Monday PE *Studyhall before and after school | Tuesday O&A to Jennings McCall *wear good shoes & rain gear for walk back *Studyhall before school | Wednesday ART *NO Studyhall *NO 6th-8th OBOB | Thurs No School | Friday No School |
1/28 & 1/29 -- No School-- for teachers to work on report cards
2/4--Geography Bee @ the Library at 10:00
*A few announcements first:
- I will not be at school on Wednesday the 27th. Carol McConnel, our FGCS substitute extraordinaire, will be teaching the Merlins on Wednesday. I would appreciate all families discussing the importance of students being their best self on this day. It’s the right time for the class to show their independence, leadership and how well they work as a team! I expect nothing but a great report back from Carol.
- Also, this week kicks off The Great Kindness Challenge. It’s an event FGCS has participated in for the past several years. Take time to discuss with your family what it means to be kind, various ways to show it and how kindness makes for a better world.
- The Merlins (myself included) loved seeing the Wizard of Oz performance last week. Many students mentioned a desire to participate in that type of an activity. Be sure to check out Theatre in the Grove's website for details on spring break and summer break theatre camps.
Literacy
- Writing homework this week is Typing Web.
This week we focused on the events vs. the author’s experience of a small moment story called, “Everything Will Be Okay.” It’s a real tear-jerker, but such a great story of a boy finding himself and realizing it’s okay to be different than his family. Rachel and I finalized our partnership with Jennings McCall, so we are excited to embark on our next writing unit—writing narrative biographies (small moment stories) on a significant experience of the JM residents. Students will interview a senior in partners. The goal is to discover a significant moment that the Merlins can document and tell that story like the stories we’ve been reading recently.
Ask your child to explain the important parts of Everything Will Be Okay.
Listen to your child explain their fears or concerns of interviewing an older member of our community.
Extend the learning by writing a small moment story as a family.
Project
It was a busy week for our colonial groups last week. Teams sailed to the New World and claimed their first plot of land! We had one team lose a ship during the journey, and several other ships hit the ‘doldrums’, which created a slow and long trip. The next 2 weeks will be devoted to seeing how well groups can colonize their land. We also did some journal writing , capturing our thoughts of feelings of our adventures and read about the Lost Colony of Roanoke.
Ask your child his/her theories on what happened to Roanoke Island.
Listen to your child explain the sailing and landing component of our simulation.
Extend the learning by researching more information about Colonial America.
6th Grade Math
Most students were able to finish up their test corrections and retakes before the end of the week. Parent signatures on tests and all test corrections/retakes will be due by Wednesday.
This last test wraps up our time on algebra. Now, we’ll be moving onto new content. We’ll be reviewing and extending concepts from 5th grade, such as multi-digit and decimal number multiplication and division for the next several weeks.
Ask your child to see his/her last test.
Listen to your child explain Kerry’s math get-to-know-you activity.
Extend the learning by writing inequalities that relate to your life.
5th Grade Math
This past week we slowed down a bit to do more work towards all mathematician's showing proficiency with the multiplication standard algorithm. We ended to week with nearly everyone demonstrating proficiency of the algorithm for 2 digit by 2 digit multiplication. This short week's homework will include more practice and all students will take a proficiency check on Wednesday. Our work this week is around fractions- proper and improper fractions, mixed numbers and converting improper fractions to mixed numbers. This is important background understandings for our work with decimals. Some students began retakes at the onset of last week. These are due Monday, and absolutely no later than Tuesday afternoon.
ASK YOUR CHILD to see his or her most recent multiplication algorithm proficiency check.
LISTEN TO YOUR CHILD to teach you the steps for the multiplication algorithm for 54 x 32 (challenge: 4,723 x 2,338)
EXTEND THE LEARINING by making up multiplication word problems (with at least 2 digit by 2 digit) and solving them.