Notes on the Dress Code

Today in our class meeting we covered some issues that I would like to share with you.
Dress Code:
Just a reminder that there are to be No Flip-Flops (although it is getting colder, they are still trying to wear them)
Secondly, The sixth grade teacher have decided that the Rocket Football Cheerleader "Skirts" are not to be worn to school. Many of the do not fall under the dress code in the handbook as far as the length goes. The shirts can be worn.

Grading:
I walked the students through the grading process. They were shown that the grade break down for each subject is as follows:
Homework/Classwork (daily practice) 20% of the the total grade
Quizzes (weekly assessment) 30% of total grade
Assessments (Tests)- 50% of the total grade (Prove what they have learned and if they have retained the information)

I feel that this explanation helped them to understand the emphasis on learning and then having the opportunity to show what you have learned. I focus on reteaching at the practice stage so that they have the opportunity to show learning and growth at the assessment stage.

Upcoming:
End of 6 week grading period -This Friday Oct. 2nd
Report Cards go Home- Next Thursday Oct. 8th
Follow up...If you have questions concern report cards you can contact me

Homework: Wednesday September 30th

Language Arts:
Study Vocabulary Word List----Assessment is Tomorrow


Math:
There is none!

Science:
Study for your test tomorrow!

Plugging Along...

Review week is underway:
The following is the schedule for assessments this week:
Daily: Skill review
Wednesday: Unit 1 Spelling Test
Thursday: Unit 1 Vocabulary Assessments & Begin Skill/Comprehension Assessment
Friday: Finish Any Incomplete Assessments, Presentation of Unit 1 Writing Narratives

Although it is a packed week I have some "fun learning" activities integrated with the reviews and assessments.

Homework: While the students will not have much homework to be "turned in" this week, they need to devoted a significant amount of time each night reviewing.

Tuesday Homework:
Language Arts:
Review Spelling List- Assessment is tomorrow
Review Vocabulary Words and Definitions...Complete vocab. crossword puzzle (due tomorrow)

Math: No homework assigned

Parent Thought... Ask your child what stage they are at with their writing?? Planning,
pre-writing, Drafting, Editing, Publishing, Ready for presentation....
Ask them how they colorfully edited their work????

Review Week...

I will not be at school today due to a funeral. I will miss being with the kiddos today.

This week will be a review & Assessment week in Language Arts....

The students will be reviewing the skills in reading, grammar, spelling and writing this week:



Grammar:

Different Types of Sentences

Common/Proper Nouns

Independent and Dependent Clauses

Subjects/Predicates

Compound /Complex Sentences



Spelling- There were 125 words (including bonus words) that were taught this grading period. I will select 25 words (5 from each of the weeks) to test the students over. The UNIT spelling test will be on Wednesday. The students can prepare for this by looking over their words on the spelling sheet that they need to bring home each night!



Reading: We will be review and doing activities to practice: Summarizing, Character, Setting, & Fact and Opinion. There will be a comprehension assessment on Thursday and Friday. To prepare for this the students just need to remember to TAKE Their Time and to Read and Reread as needed!



VOCABULARY!! There will be a Vocabulary assessment, the students will be assessed over the Vocabulary Terms for Unit 1- They will receive a typed list of words and definitions....This is a great opportunity to study these words at home!!!

PARENT NOTE: Ask them for their list!!! This will help to go over the words, the assessment is on Thursday morning.





Have a Great Week!!


Homework for Monday September 28th....

HOMEWORK:

Language Arts:
Study Spelling and Vocabulary Lists


Math: None

The week in Review!

A quick one indeed! As always the 5 days breezed by and before we knew it, it was Friday! The students had some struggles this week with spelling. It is important for them to know, as I told them through the week....Learning is not always easy and it "shouldn't Be"... I encouraged them through the week to continue to work on those spelling skills and to take their time studying the words!

Homework: The students as a whole are doing REALLY well completing their homework assignments. There are just 4 or 5 students who are struggling with this responsibility. I encourage ALL the students to have a HOMEWORK ROUTINE, where there is a time and place that they can get their responsibility taken care of each day!

Planners: Please sign, or Continue to sign student planners nightly. I will continue this routine for a while yet, I feel that communication to what is being expected each night is helpful. Please sign those planners daily until I notify you that this is not a requirement for ALL students, just those who are not being responsible.

GO Jimmies ....The Jimmies Football team faces Concord this evening...the rivalry continues!

How can it be....

It is amazing to me that next week is ALREADY the last week of the 6 week grading period!

Next week will be a great deal of reviewing, enrichment of the skills taught and Ugg...assessments.(checking progress is important!) I will make every effort to keep a balance of all of that for next week while I am planning the lessons for the week!

Just an FYI...I will be making calls home over the next two weeks just to touch base and get some feedback on how things are going from your point of view. I will also be giving you feedback on how I see things for your students so far. Feel free when we speak to have some questions prepared for me when I give you a call. As always, we are in this together and the goal is success for your child!!

