December 16th News

Information and Announcements

• Tuesday, December 20- 2:50 Advent Prayer Service
• Wednesday, December 21 Mass and 11:20 Dismissal

Religion:

This week in religion we finished our study of Isaac and Jacob/Israel and we began learning about Jacob/Israel's son Joseph. Part of Friday and the beginning of next week we will be watching the movie Joseph King of Dreams. 

On Tuesday there will be a 16 point quiz over Joseph's life. Ten questions relate to the order of the major event of Joseph's life and the remaining questions focus on envy.  After Christmas, we will be working on a project that summarizes the major events in Abraham's family's life.

Social Studies:

This week in social studies students took part in the Geography Bee. All of the students took part in the initial round and 34 students made it past the first round and took the written exam. Results will be announced next week. For those students that signed up for the history bee, the online preliminary test will take right after we return from Christmas.

Also after Christmas, we will start our unit on China.

Reading: 

Students finished their book talks this week, and they did a wonderful job on them. Those rubrics came home on Thursday.

We are now doing some background work on learning about the Holocaust before we start reading The Boy in the Striped Pajamas on Monday. Vocabulary will be every week, with 8 new words each Friday, and the quiz on the following Friday.

Language Arts:  

We wrapped up a grammar unit on adjectives with a test on Friday. Look for those to come home next week for your signature.

The Seasons of Life biographies were a huge success. The elders and police officers were so thrilled with the students, and the hard work they did. I am always humbled by how gracious and grateful the recipients are, and how kind and sweet your students are. It truly felt like Christmas was early when they gave the gift-wrapped biographies to the community members. Great job, 6th graders!

After Christmas, we will begin the research paper, with the topics centering on The Holocaust and World War II. 

Math Period 1: 

The students will have a test over Chapter 2 on Monday. They worked on a practice test during class on Friday and the answer key can be found in Google Classroom. The students are expected to complete the practice test and check their work using the answer key. After break, we will begin Chapter 3 Number Theory.

Math Period 4:   
The students worked on ordering rational numbers as well as writing and graphing inequalities this week. There will be a test on Tuesday, December 20th over all of Chapter 6. The test format is on Google Classroom. I gave the students a review packet in class on Friday. The entire packet is not due, but is meant to help each student practice a few of each type of problem. The answer key is located in Google Classroom. I'd like the students to check answers as they work. On Monday, we will review further to prepare for the chapter test.

Math Period 5:    

The students will have a test over Chapter 2 on Monday. They worked on a practice test during class on Friday and the answer key can be found in Google Classroom. The students are expected to complete the practice test and check their work using the answer key. After break, we will begin Chapter 3 Number Theory.

Science:

This week the students learned about the three types of heat transfer and evidence of continental drift.  Your child will be bringing home a quiz this weekend for you to review and sign.  Next week we will begin to discuss sea-floor spreading.  All these concepts will be important for the future units of volcanoes and earthquakes 

December 9th News

Information and Announcements

• Monday, Dec. 12: Umstead and Westholm homerooms return to Bishop Drum and McAuley Terrace for the biography celebration from 10:15-11:00. Parents welcome!
• Tuesday, Dec. 13: Spirit Wear!
• Wednesday, Dec. 14: School liturgy 8:45
• Friday, Dec. 16: 
• 8:40 am Advent prayer service
• 9 - 11 am Band students field trip to Bishop Drumm
• 2:30 pm Ms. Ryan's homeroom welcomes back the police officers for biography celebration. Parents welcome!
• Mission awareness day!

Religion:

The week the students finished their study of Abraham with a game where they created the questions and answers. The chapter 6 religion quiz welcome home after everyone has taken the quiz.  

We finished the week by learning about the different aspects of Isaac's and Jacob's lives. Next Wednesday, there will be a 10 point true and false quiz about Jacob and Isaac's lives. Then, we will begin studying Jacob's son Joseph. We will discuss his famous coat.

Social Studies:

In social studies this week we finished our study of European medieval towns. The chapter 4 test will come home after everyone has taken it. Next week, students will take part in the geography bee. Mrs. Larson sent out an email with some helpful information the end of last month. A helpful website is www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee and they also have a useful app - Geo Bee Challenge HD by National Geographic Society.

Reading: 

Students are presenting their book talks this week and into next. When book talks are finished, we will be starting the next class novel, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. It is a fictional account of life at Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Vocabulary will resume this Monday, with a quiz on Friday.

Language Arts:  

All students have finished their Seasons of Life biographies and pencil portraits for their community members. We bound the books and gift wrapped them, and we are all set!

• Mrs. Ryan's homeroom will welcome the police officers back on Friday, Dec. 16 at 2:30. If you offered to provide a treat, drink or paper supplies, please send those to school with your student, or bring them to the celebration if you are available!
• Mrs. Westholm's and Mrs. Umstead's homerooms will be returning to Bishop Drumm and McAuley Terrace on Monday from 10:15-11:00. If you offered to provide a treat, please send those to school with your student, or bring them to the celebration if you are available!

