Hi Parents,
This week the students have been busy learning and also showing what they’ve learned this year. We are started our middle of the year assessments and will finish next week. In math we’ve been learning about integers, and absolute value and we’ll be taking our Chapter 5 test next week. In Science the students created an experiment to test the amount of thermal energy related to matter. Today we did a quick art project where the students had to follow directions. I’ve attached a picture of the final product. It’s amazing how everyone in the class heard the same directions but all of their art pieces were unique. Thank you so much for all of your donations for the 6th Grade Service Project. Our class came in 2nd place! It was heartwarming to see the students helping others. The Pathways shelter was so appreciative all of the donations. Important information and upcoming due dates: Next Wednesday the 13th: Students should be finished or closed to finished with their Science Fair experiments. The experiment part of their projects should mostly be completed at home. In STEM, Mr. Talty will be working with the students to help them analyze and graph the data from their experiments. So far, the students have been doing an amazing job working on their Science Fair projects. If you have any questions or concerns about Science Fair, please let me know right away. Next Thursday the 14th: Term 2 Book reports are due. The genre this month is mystery. Instead of doing a project we are using a website called Whoosreading.org. Here are the Book Report Instructions: Students should go to https://www.whooosreading.org/ and do the following 3 things:
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Thank you for your continued support! Happy to be a Phoenix, Mrs. Reese
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Hello Parents,
This week I’ve been thinking about how grateful I am to work at ELA and to get to teach your children every day. The students have been working so hard and they are very respectful. I’m so fortunate to work with such great students. Science Fair Info: We’ve been focusing on the Science Fair projects and your students are doing a fantastic job. So far all of the students have picked a project question, most students have completed their research and most students have completed their hypothesis. This week they are working on writing up the steps/procedures of their experiment and they’re working on identifying the variables in their experiments. After tomorrow, most students will be ready to do their experiments and are welcome to start anytime once their procedures and variables are approved. All students are working on their science fair projects in Google Drive. This can be accessed at home. If you haven’t seen what they are working on, have them login to their Google Drive account and show you their progress. You can also check aspire to see if they have completed their Research (In STEM on Aspire) and their Hypothesis (in Science on Aspire). Science Fair is on January 10th. The students are all working at a good pace and should be prepared for the Fair on the 10th. Please let me know right away if you have any questions or concerns regarding this project. 6th Grade Service Project: 6th grade has decided to do a service project for Pathways Domestic Violence. We will be collecting non-perishable food items, paper products, cleaning products and some other various items. Tomorrow students will be bringing home a letter with details of the project. You can read the letter here as well by clicking on the following link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sq6pphk33yaqmCLIl1Qmt1to87rUlBnLgyK44jZb4IQ/edit?usp=sharing Coat and Dress Code: As we move closer to winter and the weather gets colder, please remind students to bring a warm coat and if they tend to get cold in class, please make sure they bring a dress code approved sweater or sweatshirt to wear in class. This Week: Tomorrow is our last day of class this week. There is no school Wed. – Friday. We also don’t have spelling homework this week. This is a good week for students to catch up on missing work, get lots of reading done (this term we’re reading mysteries and Book Reports are due on December 14th), and spend some time working on their science fair projects. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!! Sincerely, Mrs. Reese Dear Parents, I hope you all had a nice weekend and hope you all enjoyed the extra hour gained from Daylight Savings. This week as we start our second week of the new term I thought I would send an update/reminder about our weekly homework and special projects. Students in 6th grade have homework every single night, Monday - Thursday (even if they tell you they don’t have homework). Homework in 6th grade should take around 60 minutes plus 20-30 minutes of reading. If you have questions or concerns about the amount of homework your child is or is not bringing home, please contact me right away. Homework is listed on my website every week: http://mrsreese6thgrade.weebly.com/homework Nightly homework 1.Every night students should be practicing their spelling words and completing 2 spelling choice assignments which must be turned in every Friday. 2.Each week we have a packet for our Reading Street Story. Most of this is finished in class but any work that isn’t finished in class needs to be finished at home. 3.Every night students should be reading for 30 minutes. 