Wonderful Concert!

Sixth graders enjoyed a special treat today! We were all invited to listen to the Middle School Winter Band Concert! The music was so beautiful and well played! Mr. Rush, the director, shared information about the instruments and what it's like to be a part of the band. He also invited students of his band to share their thoughts about being band members. We enjoyed this experience!

OUR BAND AND CHORUS WILL PERFORM ON WEDNESDAY! IT'S ALSO DRESS UP DAY!

Homework:
Reading - Top Ten List is due Thursday!
Spelling - Test next Friday.
Bullying Mtg. - Shoe due next Thursday.

Cafe Day!

Today was a great day in cafe! We finished our discussion about Number the Stars. We began with a short discussion about predictions we had made that were realized, as well as some that did not happen. Exciting moments in the story were discussed, and we shared our sadness about Peter's death. As we grow, we're finding that not all stories have happy endings, like the books we read when we were younger. During next week's cafe, we will hear from Fritz Ottenheimer, a Jewish author, who will share his experience of living during Hitler's reign.

A new project is in the works to inspire our classmates and others to read! We are creating Top Ten lists! We are sharing our favorite books with ten reasons why others should read them (#1 will be the MOST IMPORTANT reason). Later, our lists will be shared as a top ten countdown! This project was started in class today and is due next Thursday. Hopefully, our reasons will be convincing.

Empathy continued to be our topic in our class meeting for the Olweus Bullying Program. We reviewed a bit and then created "Someone Else's Shoes!" On each shoe is an example of a time when we showed empathy or empathy was shown to us. Many great examples were shared. Being able to show empathy deepens our friendships and relationships with others.

Tomorrow, all sixth grade students will be traveling to the Canonsburg Middle School for a Winter Concert! Please be on time, as buses will be leaving shortly after attendance is taken.

PLEASE SHARE YOUR PROGRESS REPORT WITH YOUR PARENTS/GUARDIANS! THE BOTTOM PORTION MUST BE SIGNED AND RETURNED.

Special thanks to Brianna and Becca, as well as their parents, for the delicious drinks in cafe today.

Homework:
Reading - Top Ten List due next Thursday
Math - Finish study guide. Chapter Test tomorrow.
Spelling - Study your list
Social Studies - Quiz tomorrow.
Science - Hot Air Balloon sheet due Friday
Wellness - Mr. Barzan's sheet is due on Monday

Over the Hump Day!

Many students are busily preparing for the upcoming C.I.S. concert! Mrs. McIlvaine and Mr. Gasper have been taking their groups for large group practices, and we are sure that the concert will be entertaining for all. Some students felt that the music practices were the reason that it snowed today! They feel that the songs and music are magical!

In addition to the music rehearsals, we have started the preliminary rounds of the Geography Bee sponsored by National Geographic. Today, we worked through the first three rounds. Next week, we'll finish the last four. Before the holiday break, we'll have a winner who will represent our classroom in the next round. Exciting!

We read our story about survival, From a Spark, in Language Arts. Brian did survive, and we pulled for him as he used the one tool he had, a hatchet. We discovered, after all our predictions, that he did start and use a fire! Many of us thought that a fire was necessary for the same reasons as Brian.

Homework:
Reading - Be ready for our cafe tomorrow! Your role should be complete.
Math - 5 problems! Chapter test on Friday.
Science - Hot Air Balloon due Friday.
Social Studies - Quiz on Climate and Vegetation of L. America Friday.
Wellness - Tobacco worksheet due Monday. Open book exercise is due Friday.

Survival

After skill practice, building background knowledge, and practicing new vocabulary, we are ready to read about Brian and his exciting adventure in the wilderness of northern Canada. His story is one of survival, and today, we tried to put ourselves in his shoes. We talked about what it would be like to be stranded alone in the wilderness. What would we do first? How would we meet our most basic needs? We're anxious to see how Brian survives being in this scary situation.

In Social Studies, we reviewed the two main ideas from yesterday's lesson about the climate and vegetation of Latin America. The first big idea was that the climate varies greatly in Latin America, even within the same country. The second big idea was that elevation, nearness to the Equator, and winds from the water affect climate in Latin America. Together, we supported those two big ideas with examples we learned in class yesterday.

Homework:
Reading - Practice vocabulary with p. 62 in practice book. Finish Number the Stars and complete your final role for the story.
Math - Keep on Climbing division worksheet. Chapter test Friday.
Science - Hot Air Balloon worksheet
Wellness - sheet for Mr. Barzan
Social Studies - Quiz Friday

Studying Latin America and Other Interesting Topics

The climate regions of Latin America were discussed in Social Studies today. We reviewed the factors that influence climate; elevation, distance from an ocean, and distance from the equator. We studied Latin America's land regions, and looked at climate and vegetation maps. Since South America is so huge, there are a variety of climate regions. The one that fascinates us the most is the tropical wet area of the Amazon river basin, probably because it is so different from where we live, and of such great importance to the world. Please check out the new link to your right to learn more about the rainforest areas.

Mr. Barzan stopped in for a second visit to share more about tobacco. Today, he zeroed in on the dangerous chemicals that are in cigarettes. He itemized the ingredients hiding inside cigarettes, as well as what they can do to your body. Diseases that can result from cigarette smoking were discussed, and to illustrate what the diseases may feel like, Mr. Barzan conducted a demonstration. Each student was given a very thin straw. They were asked to stand and jog for awhile in place. Afterwards, the students were asked to breathe only through the straw. Many felt that it was difficult to do, and they felt pressure in their chest that they normally didn't. Most agreed that it didn't feel good. The students and I always appreciate Mr. Barzan's visits. His lessons are so important to our health and well being.

In Language Arts, we're moving onto a new story! It's a survival story titled 'From a Spark' that is an excerpt from the award winning 'Hatchet' by Gary Paulsen. To prepare for the story, we reviewed the skill of making predictions. New spelling words that are a bit tricky were assigned for the coming two weeks. They're tricky because they have some silent consonants and vowels. Spelling City will be an excellent tool for practice.

Homework:
Reading - Share your new 'Family Times' paper. Also, read the remaining chapters of Number the Stars. Complete your role for Thursday's cafe.
Math - Finish decimal worksheet for tomorrow.
Spelling - Trace +2 due tomorrow.
Science - Worksheet (use passage from the other paper).
Wellness - Finish Tobacco paper for Mr. Barzan for next week.