Team Berlin Update 17

12/20: Last day of school before break (YES WE HAVE ASSIGNMENTS ON THIS DAY)

1/2: Return to School

Congratulations to our December IB Learner Profile Students of the Month for Principled: Noga Hulata and Emil Nooruddin. The IB Learner Profile states that a person who is principled is someone who respects the dignity and feelings of others, is honest and accountable, and accepts both responsibility for their decisions and the consequences that accompany them.

Gentle reminder that our curriculum moves at a set pace and with that, students who are absent will have to find a way to make up assignments outside of class. Furthermore, any student traveling over seas should be aware that Canvas does not work overseas. This means they will have to download their assignments in advance, or have a friend email them the work.

Thank you for your support in this.

Lunch Recess Support: Team Berlin teachers often make themselves available daily for extra help or just time and space in getting assignments done. Students need to plan this ahead of time so they can get a hall pass and make sure that teacher is actually available.

Wednesday CEA Reading and Completion (W104): Ms. Trenkle will begin hosting students on Wednesdays to read and start their CEA summary during recess. Students will sign up that Monday for a pass.

Thursday Academic Advising: During Advisory students have the opportunity to work on assignments in their Advisory class or may arrange to visit a particular class and teacher to complete an assignment.

Congratulations on finishing up our Rock Transformation unit, Scientists!

This past week students took their final summative assessment for Rock Transformation, and were introduced to the planet Mars. Next week we’ll continue our mini unit on Mars, comparing the similarities and differences between geology and geologic processes on Earth and Mars and exploring the question “could Mars support life?”

Roots Quiz 2.6 (our last before our Roots summative) will happen on Friday 12/20.

Students should study the following words:

thermo = heat , thermometer

eco = house, home , ecologist

omni = all (Latin) , omnivore

lingu = tongue , bilingual

techno = skill, art , technician

lydia.ballantine@k12.dc.gov

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Math 6
This week students worked on dividing complex fractions and real-world application of the concept. In the coming week students will continue to divide complex numbers and simplify solutions. Included in our virtual classroom is a link to a portion of Illustrative Mathematics website curriculum dedicated to allowing parents to give support of current topics from home. Please encourage students to take advantage of the “Parking Lot” in class where they can request grade updates (for late or retaken assignments) and iRecess, where students may work during recess to complete and/or redo any outstanding or non passing assignments. Included in our virtual classroom will be a link to a portion of Illustrative Mathematics dedicated to allowing parents to give support of current topics from home. During the Winter Break students will not receive PEAR homeowork assignments but will be required to complete IReady lessons in order to have passed 18 iReady Lessons by Monday, January 6 (the first FULL week of school).

Math7
This week students began working with Proportional relationships and percentages. In the coming week, students will continue working on this concept along with it’s real world application (tax, tip, and finding the percentage) . Please encourage students to take advantage of the “Parking Lot” in class where they can request grade updates (for late or retaken assignments) and iRecess, where students may work during recess to complete and/or redo any outstanding or non passing assignments. included in our virtual classroom will be a link to a portion of Illustrative Mathematics dedicated to allowing parents to give support of current topics from home. During the Winter Break students will not receive PEAR homeowork assignments but will be required to complete IReady lessons in order to have passed 18 iReady Lessons by Monday, January 6 (the first FULL week of school).

ATTENTION

Deal will continue to offer an in-person, Summer Math Acceleration Camp (SMAC) and an Online Asynchronous Math Course (Zearn) for our current 6th and 7th graders during July of 2025 (July 7 - July 31; 8:45 am - 12:00 noon).

SMAC Math 7

This intensive course is for 6th graders currently taking Math 6 who become eligible based on the iReady MOY and EOY Assessment. Students who successfully complete this in-person course and the final assessment will be placed in Math 8 in the Fall of the 2025 - 2026 school year.

Zearn 7

This online asynchronous course is for 6th graders currently taking Math 6. Only students who qualify based on their MOY i-Ready score will become eligible. Students who successfully complete the course and the final assessment will be placed in Math 8 in the Fall of the 2025 - 2026 school year.

