6/4/14

The following went out in an email and homework can be found at the bottom:

 

Dear Sixth Grade Families,

Your child should be coming home tonight with a "Fact Packet".  Please sign your child's planner so that I can make sure that you received it.  This is the curriculum that was going to be discussed in class, but instead is being sent home so that parents have a chance to have their hands on the materials and be the primary educators of their children.  This curriculum will look a little different next year, but we will still be using it, so this is a great warm-up for families.  If you have any questions or concerns, please email me. 

Today we had a guest speaker, Mrs. Vanek, come in and talk to us about the Lymphatic System.  It was extremely insightful and enjoyable. Please ask your child what they learned.

Tomorrow we are hoping to have a "Prince and Pauper Feast".  With MId-Summer Nigh't's Dream happening we will be short on clothing fun, but if students want to bring some bling for the feast they can.  If you are available and want to join us, we will begin the feast at 11:45 and watch the end of our movie.  Thank you in advance for helping/allowing your child to participate and bring in food.

Also, tomorrow we will be cleaning out our desk and bringing things home.  If your child thinks it will not fit in their backpack, they should bring an extra bag.  They will still want to bring their bags on Monday for "Diffendoofer Day" aka Teacher Station Rotation Day, because they will be making things and will want to take it home. 

Many students are forgetting their water bottles this time of year and should still be bringing them, please help them remember the importance of hydration.

Lastly, while I will have the students working hard to clean tomorrow, it would be nice to have someone come in to  make sure nothing needs cleaning Thursday after school and Tuesday anytime(as it is field day and student should mostly stay outside) of next week.  I have not had a parent clean my room in over a month, so please take pity and check in to see if you could be the one to save the day.

Have a wonderful evening,

Miss King

Homework tonight:

• P & P read ch 27
• Write a letter to the incoming 6th graders, it should include in 1 paragraph the positives of 6th grade then the second paragraph should have the challenges and advice for next year.
• Bring in food for the feast
• Take home the facts packet and talk to Mom/Dad/Guardians about this

6/3/14

Didn't push publish on this yesterday, sorry...

Tuesday.....yesterday we had a substitute Mrs. Bean.

• We began our day by doing our perception survey in the computer lab.  Parents should now have a link to do theirs as well.
• In math we began our End of Course Exam, many finished and others will finish tomorrow.
• We took our Greek and Latin root final exam today, we also corrected it in class.  Students who did not pass have a chance to retake the exam tomorrow.
• World Language
• We read Chapter 24 in class in the Prince and Pauper and Chapters 25 & 26 are homework.
• We also watched about 20 minutes of the film.
• Lunch
• We worked on our rough draft of our letter to Mrs. Barrett and the final draft is due in cursive italics, in pen and on Riggs paper tomorrow. 
• Talked about the Feast on Thursday and five names were drawn for Pauper food and then students wrote on the back whiteboard what they thought they would be bringing.

That's the gist of it!

5/28/14

Good afternoon,

The week is not over, as we have an outstanding hiking field trip tomorrow.  Students need to remember to pack their water bottle.  They will be doing a creek walk, so they can bring or wear water attire under their regular clothes. Mr. Weaver has sent many emails so hopefully you are aware of this field trip.  Water bottles and an oversized lunch are a must, as well as sunscreen applied if your child tends to burn.

Looking ahead:
Students have a big test over all the Greek and Latin roots we have learned this year on Tuesday, they should be studying this weekend and not save it for Monday night.

We are currently reading Prince and Pauper and we would like to do a Prince and Pauper feast on Thursday for lunch.  It is fun to have parents come if possible and play the prince portion where they are served by the Paupers.  If you can make it please come.  This is our last potluck of the year and students will come up with the feast food list next week, unless you want to pick something up this weekend while out shopping!  Again Prince and Pauper feast on Thursday June 5 at 11:45. 

This weekends homework is:

Math has a packet to help them prepare for their exam next week, it consists of 60 questions.
Students should read up through Chapter 21 in the Prince and Pauper book
Some students have not turned in their last IEW paper and that is due on Monday as well.

That's all for now,

Miss King

5/27/14

• We began our day with our map of Asia.
• In math everyone got back their End of Course Exam and most didn't pass with Mastery so we got out white boards and went back to the practice sets of the lessons we need to review.  Tonight there is no homework, although there will be over the weekend.
• After taking a few moments to clean our gross room, we began language arts by watching the Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain with the actor Errol Flynn.  The students are enjoying it and it's even in black and white! Then we went over the questions from chapter 11-14 to make sure we were all understanding the story.
• World Language
• Students silently read a book of their choice for about 10 minutes, then we reviewed chapter 16 which was assigned as homework.  Then we began reading chapter 17 together, but did not finish. 
• Lunch
• P.E. and Music
• We got into our groups and based on our group plan from yesterday, following these teaching objectives: Must have a visual respresentation, ask and answer three questions (quiz worthy), be at least 3-5 minutes in length but not more and use at least three different types of mediums,. students executed their plan and presented to the class.  There will be a quiz based on questions tomorrow.
• For homework students are to read chapter 17 & 18 in Prince and Pauper and their final draft of their IEW persuasion paper is due tomorrow.

Thanks,

Miss King

Tuesday 5/26/14

Settling in after a long and lovely weekend.......

• We started by finishing our Europe maps and beginning our Asia maps.
• In math some students finished their End of Course Exam and all students received their grades from the gradebook.  Their job is to study and make a study guide this evening to help them begin to retake exams and quizzes bringing up any grade book grades below a 3, which shows mastery.
• We did CPR, then our District Greek and Latin Root game.  There will be a quiz next Tuesday over all the roots we have had this year.  We finished our language arts time by learning about underlining, italics and quotation marks from Warriner's Grammar.
• World Language
• During reading time students were given a set of questions from Prince and the Pauper, chapters 11-14. Some finished it in class and others will have it as homework tonight.
• Lunch
• We worked on our persuasive writing pieces, looking at a few student papers and figuring out what persuasion strategy they were using.  Then students were to get their paper edited by two different peers.  The final draft is due on Thursday.
• After P.E. we came back and worked for a few more minutes on our papers, then began our group jigsaws on our astronomy objectives, with each group being assigned a kind of star or galaxy to present and teach the class about.  This will all be done in class.
• Depending on how we cleaned up we will or will not begin our Prince and the Pauper movie.

Students are still forgetting their recycling boxes for our constellation boxes, please try to bring these in.

See you all tomorrow,


Miss King

Thursday and more

Thursday was a bit crazy and full, but that just sums up sixth grade!

In Language Arts we are working on reading and understanding the language of the Prince and the Pauper.  Playing our district rounds to learn our Greek and Latin roots seems to be working well and we are gearing up for a final in roots (not just memorizing them, but knowing them before seventh grade). We will wrap up Warriner's Grammar with some knowledge of punctuation and students will be bringing home a full grammar notebook in June!

We wrapped up Immigration this week and began our Astronomy unit, although it took a back seat because of OAKS testing.  Now that testing is officially over we will dive back in next week.

Student should have their latest Orthography score written in their planner for you to see when you sign it.  If they were missing their Prince and Pauper questions that will be written in their planner as well.  Some students were missing their papers and more were copied and put on the front table.  I know some students will try to say "Miss King never gave me the paper", that is because I announced twice that it was on the front table :)!  I tried!

