Team Berlin Update 1

Welcome families! Here at Alice Deal, to make our big school feel a little smaller, we split each grade level up into "teams." These teams share the same Science, Geography, Language Arts, and Math teachers and will have their classes together (with some exceptions for electives.) We plan celebrations as a team and go on field trips by team. Each team is named for a world city, and this year our team will be Team Berlin. This corresponds with our Embassy Adoption Program.

We were excited to see so many of our Team Berlin students today at 6th grade orientation. Students had a chance to visit each of their classes, but there are certainly still a number of questions about how the first day and first week will go. Hopefully this newsletter can answer some of those questions. This newsletter update will be in your email inbox by 4pm each Friday. If you would like to add an additional recipient for the newsletter, please email katy.byrns2@k12.dc.gov.

Have a wonderful weekend and we look forward to seeing everyone Monday morning!

Team Berlin

9/3: Students receive devices

9/10 & 9/12: Family Workshops

9/18: Back to School Night, 6pm

9/25: Field trip to Sandy Spring Adventure Park

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

Hello scientists and families! My name is Lydia Ballantine and I can’t wait to dive into Earth and Space science with your student! I joined the Deal 6th grade science team in March 2024, and am thrilled to start off my first full school year at Deal. My background is in environmental science and outdoor education. I grew up in New Hampshire and completed my BA at Colorado College, where I fell in love with environmental and earth science. After graduating I worked in environmental education nonprofits in Colorado and California for several years before moving to the DC area in 2023. Outside of nerding out about waste management and climate solutions, I enjoy rock climbing, playing with my foster cat Randy, and getting to know the DC region!

During our first few weeks in science class, we will complete a science “Gab Lab,” which combines science tasks with social activities so that students can get to know each other as they learn the routines, procedures, and expectations of 6th grade science.

Supplies needed for science class:

• a 1 or 2 inch three ring binder

• a notebook with holes punched in (clipped into the binder)

• 5 tab dividers (clipped into the binder)

• Loose leaf paper (20 sheets is enough, clipped into the binder)

• 2 packs of pencils

• 1 pack of colored pencils

• A roll of paper towels

And either:

• A box of tissues
• A bottle of hand sanitizer

lydia.ballantine@k12.dc.gov

Greetings. I am excited to teach Mathematics this year! This is my second year as a returning teacher in DCPS with over 20 years of experience in the education field. I am a native Washingtonian and proud graduate of Alice Deal JHS.

A little bit about me: I love to watch and play basketball, engage in VR activities, and have fun with children. My favorite foods are shrimp, crab cakes, and liver pudding (southern delicacy ..sounds nasty but its GREAT).

During our first week in Mathematics, we are getting to know each other, learning the systems, culture and expectations of the classroom, and getting acclimated to our new environment.

Students should have supplies by Tuesday, September 3rd

•A composition notebook

•Pencils

•Pencil Sharpener (handheld)

•Ruler and Graph Paper

marcus.brown@k12.dc.gov

Greetings! I’m looking forward to meeting you all this year. This is my 18th year of teaching, and my 3rd here at Deal. I spent 10 years teaching elementary (grades 3-5) before making the move to middle school. I am originally from Davis, California and attended U.C. Davis for both my BA in History and my MA in Education. My third-grade daughter attends Murch, and my eighth-grade son is a student here at Deal. (Before I left the 8th grade ELA team to join 6th downstairs, my son had ELA in this classroom and Geography next door with Ms. Trenkle!)

A fun fact about me: My husband and I have moved MANY times in the past 20 years including two cross country moves. We left Oakland, CA to come to DC and then when my daughter was born, we took a 5-year break from DC and got to experience the more laid-back lifestyle of living in beautiful Bend, Oregon. We made our return to DC a little over two years ago and I feel confident that we are done moving (at least until the kids area done with high school)!

During our first week of Language Arts, we will get to know each other through low-stress “Quick Writes,” explore the classroom library, and check out independent reading books while also learning classroom procedures and establishing class expectations.

Things to ask your 6th grader about ELA this week:

• Monday: What unique award did you give yourself? (students will be writing acceptance speeches for imagined awards they deserve)
• Thursday: What is your independent reading book? What made you pick it? What is it about so far?

Essential ELA Supplies:

• 2 composition books (not spiral)
• Pencils
• Highlighters
• September: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Mildred D. Taylor
• November: Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt
• January: Inside Out & Back Again, Thanhhà Lai

Please also send one of the following:

• hand sanitizer
• Clorox wipes
• tissues

We will have class copies of the above texts, but it would be fantastic if students could have their own copies so that they can bring the books home to read. If you can buy an extra copy of two for another student, that would be much appreciated! I can store books for the year in the classroom.

Summer Reading Homework: Your child should turn in their summer reading homework by Friday, August 30.

Looking forward to meeting you soon,

Katy Byrns

Katy.byrns2@k12.dc.gov

Welcome families! This is my 10th year of teaching and my first year here at Alice Deal! I have spent the last 9 years working in DCPS at both H.D. Woodson and Jefferson Middle School Academy and I am so excited to be joining the Deal community. I am originally from northern California and attended William Jessup University where I attained my BA in Public Policy and played basketball. I then moved to Washington, D.C. and obtained a MA in Special Education and MA in English through the Urban Teachers Center program and Lesley University.