Homework:
L/A- Reread story (if needed)
study vocab sheet and spelling:)
Math-Study Link 2.3 #1-11 only

Parent thought.... Ask your child what they can tell you about multiplying decimals....what do you do with that decimal point??? Or here is a problem for them.... 345.2 * 0.25= They are often surprised at how small the answer is when they start off with a number larger than 300.

Mail and More...

Mailboxes...As mentioned at parent night and previously on the blog posts....The students each have a mailbox in the classroom. "Some" students are checking mail daily, others are not. Correspondence, other papers, and graded work are sent home daily. Please remind your child to bring home their mail....Daily!


Homework:
L/A-Reread Story "When Crowbar Came"
Vocab sheet
Math-Journal pg 50-51 #1-10

Spelling ...Yikes!

This weeks spelling is a CHALLENGE!! Please remind your child to LISTEN to the sentence when deciding which form of the word to use! As adults this can even be w challenging skill!

Homework:
Language Arts: Family Times, vocabulary sheet. ( Due Thursday! ) Study Spelling

Math: Study Link 2.2.
Have a good evening!

Parent Thought... Ask your child what interesting things a crow can do? Thinking of this weeks story, it is an interesting one!

ISTEP Scores / Learning Goals for the Week

ISTEP:Today your child will be bringing home a print out regarding ISTEP scores from spring of 5th grade. The scores can be accessed online with the log-on information on the form that is sent home. If you have questions regarding this please call or email me.

THIS WEEK: Learning this week....

Math: This week there will be a focus on decimals, multiplication of decimals and working with powers of 10 in numbers.

Language Arts: Comprehension Skill/Strategies: this week the students will continue to work with fact/opinion, They will develop this skills. There will be instruction and practice on the test taking skill of answering questions.
Vocabulary-skill for the week: Word structures
Grammar- Common/Proper Noun usage
Spelling- Plurals and possessives (encourage your child to listen to how the word is used...Listen to the sentence!)
Writing- The students will be planning and writing drafts this week of their personal narrative. We have been practicing and modeling this type of writing, the application of the skills begins this week!!

Homework:
LA - Study spelling pg.17
complete spelling pg. 19
Math-Problems #1-5 from the board

Be looking for...

I was very pleased with the Unit One Math Assessments. Be looking for these to come home today! There is also an attachment, the results of both the pre and post tests for Unit One. As we spoke at parent night pretesting has numerous benefits. Please look it over with your child!



Secondly, I will be at a conference in our building on Thursday and Friday. This is a great opportunity for learning about positive behavior support practices. I let the students know I will be out. They are to continue the practice of our Classroom Core Values! Please remind them to show respect to the substitute.



Homework: (thank you students for typing the homework!)
Wednesday:

Language Arts:Re-read Saving the Rain forest, and Study spelling and vocab.



Math:Share math assessment and your family letter with your family.





Thursday: Have a good time! Learning is fun, and I try to make it the best day I can!

Language Arts- Prepare for vocabulary and spelling tomorrow. We have a lot of assessments to complete! (As in the reading test! :) )



Math- Study link 2.1 .

Friday- No homework, have a great weekend!

Wild about the Rain Forest

This week the story we have read is called "Saving the Rain Forest" this has sparked some good conversations. Some of the students are taking an interest in this topic. I enjoy seeing the light go on for them! Although, the story is difficult, it is interesting!

Homework:
Math - None
Language Arts-
Finish Vocab. Sheet (some already turned this in) Due Tomorrow
Study Vocabulary and Spelling Words (Spelling Pretest on Wednesday)
Practice Page 34


Parent Thought: Ask your child to share something they have learned about the Rain Forest, if they can't remember, ask them to bring home their reading book to look up the information.

Learning this week...

Welcome back from the weekend....

This week the students will be learning...

Math
We will review and test over Unit 1. The assessment is on Tuesday. Following the assessments, midweek we will PRE-test unit 2 to guide instruction. Some students might be on an enriched learning path, dependent on their assessment scores.

Unit 2 Math- Operations with Whole Numbers and Decimals - will begin on Thursday with a review of adding and subtracting decimals.

Language Arts:
Story- Saving the Rain Forest
Skills we will work on this week:
Comprehension Strategies / Skills - fact & opinion, using graphic organizers for learning, thinking while reading.

Spelling- spelling words this week are difficult, students should take some extra time to study the words. The pretest is Wed. and the Test is Friday. The pretest is to help determine what words they need to focus on for the week.

Grammar- Students will learn about complex and compound sentences

Homework:
Language Arts:
Share Family Times Handout with your family
Vocabulary Sheet - DUE Wednesday
Study spelling words pg. 13 Pretest-Wed. Test - Friday

Math: Finish Review Practice use SRB if needed
Unit 1 test on Tuesday

Other: Study Music Notes

Parent Thought....Ask your child how they can best prepare for the spelling test this week, what is their study strategy?

The Week in Review...

The students had a busy short week, due to having Monday off. They were troopers. I was very proud of their focus. I was pleased with the amount of learning that we were able to accomplish. I truly feel that the students are now in the routine, it takes a few weeks to "get there"!