4.Every night students will have a math homework worksheet or workbook page and they should be spending time on Aleks every night. This year students have a goal to get a certain # of topics each week. In my math class for the month of November students must complete 8 topics each week. Special Projects: Term 2 Book Report Due 12/15/17: Genre: Mystery. The book must be a book the student has not read before and it must be on or near their Lexile level. You can check the Lexile level of a book by going to https://fab.lexile.com/ In the top right there is a search bar where you can enter the name of the book. This month instead creating a project at home, students will answer questions on the website https://www.whooosreading.org/ Then they will be required to give a book talk in class. Science Fair Project: This year all 6th graders will be required to participate in the Science Fair. This will be such a fun learning experience and will really prepare students for Jr. High. Students will receive time in class to work on parts of their project and some time at home will be required. The project has been broken into manageable sections so as long as students keep up with the deadlines they will be able to have a completed project by the final Science Fair on January 10th. Science Fair Project Due Dates: 11/2/17 - Science Fair Project Question was due on 11/2/17. 11/8/17 - Science Fair Application – The first page needs to filled out and the packet needs to be signed by a parent. 11/9/17 – Science Fair Research (students will work on this in STEM class with Mr. Talty) Again, please contact me right away with any questions regarding homework. Thank you so much for your support. I’m so fortunate to work with such supportive parents and such kind and motivated students. Sincerely, Mrs. Reese Hi Parents,
I’ve been so impressed with the students the past few weeks. They have been working so hard. They all did an excellent job on their book projects (book project grades will be posted Friday), they were so creative on their civilization project for Mr. Abney, and they’ve diligently been working to finish their planet essay for Mrs. Lord. We have some exciting things going to this week and next:
I’ve really enjoyed getting to know your children this term and seeing them grow. Thank you so much for your support at home. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me right away. With Kindness, Mrs. Reese Dear Parents,
Highlights from last week: Last week we had a very eventful week. Our field trip to STEM Fest was a success. It was crowded but the students got the opportunity to see all of the STEM related career opportunities and experience some hands-on STEM activities. We also had a representative from the Utah Museum of Fine Arts come do a hands-on learning experience where the students got to work with some authentic artifacts from different cultures and time periods. Mrs. Stallings, a parent volunteer, visited our class on Friday and talked about her career in Photography. The students did a fantastic job leading their conferences with you. Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with your child! What’s happening this week: This is our last week before fall break which is from October 16th – 20th. Today in math we started Chapter 2 –fractions, decimals and percents. In Reading we’re starting a new unit and this week we’ll be reading an informational text about the Universe. In science we’ll be finishing learning about Gravity and Inertia. Next week we’ll be taking our final test on Standard 6.1 – Structure and Motion Within the Solar System. End of Term: Please be aware that the last day of the 1st term is on Tuesday, October 31st. All work for this term will need to be turned in to me and the other 6th grade teachers by Friday October 27th. I will be offering two after school sessions for students to come complete any missing work, do any test retakes (eg. Spelling) or get help with any work after school. Also, students can stop by my room any morning from 8:10 – 8:30 to get help on assignments for ask questions about missing work. After School Missing Work/Test Retake sessions: Thursday October 12th from 3:10 – 4:30 Tuesday October 24th from 3:10 – 4:30 Halloween Party: We are still in need of a Room Parent. Without a room parent we will not be able to do class parties. We have lots of parents in our class who like to volunteer so if you are able and willing to be our room parent, you won’t be alone. I’ll make sure we recruit other volunteers to help you. If you can be our room parent and/or are willing and able to help with our Halloween party, please let me know. Thank you so much!! Sincerely, Mrs. Reese We just finished a successful leadership week. The students learned about “making deposits” into each other’s “emotional bank accounts” and we discussed ways to “fill people’s buckets.” Mrs. Whitehead gave each student some pretend money and had them write down some ways that people have made deposits (shown kindness and leadership) into their emotional bank accounts. Then the rest of the week the students earned more of the pretend money when teachers saw them making deposits. The students also got the opportunity to write a kind note to a friend and wrote kind notes to staff throughout the school.
