It was Just Another Tuesday

What an afternoon we had yesterday! I wanted to let you all know, your students were very patient with the lock out situation. While they had many questions about all the possible scenarios that might have played out, they were calm, composed, and excellent role models to the younger students in the building. I really appreciate their patience as teachers worked to get students home safely. 

As always, it has been busy here in sixth grade. We are currently writing an expository paper, studying human migration and the establishment of early civilizations in the Americas, reading about the Moon landing, starting a novel unit, and SO MUCH MORE! 

In the coming days and weeks there are a few events to keep in mind. First, Friday is a sports themed dress up day. The students can wear their favorite jerseys, hats, or other sports paraphernalia. In addition, we will be sending home information about the upcoming Hoop-A-Thon on Friday afternoon. This is the largest, whole school fundraising event of the year! Please be sure to ask for important paperwork this weekend.

In addition, the OPPO send home flyers for their upcoming Thirsty Thursday event. If you are interested in pre-ordering tickets for the fundraiser, please send payment and the coupon back to school with your student. It should be a lot of fun, with live music, beverages, and snacks. I hope to see you there!

Finally, our class is nearing the end our science rotation with Mrs. Ashley. Hopefully, you have been hearing about the upcoming catapult project. Just in case you were not aware, the due date for the project is Wednesday, February 7. The packets, which support the project and other tasks completed in and outside of class is due next Monday, February 5th.

Have a great rest of the week!

Migration Internet Scavenger Hunt

Start Here!

Step 6:
Fixed link: Here

Step 7:
Fixed link: Here

Lock Out Room Link

https://goo.gl/EYHyNK

Welcome to 2018!

Welcome back to the new year! I had a wonderful break and hope all of your families did, as well. A few reminders for this week...

Field Trip on Thursday

We are headed to the Columbia River Maritime Museum this Thursday. It is located in Astoria, so we must make sure we leave promptly on Thursday morning. Unfortunately, we will NOT be able to hold the bus if your student is late. Please work to make sure you are here on time. 

I currently have two parent volunteers available to chaperone the trip. I have room for one additional adult. Remember, it is first come first serve for free entry. If you would like to help, please let me know and I'll add you to the list.

Please be sure your student packs a healthy lunch and beverage for the trip. School sack lunches are also available if needed. Please have your student let me know tomorrow if they would like a sack lunch. 

Homework

This week writing homework will resume. Because we have a short week, I am asking students to turn in their assignment on Friday morning, rather than Thursday morning. Next week's writing homework will be assigned on Friday.

In January, I will be asking students to write a series narrative stories. Some will be fictional, while others will be personal or biographical. In class, I will review proper paragraphing technique, dialogue rules, and how to create interesting story lines. This week's assignment asks the students to imagine a super hero enters reality and needs help surviving the "real world". I'm excited to read their work!

Pride Assembly and Spirit Day

On Friday, it is crazy sock and sweater day. Please encourage your students to participate. We will also have a fun spirit assembly in the afternoon to look at this month's character trait: Diligence.

I am sure it will be a fun and exhausting week! 2018 is off to a great start!

The Time of Year When Everything is Important!

When I was in high school, I wrote for the school's newspaper. My teacher always emphasized the importance of the "inverted triangle" style of writing: the most important news needed to come first! This week, I am not sure what is most important. We have a lot happening in our class over the next two weeks.

The Fun Stuff (or What I Think is Important!)

Please use these links to check out the excellent story in the Spotlight about our mini-boat and check The Red, White, and Blue Crew's voyage. 

Your student may also have told you about our recent visit to Mrs. Leeper's kindergarten class. The sixth graders were paired with a kinder and asked a series of questions to help prepare for our upcoming Santa Letters. We have received the kinder's Santa lists and will be writing responses this week. Next Tuesday, we will head back down to Grant Watts to deliver the messages and spend some time with our buddies. 

Christmas Party & The Sock and Book Exchange

Next Friday, at 1:45, we will be holding a grade level Christmas party. If you would like to join us, please let me know. We always need lots of volunteers. This year, we will have a movie, iPads, crafts, and treats for the students to enjoy. In addition, if your students would like to participate in an OPTIONAL sock or book exchange, please have your child bring a wrapped, gender neutral new pair of socks or new book, for a fun white elephant activity. Again, this is optional. 

