The NJ ASK is the standardised assessment for New Jersey elementary schools. With the high stakes that go along with these tests, it’s natural for many parents, teachers, and students to become far more stressed than they need be. I was rather fatalistic about the whole thing: I taught my students what I could; now, it was up to them whether they would apply those skills and strategies come test day. But, the test won’t arrive until this coming Monday, so why waste the weekend fretting over it? To make sure we start our testing weeks at a good place, our school had an NJ ASK Pep Rally, just to encourage our kids to believe in themselves, that they’re ready to kick some testing “ask” (lame, I know).

The lighting in our Common Room is pretty bad to begin with, and they had kept the lights off even after the PowerPoint presentation was finished. I’d forgotten to bring my flash, and I was using an F/4 lens, so I really struggled to get decent shots. I just cranked the ISO up as high as I could  and lowered the shutter speed to 1/60, knowing full well that I was going to get shaky, grainy shots. Still, I managed to get a few keepers, like the ones below.

Teachers show how it's done!

Pride Cheerleaders take the stage

Step!

Yeah, Buddy!

Perhaps my favourite shot of the day