Thursday, September 29th

The eighth grade leaders lead their first class meeting this morning. With such strong 8th grade leaders, this is sure to be a great year.

Today students looked closely at a world map of the major tectonic plates and some of the great earthquakes and volcanoes, locating the three different types of plate boundaries and more. We also began a creation myth project. The students each chose a different creation story from some part of the world to read closely and learn. Each student will complete a project designed to share their myth with the rest of the class. These are due on Thursday, October 13th.

We also visited the SES library and students had the opportunity to check out a book. This followed a conversation about how to know if a book is at your reading level (the five finger rule) and that it is important to read books at your level, or just slightly above, to increase your reading skills. Just like with any skill we want to develop, practice is the key. Next Thursday, students are expected to have a silent reading book in class that is at their reading level.

Due Friday 9/30:
- first draft of the scar story

HOMEWORK:

Due Thursday:
- Mt Tabor field study assignment

Due Friday:
- First draft of Scar Story

Due Monday 10/3
- Interview of someone who has done service in his/her life (page 4 in Service Learning Journal)
- Pangaea flip-book
- Geology vocabulary - define each term

Due Tuesday 10/4 -- Trip to Mt St Helens!
- informal oral history of someone's account of the St Helens eruption in 1980

Garden Day is this Saturday!

6th Grade Math:
- Unit test on factors, multiples, and factorization on Friday! Study, study, study!

Shifting Plates!

Today we learned the 3 main types of plate boundaries -- ask your student about them and have them show you some super fabulous movements to go along with them!

Tomorrow is the field trip to Mt. Tabor. Please be sure to wear good walking shoes and bring a rain layer, lunch, water, EC journal, etc.

HOMEWORK:
Due Tomorrow~
- Read 'How Portland's Landscape Was Formed' and answer questions in the 'classwork' side of your EC Journal

Due Monday 10/3
- Interview of someone who has done service in his/her life (page 4 in Service Learning Journal)
- Pangaea flip-book

October 1st is Garden Day! 9am - 1pm
Middle School students are expected to help out with 12 garden hours throughout the year. October 1st will be a fun day of gardening and helping out the school grounds.

Buddy Walk this Saturday! 10am - 1pm $10 www.nwdsa.org to sign-up. You can be a member of Daniel Jarvis-Hollands Team. Participation can count as a community-based service project


HOMEWORK:
Due Monday: Read Geology Packet -- take notes for each page using 2 columns -- one labeled "Big Ideas and Questions" and the other labeled "Info about Big Ideas and Answers"
-- also answer the questions at the back of the packet.

6th Grade Math:
Due Mon ~ Skill: Prime Factorization worksheet 1st side only

Picture Day was today and everyone took absolutely amazing photos! You can still order photos even if you didn't have a form today. Check at the office for order forms.

October 1st is Garden Day! 9am - 1pm
Middle School students are expected to help out with 12 garden hours throughout the year. October 1st will be a fun day of gardening and helping out the school grounds.

Permission slips for the dances went home today -- they are to be brought to the first dance -- not handed in to class. Please go over the rules/regulations with your student.

HOMEWORK:
Due Thursday:
- Reed Field Study assignment

Due Friday:
- Complete story map (only first side) for the short story you want to focus on and use to write a character analysis essay

6th Grade Math:
Due Fri ~ additional practice investigation 3 worksheet -- second side! (note: the date due says 9/25 -- it should say 9/23)

Reed Canyon Tomorrow!

Please be prepared for the field study to Reed tomorrow. Bring: lunch, water bottle, layers, EC journal, pencil

Picture Day is Wednesday. If you need another order form please get it from the office.

Buddy Walk this Saturday! 10am - 1pm $10 www.nwdsa.org to sign-up
You can be a member of Daniel Jarvis-Hollands Team. Participation can count as a community-based service project

HOMEWORK:
Due Wednesday:
- Finish 3rd short story
- order form for pictures

Due Thursday:
- Reed Field Study assignment

6th Grade Math:
Due Wed ~ additional practice investigation 3 worksheet -- only first side!

September 15th

Today we continued reading short stories and exploring character development. The goal of reading today was for the students to understand as much as they could about the character of their choice in their short story. They took notes that would help them discover this character.

We also studied the amazing layers of our Earth. We began by reading the Magic School Bus Inside the Earth. Sometimes children's books have similar information as college text books, but the author has taken great care to write the book in a way that is simple and straight forward. Students read the book together and made a list of vocabulary words they found in the Magic School Bus that they thought they would also find in a college text book. They also began creating a scale model of a slice of the Earth, from its surface to the center.


Homework Due Friday, September 16th:

*Character Retrieval Chart for the 2nd short story - include a comment on how the quote helps you understand the character.
*Graph of the Earth's Layers - notice how small the crust is in comparison to the other layers!
*Choose two vocabulary words from the list of geology vocabulary to define. On a half sheet of blank white paper write the word, the definition, and a color illustration of the word. These will be hung in our classroom.

We have started a short story unit that will roll into a writing piece focusing on character change. Students went home with a short story tonight and a graphic organizer to record notes about the main character. Their goal is to read 3 of the short stories by Monday. For some students finishing 2 will be enough.

Sarah K will be here this Friday. Students will be exploring the layers of the earth with Sarah K tomorrow. Have a conversation with your student about geology and the amazing layers within our planet.

Picture day for our class is Wednesday, September 21st. Forms went home today!

Please turn-in Mt. St Helens permission slips and payment as soon as possible. It's going to be a great trip.

Service Opportunity:
Sept 17th - SOLV Beach and River clean-up. Check out solv.org to see a list of sites and sign-up to clean-up!

HOMEWORK:
Due Thursday:
~ Jeans Farm Field Study assignment
~ First short story read with completed character notes

Due Friday:
~ Rough draft of partner poem ~ poem can take any form the writer chooses but must include at least one repeating line, metaphors, and concrete details

Due Monday:
~ Mountain Watercolor

6th Grade Math:
Due Friday 9/16:
~ missing operations worksheet (in math packet)

Jeans Farm Tomorrow!

For the field study make sure you have: lunch, full water bottle, EC journal, pencil, a smilin' face

Please also make sure you are on time to school -- we leave at 9am tomorrow!

HOMEWORK:
Due Tuesday ~ Fountain Field Study assignment

6th Grade Math:
Due Wednesday
~ factor chart up to 50
~ Factors, Multiples, and Primes worksheet
*Both are in unit packet that was sent home today
please note how long you spend on the assignment so that I can get a sense of timing

First Week Done!

We had a great trip to Director Park today. Thanks to Bonnie and Judy for coming along! Click here to see some pictures from the day.

HOMEWORK:
Due Tuesday
- Field Study Assignment in E Core notebooks

6th Grade Math:
Due Monday
- Give parent letter to parents -- have them email me
- Highlight multiplication facts you don't automatically know on the multiplication chart

Hot, hot, hot 2nd day!

Thanks for getting those forms turned back in so promptly! If you haven't turned them in please do so ASAP -- they are necessary for the field study on Friday.

Due Thursday:
- bring a book for silent reading
- bring a rock of your choosing

Due Friday:
- completed self-portrait

What a Great First Day!

We can already tell this is going to be a great year. What a wonderful group of students!

HOMEWORK~
Due tomorrow 9/7:
- 10 Things I Should Know About You
- Signed forms, including: Walking Field Trip, Medical Form, Field Trip Form
- parents email sunnsyidesarah@gmail.com with your students name and your first and last name for the email list

Due Thursday 9/8:
- Bring a book for silent reading