This week was so fun because due to all of the National Lutheran Schools week activities! I took a ton of pictures so be sure to scroll through them!
We have been acting in Literature as we study our drama unit and read the Phantom Tollbooth. The students have had a lot of fun with it and now we are watching the movie! Our next unit will focus on nonfiction! In English, we are still focusing on modifiers but now we are focusing on adverbs instead of adjectives. We are starting a new chapter in science and this time it is all about earthquakes! Lastly, in Art, the students painted with crayon wax to create some beautiful outdoor scenes. They did a great job! On Wednesday, we had class buddy color day and we were paired with Mrs. Reed's Kindergarten class! After chapel, we had devotions with them and made snowflakes and signs that asked why we love Zion. Thursday was the teacher vs. 8th grade volleyball game and the teachers still remain undefeated! I think the kids had the most fun on Friday! The teachers also defeated the 8th graders in the pizza eating contest and then we had our Zion Winter Olympics at the end of the day. Teachers competed against multiple students in events like ice hockey, speed skating, bobsled racing, ice skating dance, and cross country skiing! Winners of each event even received medals! I was so happy to see most of all the students participating in the dress down days and having fun! From Mrs. Riemenschneider's blog: In Social Studies we traveled to CAMBODIA! In this country, 97% of the population is Buddist. Praise God that Lutheran Hour missions is there and welcomed into communities. We saw examples of ministry in action in puppet shows, football (soccer) leagues, radio programs, and a Lutheran school. May our offerings help continue to share God's love and bring more people to Christ!! (Ask your child about our offering war!) Ski Field Trip Reminder: Friday is looking COLD. Be sure to review the cold weather tips sent home and on Hidden Valley's website. Our classroom will open at 7:30 a.m. on Friday so we can be ready for devotions and final instructions prior to our 8:00 departure. Remember to have rides here at 4:30 for pickup in front of the Junior High. Don't hesitate to email me any questions. NEXT FIELD TRIP; FRIDAY, FEB. 16 - Grendel Theater Bud, Not Buddy Bud, Not Buddy follows ten-year-old Bud as he sets off on an epic adventure to find his father who he believes is leading a traveling jazz band. Set in 1930s America, Bud’s odyssey is filled with the joy of finding family and plenty of live jazz music. Based on the Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award-winning novel, this play combines 8 actors with a 13-piece jazz band performing an original score composed by five-time, Grammy-winning jazz artist Terence Blanchard to tell the story of a boy who finds a home and a passion for music. We are seeking 3 parents to attend with us. We will prepare to depart Zion by bus at 8:45 and return by 12:30, before lunch. Let me know if you are able to attend.
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I apologize for posting this late in the weekend but I have been busy MOVING OUT of my parents' house!!! My roommate and I are very excited for our new apartment! It is just perfect!
School this week was very fun and busy! We have been acting a LOT not only in Literature, but in Religion too! Here is our week! We acted half a scene of The Phantom Tollbooth on Tuesday during Literature and the kids had a lot of fun with it! We have some talented actors in the class for sure! In Science on Tuesday, we built our own sea-floor and were able to demonstrate how sea-floor spreading works! On Thursday, we continued with Second Steps and learned the Action Steps needed to take in order to solve a problem. The first four steps include analyzing the problem, brainstorming ideas to solve the problem, considering these options, and then deciding on the best choice. Next week, we will focus on the last two steps! In Second Steps students are learning about empathy and how to take into consideration another person's perspective. A tough challenge for middle schoolers sometimes! We focused on things like body language, facial expressions, tone and then how to have a respectful disagreement: staying calm, actively listening, and speaking your ideas with respect. We had another lab on Thursday as well where we started to make the different plate boundaries with Play-Doh! That's right, sixth graders still love play-doh! See the pics below! Friday was a crazy day that included a spelling bee in the morning! Colin and Abby represented our class well in the spelling bee and spelled some really tough words! We started our art projects in the morning as well. Students are learning about encaustic art, or using wax as the medium. We use Q-Tips to paint with melted crayon wax. We practiced the different techniques and will create our masterpieces next week! In addition to all of the fun stuff that went on, the students worked hard on lots of homework and had multiple tests as well! They are doing great and giving their best effort. I am so proud of them! Note: I still need a few Ski Trip permission forms and skier agreements which were due Friday. Helping your child see the value of deadlines and due dates is an important life skill to learn! Look for two papers that need a parent signature and due back by Wednesday. I'll send tips about clothing that week, depending weather we are skiing in 20 degree or 50 degree weather. As long as they can make snow overnight, we can ski! National Lutheran Schools Week: It is next week! Scroll down to see the special dress days. We are raising money this week for our Cambodia Mission. I will be talking to the kids about it on Monday but any and all offerings are appreciated! We pray God's Word continues to reach more and more people around the world! Auction Update: Spring Auction Round Up is coming January 22nd through 26th! We are looking for donations for the Zion School Auction March 16, 2018. You can drop them off before school all week at the main school entrance or the Early Childhood entrance. For every $25 in donations, you will receive a ticket for an opportunity to win 2 FREE Auction Tickets! Need donation ideas? Grab a leaf off an Auction Trees to help you shop. Any help is appreciated! Thank you for your generosity! Scholastic Book Orders: These are due by Friday at 5pm! I will place our January order then! Ask your child if they are interested in any new and upcoming books! :) Up and Coming: PTL meeting on Monday 7pm. Trivia Night on Saturday. I couldn't think of anything for my title post so I wanted to remember this week as the week we went from 60 degrees to 15 degrees almost all in the same day! Crazy!
