Mrs. Knoedler’s 6^th Grade Class Newsletter

September 12, 2014

Dear Families,

We have had a busy week. A reminder that sixth graders should be sure to bring all their materials to school each day.  A few students are forgetting key items that interfere with them being the best student they can be. It would be great if you could check with your child each day to be sure they are organized and have all their materials. Here are a few highlights from our classroom.

Math:  We are working on rounding, fractions, multiplication and division.   Students learned how to take a fraction and convert it to a decimal and then a percent.  The formula to remember is: divide the numerator by the denominator to find the decimal and then multiply the quotient by 100 to find the percent.  Each week students have weekly math word problem.  This week’s problem was The Long Trip.  The problems will be handed out on Monday and are due on Friday. 

Language Arts:  We are continuing with our book, Number the Stars.  We are having great discussions about the book.  The next assignment for the book is for students to read chapters 7-10, to answer the assigned questions in their reading journal and to be ready to discuss the chapters. This is due Tuesday September 16.  It is also important that students bring their reading book, their journal and their completed assignment to school each day.

Word Study:  We began our word study program, Wordly Wise.  This program is a great way to increase vocabulary and word awareness.  It introduces students to higher level vocabulary.  We will have a test on the words on Monday September 15.  Students should review the definitions for the words. 

Science  We had a great time on Monday practicing blowing bubbles in the classroom.  This prepared us to conduct an experiment on Tuesday to see which soap solution, blue Dawn, Joy, or the store brand Shoppers Value, made the biggest bubbles. On Thursday, students designed their own experiment and our next step is to conduct the experiments. 

Important Dates

•   EMES Open House & Ribbon Cutting - Oct 2^nd  5:00pm to 8:00pm

•   All School Hike- September 26^th

•   Parent Conferences November 10th & 11th - 12:30 Early Dismissal for Students (more information coming later about Parent Teacher Conferences)

Sixth graders need support from home and school in order to learn how to be organized.  Being organized is not necessarily a skill people are born with.  Sometimes it takes lots of practice. 

Have a great weekend,       Ellen