March has snuck up on us, unlike this pollen which has been blowing its way into our lives and sticking. This week was wonderfully gleeful with the highlight being the middle school social where we hosted a talent show. There were so many fabulous talents showcased, that we never  even knew about! The students have done a great job this week working hard to get their various projects and papers finished. The science fair projects are unbelievably innovative and are turning out very nicely, their scientific experimentation process’ are truly impressive. 

Here’s a look at what is happening in each of the classes:

What’s happening in Science?

Sixth graders completed their Bacteria Lab report this week! They are so excited to show you their slideshow that encompasses what they learned during this study. They were able to demonstrate their understanding of  the scientific process in their slideshow. Sixth graders also summed up what they have learned up to this point in science this year in their self-assessment portfolio. Lastly, for a brain break, they completed the Marshmallow Challenge and tried to build the tallest tower that could hold a marshmallow on top.

What’s up in ELA?

Sixth graders have started reading nonfiction articles and taking notes for their research paper. However, they may need your help. Your students have been challenged to use vocabulary words they have learned in grammar and to apply MLA academic writing concepts to their papers. They are working on their rough drafts through the box-and-bullet concept of writing a thesis, coming up with reasons, and defending their reasons through textual evidence. Students need to understand that a research paper means that they actually have to research. This week, they also worked on their self-assessments and week fourteen grammar lessons. We have been so busy, so we are not having a grammar/vocabulary assessment until March 8th. We have also temporarily canceled reading log assignments. I will let you know when we will resume working on our reading logs.

What’s going on in Math?

Hello, Sixth-grade parents! This has been a week of fine tuning, with just a few new

variations on the themes we’ve been working on all unit. As we’ve talked about in earlier

updates, linear expressions are simply a way of representing something that happens at the

same rate over and over and over again: You drive for several hours at the same speed; you

pay the same price per pound for blueberries, pound after pound; you deposit or withdraw

(usually withdraw) the same amount of money from your account each week. These scenarios

can be expressed in words, like above, in an equation, in a table, and in a graph. It’s crucial that

the sixth-graders be able to create and interpret the data in each form, and that they can take

the data in one form and represent it in any of the others. I will need to be automatic for the

Math they’ll encounter in the future, and eventually it will be. For now it’s pretty new, and simply knowing the correct steps is great. It’s a difficult concept to wrap their sixth-grade heads around: that one scenario or set of facts can be expressed in so many seemingly different ways, each just as clear and meaningful as the others. But they’ve done well, and we will begin practicing and reviewing next week for the End-of-Unit Assessment. I have no doubt that they will do very well on it!

–Mr. Dan

What’s happening in Social Studies?

Sixth graders took a deeper look into the Middle Ages of Europe. Students dove into the Feudal system and how Christianity spread throughout Europe. Students then used their content knowledge to create skits to perform in front of the class. 

Next week, the students will be looking at Medieval Culture and closing out the unit. Students will then be preparing for the Middle Ages assessment. 

Important Dates:

• March 6th & 7th – Student-Led Conferences (11:30 Dismissal) 
• March 28 – Spread the Word (11:30 Dismissal)