So this weekends homework is not a huge, but does require writing.  We are working on our last IEW unit of persuasion.  Students were given a Persuasion Map (on pink paper) and instruction, as well as an example written by me off of my persuasion map about how to go about their introductory paragraph and the body paragraphs.  We spent two different days in class working on this.  They did have class time and some students even finished their writing in class or got almost done. They should come on Monday with four paragraphs written.  It would be most helpful if their paper was edited by an adult before coming on Tuesday.

They are also to read Prince and Pauper up to Chapter 15 for Tuesday.

Some students forgot to bring a box from recycling, like a cracker box or something small and similar on Thursday and should bring one on Tuesday.

Enjoy the long weekend,

Miss King

Wednesday 5/21/14

Good afternoon,

Today ended not as lovely as it started and I am saddened to admit I think my face changed colors as a clanked the cow bells.  The class as a whole could not be respectful, turn off their voices and just pack up.  I do not enjoy those moments.  It will be a better day tomorrow.

Ask your child about our guest speaker this morning.

• Mr. Mitchelldyer came in and wowed us with his job and all of its possibilities. In his job I thought it was great that he talked about how he uses a lot of math, and even grammar for captions!
• For math many students had to go and finish OAKS testing.  Everyone got their test back and based on their scores and their needs, some began their "End of Course Exam".  Some need and want to study more before taking the exam.  We will finish the exam next week and then work on mastery of any struggling concepts to improve our grade book grades.
• For language arts time we worked on our Persuasion Map and began our rough draft in class.  We will continue to work on this tomorrow and into next week.
• World Language
• Students read Chapter 10 in Prince and Pauper for silent reading, then they were given a packet of comprehension and critical thinking questions for chapters 5-10.  There were some hard questions and we will go over a few of them tomorrow together.
• Lunch
• P.E. / Band  We will see everyone for band and orchestra tomorrow at 6:05 with the show starting at 6:30.  Remember concert attire is required.  If nice dress means a uniform that is fine too!
• Back in class we studied again for our Immigration quiz and then took the quiz and corrected it in class.  It sounded like everyone did a great job.
• We began our astronomy unit by going over all of the objectives we need to learn, realizing we know many of them already and then watching a Space School video on the Milky Way before packing and trying to clean up!

That was all for today, have a wonderful night,

Miss King

5/20/14

Tuesday

• We started our day with an orthography test.
• In math we went over practice test 23B and then took test 23A.  There is no homework in math tonight.  Students should have tried to finish Investigation 12.
• About half of the class finished their OAKS reading test today and the rest will have to finish tomorrow.  Ask your child how they did!
• World Language
• We did five more Greek and Latin root notecards while I read chapters 7, 8, and 9 in Prince and the Pauper.  Students are to read Chapter 10 tonight for homework and there will be questions on these chapters tomorrow.
• Lunch
• P,.E./ Writing Groups
• We began our persuasive writing unit.  Students have a quick assignment to go home tonight and find some persuasion.  A half-sheet homework assignment should come home with them.
• We read chapter 4 & 5 of immigration in our history books and students should be bringing home a study guide for our quiz tomorrow.  This was not required homework but encouraged for the quiz.

See you all tomorrow,

Miss King

5/19/14

Another packed day here in 6th grade.  Our class feels a bit empty with the girls gone in Tennessee.  We hope they are doing well and having fun.

• Our morning started with mapping Europe and getting ready for our day.
• In math we went over lessons 119 and 120 and worked on Investigation 12 in class.  We were working on volume and surface area, not an easy concept.  Homework is practice test 23B.  Some students went to the lab to finish OAKS math testing.
• We had CPR and a wild time of charades.
• We played District Greek and Latin roots and tomorrow will finish writing out the rest of the roots on our note cards gearing up for our final exam.
• We then learned about the colon and it's uses in grammar.  We finished Exercise 2 placing commas, semi colons and colons in sentences.
• We went to the lab and did a practice OAKS test as we have our actual OAKS reading test tomorrow.  Students should get plenty of rest, remember their water bottle and bring a healthy snack.
• Lunch
• P.E./Music: P.E. they started their track unit.  Music is practicing and gearing up for the concert on Thursday night from 6:30-8:00.  Sixth grade should arrive around 6 to get tuned and ready.
• Many students went to the lab to either retake their math OAKS or finish it.
• In class we went over chapter 3 & 4 from Prince and Pauper, then read chapter 5 together.  Chapter 6 is homework.  We also answered questions from chapter 1-4 and if students didn't finish it in class it is homework.

That about wraps it up!

Miss King

5/15/14

• This morning we practiced our missed words and took a Riggs quiz.
• For math we practiced the concept in 119 and 120 and they are homework for the weekend. We also have printed lyrics of the song "Meters, Liters, and Grams" so we can practice and perform it for the USO show on the last day of school.  Most students in math want to do it and will need a parent's signature to perform. 
• We then did CPR and students share their expectations of the upcoming weekend.  After all of the sunny day expectations, I told them to expect rain!!
• The last group performed their skit explaining the difference between the Old Immigrants and the New Immigrants.
• We began punctuation in our Warriner's Grammar book and took notes and did an exercise on the semicolon.
• World Language, students took their planners and should have homework.
• We had a guest speaker, Mrs. Schroedl come in and talk to us about what it was like adopting a child from China.  We learned it was a lot of paper work and they ask extremely strange questions of the person, even if she is five, coming into the United States. It was enlightening and much appreciated.  Her daughters name was Xingqing and is now Lexie. Hopefully another parent will come and talk to us about immigration next week as we wrap up our unit.
• Lunch
• P.E./ no art today
• We had about 10 minutes of silent reading, student choice.  We then learned about Mark Twain and a little bit of history on King Henry VIII, the London Bridge, and hereditary positions.  We also talked about all of the versions of "The Prince and the Pauper" students have seen.  I forgot to tell them that we will have a Prince and Pauper feast at the end of this book and parents will be invited. We then finished the day with reading Chapter 2 and making a postcard based on the imagery in the chapter.  Students are to read Chapters 3 & 4 over the weekend.
• Students also received progress reports in Math and Language Arts and should get them signed and bring them back on Monday.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Miss King

5/14/14

• We practiced our missed words and took a Riggs test. 
• Math we went up to the computer lab and took our State Oaks Math Test.  Students do not have homework tonight.
• We wrote five more roots on notecards and students should have 40 roots now on notecards.   If they don't I have made copies of the roots they should have and they can get caught up.
• We did a partner exercise out of our Warriner's Grammar book.
• World Language
• More State Oaks Math testing
• Lunch
• P.E./Music
• Chapter three on Immigration and then students got into groups of six and were given a question about the chapter and asked to act out the answer for the class.  One class will be going in the morning as we ran out of time.
• Riggs words

colossus
appreciated
wrenching
nineteenth
newcomers
existence

• Students were given the Prince and Pauper today and Chapter 1 was assigned as reading homework.

Miss King

Also sent by email

Dear Sixth Grade Families,

Students should be coming home today with their MAP scores.  My apologies for not getting it out last week as there were technical difficulties.  Please ask them for these scores before they are lost in the vortex of the backpack or elsewhere.

Students will also be getting a Prince and Pauper book today and should be responsible for bringing it back and forth daily from home to school. 

We are out of many things in the classroom, but we really need: tissue, copy paper, and wipes, please!

