Christmas Break is Nearly Here!

This week there are quite a few event happening around the building. Here they are, in order!

Monday

Today the students are starting their Unit 2 Tests (these are the long ones that you saw at conferences) and will be finishing up our reading work from last week. While I hate having to give a test before winter break, it is an important tool in gauging our students' ongoing progress. 

I did not assign any writing homework this week! However, there are many students with missing writing homework assignments that can be made up. If your student is missing an assignment, they have been informed and given a new copy. 

Wednesday

Students will have a chance to visit Santa's Workshop, conveniently located in the sixth grade hall. We are scheduled to visit from 9-930. All items are only a $1.

In addition, we will be attending the 5th and 6th grade band concert in the afternoon. This will be held in the gym at 2:00.

Thursday

On Thursday afternoon, we have our school-wide, canned food drive assembly. This should be a lot of fun. If we reach our building goal, Mrs. Hessong and Ms. G, will be completing super hero training! 

Friday

On Friday afternoon, we will be holding our Christmas party from 1:45-2:45. We are still looking for parent volunteers to help pass out food, monitor students, and help clean up. If you are interested in helping, please let me know. 

Also note, Mrs. Angelo will be holding a gift exchange (new socks or a new/slightly used book) in her room during the party. If you students would like to participate, please have them bring a wrapped gift on Friday morning.

Resources

ASPCA

Cesar's Way

Dog Bite Statistics

Animal Planet Video

Pet Finder

New Yorker Article

Time Article

Pit Bull Video

'Tis the Season

We have had a great start to the month. Once again I have found my classroom decor seriously lacking in holiday spirit, but I am committed to do a little decorating at the end of the week. I'm exciting to get the classroom a little more "Christmas-y".

6th Grade Spirit

Our sixth graders have earned a grade-wise Hootie surprise. On Wednesday, we will be headed to the high school to watch a movie for the afternoon. I am looking forward to this special treat. 

We are also off to a nice start to the school-wide canned food drive. Our class has set a goal of two cans per student by the end of this week. Thank you to the families who have sent in items with their children; this is a great opportunity to get into the spirit of giving.

Christmas Events & Supplies

We will be holding a grade-level Christmas party on Friday, December 18. Again, if you would like to volunteer, please send an email and I will put you on "the list". All of your support makes the celebration a lot of fun. I will be sending home letters later this week with more details.

I am also asking for students to bring 1-2 rolls of high quality toilet paper for a Christmas craft. We will need these this Friday. Mr. Jeremiah, who has done this craft a few times, recommends the Charmin two-ply brand. Any small decorations, like extra bows, ribbons, and ornaments are also welcome. 

In addition, we are needing donations of egg cartons. We use these as paint palettes and are running short. If you have any lying around the house, please send them our way.

Blog Title

Okay, so we had a blog title recommendation at the very beginning of the year. Hence, the title change. I did ask the students to come up with a few more ideas, but they tended to be a bit to "assertive" for the content. Examples included, "Our Blog is Better than Yours", "We are the Best", and others that incorporated Star Wars. I think the new title is nice. Thank you for the suggestions.

Learning Targets

I have noticed that my own children's teachers include the weekly/monthly learning targets in their newsletters. I would like to start sharing this information at the end of each post, in order to keep families more up-to-date on what is happening in sixth grade.

• Writing: Students are working on a argumentative essay, "Should certain breeds of dogs (pit bulls) be outlawed?"
• Math: Students are comparing and completing different operations with fractions (ratios), decimals, and percentages.
• ELA: Students are comparing and contrasting, evaluating arguments and claims, and identifying author's purpose in non-fiction text.
• Health: Students are learning about how they can build their health skills.