Friday January 10, 2020

Hello!

Welcome back!
We are look forward to everyone having some #2020vision as we move toward the second half of 6th grade. 

So many things have been happening the past week and a half. We luckily had a slow start back to school with a few pre-assessments in math and LA. We had a celebration for our hard work in our integrated India projects, by sampling some yummy snacks from our very well known Chennai, India and had some Chai tea. The students' response was very positive! Thanks to Ms. Lamb for finding some culturally/ethnically appropriate food for students to savor. 

A new calendar has been given to ALL students with all of the January assignments on them. We took time on our first day back to do this. It is also posted on boards in Ms. Lamb and Ms. Roberge's room. 

Students then began their week full of new learning, review and hard work. In math, we began our new Let's Be Rational unit which focuses on all operations (additio, subtraction, multiplication, division) of fractions. This unit can feel uncomfortable to some, as these are big concepts. Please check in with your child to see how they are feeling about this new unit, and encourage them to come check in with Ms. Roberge if they have any questions or concerns. 

Students received their new math menu that is due 1/17/2020. This whole week has been about book work and reviewing ways we add and subtract fractions. Next week, we begin exploring the use of models to explain our thinking and ways these relate to number sentences (or equations). Moby Max is still a homework task. Students must complete 30 minutes each week of Moby for homework, totaling an hour by the time their menu is due. I do check this weekly and give kids a heads up to let them know they need to catch up. If your child has issues with internet or computer access at home, please have them set up times to stay after school, use their study hall wisely, or find other means to make sure this is complete. FACT FLUENCY NEEDS TO BE COMPLETE BY 1/31/2020!

NEW SCIENCE UNIT! 
We have been loving the new changes we have done in social studies and science by having smaller groups. 
We just started our new "Force and Mobility" unit, which focuses on the Isaac Newton's Law of Motion. These first few weeks will be heavy on information, which students will then use for an inquiry task toward the end of the month. So far we learned about what the three laws are and have begun to think of and research examples of these laws in action in our lives. Check in with your child about this. It's pretty rad!