Most students finished their State Oaks Math test today and should be able to tell you if they "Exceeded, Meet, or Nearly Meet" the mark for a sixth grade student. Please ask them about this.  If a student did not meet, they will retest to see if they can bring up their score.  If a student almost exceeded and wants to retake the Oaks test, although they passed, they need a note from you saying you want them to retest.

We will be testing in Reading next Tuesday.

A few things coming up:

May 22nd is the Middle School Music Concert from 6:30-7:30

May 26th NO SCHOOL in observation of Memorial Day
May 30th is the field trip hiking with Mr. Weaver

Have a great day,

Miss King

May 13, 2014

• This morning students got back their last Riggs test, practiced their missed words and took a Riggs test.
• We did a quick CPR and because it was Allie's birthday, we talked about birthdays and followed her lead for a run before heading back in for math.
• For math we went over the packet of reteach, and reworks many things.  We then did some practice on white boards as well as on paper working out problems about the area of a circle.  I tried to print out a useful sheet on area of triangles and parallelograms, but it is a bit over their heads, so they are to do the best they can on the sheet as homework.
• We had a quiz over 15 of the roots that we have been playing with for over a week and students are realizing that our district game is helping and they are actually remembering the meaning of the roots.  Our goal is to work up to quizing and knowing all 40 something roots.
• We finished the Giver today!
• We had a shortened version of silent reading.
• Our new Riggs words:

tenement
neighborhood
dilapidation
persecute
steerage
hardship

• For history we discussed chapter two and wrote letters to a relative from a point of view students chose, whether it is a poor immigrant whose life is rough at first in America, to a farmer who bought land when they arrived, to the feeling of freedom from whatever they came from.  They going to be peer edited and rewritten after P.E..  We will read chapter three together and be ready for another activity tomorrow.  There will be a guest speaker on this topic hopefully both this week and next.

Have a great rest of your day,

Miss King

5/12/14

Monday 5/12/14

• We began mapping South America and then headed outside for CPR.  Students shared what they did for their Mom's.  Most sound like they did a great job appreciating all that Moms do.
• In math tests were handed back for correcting as well as a reteach practice packet as too many students got below a 80%.  We headed to the computer lab and did a practice OAKS math test and saw what materials were available to us and got use to the tools that are available on the computer as well.  We are all shooting for exceeding tomorrow.
• We then did an exercise in Warriner's Grammar reviewing the parts of speech we should know by now and wrote what an interjection was.
• We then played our district game with Greek and Latin roots.  We are gearing up for a quiz coming soon!
• World Language
• Then we read about Immigration in our history books and answered questions from the reading during reading time. 
• Lunch
• P.E./Music Orchestra is to practice Ode to Joy for homework
• Back in class we had a discussion about chapter one on immigration and how we answered the questions.  We then watched a film on the History of Ellis Island. 
• Riggs words tonight:

discrimination
immigrant
emigrant
prejudice
descendant
enthusiasm

• Students along with math and Riggs tonight need to read chapter two of their history books Pg 247-250.

Thanks,


Miss King

Thursday 5/8/14

Good afternoon,

Today was a quick one!  We focused on Mom's day presents, so I hope they come home.

• We had CPR this morning and talked about something that we did for someone else this week, sang a few silly ocean songs and picked out sticks for our project.
• In math we went over lesson 116 and students agree that they would like to have a compound interest account rather than a simple interest account.  We went over lesson 117 on Finding a Whole When a Fraction is Known then also assigned 118 only the odds on Estimating Area.
• Students will get back their math scores from their test on Monday.
• We made Mother's Day presents.
• World Language
• Clean and wrap up of present making
• Lunch
• P.E./Art
• We had a few minutes to study before our ocean quiz.  We corrected it in class, so students should be able to tell you how they did.
• We read another chapter of the Giver and have only 3 to go. 
• Clean-up (no parents are signed up to clean the classroom) and home

We are done with our ocean unit and will move into Immigration next week and I am working on gathering a guest or two to come and talk about the process of immigration.  If you or someone you know would like to come and talk to our class about immigration, please email me.

My camera from Night of the Notables is missing.  I finally got a cord to download pictures and now can't find the camera.  If you can help on this topic in anyway, please email me as well.

Don't forget we have a field trip on May 30th, hiking in the Gorge with Mr, Weaver.  If you would like to chaperon, please email me.

Have a wonderful weekend and Mom's should enjoy some spoiling,

Miss King

5/7/14

Wednesday

• We began with question about Mexico this morning, then had CPR talking about what makes us jealous and then trying to follow five step directions, harder than we thought.
• Math we went over our review questions, and our practice test.  After working out problems that we didn't understand, we took a test.  Homework is Lesson 116 odds and practice set
• We read more of the Giver, and had a Riggs test. Students should bring home their test and homework graded.
• World Language
• We played our Greek and Latin root game and also filled out five more cards, which means now we should have 40 cards all together.
• Lunch
• P.E./ Music
• More on currents, tides and waves.  We also watched a quick video on the Mariana Trench.  We will have a quiz tomorrow.  Know the zones of ocean, sodium chloride is the main ingredient in salt, all four oceans, .3 miles of sediment at the bottom of the ocean.  Look at notes on waves today, crest, trough, wave height and length, how do water particles move in a wave?
• Particle Man song and home

Miss King

Tuesday

It was a busy day!

• We began our day filling out five more Greek and Latin Root cards and we will use them to study tonight for our game tomorrow.
  
• We listened to the Giver while we worked.
  
• Math we corrected lesson 115. Students should show you what they missed and get your signature. They were then give a reteach from lesson 115 to help us understand the lesson. Students were then given practice test 22, and a review sheet of problems covering lesson 90-100.
  
• We went to the see the Giver! It was well done and almost everyone gave it a thumbs up. We came back to class debriefed and will have to make time to get through the last 40ish pages we have not read and we are confused by the ending!
  
• Lunch
  
• P.E. and small groups in the classroom. In small groups we answered two questions about the Giver. If students didn't finish this in class (they were given 40 minutes) then it is homework. Below are the questions: Which is better a community without choice or a community with choice, knowing that some will make wrong choices. Why? If you attended a ceremony of twelve, what would your assignment be and why?
  
• Student came back together, took a Riggs test.
  
• We tried some funky crab concoction and then watched a video on ocean currents by Bill Nye. We then used white board and reviewed what we know about the oceans and wow, we are smart.
  
• Riggs words; thermohaline, buoyancy, solvency, salinity, upwelling, prevailing
  

Miss King

Monday, May 5th

Monday

• This morning we finished our Mexico map and will go over some questions about it tomorrow as well as review from our U. S. and Canada maps.
• We had CPR where students shared something that surprised them about the weekend and our activity was not exciting, but we changed our seating arrangement
• Math we corrected lesson 113 and 114 and turned in our corrected signed math test.  Lesson 115 was taught although some reteaching will happen tomorrow as practice set was corrected and we didn't do so well. Tonight's homework is L 115
• We played our district game with Greek and Latin roots and two groups tied with 9 points.
• We read the Giver and finally got to the part about why it is called The Giver!
• Lunch
• Music/P.E. They began their softball unit today. Mr. Littledyke is hosting a music performance for Band and Orchestra on May 22nd at 6:30pm
• Students finished their Pelagic and Benthic Zone pictures for our ocean Unit.  If they did not this will be homework.
• They should label Benthic zone: continental shelf and abyssal plain and the pelagic zones are all of our riggs words below
• Riggs words:  Epipelagic, Mesopelagic, Bathypelagic, Abyssopelagic, Hadalpelagic

Thank you,

Miss King

NIght of the Notables

Dear Sixth Grade Families,

Tomorrow is the big day! Everyone is very excited and ready to show you all that they have learned. Students should bring any outstanding pieces tomorrow morning so we can set up in the afternoon.

