This week in second steps we learned about how to be a good ally to friends, family, and even people that you don’t even know. We also learned how to make great Google Slides in computer lab, and we learned how to type on a keyboard without looking. (Well, some of us did) ~DJ
Religion: The structure of the Bible and God's covenant promises English: Finishing Nouns, moving to Verbs! Writing: Personal Narratives Literature: Fiction and Nonfiction with an emphasis on fact/opinion and symbolism Science: Moving on to Electromagnetism! I know in Social Studies that the kids put on a weather skit. Check out the pictures below! PICTURE DAY Tuesday, October 6th: Picture Day – October 6th Pictures will be taken during school hours. All ordering will be done online. Parents do not need to fill anything out to send with their student(s). Please review the Zion Picture Day flyer for information on how to order. This can be found in Sycamore under DOCUMENTS. Ordering can be done BEFORE or AFTER picture day. Makeup day - Thursday, November 19th. Please contact Interstate with any questions about ordering via their website below: http://www.inter-state.com/support Truck or Treat - Harvest Party Trunk or Treat has been cancelled this year, but the PTL has plans to help make the Harvest Parties extra special this year. Harvest Parties will be held on October 20th, look or additional information in next week's news. Scholastic Book Orders: I will be placing a new order next October 14th so be sure to get your orders in before then either online or send to school and I can send in the mail! Class code is R6TZX. AR Points AR is due October 12th and each student needs 16 points. If you are curious how many points your kid has, make sure to visit the AR HomeConnect website located in my Websites tab at the top. I met with students who have not reached the 16 point goal yet and discussed their plan on getting there. REMEMBER: AR counts as 1/3 of the Literature grade! If students receive 20, 50, or even 100 points, they can receive a No Homework Coupon too!
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Midquarter is upon us next Monday. It’s amazing how well students have transitioned into our school routine and adapted to all of our changes. I am loving this class and the fun discussions coming in every subject. “Making Friends” was our 2nd step topic as we practiced empathy and listening skills in giving advice to kids struggling with making friends. This week was the beginning of our new unit in English. We are starting Chapter 2: Nouns. I have also introduced writing into our English class and have started working on our first writing project, personal narratives. And this week, all on their own, the class started a recess version of Zion’s Got Talent. The whole class was involved!
Here are our next units in each subject: Religion: The structure of the Bible and God's covenant promises English: WRITING personal narratives and Chapter 2: Nouns Literature: Fiction and Nonfiction with an emphasis on fact/opinion and symbolism Science: Magnetism MID QUARTER GRADES AND FRIDAY PAPERS Mid-Quarter is just around the corner! With this in mind, take a minute to check your child's grades. They should be all up to date by Monday at the end of the day. If you question a grade, please make sure to ask your child first before contacting me. There is a 99.9% chance they already know why a grade is the way it is. Also, keep in mind that if a student has more than 2 D's, they are ineligible to play any sports. Tests or quizzes have occurred in each subject in the last 2 weeks.You should be seeing these come home in Friday papers. Monday evening would be a good time to get on Sycamore with your child, celebrate successes and set goals. As you look through Friday papers together, ask what they are most proud of or excited about. A goal could be following directions more carefully, asking questions, or using neat handwriting. Tests and grades are one measure of your child’s progress. They can be an indicator of study skills and organization, as well of stronger/weaker areas in their learning. But grades are not a measure of who we are - we are children of God and we receive our worth in Him!! Other assessments in Friday papers: On Wednesday, students took the STAR reading assessment. This helps us see where a student may need more support in reading. We will take this again in January and May, but it is NOT used to determine Accelerated Reader choices in 6th grade. Our Literature text is our challenge read - A.R. is designed now for the “dessert” reading, so it’s OK if books are not in the STAR reading level range. PRODIGY MATH Look for a parent letter. Mrs. Riemenschneider recently learned about this wonderful site for math review from our 4th grade teachers. Prodigy gives game motivated math practice over grade level curriculum and helps identify individual gaps in math learning.
