Team Dublin Weekly Update

This week, students will continue working on theme by analyzing texts independently and identifying text evidence to support their themes. Students should continue reading their independent book for January at home.

This past week, students completed the ReadingPlus Middle-of-Year assessment and I have entered the student data on ASPEN. The information is broken down into 4 categories: Vocabulary; Reading Comprehension; WPM (Reading Rate in Words Per Minute); and Overall Proficiency. The number next to the category is the grade equivalent. For example, 6.2 means grade 6, month 2. The WPM goal for 6th grade is 195 WPM. This data point represents one data point in time and gives us information about how to best support your student. If you are interested in your student’s progress, you can compare it to the Beginning-of-Year Diagnostic on ASPEN.

This week, students learned about the region of South and Southeast Asia. They completed a quiz to check for understanding and finished the week watching a video about India.

Next week, we will begin the theme of the unit, Access to Education. We will begin by defining what is a barrier and identifying four barriers to education young people face around the world: physical geography, poverty & labor, gender inequality, and conflict. We will then begin doing case studies to gather examples for each barrier. Our first activity will be a group photo analysis of journeys to school to examine how physical geography can be a barrier to education.

** Note re. late/makeup work - The end of the advisory is approaching! I have connected with kids in class concerning any classwork or assessments they need to complete/makeup. Any homework they are missing is marked on ASPEN as (WS). I will post in my room the names of kids who still have classwork to do, but homework is their responsibility. I will accept late/makeup assignments until the end of next week, January 12th.

Last week, our 6th-grade scientists concluded their exciting journey through the plate tectonics unit with a fun and engaging activity. Using a Milky Way bar, they uncovered the layers of the Earth, gaining hands-on experience with the Earth's structure. The unit ended on a high note with our plate motion summative assessment. This week marks the beginning of a new exploration as we dive into the fascinating world of weathering, erosion, and deposition. Our focus will be on natural disasters, landslides, and topographic maps, offering students an opportunity to understand the dynamic forces shaping our planet's surface. Fortunately, there is no assigned homework for the upcoming week unless, of course, they need to finish their Classwork. However, as we approach the end of the term, please ensure that any missing classwork and homework assignments are submitted. Looking ahead, roots quizzes will resume at the start of Term 3 on Feb 1st.

As a side note - I did not realize that I had not actually submitted last week's newsletter input until there wasn't any point. I do apologize. Anyway - the part that is still relevant is how much I appreciate the very generous donations of paper, pencils, erasers, and tissues! Thank you! Second - even with the donated pencils, please note that I have been putting out 25 a week (that should be a month's supply) but the cup is empty in a few days. Please, please, please help your students by confirming that they have pencils in their school bags.

Thank you also to the students who brought in Milky Way bars. I wondered why none had come in, but then realized the request had not gone out. I told the students we would do a demo instead of hands-on and enough families responded that EVERYONE could work in a 2 or 3 person team and model plate tectonic boundaries . Thank you!

So this week ------ do you have PLAY DOH that is soft, pliable, clean and in a container? If so, please donate some for our topographic mountains. We need about 35 large containers for the whole team or one per person of the little bitty ones. Please help if you can.

Finally - please help your student turn in ALL Science work this week. IF you receive an email from me, that is a request for grade-changing work - as in a much lower grade unless it is turned in. I will be here Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for completing missing schoolwork ( oh - if there is a staff meeting on Wednesday, I won't be back into the classroom until 4:30 pm)

Wishing all of you time to relax this weekend and to find a few moments to bring joy and service to your community! Cheers!

In late January will begin preparing for the WIDA ACCESS test. Many students will have taken this test of English language proficiency before and for some it will be new. But we will make sure each student is prepared.

Don't miss out on information and resources from the Deal MS Library! Read the library newsletter! The latest edition features reading recommendations for the holidays, Mr. Reichlen's Must Reads list for December, Information about the Washington Wizards' Winter Reading Challenge, and more! Click the link to read the newsletter:

https://www.smore.com/vzaqf2

All Deal students are expected to be in class and ready to learn promptly at 8:45 AM daily. To help build strong, healthy habits and ensure that students do not miss instructional time, the 6th grade team is assigning tardy hall to students who arrive to school after 9 AM or who have established a pattern of late arrivals that are resulting in lost learning time. Students who are assigned tardy hall will stay afterschool with Ms. Watson, 6th grade dean, until 4:15 PM.

Ms. Wesselhoft, team lead - naeemah.wesselhoft@k12.dc.gov

Mr. Kirschenbaum - adam.kirschenbaum@k12.dc.gov

Mr. O'Malley - michael.o'malley@k12.dc.gov

Ms. Osman - catherine.osman@k12.dc.gov

Ms. Patsalos - constance.patsalos@k12.dc.gov

Ms. Garcia - maria.garcia@k12.dc.gov

Mr. Memminger, 6th grade counselor - jacob.memminger@k12.dc.gov

Ms. Barr, 6th grade social worker - ellen.barr@k12.dc.gov

Attendance: For any attendance related concerns, including absence notes, please be sure to contact Ms. Stephens our attendance counselor at dealattendance@k12.dc.gov.

ASPEN Help: For any ASPEN related issues, including help resetting a password or accessing your account, please email Ms. Lerum at dealaspenhelp@k12.dc.gov