Tomorrow night students are expected to be on campus at 6:00 in costume.Students should report to their classroom teacher for set up instructions. At that time parents are welcome to make their way downstairs to the 4th grade Oregon History Wax Museum.

At 6:30 we will open the hallways for friends and family to begin the questioning. Inside the lunch sack, which you will receive on your way in, will be a program. This program will contain the name of all 75 notable figures. Your job is to ask each person 3 questions that can be answered with yes or no. For example, you could ask "Do you work in the sciences?"  Once you have asked your 3 questions, write down the number found on the notable figure next to their name in your program. How many can you guess in 45 minutes? At 7:15, the notable figures will leave their seats and make their way to the gym, library, or cafeteria. There they will stand with their boards, allowing you to learn all about each notable figure. You'll have another 45 minutes to visit each person at their board, collect souvenirs, and admire all the hard work represented. All students are expected to stay until 8:00. At 8:00, students will return their chair to their classroom, help clear the room they presented in, and head for home.

If you'd like to do a little pre studying, here is the list of all the notable figures.

 Alexander Graham Bell
 Alfred Nobel
 Beethoven
 Florence Nightingale
 Gottlieb Daimler
 Maria Wollstonecraft
 Napoleon Bonaparte
 Orville Wright
Albert Einstein
Amelia Aerhart
Anne Frank
Anne Vallayer Coster
Audrey Hepburn
Babe Zaharias
Beckanne Sisk
Bruce Wayne
Clara Barton
Claude Monet
Coco Chanel
Corrie ten Boom
Dwayne Johnson
Edith Cavell
Edwin Hubble
Elizabeth Cody Stanton
Ethel Merman
Florence Griffith Joyner
Gabrielle Douglas
Gordon Ramsey
Grace Kelly
Helen Keller
Henry Ford
Hiram Maxim
Ida B. Wells
Irena Sandler
James Watt
Jane Goodal
Janis Joplin
Jesse Owens
Johnny Depp
Julia Child
Kurt Cobain
Lady Emma Hamilton
Lillian Gish
Louis Armstrong
Louis Pastuer
Lucille Ball
Lyudmila Pavlichenko
Maria Theresa
Marilyn Monroe
Mark Tobey
Mia Hamm
Michael Jordan
Mother Theresa
Neil Armstrong
Nikola Tesla
Olympe de Gouges
Oskar Schindler
Princess Di
Princess Margret
Queen Rania
Queen Victoria
Ricahrd Feynman
Serena William
Shawn Johnson
Shirley Temple
Stephen Hawkings
Tchaikovsky
Thomas Edison
Vincent Van Gogh
WC Handy
Werner Von Braun
Wilbur Wright
Will Smith


Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow,


Miss King

4/30/14

Today was Working Hard Wednesday.

• We worked hard!  We planted seeds, weeded and beautified the north side of the school.

Tomorrow is Culture Day.  Students are allowed to wear or bring one thing that respresents their culture. 

See you all tomorrow night at Night of the Notables!

4/29/14

Today was "Team Tuesday" and I was surprised more students didn't show up in a team jersey.  This is the first time in the history of our school that we have had a spirit week, students should definitely show their spirit and participate.

• We began our day by cleaning our room, then beginning to map Mexico.
• In math we corrected lesson 110 and reviewed our math test 21A and then took test 21B.  Lesson 111 is homework
• We revamped our Greek and Latin Root learning and are going to stop getting new roots and really focus on learning the roots we have done thus far this year.  Student created notecards with the last 10 roots on them.
• We listened to two presentations for NON before heading to World Language.
• World Language
• Our last reading group read the Amazing Undersea Food Web
• We visited the Book Fair and created a wish list.
• Lunch
• P.E. / Small groups in the classroom
• We went through a powerpoint of the life zones in the ocean, then we got out the paint and tried not to make a mess while painting our own zones in the pelagic region of the ocean. They will dry then we will label and put our dwellers in them tomorrow.  If students printed or drew huge dwellers they are to rescale them to fit their painting and bring them to school tomorrow.
• Most students will finish presentations tomorrow.
• Study GLR roots on cards we made today for our game tomorrow.

Have a great night,

Sixth grade

4/28/14 Monday

Monday:

• It is Spirit Week and today is Military Monday.  Students and teachers could have worn a yellow ribbon or yellow adornment to honor or military.  Pictures went up in the hallway of our Cascade community military members.  Come and have a look.  We also went out and did a ceremonial flag raising brought to us by the Girl Scouts of our school.  Then fourth grade sang the National Anthem.  Tomorrow is Team Tuesday, and students can wear a team jersey over their polo.
• In math we corrected 109 & 110, then worked on Investigation 11 in class.  Homework is to finish Investigation 11 and do Practice Test 21A
• We used some class time to make sure we had our scoring rubrics in for our Night of the Notables and turned in our papers.  Two students presented in the morning and we are hoping for a least one more this afternoon.  Presentations will take place all week.
• World Language.  Many Spanish students didn't do their homework and ended up staying in for working lunch.
• Independent reading time and last check-ins about N.O.N..
• Lunch
• Music/P.E.
• Core Knowledge, we were given a squid diagram to see if we could remember the external and internal anatomy from our dissection on Friday.  We then watch a TED talk on "The Deep Ocean" from a Marine Bio website.  We are learning about the zones of the ocean.  So far we realized there is more than one way to categorize the ocean zones, but that there are two broad zones; pelagic and benthic.  Ask your child what these mean. Tonight students are to draw or print off some ocean dwellers to put into zones for tomorrow.

Lastly, the book fair is happening and is open after school until 4:30 tomorrow and Wednesday then all evening on the day of NON.

Have a great rest of your day,

Miss King

Thursday, April 24

Yippee, it's Thursday....but we are also here tomorrow for a super field trip!

Today we began our day in the gym for our All School Assembly.  Peter Hungerford received the award for "Self-sufficiency" and many students in the class received the National Physical Fitness Award.  Great job guys!

In math we were efficient with our time and will have Lesson 109 & 110, covering "Corresponding Parts, Similar Figures and Symmetry", for homework over the weekend. 

For our Language Arts time we worked in class on Night of the Notables.  Everything is due Monday!   Students were given rubrics and checklists again if they didn't have them.  These should be filled out when they return on Monday.  They need to attach a bibliography and be ready to present to the class some time next week.

Students have homework in World Language that should be written in their planner.

We did some more reading about oceans during reading group time.

We will not have Riggs over the weekend, due to N.O.N. and time restraints today.   Throughout today students have been called to the lab to finish their MAP testing and should be all done with this today, unless they are absent.

In Core Knowledge we have started our ocean unit and will model and label with play dough the ocean floor.

Tomorrow please remember to bring an ocean snack to share if possible and that there is no hot lunch so everyone needs to bring their own lunch.  It is a regular uniform day.