This week the students learned about ...
Language Arts:
Comparing and Contrasting
Vocabulary Skills..Using Context Clues
Spelling "R" controlled vowel words

Math:
Graphing data on circle, bar and line graphs
Finding Area and Perimeter of objects, then graphing the results
How to determine if data is accurate or not, how to interrpet data

The week was very productive....Keep it up Successful Sixth Graders!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!

Showing some Kindness...

Our class meetings this week are focusing on kindness. I was really proud of the students reflections and input so far this week. Each of the students were asked to write a personal reflection on kindness and what it meant to them (these were sent home, you should take a look). We have had conversations about showing kindness, even when the kindness is not returned.

During the kindness discussions we discussed that at times we just have "bad" days and so do others. This is not a reason or an excuse to not show kindness toward others. One student brought up, "when someone is having a rough day, that is when they need kindness the most." I am proud of the students and their reflections on our Core Value of Kindness!

Special Thanks....Thank you to the "Student bloggers" who type in the daily homework, reminders and parent thoughts. I appreciate how well they type and how they add color :)

Thursday September 10th ~
Homework:
LANGUAGE ARTS:
Reread Viva New Jersey Pg.70
Grammar Pg.12 #1-12
Study Spelling and vocab words
Math:
Area/Perimeter Practice Sheet.

Parent Thought:
Remind your child that their are assessments on Friday. Taking their time and reading carefully helps improve their success!

Quick Week...

WoW! Wednesday already!
It sure makes for a quick week when we have Monday off! The students had a great day. They were seated in new seats today and they are adjusting to the move.

Concern: There were 10 students who did not have their homework done this morning. They are in recess detention today finishing their homework and completing a reflection sheet (the reflection sheets need to be signed and returned tomorrow.)
Reminder: If you child is absent please call the office and let them know so that the absence is not "UNexcused".

Homework:

Tonight for Language Arts: Study Vocabulary and complete vocabulary sheet.

Tonight for Math: Studylink 1.9

Have planner signed nightly!

Parent Thought....Ask you child about the vocab. game we played today Balderdash...The students were learning and laughing while we were playing.

Have a great evening!

Reteaching...

I hope all of you had a fabulous holiday weekend! The students were a little slow moving this morning, I think they would have loved some extra sleep!
It is a short week and I have spoke with the students about the importance of staying focused and working at their personal best level.

Reteaching...
Weekly reading assessments from Friday are being sent home today....Please be looking for them. If you child received lower then a 75% they have a letter attach to the assessment. PLEASE follow up on this and have a discussion about the letter. Remember we are in this together and the ultimate goal is learning and for your child to have ownership for his/her learning and success!!
**If you have questions about this please feel free to call or email me.

Parent Thought.... Have a conversation with your child about ownership of learning, and how it is important that they put forth effort to be successful!

(Thank you student bloggers for typing the following for our class...)

HOMEWORK:
Work on Reteaching opportunity sheet from language arts assessment (DUE Tomorrow)

Language Arts- Spelling Pages 9-10 Study Spelling words! (there is a pretest tomorrow)
Finish reading Viva New Jersey (page 70)
*** Show Family Times letter to family.

Math- Complete Studylink 1.8 (2 pages)

Reminder: Please remind your child to wash your hands regularly because of the flu. We don't want our friends to get sick, because then they can't learn! Thank you for your support!

Say Cheese!!

Today the students looked fabulous for their school pictures! Pictures went well and we expected the pictures to be back within a few weeks.

Math- We are working hard on learning how to read, draw and interpret different types of graphs. There will be a graph quiz on Friday to check progress and we should be finishing the Math Data and Graph Unit sometime next week.

HOMEWORK....
Language Arts - Study Spelling Words, look over the story and vocab. there will be an assessment tomorrow.

Math- Complete Math Journal Pages 25 and 27

Parent Thought....
How are graphs helpful to us?

Reminders...

Please turn in forms that you haven't turned in yet. Thank you!

No school Monday because of Labor Day.

Enjoy the beautiful day!

Parent Night Attendance...

I am so please with the wonderful attendance at parent night! It is always enjoyable to meet with families! I was very pleased with the evening, thank you to all of you who joined us!

Homework:
Language Arts: - Re-Read story for the week
Math- Math Journal Page 26 (Math Box 1.7)
***Planner signed

Parent Thought.... (Story Reflection) How did Mother Fletcher display kindness??
Have a great Day!

Parent Night

Tonight is parent night! As always I look forward to the opportunity to see the families of the students. It is my hope that many are able to attend. I am planning on going over some of the classroom expectation, curriculum, communication, and taking the opportunity to answer questions that may come up.

If you are unable to attend please be in touch with me so that we have the opportunity to communcicate what was shared this evening.

Parent Night...Tonight... 6:00 pm ....Room 111

HOMEWORK: Tuesday September 1st

Language Arts: Study spelling words, Grammar page 5
Math: Studylink 1.6
***Be sure to have planners signed

Parent Thought.... Ask you student about tracking data in graphs, how can graphs help us??