My, my, we are busy!
I want to take this chance to thank our volunteers who have been coming in to help with guided reading, cleaning, and other daily tasks. Your time and assistance has made my job much easier, and it will continue to make our year an enjoyable and adventurous one! THANK YOU!
VIP DAY- Don't forget that VIP day is Thursday!
Very Important Person Day is September 25th, 2014 from 8:00 to 9:30 am. We are very excited to share our school and special events with you. In order to make your day as pleasant as possible, we have made special arrangements for entering the building and getting to the gym.
THE SIDE DOORS ON BOTH ENDS OF THE BUILDING WILL OPEN FOR V.I.P.S AND THEIR ESCORTS AT 7:45 A.M.
V.I.P'S who need assistance or need to park closer to classrooms - the employee parking lot, located on the north side of the building (Tolbert Street), will be set aside for you! Please park there and enter through the side door which will be open OR through the breezeway to access the ramp to the gymnasium. V.I.P'S who are able to park further away, please PARK in the gravel parking lot by the south playground and enter through the side door. Staff will be on hand to direct you to the gymnasium.
DOORS WILL OPEN FOR STUDENTS THAT MORNING AT 7:55 AM - ALL STUDENTS WILL REPORT DIRECTLY TO THE GYMNASIUM WHERE THEIR VIP WILL BE LOCATED - THIS LATE ENTRY ALLOWS V.I.P.S A BIT MORE TIME TO WALK IN AND SIT DOWN BEFORE THE CHILDREN ENTER. Parents attending the assembly may enter at the same time as the children, 7:55, unless you are assisting a V.I.P.
GREEK FOOD- Delicious and Nutritious!
Next Tuesday we will spend some time making Greek finger-foods and talking about the relevance of food to culture. We will be using a lot of olive oil, olives, dried fruits and nuts. We will also be working with Greek Yogurt in one or two instances. Please let me know if your child is dairy-free. Sixth graders are generally fairly responsible, but it helps to be aware!
FIELD TRIP INFORMATION- Don't forget!
Our field trip will take place on Friday, Oct. 24th. We should be at the school by 8 a.m. and will return at about 3:30 p.m. Volunteers going with us will receive some reminders about school policies (including updates proposed by our insurance company) and a description of the trip and timeline, etc. Below is an approximate timeline:
8:00 a.m. - Arrive CHPCS
8:00 to 8:45 - Review of Greek/Roman art and architecture forms; field trip expectations and plan; easter eggs relate to future units of study
8:45 a.m. - Depart CHPCS
9:15 a.m. Arrive Portland Art Museum [ 1219 SW Park Ave Portland, OR 97205, http://www.portlandartmuseum.org/ ]
9:20 to 9:40 - Visit Greek plaster casts in Mark Building next door
9:45 to 10:45 - Docent guided tour of European Art exhibit with focus on Greek and Roman influences
10:45 to 11:00 - Bathroom Break
11:00 to 11:15 - Walk to Historic US Bank
11:20 to 11:40 - Private tour of Historic US Bank [ 309 SW 6th Ave #210 Portland, OR 97204, about: http://www.pdxhistory.com/html/portland_banks.html ]
11:40 to 12:30 - Walk back to Museum, eat lunch
12:30 p.m. - Depart downtown Portland
12:50 p.m. - Arrive at Hellenic American Cultural Center and Museum [ 3131 NE Glisan Street, Portland, Oregon, 97232, http://www.hellenicamericancc.org/ ]
1:00 to 2:30 - Tour Hellenic Museum / Activities
2:30 p.m. - Depart Hellenic Museum
3:00 p.m. - Arrive CHPCS; review of day; assign homework
3:30 p.m. - Class dismissed
OMSI VISITS- PlateTectonics
Next Monday we will be visited by OMSI for a one-hour presentation on the subject of plate tectonics! We will be using this as a sort of kick-off to our brief study of this topic, and I imagine we will learn a lot from our well-prepared specialists. Be prepared to ask your students about what they learned!
BUILDING THE CITY STATE- Social Studies
We paused our book-learning on ancient Greece this week as we planned, built, and put together our very own city state. By the end of this project students should be able to explain what a Greek city-state was and how it functioned. Some traditional examples include Athens, and Sparta (which we have not yet studied).
