be able to write in your copy and keep it.

SBAC Parent Update

An important email has been sent to all SBAC families outlining updated testing requirements and a required form that must be completed. Families are also strongly encouraged to have students take the SBAC Practice Test, which can be taken as many times as needed to build familiarity and confidence. A link to the test is included in the form.

Additionally, if you are looking for answers to the practice test, you can find them here. Please check your email for full details.

SBAC Test Prep

For the last couple weeks we've been discussing learning standards and statewide assessment, so we wanted to share the link to the practice test. Feel free to go in and explore. This is VERY similar to what students will be taking come spring. Here are step by step directions for navigating the practice test. There is no limit to how many times you go through it. 

Washington Practice Test Portal

Learning Standards

Learning standards are an important part of your child’s education. They outline what students should know and be able to do at each grade level. In Washington State, these standards are organized around four main learning goals:

1. Communication: Students learn to read with understanding, write clearly, and express themselves effectively in different ways and settings.

2. Core Knowledge: Students build a strong foundation in math, science, social studies, the arts, health and fitness, and more.

3. Critical Thinking: Students practice thinking creatively and logically, using what they’ve learned to solve problems and make thoughtful decisions.

4. Life and Career Skills: Students explore how effort, performance, and choices connect to future educational and career opportunities.

With these goals in mind, the standards provide the stepping stones that guide learning each year.

Resources

One of the main purposes of the SBAC assessment is to measure students’ depth of knowledge, not just surface-level understanding. In other words, can students move beyond basic comprehension to use higher-order thinking skills—such as considering why an author made certain choices, identifying deeper meanings, and analyzing how a text is organized? These are valuable skills for both test preparation and overall learning.

Below are a few resource options to help your student strengthen these skills. Most links will take you to the publisher’s website, but all of these materials can also be found on Amazon by grade level.

Recommended ELA Resources:

Evan-Moor Workbooks (Paired Reading Texts)

Evan-Moor (Text-Based Writing: Non-Fiction)

Carson-Dellosa Workbooks (Evidence-Based Reading)

Washington Test Prep SBAC Practice Books