Some fun facts you should know about me are that I love family, music, traveling, history, and sports! My wife Arianna is in the Air Force and studying to become a doctor – she is a ROCKSTAR and I am incredibly proud of her 😊I play the violin, guitar and a litttttle bit of piano, and I can give a decent vocal performance on karaoke nights. Traveling the world is a lifelong goal, tying into a voracious love for consuming long, boring, podcasts on world history. To balance out my nerd side I also love to play all sports with a particular affinity for basketball and soccer!

During this school year I will be providing specialized instruction and teaching with Ms. Byrns and Mr. Brown, as well as having my own all-star math super class! Students should come to class understanding that while moving to Middle School is a big step, they will be supported every step of the way. Be courageous! Do not be afraid to risk and make mistakes because mistakes can often turn into effective learning experiences.

I’m so excited to meet you all!

Jeremiah Gawthorp

jeremiah.gawthrop@k12.dc.gov

Hi! I am excited to teach Geography and World Cultures this year! I have been teaching in DCPS since 1999 and joined Deal in the fall of 2012. I am originally from Michigan, but I’ve now lived in DC longer than I did in Michigan! I’ve attended Kalamazoo College (BA), The George Washington University (MA), and Pace University (MA) and adjunct in the School of Education at American University.

A Fun Fact about me: I love to garden and am currently getting ready to harvest basil, turmeric, ginger, butternut squash, and all types of hot peppers. My favorite foods are chickpeas and potatoes!!! I’ve been plant based since 2012.

During our first week in Geography, we are getting to know each other, learning the systems of the school and each class, making class agreements, and beginning to dive into our geography world curriculum.

Students should have supplies by Tuesday, September 3rd and also have a world map quiz on Wednesday, September 4.

Supplies needed for geography class:

•A 1 or 2 inch binder (this will be kept in Geography class)

•Five dividers

•Pens and pencils

•Colored Pencils

•Loose leaf paper in binder

amy.trenkle@k12.dc.gov

Bonjour les élèves! Welcome to Introduction to French. This is Madame Bullock’s fifth year at Alice Deal and Monsieur Almanza’s first year at Deal-but fifth year teaching French! We are so excited to be your first middle school language teachers. Together we will be exploring both the French language and the cultures of Francophone countries around the world. We are going to learn so much together! We can’t wait to meet you soon. 😊

Supplies needed for French class:

• a 1 - 2 inch three-ring binder

• 5 tab dividers (clipped into the binder)

• Pencils

• A pack of colored pencils or markers

• An expo marker for our class collection

• Headphones to use in class

emily.bullock@k12.dc.gov

Mi nombre es Señor Fontalvo, and I am so excited to be the 6th grade Spanish teacher this year! We are going to do so many FUN things, and of course we will learn a lot. We will learn how to express ourselves through speaking, writing, reading, and listening in Spanish, and also sharing our unique experiences on our path to becoming proficient in Spanish. I hope you had a fabulous summer, and I can’t wait to hear about it. Want to know a little more about me? Here are a few of my FAVORITE things:

Colors: Blue and beige

Season: Summer

Foods: Bandeja Paisa and arepas

Book: 100 Years of Solitude

Drinks: Hot chocolate and water

Hobbies: Reading, playing soccer, doing Taekwondo

I am looking forward to meeting you. See you soon!

Supplies needed for Spanish class:

• a 1 Composition notebook

• a 1 - 2 inch three-ring binder

• Pencils

• A pack of colored pencils or markers

• An expo marker for our class collection

• Headphones to use in class

PS: Do not forget to navigate Mr. Fontalvo’s Canvas Homepage regularly.

Juan Fontavlo

juan.fontavlo@k12.dc.gov

Hello, my 6th graders and parents, my name is Yanming Zhi, the Chinese teacher at Deal. This is my 15th year here; teaching grade 6, 7 and 8. I cannot wait to see you and teach you in our brand-new classroom.

Chinese language is completely different from English and is the most difficult one among all languages.

It is richly embedded with the thousand-year history and expressed in writing with the pictures that represent the concept. Learning it is an interesting process, you will have a lot of fun, you will love it! But easier said than done, you should also be prepared for the hard process of the learning, you will need to do a lot of memory, a lot of practice and you also need to have a lot of patience, but I believe you will get it!

Ms. Liang is a new teacher at Deal this year, she has been teaching Chinese for 10 years in US. She always encourages her students to bring out the best of themselves.

We cannot wait to see you ALL!

yanming.zhi@k12.dc.gov

qiwen.liang@k12.dc.gov

I am super excited to begin my 2nd year here at Deal! I look forward to interacting with our students to inspire them with new literature, help them with research, and to explore STEM and making activities. I also look forward to speaking with families at our Community night where I will be giving away free books! I will also have a free book cart a few days next week during dismissal. Keep up with all of the library news by subscribing to the newsletter:

https://secure.smore.com/u/stephenreichlen4

I will be seeing all of the students during the month of September to check out books! Please help us keep them in great condition and return them when they are finished. I will be sending out regular notices for overdue books. It is also never too late to return anything you may have found at home over the summer! Please feel free to reach out to my email if you have any questions or comments at: stephen.reichlen@k12.dc.gov

See you soon!

Best,

Stephen Reichlen

Library Media Specialist

stephen.reichlen@k12.dc.gov