January 6th Grade Newsletter

Butler Middle School

Happy New Year!

Dear Families,

Happy New Year! 🎉 As we step into January, we are reminded that this month presents a wonderful opportunity for our students to hit the refresh button and set new goals for their academic journey.

As we approach the end of Quarter 2 on January 22nd, it’s crucial to engage in conversations with your students about their progress. This is a pivotal moment for them to assess any missing assignments and take proactive steps to catch up. Please don't hesitate to reach out to any teacher to discuss your students missing work via Remind or email.

Together, we can ensure that our students finish this quarter strong! Let’s harness this fresh start in January as an opportunity for growth and achievement.

Thank you for your continued support!

Warm regards,

6th Grade Team

We will be having a high school fair for grades 6-8 on Wednesday, February 5 an Early Release Day.

Students in grades 6-8 will have an opportunity to attend during the school day and parents are invited to attend from 1-2:00pm. Please note that February 5 is an early release day ending at 12:50 pm.

The fair will offer an opportunity to learn more about different high school options and resources to assist students and families.

Please reach out to Mrs. Nicole Luongo, Guidance Counselor, nluongo@lowell.k12.ma.us with any questions.

Join Us on REMIND

Teachers will be communicating with parents/families through the Remind app, which you can download at the app store on your smartphone.

Please find the codes below for each homeroom.

Through Remind, teachers can send messages to parents and parents can send messages to parents. Teachers will also use Remind to post announcements.

Students of the Month

Each month the 6th grade recognizes five students (one from each homeroom) as the students of the month. Throughout the month, these students have shown what it means to be a true Butler Bulldog by following PBIS school-wide expectations, working hard in class and showing kindness.

Homeroom 122

Anthony Tran

Homeroom 121

Samira Gusmao Nielsen

Homeroom 116

Anyla Touch

Homeroom 115

Zahir Natera

Homeroom 110

Miah Tourville

Math News

For the remainder of January, students will use their understanding of division to prepare to learn about division of fraction. At this point students have learned that to divide a fraction, we “invert and multiply.” Eventually your student will learn why this works by studying a series of division statements and diagrams.

Video Link Meaning of Division - https://youtu.be/9iciMh9E5yU Using Diagrams to Divide Fractions - https://youtu.be/ZAknNfwvyZw Using Algorithm to Divide Fractions - https://youtu.be/LYuEDdRN8hE Area and Volume with Fractions - https://youtu.be/_5yht39OXrE

Once we have concluded division of fractions, your student will revisit fluency in decimal number operations, with a focus on dividing whole numbers and decimals. We can think about division as breaking apart a number into equal-size groups. For example, consider 65 ÷ 4. We can imagine that we are sharing 65 grams of gold equally among 4 people. Here is one way to think about this: First give everyone 10 grams. Then 40 grams have been shared out, and 25 grams are left over. We can see this in the first example. If we give everyone 6 more grams, then 24 grams have been shared out, and 1 gram is left. If we give everyone 0.2 more grams, then 0.8 grams are shared out and 0.2 grams are left. If everyone gets 0.05 more grams next, then all of the gold has been shared equally.

Video Link Adding and Subtracting Decimals - https://youtu.be/n7MpCyokxMc Multiplying Decimals - https://youtu.be/nKSLBVa5NPs Dividing Whole Numbers - https://youtu.be/ZGBqGkeGHoQ Dividing Decimals - https://youtu.be/g9RVlZ_MQDo

ELA News

Happy New Year from the Butler 6th grade ELA team!

As we near the end of our journey through Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, it’s been exciting to see how much our classes have enjoyed this adventurous story. Percy’s quest to find and return Zeus’s stolen lightning bolt has sparked great discussions about friendship, bravery, and the importance of standing up for what is right.

Looking Ahead: Summary Writing

As we wrap up the book, we’ll focus on writing summaries. This skill is crucial not just for understanding stories, but also for expressing key ideas clearly. When writing a summary, students are learning to:

Focus on the main events without getting too detailed.
Include important characters and key moments.
Keep it brief—a good summary is usually no more than a few sentences.