Thank you,

Miss King

4/23/14

Wednesday,

• This morning we answers questions about our Canada map for morning work.  We learned that Canada has 10 provinces and 3 territories among other things.
• Math we finished corrected our quiz from yesterday as a class, then went over lesson 108 and our drawings.  Lesson 108 is our homework tonight.
• We had a condensed version of CPR before we headed to MAP testing for science.  Many students finished and most students are all done MAP testing.
• World Language
• Reading we read about ocean trenches and the salinity of the ocean and answered questions about our informative text.
• We took a Riggs test
• Lunch
• P.E./ Music
• We came back to class and got our new Riggs words: topography, continental, plain, plane, subsurface, phytoplankton
• We took an ocean pre-test
• Then took notes on ocean, covering surface and subsurface features.  Students took notes from our Smartboard notebook pages and were asked to go home and look up "Coral atoll" as their ticket into the door tomorrow.
• We read Chapter 6 of the Giver
• N.O.N. work tonight is working on final draft and work on boards. 
• Clean-up and home

Have a great evening.

April 22, 2014

Field Trip News

This is a reminder that there is a field trip this Friday, April 25th.  Below you will find our itinerary.

8:00-11:00 We will be in science lab and classroom

11:30 board bus for OMSI

12:00 See Oceans Wild

1:15 Head to Portland Aquarium

3:15 Head back to campus

3:30 Carline

Students have voted and think it would be a good idea to bring an ocean snack to share.  Thank you for your help on this.  After dissecting squids, some might loose their appetites!

 

Today:

 

• We started by finishing our Canada map and some students went to the lab and finished MAP testing in math.
• For math we got our corrected test 20B back and went over some problem areas on white boards. We then did another quiz.  Our homework is to correct our test and get it signed as well as draw two examples of each of the new concepts in lesson 108: translations, reflections and rotations.
• We finished our French Revolution presentations.
• Exercise 18 & 19 in Warriner's Grammar book
• World Language
• We read about the zones in the ocean and the terrain for reading time
• We got Riggs words:  sunlit, twilight, abyss, trench, sediment, landmass
• Lunch
• P.E.
• N.O.N. we worked on our four questions with surprising facts for our board.  Students were encouraged to put information from their interview. Students were reminded that they need to cite at least one source, a quote in their paper.  If  they got anything back from their business letter being written, this is great for show off on their board. Remember that borders on boards are to be homemade and not store bought and when thinking about the costume you cannot go above $15 for the whole NON project.
• MAP testing was a bit of a technological pain, but many students are down to just doing science.

Homework:
Riggs
Math L108 drawings and sign and correct test 20B
N.O.N. Finish 4 questions for board

Thank you,

 

 

Miss King

April 21, 2014

Inside the classroom,

• We began with our quiz on mapping the United States.  It was evident that many students did not study and will have an opportunity tomorrow to re-do their test before the grade goes in the grade book.
• In math we did Power Up M, corrected lesson 106, corrected our practice test 20A and worked problems on our whiteboards.  Students then took test 20B and for homework they have L107 practice set, and #'s: 2,5,6,7,9,10,11,12,17,22,23,24,&28 as well as the reteach sheet 107.
• We then did our Greek and Latin root quiz
• Went over where we are in our N.O.N. project.  Students realize it is crunch time as the Night of the Notables is only 6 school days away....next Thursday, May 1st.  They should have their boards going, their costume going and tonight they will finish the last paragraph of their rough draft, the conclusion. Some students did not ask parents to edit this weekend and should have, so if you have not gone over their paper, please do so.
• World Language
• French Revolution Menu presentations are still going and should be done by tomorrow, so we can move into our Ocean unit.
• Silent reading and read the Giver out-loud.
• Lunch
• Music/P.E.
• Went over a few introductory paragraphs with the class, taught the concept of the conclusion, checking in with students on their project component sheets for N.O.N.
• Pack up and home after two more presentations happened.

Thank you,

Miss King

April 17th, 2014

Dear Sixth Grade Families,

I hope putting up a more detailed description of our day is helpful to families.  It could also help spark conversation at the dinner table! 

A few things besides our day:

Students are forgetting to bring their water bottle and/or get their planner signed.  Please remember it is getting warmer, water helps children's brains.  Getting a signature in their planner is part of their homework and a way to show responsibility, it is REQUIRED!

Field Trip Friday is coming up next week! 
April 25th--We will be in the science lab dissecting squid, possibly doing fish prints, decorating our room.  Next we will go to OMSI for a "Wild Ocean" movie, and from there we will travel to the Portland Aquarium to end our day.  At this point, I have one volunteer for this fun filled day.   This is a day in which you only have to come for parts of the field trip if you wish, just email me.

Night of the Notables--May 1st.  Students arrive at 6pm and doors close with students leaving with their boards at 8:05pm. 

Bonus Field Trip--May 6th at 9:45am at the Winningstad Theater.  We will be seeing "The Giver" as a play.  Please email me if you wish to be a chaperone.

Editing help--A few parents stepped it up and helped in the editing process for the body paragraphs for the Night of the Notables paper.  However, your help is still needed.  Before your child begins the final draft, please take one more look at the contents.  They should have at least seven sentences in each paragraph and really highlight the life of their character.  Paragraphs are as follows:

Family/Childhood
Education
Career
Notable recognition
Modern influence

We began our intro paragraph in class today.

MAP testing--we will have another session on Tuesday for Language Usage and Reading, then Wednesday and Thursday we will cover science.  Please make sure your child is well rested and has plenty of snack next week.  Results to come home soon.


Today in our classroom:

• We began with mapping Canada
• We took a Riggs test
• We presented our French Revolution Menu item (not everyone got to this and not everyone was ready :( )
• World Language
• Learned about introduction paragraph, what to do and what not to do and wrote it down for clarification purposes
• Lunch
• P.E./Art
• In art students did their sketches and most need to finish them at home to attach to their boards.  Students should try to begin boards this weekend if possible if not by Monday of next week.
• Assembly where we watched the K-4 music concert that will be taking place this evening
• We came back to our classrooms and most of us didn't clean out our desk or work on our Notable paragraph. 
• We were suppose to clean up and pack-up and get our planners signed.

The next time students leave the classroom this messy, I will be forced to have 6th grade parents pull over and wait until the room is clean.  Thankfully a parent came to the rescue to clean today.  Not okay, a bit of chaos. 

Students were also given a print out of the grade book for Language Arts and History and Geography.  Please sign them and have your child bring them back on Monday and I will check them off and they can take them home.

Thank you,

Miss King

April 16, 2014

Good afternoon,

• We started our day with beginning a Canadian Map and getting our U.S. checked for completeness.  A quiz on our U.S. map will happen on Monday.  Watch for a study guide and the map to come home today.
• In math most students should have finished their homework in class as we did our Power Up, taught the lesson and had over 1/2 hour to do our lesson.  A small group gathered to go over positives and negative numbers based on their quiz scores from the previous day.
• We finished the French Revolution movie from the History Channel and did a free write about what we learned.
• World Lanuage
• Reading and read the Giver to them
• We added two new Greek and Latin root words to our Grammar books, there will be a quiz on Monday.
• We got our Riggs words.
• Lunch
• P.E./Music
• MAP testing in the area of Language Usage
• Clean up/ Planners/ Read the Giver

The French Revolution Menu item is due tomorrow.

