Open House is Coming!

The students and I enjoyed another great week together, and more fun is on the way.  In this coming week, our yearly fundraiser will start on Monday, and we'll enjoy another Open House on Wednesday at 6 p.m.  It will be fun to share with our parents and guests, and we're looking forward to it.

We started our day with a visit to the cafeteria to listen to our principal, Mr. Chambers, talk about some of our district policies and his expectations for the year.  Mr. Chambers discussed rules and situations and gave us many examples so that we'd all understand.  He left us with a final thought; to always give our best.  He truly cares for us.

Following our meeting with Mr. Chambers, we opened our classroom wall to take our tests in Reading and Social Studies.  Most students were prepared and did a fine job.  Although the tests are not coming home today, they are scored and will be on-line to view.  The actual tests will be taken home on Monday in the first test packet for review.

Following Exploratory and lunch, students visited Mrs. Shuman for Library, where they participated in a scavenger hunt of the library.  Then, they were off to Mrs. McIlvaine for Music.  She mentioned that she was wearing red, white, and blue today because tomorrow is National Anthem Day.  The students have been learning about our National Anthem.

Homework:
THERE IS NO SCHOOL TOMORROW FOR STUDENTS!  THE TEACHERS HAVE AN IN-SERVICE DAY!
No homework for the weekend!

Novel Prep

Our class was busily preparing for our first novel today in Language Arts!  Our first novel this year is From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg.  It is a two-time Newbery Medal Winner!  Much of the story takes place in a museum, so today we visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art and History via their website.  The students completed an activity where they explored pieces of art, and later shared what they learned.  I will share Chapter 1 tomorrow, and assign students their very first role for cafe!  Next Thursday, we will enjoy our first cafe discussions!  I can hardly wait!

Ms. Rader and I have enough books for our teams to share, so all reading will be completed at school.  Some students prefer to use their Nooks, ipads, or tablets to read.  That is one reason I'm including the title and author's name today, in case anyone would like to purchase or download the book. Purchasing or downloading the book is NOT required.

 The students will be tested this week on their expert ability to read maps!  They've been working hard, and some have even asked for more global grid activities. Group 308 is being tested today, and group 310 will take their test tomorrow.  Keep studying!
 

Today, Mr. Barzan, our friendly guidance counselor, stopped in for a visit.  He talked with us about the new school year and how we could make it a good one.  We played a game with a blanket which required great teamwork skills.  Enjoy the slideshow!

Tomorrow morning, all sixth grade classrooms will visit with Mr. Chambers in the cafeteria, where he will review rules and expectations for the school year. 

Homework:
Math - Practice sheet
Reading - Review your story, vocabulary and spelling list!  Tests are tomorrow.
Social Studies - Study and prepare for tomorrow's quiz, group 310.
Music - Study for your quiz on vocabulary.

Friday Already?

Busy, busy, busy is the best way to describe our school days!  It's the reason I shake my head on a Friday in disbelief that it's Friday. 

In Language Arts, students visited three skill stations to review sequencing in regards to our story, Tony and the Snark.  They had fun exchanging storyboards, placing them in sequential order, and retelling main events in their own words.  Boards are on display and can be seen at Open House.  At station two, students explored Spelling City on our blog. Every spelling list for the year has been loaded, so students may play games and take practice tests for each list they work on this year.  They now know how to access the lists for review, and there are many activities to choose from.  Word cards were manipulated at station three, where students used vocabulary to form the four types of sentences. 

Group 310 visited for more map practice today!  They were using the global grid to find exact locations of cities all over the Earth with desk maps.  We will soon move on to the geography of Africa next week!  Everyone is doing so well.

During our weekly team meeting today, the students and I talked about bullying and the general rules of sharing during team meetings.  We discussed some of the activities in which we'll participate this year.  Many seem quite comfortable sharing thoughts, so we should have lively meetings this year.

In Music, Mrs. McIlvaine has been teaching lessons about The Star Spangled Banner.  She sent me an e-mail with a test alert for next Wednesday.  All students have a study guide that they should review, and they should know the words to the song.  When I picked them up from class yesterday, they sang the song for me, and it sounded quite beautiful!