JOGATHON- Classroom fundraiser
The jog-a-thon is the PTA's biggest fundraiser for our classrooms. All donations go directly into our classroom budgets! Your participation marks the difference between a budget of $400 and a budget of $1000. This money goes to all sorts of projects, including our amphitheater, Trojan Horse, and science lab experiments.
It's time to begin collecting pledges for the Jog-a-thon! Each student should have brought home a bright blue pledge sheet. If you can't find yours, extras are on the table by the office. Our first Jog-a-thon was held in 2007 and has been a greater success with each passing year thanks to the participation and dedication of students and parents. Thank you all for your hard work. Let’s all get together to make our eighth one the best yet!
FANTASTIC RIGGS WORDS- and Where to Find Them
You can use the Study Stacks website here: http://www.studystack.com/flashcard-1661843
Daily list of words is also available on the blog here: http://chpcs6thgrade.weebly.com/riggs.html
WRITING- Where is it?
You have not seen much evidence of writing headed home in previous weeks. Students will now begin to produce Key Word Outlines (KWO), rough drafts, and final drafts more regularly. They will be required to use a middle-school checklist on every writing assignment, and should be able to show you one when they come how with any writing to finish. This week they will practice writing on the subject of the "Gordian Knot", and will produce a final draft on the topic of ancient Greek Olympics. We will also take some time to reorganize our writing binders in class!
THE TALE OF TROY- PLAYWRITING
A bit of information about the story is available to you on our blog here: http://chpcs6thgrade.weebly.com/reading.html
At the end of our reading we will discuss, write about, and then turn the story into a play! Students will be assigned partners to work with as they take chapters from our novel and modernize them in a comical fashion. It is our goal to invite you all to a performance before the end of the calendar year!
NANOWRIMO- National Novel Writing Month in November
I mentioned NaNoWriMo at Back to School Night, but I wanted to give you one more heads up about this project! Students will begin planning their novels in October, will writewritewritewritewrite in November, and edit in December. This is an amazing program that really shows students how MUCH they are capable of writing! For more general information see here: http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/
I'm sure there will be more to share before the week is over, but that's it for now!
I want to take this chance to thank our volunteers who have been coming in to help with guided reading, cleaning, and other daily tasks. Your time and assistance has made my job much easier, and it will continue to make our year an enjoyable and adventurous one! THANK YOU!
VIP DAY- Don't forget that VIP day is Thursday!
Very Important Person Day is September 25th, 2014 from 8:00 to 9:30 am. We are very excited to share our school and special events with you. In order to make your day as pleasant as possible, we have made special arrangements for entering the building and getting to the gym.
THE SIDE DOORS ON BOTH ENDS OF THE BUILDING WILL OPEN FOR V.I.P.S AND THEIR ESCORTS AT 7:45 A.M.
V.I.P'S who need assistance or need to park closer to classrooms - the employee parking lot, located on the north side of the building (Tolbert Street), will be set aside for you! Please park there and enter through the side door which will be open OR through the breezeway to access the ramp to the gymnasium. V.I.P'S who are able to park further away, please PARK in the gravel parking lot by the south playground and enter through the side door. Staff will be on hand to direct you to the gymnasium.
DOORS WILL OPEN FOR STUDENTS THAT MORNING AT 7:55 AM - ALL STUDENTS WILL REPORT DIRECTLY TO THE GYMNASIUM WHERE THEIR VIP WILL BE LOCATED - THIS LATE ENTRY ALLOWS V.I.P.S A BIT MORE TIME TO WALK IN AND SIT DOWN BEFORE THE CHILDREN ENTER. Parents attending the assembly may enter at the same time as the children, 7:55, unless you are assisting a V.I.P.
GREEK FOOD- Delicious and Nutritious!
Next Tuesday we will spend some time making Greek finger-foods and talking about the relevance of food to culture. We will be using a lot of olive oil, olives, dried fruits and nuts. We will also be working with Greek Yogurt in one or two instances. Please let me know if your child is dairy-free. Sixth graders are generally fairly responsible, but it helps to be aware!
FIELD TRIP INFORMATION- Don't forget!