Thank you,

Miss King

Riggs words
foliage
portfolio
exfoliate
humiliate
humus
humility

April 15, 2014

Today:

• We began class with a Riggs test.
• We took a quiz on adding and subtracting negative numbers in Math, then went over last night's lesson and went to MAP testing.  About 1/3 of the students finished MAP testing.  THERE IS NO MATH HOMEWORK TONIGHT!!
• We worked on our N.O.N., getting our re-do of our timeline checked (some students were given until Thursday to re-do again as the intervals are wrong), our souvenirs checked and finishing up our 5th paragraph for the body of our paper.  Students were suppose to turn in their paragraphs today to be edited.  We will start the process of the intro and conclusion paragraphs tomorrow.
• World Language
• Silent reading and more one-on-one help and checking in about Night of the Notables.
• Lunch
• P.E and small group work in the classroom. 
• Students were given a menu with nine choices for the French Revolution review.  They then drew a chapter out of bowl at random.   Students are meant to do a fun project to summarize their chapter and bring it back to class to enlighten us by Thursday.  This was started in class and are due on Thursday!
•  MAP testing in reading.  We will continue to do small chunks of reading time until we finish. The computers froze today, so we did not have time to come back and watch the video about the French Revolution.

Homework tonight:

Work on Menu choice due Thursday
N.O.N. should be done with all five body paragraphs, souvenirs, and timeline

Have a wonderful night,

Miss King

4/14/14

Good afternoon,

Today was a full day that went by fairly quickly.

• We started with mapping the major rviers of the U.S..
• In math we did some review from reteach sheets, instead of a Power Up.  We turned in Test 19B signed and corrected (many didn't).  Tomorrow students can retake test 19.  Lesson 104 was assigned for homework.
• We learned about conjunctions in Warriner's Grammar.
• Worked on paragraph five (Modern Influence) for N.O.N.. Students should have all four body paragraphs done in rough draft by now, so we can start the Intro and Conclusion paragraphs this week. Souvenir check in is tomorrow.
• World Language
• Reading of the Giver
• Riggs and Greek and Latin Roots
• Lunch
• P.E./Music
• MAP testing in reading (more to come tomorrow)
• Watched more on the French Revolution
• Clean-up/planner/home

palindrome
dromedary
mountainous
insurmountable
paramount
promontary

Thanks,

Miss King

4/10/14

Today.....

• We silent read and mapped capitals of the U.S.A..
• In math we got our test back, corrected L.102, assigned L 103 and to correct our 19B test and get it signed.  We also started MAP testing.
• We charted diagramming sentences in our Grammar Notebook.
• Greek and Latin root game
• World Language
• Started a movie on the French Revolution.
• Lunch
• Art
• P.E.
• French Revolution movie
• N.O.N. we talked about our timeline and got them checked.  All timelines need to fix their time intervals. This weekend students are suppose to get to their 4th paragraph rough draft, fix their timeline and know  that their souvenirs are due on Tues.  They also got a rubric for their timeline and drew their board elements.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Miss King

4/9/14

Today,

• Riggs test
• Math lesson 101 corrected, taught and assigned 102
• Grammar Warriner'Exercise 16
• Mapping exercise of the U.S.A.
• World Lanuage
• The Giver read-aloud
• Greek and Latin roots
• Lunch
• P.E./ Music
• Night of the Notables working in class time.  Should be on rough draft paragraph three.  Final draft of timeline is due to be checked at school tomorrow.  Print a black a white sketch or bring one in, in from a book for art tomorrow.  If students are behind and you have not contacted me, they will stay in for lunch.

Have a great day!

April 8th, 2014

4/8/14

Our day today:

• Riggs test and mapping exercise (identifying refresher)
•  Math we took test 19B. assigned lesson 101 as homework
• Corrected our quiz from last week on parts of speech and redid the part on types of nouns
• World Language
• Read Chapter Nine in our history book
• Students were given 45 minutes of in class writing time for Night of the Notables.  This means students should be done with their Key Word Outline, first paragraph and second paragraph rough draft finished. 
• Students were also given an otption of taking home card stock strips for their timeline.  Their final draft has to be done at home based on their rough draft that was handed back last week. 
• We went over the unit assessment packets students finished as homework last night.
• We took a history quiz using pictures or a slide show depicting different times and happenings in the Industrial Revolution.  There were nine slides in all.
• We talked about our suvenirs and looked at examples.  We alsogot our NON paper scoring rubric and board scoring rubric.  Please watch for the elements of the board tomorrow.

Riggs:

importance
therefore
expense
association
foreigners

Have a good night,

Miss King

N.O.N. Actual Night Schedule for May 1st

NON Schedule

Night of the Notables and the 4th Grade Oregon History Wax Museum are coming up quickly. This very special night is one of the highlights of middle school and is a chance for your friends and family to see the amazing work done. Please mark your calendar and clear your schedules! The night is not optional for students, as it is the presentation portion of their project and students are excited to share their hard work with you.

Schedule

5:30 - 4th graders arrive in costume and set up for the Oregon History Wax Museum

 5:45 - Wax Museum opens - All visitors are encouraged to visit the Wax Museum

 6:00 - Students must arrive at 6:00 p.m. The doors will open for guests at 6:30 p.m. You may be thinking, "What am I going to do for 30 minutes while my student is getting ready?" Well, I have a great opportunity for you! Ms. Cantin's fourth graders will be entertaining you downstairs. They have been studying Oregon history and will have their wax museum set up. While you're waiting, visit each of the wax figures and push their button to hear their recordings.

 6:30 - Wax Museum closes. 4th graders are encouraged to attend the Night of the Notables portion of the evening.

 6:30 - At 6:30 the doors will open and you will be invited to start questioning the notable characters. Each character will be wearing a number and your job is to match that number to the list of characters provided. Remember, you only get three questions per character and you can only ask yes/no questions. If you'd like to do some research ahead of time, the list of characters is below! At 7:15 the notable characters will move to their display boards and you'll have the chance to match your answers to the real answers. How many do you think you can identify correctly? Students will be ready to leave WITH their display boards at 8:05.

If you have any questions, please let us know!

Night of the Notables is May 1st.

Happenings (this was also emailled)

Dear Sixth Grade Families,

A few happenings ....

MAP Testing:

We will be doing our last round of MAP (Measuring Academic Progress) testing beginning this week.  Make sure your child has plenty of rest, and a nutritious snack, as well as lunch.

Night of the Notables Workshop: 

As part of the Night of the Notables, students will be making souvenirs to hand out the night of the event.  This Thursday, April 10th is the souvenir workshop for Night of the Notables. This is a chance for students to work together in a relaxed atmosphere with snacks, music, and friends. Teachers will be on hand to provide technical assistance and oversight.  Students should bring all of the supplies they need to work and a great attitude. We will begin right after carline and be ready for pick-up at 5:00pm.

Field Trip Friday:

 

April 25th, we will be heading to OMSI, the Portland Aquarium and dissecting squid in the science lab.  If you are interested in coming and being a part of this day, please email me. 

We have a bonus field trip on May 6th at 9:45am, just a head's up!

Thank you for your support and please check the blog for details about homework and happenings in class.

Miss King

4/7/14

Today....

We took an Orthography test.  We corrected lesson 100 and went over test 19.  Most students retook test 18B.  Homework in math is to correct test 19A and make a study guide for the test tomorrow.  Then kickball happened.  For Night of the Notables we worked on our rough drafts as well as finishing up our Key Word Outlines.  Don't forget topic/clinchers for each paragraph.  Silent reading happened as well as music and P.E.. For history we worked on our history practice test.  Answers are found in the book and are multiple choice. The packet must be finished tonight for homework, most are close to done.

In NON:   timeline final draft is due Thursday and to be done at home from the rough draft that was handed back already.

