So Many Important Papers

This afternoon, I had your students empty their mailboxes for the first time. There were a few notices from the school I wanted to quickly discuss. The first two are notices about using Synergy ParentVUE. This allows families to check grades from home. You'll notice I also have a link on the right hand side of the screen. 

While ParentVUE is an invaluable resource, we recently made changes to our report card, which are not yet reflected in the grade book. As a result, I am waiting to enter data into our electronic system. I will be sure to let families know when the system has been updated and grades are current online. In the meantime, if I am noticing a pattern of missing assignments from your student, I will be sure to let you know. If you have any concerns, I am here to take questions as they arise.

I also sent home information about the OPPO's movie fundraiser. If your family would like to order movie tickets, please feel free to send an envelope with the order form and money back to school with your child. We will make sure it gets to the office. 

Tomorrow morning I will be distributing our first weekly writing homework assignment. Please expect this in your child's backpack. Remember, the homework is not due until the following Thursday morning. It will then be returned to your student, with a grade, on Friday morning. Your student will have an opportunity to analyze and reflect on their work and make a plan for improved writing the following week. The next week's assignment will also be attached. 

It has been a great week. The kids and I have settled into a nice routine, and we are learning a lot! Thank you again for all your support. You have wonderful students!

Have a great weekend,
Ms. Kinsman

And Now the Fun Begins!

I hope you all had an excellent back-to-school week! I know I was exhausted by Friday afternoon, and expect many of your students were tired, as well. Now that the fun of the first week is over, we will spend the upcoming week experiencing some of the more "normal" routines of sixth grade. 

On Monday, we will be breaking our students into their new math classes. It is a lot of fun to teach different groups of students throughout the day, and a good opportunity for your student to practice moving from one teacher to another. All the sixth grade teachers are looking forward to getting to know your students.

We are also starting our first language arts story, conducting a partner interview in writing, and beginning our geography unit in social studies. I guarantee it will be a busy week! On Friday, you can also expect your student's first homework assignment. More information will follow.

Finally, as part of the partner interview project, your student will be making an awesome multi-media presentation using an app called AdobeSpark. It is a wonderful, free (with no ads!), resource, which allows each student to create their own narrated slide show about a fellow classmate. This was a hugely successful project last year, with one exception: using only one Google Account for logging into the program made it nearly impossible to save the different projects without overwriting data. 

Last year, I kept track of student writing assignments using a Google Drive account shared by my whole class. However, it was challenging for each learner to keep their Google docs, presentations, and other projects protected, as the whole class could access one another's work. As a result, I am asking parents to explore creating Google accounts for your student. It is a relatively easy process, with a lot of information from Google about how to protect your young user. If you do create an account for your student, please make sure they know the user name and password. This way they can create a completely secure AdobeSpark project, and access the Google tools from school to work on and save assignments. 

If you have any questions about creating a Google account, please do not hesitate to reach out. I have a link to my school account to the right of the screen. I'll be sure to answer any email questions as promptly as possible. 

Thank you for all your support this past week. I am looking forward to seeing your students tomorrow morning!

Computer Lab Expectations

Please use the link below to join the conversation on behavior in the computer lab and digital etiquette.

Welcome Back 2017

Welcome to the sixth grade! Your students are about to begin their final year of elementary school, and I am honored to be the teacher to prepare your son or daughter for middle school!

I'm the one on the right, although the other two are pretty capable!

We have a great year in store! I am looking forward to seeing many families at this evening's Back-to-School night, from 6:30-8:00 pm. Please feel free to bring supplies, or wait until the first day of school. Also, if you are not able to make it out to the school, all the information I am covering this evening will be available on the blog early next week. In addition, I will be sure all the important paperwork is sent home with your student on Tuesday.

Otto Petersen has many changes in store for the year! Not only do we have a wonderful new principal, Matthew Wilding, but a new counselor, a PBIS update, many new staff members and...Outdoor School this spring! The sixth grade team is excited to be bringing this wonderful program back to Scappoose families. 

I cannot wait to tell you all about it this evening!

-Ms. Kinsman

You Are Now Parents of a Middle Schooler!

Thank you so much for the wonderful year. I had such a great time with all your students; they were an absolutely amazing group of kids. I hope you all have an incredible summer. Please be sure to stay in touch in the coming years. Happy Summer!!!!

The Countdown Continues

I'll start with some fun pictures before I get down to business. Here's some shots from our kindergarten visit on Thursday. It looks like we might be headed back on the 19th to help the kinders build space ships! Again, I am so impressed with the sixth graders' patience and coaching when working with these young learners. It is a lot of fun to watch. 

Speeches

We will begin our "How To" speeches tomorrow afternoon. Thank you for helping your student prepare for this final project. If your student would like to bring materials to share with the class, they are welcome. If they are planning on bringing in an animal, please let me know, so I can schedule accordingly.

Field Trip

We will be heading to Oaks Amusement Park on Wednesday. Please make sure your students arrive to school on time. We will depart as close to 8:30 as possible. Please also make sure your child comes with a lunch and beverage. While the concession stands are open, the lines are long. Students will want to make sure they do not waste time waiting in line for food!

The End is Officially Here

I was just telling the students how each year I find myself in a panic in May because I may not have enough material to carry us through to the end of the year. Then, I'll start planning June, and my panic becomes focused on how I don't have nearly enough time to do it all! We have a busy couple of weeks ahead of us! Here's what we have planned so far...

"How To" Speeches

Today, the students and I worked on a lesson to introduce the "How To" speech. This will be a homework assignment for the week. The rough draft of the speech is due on Friday, and we'll begin presentations next Monday, June 12. I found a website with a number of sample topics here. Please encourage your student to have fun with their topic and practice a lot! We don't have much time to deliver the speeches, so I'll have to cut off students who are running too long. I can't wait to see what the kids will teach me this year.

Upcoming Events

Below is a list of fun activities we have planned for the end of the year. I'll try to post updates with pictures and reminders of any materials the students will need for the activities. Please feel free to let me know if you would like to volunteer. We are always looking for extra help. 

June 7: 4th Grade Play, "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" at the high school

June 8: Visit to Kindergarten at Watts to help with science experiment 

June 9: Oaks Park permission slips and $5 due; Rough Draft of Speech Due

June 12: Speeches due!

June 14: Oaks Park Visit

June 15: Last day of Math
June 16 or 19: Life tournament (If you have the game of Life, and you are willing to allow your student to bring it to class, please let me know. I would like the students to be able to play in groups of four). This activity is a fun culmination of our recent personal finance unit. Be sure to ask your student to share how they are doing on this activity.
June 16: Grade level awards; Ice Cream Social (2:00)
June 19-20: Art Workshops
June 21: School-Wide Move; Kickball tournament (with a real life, professional kick ball pitcher!)
June 21, 6:00 pm: Art Show, Mural Unveiling and Bake Sale
June 22: Last Day of School- Early Dismissal; Class Awards; Field Day