Our field trip will take place on Friday, Oct. 24th. We should be at the school by 8 a.m. and will return at about 3:30 p.m. Volunteers going with us will receive some reminders about school policies (including updates proposed by our insurance company) and a description of the trip and timeline, etc. Below is an approximate timeline:
8:00 a.m. - Arrive CHPCS
8:00 to 8:45 - Review of Greek/Roman art and architecture forms; field trip expectations and plan; easter eggs relate to future units of study
8:45 a.m. - Depart CHPCS
9:15 a.m. Arrive Portland Art Museum [ 1219 SW Park Ave Portland, OR 97205, http://www.portlandartmuseum.org/ ]
9:20 to 9:40 - Visit Greek plaster casts in Mark Building next door
9:45 to 10:45 - Docent guided tour of European Art exhibit with focus on Greek and Roman influences
10:45 to 11:00 - Bathroom Break
11:00 to 11:15 - Walk to Historic US Bank
11:20 to 11:40 - Private tour of Historic US Bank [ 309 SW 6th Ave #210 Portland, OR 97204, about: http://www.pdxhistory.com/html/portland_banks.html ]
11:40 to 12:30 - Walk back to Museum, eat lunch
12:30 p.m. - Depart downtown Portland
12:50 p.m. - Arrive at Hellenic American Cultural Center and Museum [ 3131 NE Glisan Street, Portland, Oregon, 97232, http://www.hellenicamericancc.org/ ]
1:00 to 2:30 - Tour Hellenic Museum / Activities
2:30 p.m. - Depart Hellenic Museum
3:00 p.m. - Arrive CHPCS; review of day; assign homework
3:30 p.m. - Class dismissed
OMSI VISITS- PlateTectonics
Next Monday we will be visited by OMSI for a one-hour presentation on the subject of plate tectonics! We will be using this as a sort of kick-off to our brief study of this topic, and I imagine we will learn a lot from our well-prepared specialists. Be prepared to ask your students about what they learned!
BUILDING THE CITY STATE- Social Studies
We paused our book-learning on ancient Greece this week as we planned, built, and put together our very own city state. By the end of this project students should be able to explain what a Greek city-state was and how it functioned. Some traditional examples include Athens, and Sparta (which we have not yet studied).
JOGATHON- Classroom fundraiser
The jog-a-thon is the PTA's biggest fundraiser for our classrooms. All donations go directly into our classroom budgets! Your participation marks the difference between a budget of $400 and a budget of $1000. This money goes to all sorts of projects, including our amphitheater, Trojan Horse, and science lab experiments.
It's time to begin collecting pledges for the Jog-a-thon! Each student should have brought home a bright blue pledge sheet. If you can't find yours, extras are on the table by the office. Our first Jog-a-thon was held in 2007 and has been a greater success with each passing year thanks to the participation and dedication of students and parents. Thank you all for your hard work. Let’s all get together to make our eighth one the best yet!
FANTASTIC RIGGS WORDS- and Where to Find Them
You can use the Study Stacks website here: http://www.studystack.com/flashcard-1661843
Daily list of words is also available on the blog here: http://chpcs6thgrade.weebly.com/riggs.html
WRITING- Where is it?
You have not seen much evidence of writing headed home in previous weeks. Students will now begin to produce Key Word Outlines (KWO), rough drafts, and final drafts more regularly. They will be required to use a middle-school checklist on every writing assignment, and should be able to show you one when they come how with any writing to finish. This week they will practice writing on the subject of the "Gordian Knot", and will produce a final draft on the topic of ancient Greek Olympics. We will also take some time to reorganize our writing binders in class!
THE TALE OF TROY- PLAYWRITING
A bit of information about the story is available to you on our blog here: http://chpcs6thgrade.weebly.com/reading.html
At the end of our reading we will discuss, write about, and then turn the story into a play! Students will be assigned partners to work with as they take chapters from our novel and modernize them in a comical fashion. It is our goal to invite you all to a performance before the end of the calendar year!
NANOWRIMO- National Novel Writing Month in November
I mentioned NaNoWriMo at Back to School Night, but I wanted to give you one more heads up about this project! Students will begin planning their novels in October, will writewritewritewritewrite in November, and edit in December. This is an amazing program that really shows students how MUCH they are capable of writing! For more general information see here: http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/
I'm sure there will be more to share before the week is over, but that's it for now!