Homework:
ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!  Also,
Math - Quiz on Monday
Language Arts - Spelling and selection quizzes next Thursday.
Social Studies - Study your study guide.  Quiz on Wednesday (group 308) and Thursday (310)
Music - see above
SHARE THE CONTENTS OF YOUR FRIDAY FOLDER WITH YOUR PARENTS. 

Fun with Maps

We are having a great week and have been so busy!  The slideshow above shows some activities we've been participating in to learn more about maps.  We've learned much about tools found on maps that help us interpret the information they show. In the pictures, you will see our orange activity that helped us learn about the lines of latitude and longitude, and the desk maps we used to find exact locations using the global grid.  The periods at school fly by!  Often, when class is over, we are not ready to stop what we're doing. 

In Language Arts, we joined Ms. Rader's classes in the cafeteria to kick off our Readers' Cafe (McD's)!  Our teachers read a short story and modeled the roles we'll be taking in cafe!  It was fun to see how everything will work!  We will receive our first novel next week!  Yay!

Homework:
Math - Practice sheet
Reading - Story boards are due tomorrow. There will bevocabulary/comprehension quizzes next Thursday.
Social Studies - Study your study guide.  There will be a quiz next Wednesday.
Chorus - Chorus sheet is due next Tuesday.

Sentence Surgery

This digital slideshow generated with Smilebox

The ambulance pulled into the right place today!  The patients, all sentences, were placed in capable hands!  Each group, led by Mrs. McIlvaine, prepared needed supplies for surgery and consulted with one another before beginning.  Some groups of words didn't form complete sentences!  Some lacked subjects or predicates!  Some didn't have proper capitalization or punctuation!  In groups, the students operated, bandaged,  and gently placed their patients in beds in the recovery room.  We are sincerely hoping that all of them pull through!  We'll find out tomorrow!  Enjoy the slideshow!

We are beginning the story 'Tony and the Snark!'  Students will take the role of screenwriters and create a storyboard for the story as we read.  Who knows?  Tony and the Snark might make a great movie!  The storyboards will help us to practice the skill of sequencing on Friday during our skill stations, at the very least.  New vocabulary was introduced and a new spelling list was given!  We will work with these words throughout the week and next.

In Social Studies, we are exploring Africa using maps! We have studied so many maps, and each has shown us different information!  There is so much to learn about this place!

We had a great day!

Homework:
Math - practice sheet
Reading - Share your Family Times
Spelling - Trace + 2 due on Thursday!

One Week In...WOW!

Labor Day weekend is here, and I thought you might enjoy this clip I found on YouTube showing Mount Rushmore like you have never seen it!  Enjoy!

It seems like in the blink of an eye this week was over, but when I think of all we accomplished, I'm so thrilled.  Following this weekend, we should all be in the swing of things.  Our schedule should become easier, we'll be getting more deeply into the business of learning, and most of the butterflies will be gone.  There is so much work, as well as fun, ahead!  I'm looking forward to the challenge, and I hope you are too!  Rest up!

Homework:

Share your Friday folder contents with your parents!  Also, please bring back forms!  Thank you!

I Am!

Good evening!  I didn't want to leave school without sharing a bit about our great poems that are now on display in the hallway!  I'm so proud of how creative the students were and how beautifully the poems portray who they are.  The template for writing the poem caused the students to think more deeply about who they are and what dream, think, and believe in.  Once the students completed their final copies, they created an interesting image of themselves by combining a photo of their face with a magazine or drawn cutout of a body and clothes that fit their image.  It was fun to see and read the finished products!  If you're coming to Open House, you'll be able to view them!

The week is passing so quickly!  Time flies when you're having fun!

I bought a notepad on vacation this year simply because of the quote at the top.  Audrey Hepburn is given credit for the quote, and I would like to share it with you.

"Nothing is impossible.  The word itself says I'm possible!"  I love it!

Enjoy your evening!  The only homework students have this evening is to complete and return the important forms they've been given and share the blog!