First "End of Quarter Party"

Friday, September 30th is our first End of Quarter Party.  The party will begin at the end of the day.  Students without missing assignments will be able to watch  Finding Nemo, play games or use other electronic devices to play games.

Students may bring electronics from home to use.  They may also bring games they would like to play with peers.  Students are responsible for the items they bring from home.

Students may also bring snacks.  They may bring a snack for themselves or snacks to share.  If they want to share, they need to make sure they bring enough to share with everyone in their home room  (there are 33 students in both home rooms).

Students with missing assignments will spend that time completing their assignments.  Once they are completed, they may join the party.

Important Information

As we are nearing the end of the first quarter, I wanted to make sure that our homework expectations and assignment and test policies were clear.

Students should expect some school work nightly.  They need to complete their reading minutes (20) and work on improving math skills using IXL (smart score of 80 or 20 min). Specific assignments will be listed on the blog, http://www.visioncharter.net/users/tyler-keefe and Edmodo for Mr. Keefe and on Google Classroom for Mrs. George.  

You can expect these assignments to be posted on the blog every Monday or Google Classroom everyday. Teachers allow time at school to complete assignments; however, If students do not complete assignments at school in the time allotted, they may need to bring them home to complete the assignment before the due date. If students are spending more than 1 hour each night on school work, please let us know.

Assignment/Test retake 6th Grade policy

In an effort to best transition students from elementary to secondary, during the 1st Semester students will follow: Unexcused late work will be assigned as homework or assigned for completion during recess or in place of attending an enrichment club. Unexcused late work will not be accepted for full credit. Students who score less than a 75% on a test will be able to retake a test one time, within three days of receiving their test score. The student will be given the new score; however, the final score assigned to the student for the makeup test will not exceed 85%.

During the 2nd Semester students will follow: unexcused late work will NOT be accepted. Unexcused late work will be an automatic zero. Students who score less than a 75% on a test may be offered an alternative form of mastery of the teacher’s choosing.

First Tests

Students had their first test in Science this week.  They all did really well.

They will have a test on ratios on Friday of next week in Tutorial and an adjective test the beginning of October, before Fall Break.

Students will also be finishing their first argument paper by the beginning of October.  Ask your child to show you how they use Google Classroom and you can see some of their great work.

I am proud of the work ethic that is beginning to blossom among these 6th graders.  They are learning that if they work hard during the school day, there is very little to take home.

Week of 9/19/16

Here are the educational happenings this week!

In Tutorial we are working ratios.  Students are making connections between equivalent ratios using real world examples.  Students also have 30 minutes of time to complete assignments in class.

In Language Arts we are writing our first paper.  Students will be using claim, reason, and explanation to state their opinion on whether our personalities come from birth or experience.  We are also working on using adjectives in our own writing to make it more powerful.

In Science students will use the models they created and learned about to make predictions about moon phases, seasons, eclipses, and day and night.

Progress Reports & Pictures

Progress reports came home today.  Please look them over, sign and return the signed portion.
Missing assignments haven't been figured into student's grades because they have this week to remedy that.

Pictures are tomorrow!  Everyone will get their picture taken whether they choose to purchase them or not.  Students are allowed to wear what they would like to have their picture taken in (modesty rules still apply).  They do not have to be in uniform.

Back on Track

I am happy to be back.  Washington D.C.  was more amazing than I expected.  I got to see many national monuments and federal buildings.  Mr. George did us proud.  It was such an honor to get to see him get his award.  It is the highest teaching award given.

Last week was tough on students.  It's always tough when the teacher is gone and I was gone for 4 days and it is still early in the year.  I'm sure that students feel much more at peace today.

This week we are checking in on what we attempted to learn last week.  If students were confused or uncertain, we are taking care of that this week.

Reminder:  I don't assign homework.  I assign assignments.  I give students time in class to complete their assignments.  The only part they should be doing at home is what they couldn't finish in class.  Please let me know if students are spending a lot of time at home and I will figure out what is going on.  I want students to be able to enjoy their families and other activities after school.

Washington D.C.

 As many of you know, Mr. George won  The Presidential Award for Excellnce in Science and Math Teaching.  Because of that, we are both in Washington DC this week. We are attending conferences and award celebrations.  We had time to visit many  monumental sites.  Later this week, Mr. George will meet the president. This is a great honor and opportunity for both of us.

 Unfortunately, all this mean that I am not at school this week. I will check email and Google classroom when I have an opportunity.  I can already see many students getting their assignments done early. Don't forget to keep your agenda updated.

 I'm looking forward to a great report when I return.