This week is going to be busy and full of hands on learning experiences: Monday – We will be preparing for conferences by working on our Leadership Portfolios. Tuesday – We will be attending the STEM Fest Field trip at the South Towne Expo Center. We will leave for the Trax station right after the bell rings at 8:30 and be returning at 2:30. Students will not be allowed to bring phones or backpacks. We will have a volunteer driving our lunches to the expo center and bringing them back. Wednesday – 1. We will be taking the Chapter 4 Math assessment. 2. The Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) will be coming to each 6th grade class to do a lesson integrating art and history. 3. Student-Led Conferences will start at 4:00 and go to 7:00. Please sign up for a time using the following link: http://signup.com/go/qfZmYdE Thursday – 1. We will take our Unit 1 Reading Street Assessment. 2. Student-Led Conferences will start at 1:15 and go to 4:00. 3. Thursday is an early-out day. School gets out at 12:35 Friday - 1. No Spelling Test (Review week) 2. Early-out day. School gets out at 12:35. *We will not be having academic rotations this week (science, history, writing, stem). This will be a good week for students to get caught up on any missing work. I’m looking forward to an eventful week. Thank you so much for your support at home and in the class. I’ve been so impressed with all of your involvement. We have 5 volunteers for our field trip next week, we’ve had volunteers come help with reading groups each week, we had a parent help decorate our door for leadership week, and we have a parent volunteer coming next Friday to talk about her career experience. Sincerely, Mrs. Reese Hi Parents,
Can you believe we are half way through with the term? Next week I’ll be sending out progress reports for you to review and sign. If you have questions about grades please contact me right away. As 6th grade teachers we have very high expectations for the students in our afternoon rotations and this week I’ve been so impressed with all they have accomplished this term. For example, with Mrs. Lord they completed their first full writing project by going through the whole writing process and ending with a final draft of a narrative about a castle. Their next writing project will connect to Science and they will be researching a planet and writing an informational essay. I have some very important information about next few weeks. It’s going to be very eventful! 1. Picture Day: Don’t forget that this Monday the 25th is picture day. Have students bring their picture money in the picture envelope that was sent home last week. 2. Field Trip permissions need to be turned in by Tuesday the 26th at the latest. If your student did not bring one home, here is the link to the permission that can be printed: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gnB7cztmv_xXIf6LN1CES_gAS40I-txphS-y4UOqbfM/edit?usp=sharing 3. New Volunteer Opportunity: This week is leadership week. If any volunteers are available to decorate our class door this Monday morning, the 25th, for leadership week, please e-mail me right away. 4. In need of New Room Parent: This week we are sad in our class because one of our students got into a school with a ski program and had to leave our school. Unfortunately, her mother was also our room mom. I’m now looking for a new room parent or 2 or 3. Please let me know if you would be interested. 5. Student Led Conferences: We will be having our first Student-Led Conferences of the year on October 4th and October 5th. I will be using a semi-open house format. We're using SignUp.com) to organize our upcoming SignUps. Here's how it works in 3 easy steps: 1) Click this link to see our SignUp on SignUp.com: http://signup.com/go/qfZmYdE 2) Review the options listed and choose the spot you like. 3) Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.com. Note: SignUp.com does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me and I can sign you up manually. Also, if you’d prefer to have an individual meeting with me, please contact me directly and we’ll schedule another time and date for a conference. 6. Book Project: Each term the students will be required to complete one book project. This week they received their book project instructions. Book Projects will be due October 13th. Please check out the homework page of my website for the assignment details. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Thank you for your support, Mrs. Reese Dear Parents,
Last week we had a productive week of learning! The students took their first math assessment. We learned about eclipses in Science and in Language Arts we focused on the comprehension skill of summarizing. Check out my Two-Weeks At a Glance on my website to see what we’ll be learning this week and next. https://docs.google.com/a/earlylightacademy.org/document/d/1gnB7cztmv_xXIf6LN1CES_gAS40I-txphS-y4UOqbfM/edit?usp=sharing We have some important events coming in the next few weeks: • On Monday the 25th, it is Picture Day. Students should have brought home a flyer/envelope with picture day details. Please make sure students come to school in dress code for pictures. • Leadership week will be from 9/25 – 9/29. Watch for more details through the school newsletters. • Tomorrow your student will bring home a green permission slip, as we have our first field trip coming up in just a couple of weeks. The following link provides the same information on the slip, please take a look. We are asking for a $4 donation. There is a link to pay online in the field trip information below, or students can bring the money directly to the office. We will need a total of 4 chaperones for this trip. Please email me if you are interested & have a background check https://docs.google.com/a/earlylightacademy.org/document/d/1gnB7cztmv_xXIf6LN1CES_gAS40I-txphS-y4UOqbfM/edit?usp=sharing Thank you so much for all of your support at home. Also, thank you to our volunteers. This week we had 3 volunteers come to our classroom and read with students, and we have a volunteer working on making seat pockets for our chairs. If you are interested in volunteering please check out the volunteer link on my website or contact me directly. Sincerely, Mrs. Reese Hi Parents,