Chapel Donations - Friends of Kids with Cancer: We are happy to share that chapel donations this year will be used to support Friends of Kids with Cancer. Friends of Kids with Cancer doesn’t create miracles; those are left to modern medicine and the doctors and nurses who administer them. What we do, however, is create a positive frame of mind. Universally, being happy, positive and motivated makes every child more likely to succeed at whatever their goal happens to be. We believe the same applies here. Friends cultivates mental well-being with programs that help children and their families fighting cancer, cope with the daily challenges they face, make the best out of the situation they are in, and most importantly, remember that they will not be robbed of their childhood. To learn more about this amazing organization please visit their website: https://www.friendsofkids.com/friends-of-kids-history.html Thanks for all of your support so far this year. If you want to touch base with me about your child, please let me know. Waiting until our conference in October at the end of the quarter is not ideal if we can address a question sooner! Contact Mrs. Riemenschneider for specific Math or Social Studies. Has it really been almost a full month of school?? I cannot believe it! Lots happened in this very short and quick week!
Friday, we continued Second Steps and talked about how to work together in a group and reading people's emotions and body language. The students had a challenge to build the tallest free-standing tower out of paper, tape, and paper clips but they could only touch one of the supplies. This made them think about how they should work together to complete this challenge (see the pics!). I really think these lessons are helping with student to student cooperation as well as active listening skills and respect for the teacher. All week long, we have been reviewing and practicing our English concepts to prepare for the test we had on Friday. I'm confident they did well and excited to see the results! It was a quick week and I'm sure next week will be the same! In addition to that, we had a guest speaker zoom in on Friday for our Science class. Mr. Schmitz works at Cuivre River and he talked to the kids about how to conserve electricity in their homes. It was fun! Thanks to our generous PTL for the special ice cream treats this week! See pics below for the yumminess! We continue to work on organization skills, cleaning out binders at the end of the week, using our planner to record work, pack our bag, check off when things are done, etc. There is even a "notes" column for students to write things like "piano lesson today" or "bring soccer uniform." The biggest challenge is long range planning (assigned on Monday, due Thursday). We are growing stronger in these lifelong skills! Current Units:
Miss the Parent night? Check out the handout for a peek into Trauma Info for parents: (You may need to be logged into Sycamore for this link to work) Handout Another fantastic week is behind us! This week flew by and I think the kiddos had a lot of fun!
In Religion this week, the students started defining Law and Gospel and what the differences are between the two. In Literature, the students wrote a point of view essay taking the view of another character in the story, "Drive In Movies." They came up with some very creative stories while taking on the role as a side character from the story! I encourage you to read them! We had another awesome Science lab experimenting with electric circuits! Check out the pics! 2ND STEP This week we also began the Second Step program. The program focuses on skills that will help your child succeed in school and in life. These skills include: • Empathy • Communication • Perspective taking • Respectful disagreement • Assertiveness • Emotional management • Problem solving We discussed reading facial expressions and communicating when working in groups as well as being a good friend. Next week we will learn about being an ally, not just to a friend but to anyone! Dress Code: Please make sure your child has plenty of polos that fit! I am noticing some short/tiny shirts that are hard to keep tucked. They are growing quicker than you think! If they raise their arms up and the shirt comes untucked, it might be time to purchase some new ones! REMINDERS: 1. Don't forget to remind your child to bring chapel offering each week if they feel so inclined :) 2. Make sure your kid is reading every day! AR is due October 12th and they need 16 points! I have seen a couple of kids take quizzes but it is always good to be reading each and every day! 3. Help your child stay organized by going through their binder at least once a week! I know a couple of them had Friday papers from last week which should stay at home for you to enjoy! 4. I will place book orders Sept 16. Don't feel obligated to buy - the flyers give great ideas for a library trip. With that said, any purchase you provides free books for our classroom. The website has tons of books the flyer does not show. 5. PTL Education Night is this Tuesday, Sept 8th! Scroll down to last week's blog or see Sycamore for details. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85063512931?pwd=WDA2aVBRWHdqc1NBUE90SG1pUWtwdz09 Meeting ID: 850 6351 2931 Passcode: 103173 |
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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