Homework Completion

Completing homework is essential for reinforcing what we’ve learned in class. This month’s homework will focus on:

Writing short summaries of the final chapters of The Lightning Thief.
Practicing subject-verb agreement with a set of sentences.
Capitalization Practice
Reading the first few chapters of The Sea of Monsters to prepare for next month.

Remember: Homework should be turned in on time every Friday, as it helps you stay on track with the lessons. As a friendly reminder, homework help is available with Ms. Lowell and Ms. Sanchez on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school.

A Final Thought

We’re almost halfway through the school year, and we're so proud of the progress each of you has made. Keep up the great work, and continue reading, writing, and practicing every day to strengthen your skills.

See you in class!- Your English Language Arts Teachers

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out by email or speak with us after class. Happy reading and writing! 📚✍️

Science News

Dear Families,

We are embarking on an exciting journey in science to uncover the mysteries of sound—how it’s created, how it moves, and how we perceive it. Through engaging experiments, data analysis, and collaborative discussions, students will explore the following this month:

Do All Objects Vibrate When They Produce Sound?

Argue from evidence to support or refute the idea that all solid objects vibrate when making sounds, even if the vibrations are invisible.

Graphing Sound Waves

Use position versus time graphs to describe wave patterns, connecting them to the loudness (amplitude) and pitch (frequency) of sounds.
Use these graphs to support scientific conclusions about how objects move when creating sounds.

Frequency and Amplitude of Sounds

Construct arguments using evidence from graphs to explain which wave patterns indicate attributes like pitch and volume.

Modeling Vibrations

Use models to explain how a force applied to an instrument causes vibrations and sound, even when the vibrations cannot be seen.

These activities will challenge students to think critically, apply mathematical tools, and deepen their understanding of the science behind sound. I’m thrilled to see their curiosity grow as they connect these ideas to the world around them.

Thank you for your support, and I can’t wait to share updates on their progress!

Best regards,

Mr. Pacheco

Dividing Fractions

Dividing Decimals

Social Studies News

In January we are finishing up Unit 2: Western Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. This last portion of the Unit focuses on three Monotheistic Religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam that arose out of Western Asia.

At the end of the month, students will show their knowledge regarding these religions by completing a test. Students will also be giving a world-changing Civic concepts pitch that will show their knowledge of this area of the world and the civilizations that arose.

School Updates

Please partner with us by talking with your child about bringing nutritious snacks, which will help them make the most of their learning experience. For clarity, the following items will be confiscated & discarded if brought to school:

Oversized bags of chips
Bags of candy
Large, sugary drinks (e.g., Arizona tea, soda)
Any share-sized portions of unhealthy snacks

Thank you for your support in helping us create a healthier school environment for all students.

Upcoming Events

Jan. 4th - CHICAS

Jan. 8th - Early Release 12:50 Dismissal

Jan. 11th - CHICAS

Jan 13th -17th - Book fair in the Library

Jan. 16th - STEM EXPO Parent Night

Jan. 18th - Last day for CHICAS

Jan. 20th - NO SCHOOL MLK Day

Jan. 23rd - Parent Coffee

Jan. 24th - School Dance

Jan. 30th - Grade 6 Field Trip

Social Worker News

The Butler School Social Workers have opportunities through the school year to assist parents with providing food for their families. Such as, Friday afternoon groceries sent home with the children, holiday meals and other opportunities that develop over the year. If this would be helpful to your family please email or call.

Kadeen Healy

Butler School Social Worker

Khealy@lowell.k12.ma.us

978-937-8973 ext. 46817

Attendance Update:

The grade level Social Workers are responsible for ALL attendance matters. Please make sure to call to report your student absent each time they are not in school. Grades 5 & 6 should call Ms. Healy x46817 and Grades 7 & 8 Ms. Casey x46866. There are no quarantine requirements for COVID anymore. This is treated like all other illnesses now. Once the student is fever free for 24 hours and not vomiting, they should return to school. Dental appointments will not excuse a full day absence, unless it is dental surgery. Please call ahead if you are planning to take a family vacation during the school year. Also, please inform us if you are moving. We need to confirm enrollment in the new school before we remove your student from our school.

Students that have had 10% or more unexcused absences will be expected to attend our Saturday School attendance recovery program to make up the missed time on learning. Students will receive a formal letter inviting them to this program.