SMAC Math 8

This intensive course is for 6th & 7th graders currently taking Math 7 who become eligible based on the MOY and EOY iReady Assessment. Students who successfully complete this in-person course and the final assessment will be placed in Algebra I in the Fall of the 2025 - 2026 school year.

Zearn 8

This online asynchronous course is for 6th or 7th graders currently taking Math 7. Only students who qualify based on their MOY i-Ready score are eligible. Students who successfully complete the course and the final assessment will be placed in Algebra I in the Fall of the 2025 - 2026 school year.

We will host a Virtual SMAC & Zearn information Meeting for families on Teams at 6:30 pm on Thursday, January 9 - bit.ly/DEALJAN9

marcus.brown@k12.dc.gov

jeremiah.gawthrop@k12.dc.gov

Students are powering through Tuck Everlasting! We read through Chapter 17 this week and will finish the book next week. Students have also been developing their literary analysis skills by writing paragraphs in response to text-based questions. It’s been a wonderful surprise to see how many of these writing skills students already have a pretty strong grasp of from their elementary years. Hooray!

Next week we will build on these well-structured paragraphs to compose multiple paragraphs that compare and contrast a character’s evolution over the course of the novel.

I’d like to compliment the great creative writing students are doing on their weekly homework assignments. As a reminder, students should be reading an independent reading book (a book of their choice) for at least 20 minutes every night.

To see what books Team Berlin students are recommending, check out the Term 2 Book Talk presentations HERE. Our original goal was for students to present their second book talk before Winter Break, but I'm extending that deadline and many of those will happen in the short week when we return from Winter Break.

Finally, thank you to all the parents who were able to send in copies of Tuck Everlasting. It's been great to be able to practice the study skill of highlighting key evidence in support of a claim as you read.

Katy Byrns

Katy.byrns2@k12.dc.gov

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This week in Geography we bridged our study of the three Abrahamic religions to Jerusalem. Students were introduced to their summative which is writing an essay with evidence about why and how Jerusalem is a holy space for all three religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In class, students are reading the article, finding textual evidence to use, and writing three RACE paragraphs, including a short introduction and conclusion.

Next week students will finish their writing, type their essay, and submit it on Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday, students will learn about Hinduism and Buddhism as a bridge to our next unit: South and Southeast Asia (SSEA) which we will begin when we return from break!

Congratulations to Jake M., Ariane H., Lucy H., and Kai S. who met with Dr. Theenie Freeman from DPR about their Community Action letters!!! Ask them what they have been tasked with and let’s help them make it happen!

We also have a ton of photos to share! Please find Team Berlin photos of our students in action here: https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B1g5IRuBxGAvG9 It will be updated as we go along!

Thank you for continuing to send in postcards! We had a small break from reading them in class due to the busy schedule but will commence next week! Really awesome and thank you for spreading the word to friends and family! 😊

I’ve been meaning to share, and have told the kids I would—on Orientation Day students chose a song or songs to include on our Team Playlist. We listen to this playlist sometimes while we work in small groups. The Playlist can be found here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6XGJMmooyuna2fwFQ9pj9A?si=416e41ad228f4c11

amy.trenkle@k12.dc.gov

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Congratulations to our IB Learner Profile Students of the Month, exemplifying CARING: Evelyn Fielding and Pasha Rubio. Students who are caring show empathy, compassion, and respect towards the needs and feelings of others. They have a personal commitment to service, and act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and the world around them. From helping a friend, to picking up garbage after lunch, if you care, it will show!

INQUIRER learner profile: Alma DiRuggiero and Jake Maretich. The IB Learner Profile aims to develop students who are inquirers. Students who are inquirers nurture their curiosity, developing skills for inquiry and research. They know how to learn independently with others. Inquirers learn with enthusiasm and sustain their love of learning throughout life.

RISK TAKER learner profile: Camryn Jolly and Abdisa Kiyvyra. Risk takers approach uncertainty with forethought and determination; they work independently and cooperatively to explore new ideas and innovative strategies. They are resourceful and resilient in the face of challenges and change.