We will begin a grammar unit on adjectives and adverbs next week.

Math Period 1: 

The students have been practicing the steps to balance one step algebraic equations.  Next week the student will practice using algebraic equations to solve word problems and review all concepts from Chapter 2.  The test is tentatively scheduled for Monday, December 19th.

Math Period 4:   

4th Period:

The students have now learned how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide integers.  There will be a quiz on Tuesday over computing integers.  Encourage your child to practice thatquiz.org for good practice problems.  We will spend time on ordering rational numbers and graphing inequalities this week.  The chapter test is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, December 20th. 

Math Period 5:    

The students have been practicing the steps to balance  one step algebraic equations.  Next week the student will practice using algebraic equations to solve word problems and review all concepts from Chapter 2.  The test is tentatively scheduled for Monday, December 19th.

Science:

The students learned how scientists learn about the interior of the Earth.  The students should be able to list the layers of the Earth and whether each layer is a liquid or solid.  This week we will spend time on heat transfer and how convection affects plate movement. There will be a quiz on Thursday, December 15th over the sections exploring the inside of the Earth, layers of the Earth, and types of heat transfer.  

December 2nd News

Information and Announcements

• With the cold weather brings hats and head lice. It is never a bad idea to check your child's head to make sure the are free of the little critters.
• Wednesday, December 7th: Students Participate in Reconciliation
• Thursday, December 8th: Mass - Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
• Friday, December 9th: Advent Prayer Service

Religion:

This week students spent time learning about Abraham and the covenant that God made with him. On Wednesday there will be a 17 point quiz (9 questions) about Abraham and covenants. Your child can prepare for this quiz by studying his or her notes.

Next, we will learn about his son Issac and his grandson Jacob.

Social Studies:

In social studies this week, we continued to learn more about the different aspects of town life in the middle ages. The students have been doing a great job with their skits. It is fun to see their creative side. We will wrap up skits on Monday.

On Thursday, November 8th there will be a test over chapter 4. The test format is as follows-
Fill in the blank vocab - 4 questions/8 points
Multiple choice - 27 questions/27 points
Essay - 1 question/14 points

There will be a review session over this information on Wednesday, the 7th 3:25-3:45

Reading: 

We finished the novel Where the Red Fern Grows this week, and a few tears were shed (Mrs. Umstead had a tough time reading those last two chapters)! We ended the week with the final test. I am so pleased with how the students did with the novel. The test will be coming home for a signature early next week.

We will watch the movie for the book next week, and then after the movie, we will go right into book talks. I will assign the students a day to present their book talk and a rubric will be given for the expectations. Students will need a piece of poster board for this assignment, any color. Book talks will begin on Thursday, December 8.

After book talks conclude, we will start the second class novel, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. It is a fictional account of living in the Auschwitz concentration camp. We will be doing a lot of background work to better understand this event in history.

Vocabulary will resume when we begin the next novel.

Language Arts:  

The first of the Seasons of Life biographies are starting to get finished, and they are amazing. Your students are doing a fabulous job on the biographies. Ask them to show you their work in google classroom-you will be impressed!

Next week, we will print, laminate, and gift wrap the biographies. We will return to Bishop Drumm and McAuley Terrace on Monday, December 12 from 10:15-11:00. All parents are welcome to join and celebrate the elders' lives. I will be asking for volunteers to provide cookies / treats for the visit soon.

The police officers will be returning to SFA on Friday, December 16 at 2:30. Again, parents are welcome, and I will ask for volunteers for treats for this day as well. Students thought it might be fun to have donuts!

After the Seasons of Life project is complete, we will dive back into grammar before our next writing project, the research paper.

Math Period 1: 

The students wrote and evaluated algebraic expressions this week.  Look for the Friday quiz to come home on Monday for you to review and sign.  The students will practice the steps for solving one step algebraic equations next week.  The solutions will be simple, the process of balancing two sides of the equation will be the focus of this skill.  

Math Period 4:   

The students worked on adding integers this week and began to learn how to subtract integers. Encourage your child to use thatquiz.org to practice this skill. The more they practice the more proficient they will become. Also encourage your child to use real-life examples to talk through each problem. For example: -4 + -6 would be, "I owe Mary $4 and I owe Justin $6, so I am in debt $10 or -10." Another example: 8-10 would be, "It is 8 degrees and it drops 10 degrees, it is now -2 degrees." There will be a quiz mid-week over adding and subtracting integers. I will assign practice on thatquiz.org every day until the quiz.

Math Period 5:    

The students wrote and evaluated algebraic expressions this week.  Look for the Friday quiz to come home on Monday for you to review and sign.  The students will practice the steps for solving one step algebraic equations next week.  The solutions will be simple, the process of balancing two sides of the equation will be the focus of this skill.  

Science:

The students completed Chapter 2 with a test on Thursday and Friday, look for this test to come home on Monday for you to review and sign.  We will turn in the Science and Technology textbook and your child will receive a different science book as we begin to discuss the Earth's Interior for our next unit of study.