Country Reports and Extension Project

Please remember, next week we will begin the presentation of our country report extension projects. Many students have already completed and turned in their work. Each student will take 1-3 minutes to share their project. This is not a formal speech, but your student may want to practice what they would like to share with the class when they present their project. I am looking forward to hearing and seeing their work. 

Canned Food Drive & Blanket Donations

We are off to a great start for our canned food drive. We are currently in the lead, with a little over 40 cans of food. I will be bringing in a sizable donation next week, but any support we can receive from families is greatly appreciated by our local Kiwanas group. The food drive will end next Friday, December 15.

Scrip

Finally, thank you to all of you for your support of the Scrip fundraiser. Jennifer Kilman has been responsible for filing the orders each week, while Joy Bruan has driven to Tigard (!!) to pick up the gift cards. We really could not do this without their time and energy. Thank you to everyone for making this fundraiser such a huge success!

Country Report Update

This week, the students have been hard at work on their country reports. We have been using computer lab time for research, language arts time to revisit skills like writing introductions, and social studies time to review the different economic systems. In other words, we've been busy. 

Unfortunately, we are not quite as on schedule as I had hoped to be. As a result, I have asked the students to finish writing their country report introduction this evening for homework. The thesis statements were completed in class. A hook and connecting, or bridge sentence, is all they need to add. This will help ensure we stay on track next week. We have also had less time to complete research; this means the research portion of the project is a more ongoing process than I anticipated. Please do not worry if your student has not completed his or her research; this will be finished in class. 

Otherwise, please encourage your student to keep working toward having their extension project ready for Monday, December 11th. I have six volunteers who have offered to present on that Monday. I will send out a list of dates for presentation tomorrow afternoon.

Thank you for your support!
Ms. Kinsman

The Blog Post I've Attempted to Finish for Four Days Straight

And here I am, still not finished at 4:44 on Thursday afternoon!

Conferences

How are we already to conferences and Thanksgiving? This year is absolutely flying by, and I know it is because we are having such a great year! Thank you to families that have returned conference schedule materials. I have everyone scheduled, but I am still waiting for a few confirmations. I will be sending emails out this evening to ensure we are ready for next week. If you have any last minute changes, please feel free to call the office at any time. They have access to my schedule and will make the necessary changes. I am also available to complete conferences over the phone. 

I would like your student to attend conferences! I find the students do well when they can hear and discuss their successes and areas needing improvement in person. On the other hand, I also understand when delicate topics are best handled by the adults. Either way, I look forward to meeting with you next week. 

Scrip Sales

Another HUGE thank you to your support of our sixth grade fundraiser. We had over $2,000 of Scrip orders this week. That is wonderful! We will be promoting another sale during conferences. If you are available to help sell Scrip on the Monday or Tuesday evening of conferences, from 5:00-8:00 pm, please let me know. We would like to have a table at the bottom of the stairs, where parents can stop and make a quick Scrip order. You will need to be able to collect checks or cash, ensure order forms are filled out correctly, and answer questions about the program. Please let me know if you are available to help, and I'll sign you up!

We will also be doing Scrip gift card sales at this year's Santa's Workshop. We will be selling $5 Starbucks, Cold Stone, and Burger King cards. Again, we need parent support to help manage those sales. If you available to "man" a Scrip table during the day, from December 11-15, please let me know and I'll add you to our volunteer list.

Homework and the Holidays

This week, I introduced our country report. Students have been assigned a country from the Americas to research, write a report, and complete an extension activity. This evening, your student should be showing you the extension report options and come back tomorrow morning with a decision on which project they will complete. The assignment sheet also includes the important due dates. Please note that research does NOT need to be completed by tomorrow. I will give some additional time after Thanksgiving to finish this portion of the project. 

In the coming weeks, I will not be assigning additional writing homework, as I would like the extension project completed at home. The formal writing piece will be completed in class. The students will need to be ready to present their projects the week of December 11-15. Each extension project is a little different, so I do not have a set of standard expectations for the presentation. However, the students should come with a completed project, which they can discuss with the class, on December 11. Presentations should be fewer than five minutes in length. 

Have a wonderful weekend! See you soon,
Ms. Kinsman