Last week was College week and we started off the week wearing our favorite college gear. Students then had a chance to do some research about their dream schools. They researched the school they would like to attend as well as a program of study offered by the school. We then took some time to decorate our own graduation caps with our school colors and/or logo. I’ve attached a picture of some of the schools chosen by our class! In Language Arts last week, we read a Realistic Fiction story called "Mother Fletcher's Gift" about an older woman who lived in Harlem and how a police officer and his family learned to care about people in the community. Our big question this week was "Why should we care about people we don't know?" which was especially relevant as we've been learning about the devastation of Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma during our current events time. This week we started our small reading groups. Today we had our first volunteer come help! Check out my website if you are also interested in volunteering. We also are very lucky to have our grade level aide, Mrs. Whitehead, work with our class once a week on our Stepping Up program. Please see the following note from her regarding what we will be working with your students on throughout the year: Dear Families, Wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to protect your middle school student from risky behaviors such as bullying, aggression, and substance abuse while improving his or her school success? Fortunately, research shows there is a way to do just that. Last week we began the Stepping Up program. The program focuses on skills that will help your student succeed in school and in life. These skills include: Empathy, Communication, Perspective talking, Respectful disagreement, Assertiveness, Emotional management and Problem solving. You play a vital role in helping your student develop strong social skills. During these next few weeks, the focus of the lessons will be empathy and communication. Ask questions about the skills your student is learning, such as: “How do you show someone you’re actively listening to them?” “What are some ways you can be an ally to someone?” “Why should you try to understand other people’s perspectives? If you have any questions about the curriculum, please do not hesitate to contact me for more information. Thank you for supporting your student in learning the skills that lead to success in school and in life. Sincerely, Mrs. Whitehead I really appreciate all of your amazing support at home and at school. As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have! Sincerely, Mrs. Reese 6th Grade Dear Parents,
We made it through the 2nd week of school which included our first week of math and afternoon rotations. I was so impressed with how the students persevered through the challenges of the new schedule. We are in the full swing of things in 6th grade now, so your child should now be doing about 50-60 minutes of homework each night. If you have any questions about homework you can check the assignments each night on my website or you can e-mail or call anytime for individual questions or concerns. I’ve updated my website to include volunteer opportunities and our classroom wish list items. If you are interested in volunteering or providing items for our class, please check out the link on my website. You can sign up by editing the document. If you are following the link on your phone you may need to download the Google Docs app to edit the document. On a computer you can go right to the link and sign up. Currently I need volunteers to read with small groups of students and I would love to have parents as special guests on Fridays to share a talent, activity, lesson, or career information. https://docs.google.com/document/d/17siyNl_pvv14GCjzaoYr1bzewjDsiHBDo2BPe4dfD04/edit?usp=sharing In Science, this week, we began our unit on the Earth, Sun, and Moon. Students should be observing the moon each night and documenting the moon phase and location on their moon calendar. Also, I’ve asked students to bring a flashlight to school by Thursday 9/7 for an experiment we’ll be conducting. Please don't go out and buy a flashlight if you don't have on on hand that you can send to school, but if you do have one available we will use it this week and we will be finished with it by next week. My grade reporting is set up in Aspire and I’ve entered most of the grades from the last few weeks. Please make sure to check Aspire each week. On Friday, I’ll be sending an individual e-mail out for students who are not passing (C or higher) in any subject. Please let me know right away if you have any concerns about grades. It’s been a fantastic school year so far! Thanks for your continued support. Sincerely, Mrs. Reese |
Mrs. ReeseThis page will be used to provide weekly information to parents about our class. Archives
May 2018
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