Thanks,

Miss King

Riggs words

conscience
conscientious
discern
hypotenuse
rendezvous

N.O.N. Project Timeline

Sixth Grade Families,

I couldn't copy this correctly, but here it is from Mrs. Adam's blog.  We went over our timelines one on one, on Wednesday and should be down to Key Word Outline and Rough Drafting in class.

8th Grade ~ Cascade Heights Public Charter School: Night of the Notables Project Time Line:

Miss King

Today plus some

Today we did our Riggs test, we then went to math, where we got our test back.  We had fun with our history skits, where Luddites were quite scary.  World Language was normal today.  When we came back from World Language we came back and read Ch. 8 in our history books.  We will answer questions and debate about this tomorrow.  We got two Latin roots today, that our Riggs words will come from.  Then it was lunch...outside. P.E. was soccer and music was Ode to Joy.  Percussion is doing extremely well. We came back to class and had a working session.  We worked on our notecards, Key Word Outline our body paragraphs and should have our first paragraph (body) in rough draft form.  We also have a check list to help remind us of dress-ups.  Then we are about to clean after getting these Riggs words:

cordial
encourage
discord
cutis
cuticle
courageous

Maybe we will get to our kickball game that we earned before spring break, maybe not. 

There will be a sub tomorrow, as I have to go out of town.

In Night of the Notables,  we checked off where we were in our Project Component Timeline.  Students should be on track and be able to tell you where they are off, if they are.   All of their note cards should be done for each body paragraph, these are key facts from both their book and internet source.  Their rough draft of their timeline should be done.  It will be 24 inches long, horizontal, contain 12 facts and 5 pictures in final draft form.  We will continue to work on the rough draft paragraphs in class. 

Miss King

Hello 6th grade familes,
Today we were learning about socialism.
 tonight's homework 

1. Riggs
2. Math lesson 98
3. night of the notables note cards ( if needed)

enjoy the rest of your day
-hunter 

Spring Break Homework and More

Dear Sixth Grade Families,

In case your student forgets their Spring Break Homework Sheet, you will find it below.  Also, on Thursday we modeled interviewing more thuroughly than last week.  Students should know what to expect both over the phone and in person.  They also know that they are to solidify an interview, if not do one over the break.  It is on our N.O.N. timeline as due March 28th, but anytime that next week will work as well.

We had a busy week, trying to stay on top of N.O.N., our regular Core Knowledge and deal with Spring Break fever.  We enjoyed using our space heaters to create some uncomfortableness as we used child labor in our make shift factories.  We had an assembly line for cards and one for shamrock necklaces.  Students worked in the small space under their desk to simulate cramped working quarters and the reality that children were often times used because they could fit in small spaces.  They weren't happy when their pay was one pretzel, as another thing about child labor small stomachs, they didn't have to eat as much to keep going.  It was enlightening and the students actually liked it.  In the end realizing that quality can be lost in the factory assembly line, when some shamrocks looked like teeth.  I did take pictures and will try to get them up on the blog shortly (my cord has grown legs).

All in all a good week,

Miss King

Spring Break Homework Sixth Grade

Night of the Notables: Using note cards get all of your facts written down for each category from all of your sources. (Family/Childhood, Education, Career, Notable Recognition, Modern Influence, Important Dates). We have already worked on this in class on three different occasions.

We will talk about the introduction and the conclusion and model what that looks like after break.

Write how long you spent on this: _________________________________________________

Math: Lesson 96, 97 and Practice Test 18. Please take some time to find a fun math website that challenges you.

Write the website here:_________________________________________________________

Reading: Please read at least 30 minutes daily and try to read something you usually don't, like a newspaper or a magazine.

Fill this out:

What You Read Time Spent Parent Initials

Please don't save this all for the Sunday the 30^th. This paper is due on Monday, March 31^st.

Have a fantastic Spring Break!

Spring cleaning

Families!  Love our school, but don't have money or time during the week to show that love?  Join the club!  The Currey family is eternally grateful for what Cascade does for Elora and Isaiah, and we want to show it.  On Saturday, April 5, the school will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for a good spring cleaning. We have 44,000 square feet of building and a BIG yard to clean!   Bring the whole family down and help us!  Bring your vacuum, feather dusters, Windex (or other organically suitable cleaning products), and more!  Some possible jobs for your crew:
* power washing (you bring the power washer!)
* window washing
* baseboard scrubbing
* vacuuming
* dusting
* organizing
* AND MORE! 
Teachers have made lists of things they'd like us to do, so there will be plenty of work to go around!  Save the date!  Bring a picnic lunch!  Come for the whole time or just for an hour or two! Help children have pride in their school by helping to keep it clean!

There will be no child care, and this is not a time for kids to run amok or help themselves to unsupervised playground time!  Kids are expected to help out, too!

This is also a perfect opportunity for NHS students to get some volunteer hours in! 

March 12,2014

Hello 6th grade families,
today we went to a libary.

TONIGHT'S HOMEWORK
history chapter 3 and 4
math l. 91 odds and 92 all
There is a field trip tomorow

March 11,2014

Hello Sixth grade family,

Today we had a licros tournament. Also we made a book for our 3rd grade buddies.

TONIGHT'S HOMEWORK IS....

• Play Outside for 30min at least ( not required)!
• Math lesson 90 and Practice test 17B
• If you are one of the people who did'nt turn in.
• History Read pgs 165-168
• Preposition books due on Thursday 

Have a great evening sixth grade familes!
- Jenny and Priyanka

March 10,2014

Hello 6th grade family,
Today we had a party because we won most of our battles in battle of the books. Also, we watched a movie called Balto and the Great Race. 


TONIGHT' S HOMEWORK:

• Math Lesson 89

• Riggs

• Read 30min ( EVERY NIGHT) 

 Have a great night! And also ask your child to tell  you a little bit about t he movie.
Priyanka

Field Trip a Success

Dear Families,

February field trip was a success.  We saw the nuclear reactor, we watched it being turned on, which didn't look like much, then the lights went out and the blue glow amazed us all.  Malinda in the reactor room was extremely informative and then we went to lab and learned about 1/2 life of Vanadium and ran the manual test to see how long it would take for the radiation to disappear.  We learned it will never really disappear, no matter how many 1/2 lifes, there will always be at least one atom left.  However, the average time it takes it to get as close to zero as possible with Vanadium is 225.26 seconds.  Beside the fact that there is radiation all around us, we learned that bananas also  have radiation.  Of course not a harmful amount and we will not stop consuming bananas. 

Our next field trip will be in March 14th, (just two short weeks) to the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill in Salem and the Pacific Hazelnut Factory relating to our Industrialization Unit.  

If you haven't volunteered to chaperone, please do.  These trips are not possible without our wonderful volunteers. 

Thank you Mr. Crittenden, Mrs. Hungerford, Mr. Hungerford, Mrs. Vanek for helping out today, it means a lot. 

