Week 3: Faith Families and 2nd Step

From the Class Bloggers: ABBEY AND ALYSSA

August 29, 2019

This week we learned in Lit. about fiction, nonfiction, and other short stories. We had gym on 
Tuesday and Thursday. In gym we played volleyball. In science we have been learning about 
circuits. On Wednesday and Thursday we did a lab on circuits. On Friday we do not have school
 because it is Labor Day weekend.

FAITH FAMILIES:  

This Wednesday was our first week sitting in Chapel with our Faith Family.   This is a group of students from all grades 1-8 and a teacher.  We build relationships through chapel, activities, service, and prayer.  This week we had our first faith family activity.   We learned that Jesus will cover our worries, fears, and anxieties with His PEACE.  We made book bag tags to remind us that Jesus gives us PEACE and we are CALLED TO CARE and share Jesus love and peace with others. We then returned to chapel to celebrate Baptismal Remembrance for July, August, and September.


2nd Step

Thursday we started our social-emotional curriculum called Second Step.  We will be exploring the changes that take place in middle school, building friendships, and communication skills.  Our first lesson focused on communicating in groups.

Baptismal remembrance

Google Earth

Exploring the relationship of flat maps to 3D globe

Flying to different continents - - and our own houses!!

Faith family group

Bookbag tags

                2nd Step - matching emotions to facial expressions and situations

Discussing group skills

Week 2: Into the Swing of Things

 

From the class bloggers:     ABBEY AND ADDIE

This week was wonderful! We have a fantastic art project of God’s wonderful sea creatures! 
We also did a prepositions quiz, and sang the preposition song .

This week we did a science lab about electricity. We charged a balloon and spoon for several 
of the experiments. One of the experiments involved a balloon and we rubbed it with felt.

Then we tried to bend the water and it worked! 

From Mrs. R:

A big thank you to all of the parents who attended on Back to School night.  Do not hesitate to contact me throughout the year with any questions.

Student now have over a full week under their belts and a sense of how classes and transitions go.  We are getting better at routines, travel, and organization with fewer reminders. Students are learning how to think first of others (pushing in chairs, waiting turns in the hall). We use what we learned about praying scripturally from Mrs. Carol Martin, one of the founders of Moms In Prayer, to use Bible verses as a starting point for praising God.  Students are writing prayers for the PA announcements.

       First units:
      Religion:  What is the Bible?

            S.S.  Mapping Skills

·           Math:  (both classes) Place Value, basic operations, Properties of Addition/Multiplication

            Lit:  Fiction/NonFiction

            English: Sentences, Subjects/Predicates

            Science: Electricity 

            Art: Line, Space, and Gluefish art

I     

BOOK ORDERS are due next week Saturday 8/31 in the a.m.  I will place orders that afternoon.  (see link on the right).  Our class code is GV2FP.  Please note - Not all books promoted by Scholastic may be appropriate for your child or your family values.  Use https://www.commonsensemedia.org/  to check out the content of many books.  They also review video games, movies, etc.  (link is always in my websites tab).

Indoor recess, mapping labs

 

Week 1: A New Year!

I am so excited to have your children as my students this year. Our school theme gives a wonderful focus for our year:       

Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

This year through our theme, we will explore how God calls us to care.  We are not to have a "Me First!" attitude about life, but to look for opportunities to be a servant.  Yesterday, we started breaking down our theme song into key phrases that show what "to love tenderly" involves,  looking for a Bible character as a model of "serving one another", showing "hope to the hopeless" and "walking humbly with God."  I pray this school year gives you a renewed opportunity to grow in your faith: as a parent, as a student, and as a family.

I am eager to partner with you in both educating and nurturing your child this year. I encourage families to talk about lessons we learn, especially memory verses and Religion lessons.  I look forward to seeing you in worship at Zion or hearing about your worship experiences at your home church as our class grows together in our faith walk. (Check out the Religion tab above to see where we will start in our Bible studies.)


What's New in Grade 6?

We had a great start!   Lots and lots of "here's how we do things" with kids learning what books to take to class, how to organize a binder and a desk, and how to use a planner.  The students have been good listeners and getting right into the routine.  They have been wonderful friends to our new students in grade 6!

One of my big goals this year is for students to become more independent in their learning. This news blog will update you on current happenings, but in 6th grade I no longer publish spelling words, memory assignments, or tests.  These are things your child will be tracking in their assignment planner.  If an individual student needs more organizational help, I will work one-on-one with that student.  I plan to publish this blog weekly on Fridays. (In reality, it may be Saturday mornings some weeks!)

  Sycamore!!!
You should have received a login for Sycamore Education from Mrs. Schmidt.  This is your access to school news. This will also be how you access your child's grades.  Please click around, and ASK QUESTIONS if you are confused. 
 


Back to School Night

The PTL Back to School Night is Thursday, August 22 at 6:30 p.m. This is an "adult only" information night.  Join the 2 sixth grade teachers together in my classroom to hear further information about the unique aspects of 6th grade.  I look forward to seeing you again!

There will be three sessions available to attend so you can get to all of your children's teachers.

6:30pm:  Session 1

6:50pm:  Passing period

7:00pm:  Session 2

7:20pm:  Passing period

7:30pm:  Session 3

 

 

Moms In Prayer
Moms in prayer are seeking classroom prayer parents. These parents meet each week on Wednesdays from 8:10-9:00am in the church chapel.  Each week they pray together for school concerns, upcoming events, and each child individually. 

 
If you are interested in becoming a prayer parent, email Becca McBroom at beccamcbroom@gmail.com or Michelle Mahoney at michellermahoney@yahoo.com. 

 

 

Our Junior High

 

 

Getting to know each other

School Theme song Bible study

Translating a book from WINGDINGS font to show reading strategies

We thank our guest teacher, Mrs. Martin, who taught about praying Biblically

Students will be using the PATH model of prayer to write prayers for school annoucments