We had a full week filled with activities! Here is what we did! On Wednesday, we had another Faith Family event! We learned that Jesus loved all people, even those who were hard to love. John 13:34 tells us, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” God wants us to share His love with others so that others will know Him. Jesus loved us so much that He died to forgive us and rose to give us Life. We painted wood pieces that will be put together to make a cross. The cross is a reminder of Jesus’ great love for us. This cross will be hung in the church for Lutheran Schools Week. We also we able to spend some time getting to know each other and our different interests. It is always good to end our time in the church and remember and celebrate baptismal birthdays. We started Second Steps back up on Thursday morning learning different calming techniques when we might get angry. We even practiced deep breathing which the kids loved! Take a look below! Friday was way too cold to have outdoor recess so we stayed inside and played lots of games! I need to learn how to really think like a 6th grader when it comes to Apples to Apples! They chose some odd cards that won (I never got a green card...)! Chapel Offerings for Cambodia During the month of January, our offerings will support the mission work in Cambodia which is organized by Lutheran Hour Ministries. Students can start collecting money at home or put it in their classroom change box. During National Lutheran Schools Week, these offerings and change boxes can be brought to chapel on Wednesday, January 24th. Through our offerings, we can help spread the word of Christ across the world! National Lutheran Schools Week: NLSW is right around the corner! The teachers planning this week have a lot of fun activities ready to go with a lot of fun dress days planned as well! 2018 NLSW Dress Up Day Descriptions: January 22 – 26, 2018 Monday: P.J. Day
Important Papers: There were a few things sent home Friday that parents need to take a look at! Sue and I sent home field trip information that should be read through. There are TWO permission forms that need to be filled out and returned by January 19th. One permission form is for Zion and the other is a waiver for Hidden Valley. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email me! Report cards were sent home as well in addition to AR results from quarter 2. Let me know if you have questions! Upcoming Field Trip (Not ski trip): Since we are studying drama in Literature right now, we will be going on a field trip to watch a performance of a play! Mark February 16 for our drama field trip. We leave campus at 8:45 to attend Metro Theatre's production of Bud, not Buddy at the Grendal Theatre. We return before lunch that day. Again we are seeking parents to ride the bus with us and chaperone, so let me know if you are interested. Note: Donuts for Dad is this Wednesday the 17th and Open House is next Sunday the 21st from 1-3pm! We got back into the swing of things right away in 2018! The kids seemed ready to learn and continue on in sixth grade! I loved hearing all of their adventures they had over break and the cool things they got for Christmas!
We started out on Thursday with a fun Religion lesson where we read the book The Other Wiseman which taught us that we can serve our Lord by helping others. The students loved the book and the meaning behind it. Thursday was really cold so we had our second indoor recess of the year! I predict we will have a few more of those due to the super low temperatures! Make sure you child is bringing a coat every day to school! Here are the new units we are studying: Literature: Drama unit! On Friday we acted a Native American Folktale and discussed the different elements of a drama. Our unit will focus on The Phantom Tollbooth and we begin reading it on Monday! English: Unit 5 - Modifiers, part 1 is all about adjectives. Science: New quarter = new book! Make sure the new science book gets covered (in addition to all school textbooks). We start this book discussing plate tectonics! I was happy to see everyone for these two short days and I am ready to take on semester 2 with them! I hope they are ready too! Reenrollment: You can reenroll your child starting Monday, January 8th. An email was sent out on Friday but you can follow the link here or go through Sycamore and go to My School/Enrollment/Online Portal. Pack the Gym Night: Next Friday is Pack the Gym Night starting around 6:45 with girls basketball and boys basketball following right after. I hope to see you all there! It is a very fun night for the kids to hang with their friends and be a part of the school community! If you wear red, entry is only $1! |
Ministering to families in Jesus' love while embracing and enhancing each child's gifts. Welcome!My name is Jennifer Donner and I am a 6th grade teacher at Zion! I am very excited to start my 6th year of teaching here at Zion with the kids! Some of my hobbies include volleyball, card games, and reading suspense novels. I will update this blog on a weekly basis towards the end of each week. I look forward to this exciting year of learning and growing with God! Upcoming Events:
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