Enjoy your weekend,

Miss King

hello 6th grade families today we did some awesome things like student lead experiments.

homework for today 

Riggs

b.o.b (spark note) skim though the  moral and the summary of some b.o.b books.

final draft of the two frogs story and rough draft.

math lesson:83

And read read read 



                                                  sincerely,
                                              Jaylen Booker  

hello 6th grade families we learned  a lot of things today
we did some science in the lab and did some student lead experiments today which was really fun

today's homework is
math lesson 81 and investigation 8
get your rough draft of you two frogs story edited and final draft finished on monday
and read read 

Hello families,

We did science rotation. 
TONIGHT HOMWORK
Riggs
Math lesson 79
Read for30min at least
Everyone had a good time today

Priyanka

Student Led Conferences 2/21/14

Student led conferences will be on Friday, February 21st. Student led conferences are an opportunity for your child to sit down with you and review their current progress and set goals. This typically takes approximately 15-20 minutes. When you are finished I will be handing out a mid year progress report.  Specialist will also be on campus for students and parents to check in with briefly.  If you have in-depth questions and concerns this is not the time, but teachers are happy to schedule a different date and time to address specific needs. 

The classroom will be open from 9 - 12:00 and 1:00 - 3:30.   

I look forward to seeing you! 

Homework this weekend 1/13

Math Lesson 77 & 78

Pick a poem of at least 10 lines or more to recite later

Try to finish your BOB book

Get your progress report signed

News You Can Use

Dear Sixth Grade Families,

We are in our new semester and need to be working even harder than first semester. Most students are doing a nice job of showing parents planners and getting a signature nightly. Other forms of communication that should be coming home are math tests, math homework and weekly progress reports, that all need a parent signature.

This past week in class we did not get to begin the process of experimenting with energy because we could not control our behavior as a class. We left the lab and went back to the classroom and students wrote to me about how they were feeling, their own behavior and possible solutions to the poor behavior and disrespect shown while I was trying to teach. The letters were well written and they made suggestions, like number order to line up, more card flips, whole class card flips and helping your neighbor to remember how to behave. I agree with all of the above and talked to the class about this. Please be watching for your child's card color in their planner. It is extremely important that students are being respectful, not shouting out, turning off their voice when I am teaching, and overall not distracting other students who are trying to learn. Thank you for your continued support.

Happenings on Campus

President's Day—Monday, February 17^th. NO SCHOOL.

Field Trip Friday—Friday, February 28^th. This is considered a regular school day from 7:45-3:30. Students should be in uniform and pack the same healthy, low-waste lunch as usual. No gum please!

Family Reading Night—Thursday, March 6^th from 6:30-8:00. All children and families are welcome. It's a free event with each teacher doing a different read-aloud and activity after the reading. Sign up for each activity will be posted when it is closer to the event.

Battle of the Books—Final Battle is during family reading night, but class battles take place the week prior during the day.

Staff vs. Middle School Basketball Game—rescheduled for April 3^rd, from 6:30-7:30. It only cost $1 and the money goes directly back to the school for building cost.

Happenings in the Classroom

Lanuage Arts

We are tying to finish at least two B.O.B. books before the first battle. This is a great assessment of comprehension and fun for the whole class. We will begin an IEW paper on one of these books over the course of the next two weeks, analyzing character, setting, plot, conflict, and resolution. We are in the midst of our poetry unit. Students are doing a great job of writing poetry, but most of all they are superb at supporting each other while they are sharing their work. It is really great to have the class feeling confident and comfortable enough to read poetry out loud. This weekend students are to pick a poem of 10 lines or more to memorize for recital later in our unit.

Math

We have done a lot of work with fractions and decimals for the past month and a half, and are now moving into area and capacity. We will still take quizzes and practice specifically with fractions and decimals as it is an area of stress for many. A great resource for all students in math is www.khanacademy.org. If you use another site that you find helpful, please let me know and I will pass it on to the class. Many students are still not correcting their mistakes on their homework and getting signatures in their notebook, showing parents how many they are missing. Parents, please bug your student until this becomes habit. It is crucial that they correct their mistakes and are being successful on their homework. Again in math their should be a daily signature on homework, as well as a weekly signature on tests.

Core Knowledge

We have finished our Enlightenment unit and are now in our Energy unit. We have focused on the two different categories of energy, potential and kinetic as well as the specific types of energy, mechanical, chemical, nuclear, etc.. Rubber bands are a great example of potential to kinetic energy. It was a good excuse anyway to have a rubber band war. We have begun discussing transferring of energy and we will conduct experiments next week that help students develop a deeper understanding of energy. For our February field trip we will have the privilege of touring Reed College's nuclear reactor with some hands-on time in the lab. If you have a few extra glow sticks and/or hand warmers around your house, we could use some for experiments next week. Please send me a quick email that your student will bring them so I don't go out and purchase them.

Have a great weekend,

Miss King

News You Can Use 1/8/14

Dear Sixth Grade Families,

We are off and running after break.  Students seem rested and we have a lot to learn before the end of the semester.

 Happenings on Campus


January 20--No school in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

January 25th--End of the first semester all grades are due therefore all assignments are in!

January 31st--Field trip will be held on campus as we enjoy a day immersed in the science fair.  Students are expected to be here for regular school hours and in uniform.  There will be no hot lunch that day, so pack a healthy lunch.

Calendar discrepancies--There will be no F.I.S.H. for the remainder of the year and Battle of the Books will kick off next week.

In the Classroom

Core Knowledge

We finished up our Judaism and Christianity unit and are now moving in our Enlightenment unit in history and our Energy unit in science.  However, science in class this month will be taking a back seat to the science fair.  Students should have done their experiment by now or should still be collecting data.  We will be working together in class to ensure that their science fair paper is done and simultaneously making sure their notebook has the components it needs.  If you do not have a computer, arrangements can be made to stay after school or before school and use the school's computers.  Printing can happen at school as well if the assignment is emailed to me.  A rough timeline of events is as follows:

• 1/7 Title page rough draft in class--Assigned final draft as homework
• 1/8 Question and Hypothesis rough draft in class--Assigned as homework.
• 1/9 Background research KWO in class--Rough draft and materials list due Monday
• 1/13 Edit rough draft background research in class--Final draft assigned as homework
• 1/14 Procedure rough draft in class--Final draft assigned as homework. 
• 1/15 Results graphing lesson in class
• 1/16 Attempt to compile in computer lab--Assigned as homework as needed.
• 1/16 Boards started if they haven't already
• 1/20 Results narrative rough draft in class--Edit at home and final draft as homework
• 1/21 Conclusion rough draft
• 1/22 Conclusion editing and bibliography rough draft--Final draft at home
• 1/23 Bring it all together, board finishing--If missing something there is still the weekend
• 1/27 Turn in report, notebook and board!  Presentations start in class. 
• 1/31 Science Fair

If you have questions or concerns, please email me as this is suppose to be your child's project and shouldn't be a big headache.

Language Arts

We finished Tale of Troy and our first five paragraph creative writing piece.  We will spend the next couple of weeks fine tuning IEW skills that we are lacking in our writing.  This Thursday, students will bring home a reading log, like the one they did over break and it will be due every Thursday.  In class our focus will be on poetry, using figurative language, writing and analyzing poetry this month.

Math

We are half-way through our math book!  Some students are hitting a wall and need to really focus on correcting their mistakes on their homework and not racing through their work.  I do sporadic notebook checks as it is time consuming, however it is my hope that parents are seeing notebooks nightly to sign and see how many problems were missed on the homework. Test 11 results should come home tomorrow.  We are currently working on dividing, multiplying and regrouping fractions. 

 Have a wonderful week,

Miss King

Dear Sixth Grade Familys,

                       It's Berkeley. Again. Our homework Investigation 6 in math, read chapter 1 in History from page 98 to 100. Also bring Science Fair data! I hope you had a wonderful break and a happy new year!

                                              -Berkeley M.      P.S. It's REALLY cold outside so bring gloves!