Team Berlin Update 6

Mark your Calendars for Deal's Grade Level Barbecue! Presented by your Assistant Principal team with support from the Alice Deal Community Association, these events are getting-to-know-you F-U-N! Sign up to volunteer and/or bring an item to share!

• Meet 6th Grade Families and connect with each other on Saturday, September 28 (Click here for 6th grade)

Each barbecue will happen from 11 AM-1PM at Deal. Gather in the back of the school on the basketball court. It is not just a BBQ... it's a great way to connect with Deal families and build community! Deal Gear will be available for sale.

Questions: reach out to adcaevents@gmail.com .

9/28: 6th Grade Family BBQ 11 am-1pm

10/10: Student Led Conferences, 12-7pm

10/11: No School: Teacher PD Day

10/22: Natural History Museum Field Trip (I&S & Science Focus)

11/1: End of Term 1

11/4: No School: Records Day/Teacher PD Day

11/5: No School: Election Day

11/8: African American History Museum Field Trip (ELA Focus)

11/11: No School: Veterans Day

Deal will host student-led conferences on Thursday, October 10th from 12-7pm. During conferences, students will lead a discussion with their family member(s) and their advisor. The online appointment system will require you to enter your student's Advisory "entry code." The online appointment system is available in English and Spanish and requires an email account. For support signing up for a conference, please contact your student's Advisor.

Hi Scientists!

Thank you for attending Back to School Night; it was so good to meet you and put some faces to names! Slides for the back to school night presentation can be found here in English and Spanish.

Students wrapped up MAP science testing this past week. Next week, students will engage in an interesting assignment titled “Tennis Ball Toss,” which will help them apply their understanding of the scientific method and experiment design. Additionally, they will begin a plant experiment that explores how different liquids used for watering affect plant growth. Students will also complete a pretest on Friday to assess their prior knowledge.

Since Ms. Ballantine was out for part of last week, the deadline for students’ Variables Practice homework has been extended to next Tuesday, 9/24 so that we have time to go over the material as a class.

Please note that the weekly Roots Quiz 1.4 will be held on Friday, September 27th, with the vocabulary words listed below.

Roots Words 1.4

• *Scope = to see (Think: telescope, microscope)

• *Tele = far (Think: telephone, teleport, telegraph)

• *Sol = sun (Think: solar, solarium)

• Sphere = ball (Think: geosphere, biosphere)

• Hemi = half (Think: hemisphere)

Keepers: uni, bi, tri, cent, graph, helio, kilo, grav, luna

lydia.ballantine@k12.dc.gov

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Math 6
This week students worked on displaying equivalent ratios using various diagrams continuing to work on the prerequisite skill of long division with decimals. In the coming week students will work on ratio diagrams containing fractions. Students will have weekly Short Cycle Assessments (SCA) to access skills on current concepts

Math7
This week students worked on displaying and identifying scaled copies and scaled relationships. In the coming week students will work on creating and changing scales in scale drawings. Students will have weekly Short Cycle Assessments (SCA) to access skills on current concepts and will participate in a RCT assessment Thursday and a Summative Assessment Friday.

Any student requesting assistance, makeup, or update information should see me during I-Recess (everyday during Recess in my room)

marcus.brown@k12.dc.gov

jeremiah.gawthrop@k12.dc.gov

This week students worked on identifying different types of conflict and constructing a theme statement (i.e. One theme of Mildred D. Taylor’s Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is that courage can take many forms.) We looked both with the novel and at a handful of poems for this work.

Next week we will review sensory language and practice identifying figurative language (metaphor, simile, onomatopoeia, personification and hyperbole). Students will take a Sensory & Figurative Language formative on Wednesday, and we will also begin working on our first Summative. The Summative will be a narrative piece that we work on for several days in class and will not be due until the following week. There will be opportunities for students to get feedback and revise their narratives before submitting for a Summative grade. It is important that students read & understand Chapter 3 in order to complete the Summative.

By Tuesday, all students should have given a 1-2 minute book talk. Below you can see a few of the great book talks we enjoyed this week.

Ask your student:

Which characters have shown courage in Roll of Thunder? How so?

How do you feel about revenge? Is it ever right to seek revenge? Were the Logans right to seek revenge on the kids who ride the school bus?

Katy Byrns

Katy.byrns2@k12.dc.gov

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This week in Geography we began putting our map skills knowledge to work! We started the week reading thematic maps of DC and interpreting the story they tell. We continued our local focus by talking about community mapping—we did this through Geospatial Revolution video examples and then brining it closer to home by doing a neighborhood look for assets and opportunities. On Thursday students went over their assignments that are due on Tuesday, October 1. Students will choose a neighborhood/community they would like to study and complete an observation handout on this community and then make a map based on their community profile (observation) notes. Both assignments are due on October 1.

On Friday CEAs (Current Event Analysis assignment) was rolled out. We read an article in class together and completed the template together as a class to model the expectation for completion. All students kept their exemplar as a model. CEA #1 will be posted on Sunday in Canvas and will be due on Friday, October 4 at the start of class. This is a great assignment to discuss at home, or even read together! :)

Next week students will use their observation notes and the map to identify an opportunity that they will write about to a DC leader (Mayor, council member, or ANC member). We will brainstorm for the letter and draft it in class. The final letter is a summative grade and will be due on Wednesday, October 9.

Giant map update!! We are almost finished! This means we will start to post the postcards that we’ve received! Thank you to all who have had postcards mailed to us or sent in! :) It is SO exciting! Stay tuned for an update next week!

amy.trenkle@k12.dc.gov

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The library orientations have completed for all students! Most students have now checked out at least one book from the library! 6th grade students should be almost ready to return their books if they haven't already. Notices will go out next week for 6th students who have overdue materials and over the following two weeks for 7th and 8th graders.

Students are able to see their current loans by accessing their library accounts through the Clever app called "Destiny Discover". They can follow the process below to see items that they have checked out:

1. Log into Clever (clever.com/in/dcpsk12)

2. Search "Destiny Discover" or navigate to the Library Resources section and click on the icon.

3. Click on the "My Stuff" link at the top of the screen to see any items that are checked out.

4. Students who have lost materials or see items that may be linked to their account by mistake should speak with Mr. Reichlen.

There are no fines or penalties for lost materials. Donations of hard cover titles of middle school-age-appropriate works in good condition are always accepted if families are able to replace lost materials.

Stephen Reichlen

Library Media Specialist

Deal MS – DC Public Schools

Congratulations to our IB Learner Profile Students of the Month. This month Team Berlin teachers are highlighting the 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.